Seeking help for my first budget gaming PC under $500

[FireInMyLungz]

Hello everyone, I'm currently attempting to build my first very own $500 budget gaming PC. However doing so has seem to be proven harder then what I've anticipated. As well as this being my first build I am more than open to anyone's opinion, advice, tips etc. Let me start out by letting you know I intend to buy all my parts from Amazon.com if possible. One last thing before we get started I picked these particular parts because I prefer high quality parts for the value, but if you feel I could do better by choosing a greater value than please let me know. I'm really trying to keep it as low as possible. Any who, without further adieu I present to you my ideal custom budget gaming PC for under $500.

GAMMA Classic Series ATX Mid Tower Interior Steel Chassis
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UDK9U6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Corsair Builder Series CX 430 Watt ATX/EPS 80 PLUS
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092ML1SC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 GB (2X4 GB) PC3-12800 1600mHz DDR3
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QBUL1C/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB SATA III 7200 RPM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00461G3MS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Gigabyte LGA 1155 Intel B75 Micro ATX DDR3 1600 GA-B75M-D3H
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007R9CRGW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHZ 1 GB DDR5
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A0HZOEA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Intel Core i3-3220 Dual-Core Processor 3.3 Ghz
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0093H8HXS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

A grand total of $495.95 USD. Once again please give me your honest opinion. I would love to learn more about building computers so feel free to support/guide me along the way.

Thank you,
Justin

 

[FireInMyLungz]

Two things I would change
1) power suppy to this
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EarthWatts-EA-380D-BRONZE-Supply/dp/B002UOR17Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1362763835&sr=1-1&keywords=Antec+EarthWatts+Green+EA-380D+Green+380W

2) gpu to this MSI Power Edition N650Ti PE 1GD5/OC GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB 128-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127704

Hi, thanks for replying. I would prefer to keep my Corsair 430watt instead of downgrading to a 380watt. As far as the GPU I would like to buy a better but one but I need to stick to my budget and I feel the HD 7770 gives me a better bang for the buck. Thoughts?

 

[imaurer269]

I would stick with the Corsair and the HD 7770 for your budget, here is a recent performance per dollar chart: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_650_Ti_SSC/29.html

If you want to max out your gaming potential you could look into getting a cheaper cpu and/or mobo and try to fit a HD 7850 into your budget otherwise your build is pretty decent for $500

 

[FireInMyLungz]

I would stick with the Corsair and the HD 7770 for your budget, here is a recent performance per dollar chart: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_650_Ti_SSC/29.html

If you want to max out your gaming potential you could look into getting a cheaper cpu and/or mobo and try to fit a HD 7850 into your budget otherwise your build is pretty decent for $500

Thanks a lot for replying. As for now I'll keep the HD 7770 just to kick off my first build. I have this particular MOBO in case I decide to upgrade my CPU later on in the future if I have some extra cash. But would you say this build is good for what I'm paying? And I'm into games like Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, and Battlefield 3. Will this rig be capable of handling these games on auto settings?

 

[imaurer269]

Thanks a lot for replying. As for now I'll keep the HD 7770 just to kick off my first build. I have this particular MOBO in case I decide to upgrade my CPU later on in the future if I have some extra cash. But would you say this build is good for what I'm paying? And I'm into games like Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, and Battlefield 3. Will this rig be capable of handling these games on auto settings?

Depends on what resolution you are planning to play at but even at 1920x1080 you should be able to run those on medium settings. Here is a review with BF3 included: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7770-7750-benchmark,3135-6.html

 

[dscudella]

If you're looking to play BF3 online (multiple cores) you would be better off going with a Phenom II x4 965 Black & a GTX 650 Ti. The i3 has stronger Single & Dual core performance but the 965 has 4 actual cores and the GTX 650 Ti will net you an extra 3-5 FPS over the 7770.

 

[hellagrant]

I think that build is just fine. I prefer Antec PSU but the one you picked is probably just as good.

 

[FireInMyLungz]

Thank you everyone so much for your feedback.

@imaurer269 Okay great. Yes I plan to play on my 32" HDMI TV 1080P. I'm happy with that.

@dscudella I've watched some youtube videos about i3 3220 with an HD 7770 playing Battlefield 3 and they seem pleased. So more than likely I'll stick with the i3 3220 and HD 7770.

@hellagrant Thanks for letting me know. And yes I've researched Corsair and they are a wonderful brand.