Budget Gaming Desktop

I'm looking to spend between $500-$650 on a desktop to do some moderate gaming like Company of Heroes, Diablo 3, and Starcraft 2. For this build I do not need a cd/dvd burner, a copy of windows, or a monitor. I also had some questions, is usb 3.0 all that important? Is 8gb of ram the sweet spot now? Also, at this price range is there any chance for it to be somewhat future proof?

$650 you say? I'll just point you to my new rig (slightly modified)

WDCB 500GB

ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

6770

tx650 (could get cheaper PSU and upgrade the GPU, but this is more futureproof)

8GB RAM 1600MHz (yes 8GB is the sweet spot. Cheap and futureproof)

AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition OEM

Windows 7

Cooler Master Hyper 212+

NZXT Gamma

That all looks good! I should also mention I do not need a copy of Windows either in this purchase, I'll update my original post about it.

Is the difference between the 6770 and 6870 big enough to justify the price?

That all looks good! I should also mention I do not need a copy of Windows either in this purchase, I'll update my original post about it.

Is the difference between the 6770 and 6870 big enough to justify the price?

FiercE23

Certainly. The 6870 is the best value on the market, but since you have $100 to upgrade with I'd put it in a 560 ti.

[QUOTE="FiercE23"]

That all looks good! I should also mention I do not need a copy of Windows either in this purchase, I'll update my original post about it.

Is the difference between the 6770 and 6870 big enough to justify the price?

Zevante101

Certainly. The 6870 is the best value on the market, but since you have $100 to upgrade with I'd put it in a 560 ti.

Thanks for the help! I think I have one last question, what about the FX series of amd CPUs over the phenom? Any major difference?

Bulldozers and Phenom 2's are pretty much the same performance wise. But if your going with a quad core Phenom 2 would be the one to get while a FX 6100 is not a bad choice nether.