At $500, this quarter's budget-oriented Intel gaming build is just that, budget. With just a dual-core Sandy Bridge-based Pentium G860, old-school hard disk drive, small PSU, and cheap case, there is plenty of cash leftover for graphics. A Radeon HD 7850 from XFX takes up the lion's share of this build's budget. The motherboard, however, was clearly chosen for its very open upgrade path. The LGA1155-based full-ATX ASRock Z77 Pro3 has SATA III, USB 3.0, and support for multiple graphics cards. This build makes a fantastic little starter system. Congratulations to forum member Lunyone for having his recommended build picked by the Tom's Hardware community this quarter!
| Component | Model | Average price |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Pentium G860 3.0 GHz Sandy Bridge CPU | $70 |
| Motherboard | ASRock Z77 Pro3 Z77 Motherboard | $95 |
| RAM | G.Skill Ares Series 8 GB DDR3-1600 Kit (2 x 4 GB) | $56 |
| Graphics Card | XFX Radeon HD 7850 1 GB Video Card | $190 |
| Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 7200 RPM HDD | $110 | |
| Power Supply | Antec VP-450 450W PSU | $50 |
| Case | Rosewill REDBONE U3 Mid-Tower | $60 |
| DVD Burner | Sony Optiarc 24x DVD Burner | $29 |
| TOTAL : $660 | ||