[ipwnu225]

This is my first time building a computer and I have no idea where to start. I want to build a gaming computer for around $500. I want to be able to play battlefield 3, leauge of legends, world at war, and borderlands 2 at a decent framerate. Please suggest a build for me.

[LiveBrianD]

Here's one thought:
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM $16
NZXT Source 210 S210-001 Black “Aluminum Brush / Plastic” ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $40
Hitachi GST Deskstar 7K1000.C 0F10383 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $70
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (11202-00-20G ) $110
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $45
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ $25
ASRock H61M-DGS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $40
Intel Pentium G620 Sandy Bridge 2.6GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G620 $64

I know you guys normally recommend RAM with lower timings, but his budget makes this a bit tight. I'm not sure if I should've put in a better CPU and lower GPU though.

Here's where there's some debate though:
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM or Windows 8 64-bit, both $100. (I know the win8 upgrade is cheaper at the moment, though I'm not sure if the upgrade trick still works - not that you're supposed to do that anyway.) Windows 8 is faster, but I think the metro UI (whatever they want to call it) is garbage that gets in your way, and I'm planning to stick with Windows 7 myself. If you're not sure, you might want to play with Win8 in a store, or download the trial off technet for now, and later decide which OS to buy. (note: that's the enterprise version - if you end up deciding to purchase Windows 8, you'll have to reinstall.)

[ipwnu225]

LiveBrianD, on 27 October 2012 - 10:59 AM, said:

Here's one thought:
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM $16
NZXT Source 210 S210-001 Black “Aluminum Brush / Plastic” ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $40
Hitachi GST Deskstar 7K1000.C 0F10383 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $70
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (11202-00-20G ) $110
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $45
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ $25
ASRock H61M-DGS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $40
Intel Pentium G620 Sandy Bridge 2.6GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G620 $64

I know you guys normally recommend RAM with lower timings, but his budget makes this a bit tight. I'm not sure if I should've put in a better CPU and lower GPU though.

Here's where there's some debate though:
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM or Windows 8 64-bit, both $100. (I know the win8 upgrade is cheaper at the moment, though I'm not sure if the upgrade trick still works - not that you're supposed to do that anyway.) Windows 8 is faster, but I think the metro UI (whatever they want to call it) is garbage that gets in your way, and I'm planning to stick with Windows 7 myself. If you're not sure, you might want to play with Win8 in a store, or download the trial off technet for now, and later decide which OS to buy. (note: that's the enterprise version - if you end up deciding to purchase Windows 8, you'll have to reinstall.)

I forgot to mention that I already have a DVD burner and a copy of Windows 7 Professional. I'm not planing to buy Windows 8, I'm not a big fan of the new interface. Thanks for the suggestion

[LiveBrianD]

OK, that makes it a bit easier.
NZXT Source 210 S210-001 Black “Aluminum Brush / Plastic” ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $40
Hitachi GST Deskstar 7K1000.C 0F10383 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $80 (I could've sworn this exact one was cheaper a few days ago)
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100358VXL Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support ... $130
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $45
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ $25
ASRock B75M-DGS LGA 1155 Intel B75 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $55
Intel Core i3-3220 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ... $130

That should be a nice, well rounded machine.

[ipwnu225]

Thanks, I will do a little more research before I buy anything.

[JakeMays]

I've gone a little over what you wanted and have left out a case.. this is all because I've put a little more into the motherboard, it's a favourite of mine.

MOBO - ASRock 970 Extreme3 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 ATX Motherboard [970 EXTREME3] - £80
CPU -AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 640 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - £70
PSU -Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply - £50
GPU - Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (Orange & Blue Activity LEDs) - £24
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM - £50
RAM - Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply - £50

£339.90 all together. Which is around £30 over your budget. So around $47 too much.

This post has been edited by JakeMays: 05 December 2012 - 04:00 PM

[waldojim]

I would suggest using what Brian suggested, except for the video card: Go with the Nvidia 560 instead:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134137
You do have to go through a small rebate to get to $139 for the video card, but it is far more powerful.