School and Gaming

[yomomma4800]

So I'm a high school senior heading to college the summer of 2015. I really want build a PC desktop that is great for school work and gaming. However, I have no idea on how to build one. My budget is $800 just for the CPU. Please help.

 

[danielaek1]

you mean you can spend $800 on a cpu or the whole system?

 

[yomomma4800]

Oh my bad, the tower I mean. $800 for the complete tower. Don't worry about the keyboard, mouse and monitor. But if you have suggestions you can definitely post it too.

 

[Wisecracker]

First thing that comes to mind: Why not a laptop?

Second thing: Desktop or mobile, an SSD is a 'must-have' as much as anything.

Third thing: School-work always comes before game-play.

Fourth thing: Do not use student loans to pay for your new computer.

 

[yomomma4800]

I'm going to get a laptop later just not right now, that's why I wanted a desktop.

 

[danielaek1]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4fLPhM
i did not include a case because i don't know what kind of design you want

 

[Wisecracker]

AMD FX-6300/Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3: $155 w/ $10 rebate
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus: $30
Sapphire Dual-X Radeon R9 280 3GB: $185 before $20 rebate
G.SKILL 2 x 4GB DDR3 2400: $65
Kingston V300 Series 240GB SSD: $100
Western Digital WD Blue 1TB HDD: $53
Samsung DVD Burner 24X: $14 with code EMCWHWD36
XFX 550w PSU: $51 with code EMCWHWA34 before $25 rebate
Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-01 RED LED Black Case: $55
Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit - OEM: $85 with code EMCWHWD53

$793 before $55 in rebates.

In the alternative, you could spend $608 without the video card and wait 6 weeks for the $35 in rebates to come in (run on the mobo IGP graphics).

The cash set-aside would put you in range of the R9 280X or R9 285 'Tonga'

edit: Some of those deals will not last very long, and will sell out fast -- and the promo codes will expire in the next 3-7 days