Good Gaming PC for $1500-$2000

[SuperBaked]

Looking to build a good gaming PC. I've been out of PC gaming for about 10 years and I am a bit overwhelmed with building my own.

I'd rather stay closer to $1500 but could go as high as $2000 if needed.

I'd be playing games like Battlefield 3, Skyrim, Far Cry 3, etc.

Any help is appreciated.


This is what I made just based off reviews and a few other builds I saw. If anyone could build a similar one performance wise for less $$$ that would be awesome.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/19FKh
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/19FKh/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/19FKh/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($224.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($275.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($469.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue ATX Full Tower Case ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($139.48 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($70.98 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit) ($130.55 @ Amazon)
Total: $1982.92

 

[jaehyun0102]

You don't need 16GB ram for gaming, I personally see optical drives as a waste of money. Why not get a haswell cpu? 770 instead of 680. You can get a different case instead of a 650D, its just my personal preference.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($85.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($398.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 650D ATX Mid Tower Case ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1425.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-24 06:00 EDT-0400)

 

[Marcopolo123]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.40 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($85.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($152.95 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1505.26
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-24 06:23 EDT-0400)

 

[princejeet]

Hey
Check this my friend.

http://pcpartpicker.com/b/D7l

CPU

Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core
$199.99 Microcenter (Override)
CPU Cooler

Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid
$89.99 Microcenter
Motherboard

Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150
$164.99 Microcenter
Memory

Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
$69.99 Newegg
Storage

Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" SSD
$219.99 NCIX US

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
$76.99 Best Buy
Video Card

MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB
$449.99 NCIX US
Case

Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX Mid Tower
$54.99 Newegg
Power Supply

SeaSonic 750W ATX12V / EPS12V
$102.98 Newegg
Optical Drive

Asus DRW-24B3ST/BLK/G/AS DVD/CD Writer
$22.99 Newegg
Operating System

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
$89.98 Outlet PC

Total: $1542.87

Windows 7 is better than Windows8 for gaming.
750 w is future sli and this is haswell certified.
I hope it helps.
Thank you.

 

[PlanarX999]

Maybe this. 7970GHz not as good as Nvidia 770,only slightly,outperform 680 except Asus Matrix one, it come with four game, sure worth. If you play at 1080p this should be enough. #Note# Do not do crossfire, go with SLI instead.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($103.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($66.60 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($85.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill THOR V2 ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1373.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-24 11:58 EDT-0400)

 

[mastrom101]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.68 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($85.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($648.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue ATX Full Tower Case ($128.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($131.17 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1916.76
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-24 16:47 EDT-0400)

I usually don't recommend 16 GB of RAM, but it's a good deal.
An SSD will help a lot on FC3
I would recommend a 780, but you can easily go with a 770 and get similar performance.