I recently got a claim for an accident I was in last year that equates to 1500 dollars. Since I do not really have anything else to use it for, I figured I would use it for a PC build since my current laptop is not only old, but starting to show signs of future failure. This is my first time ordering parts to build a PC, I have replaced parts before but as far as doing everything from scratch, this is the first time so I am somewhat of a newbie at the subject.

Here is a link to the build I have right here:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1kMi4

(Updated the build based on previous suggestions, still pricey but I feel that I made it so I am getting better quality for my dollar now. I am still open for suggestions though.)

I kindly ask for some opinions on what parts I picked and possible suggestions for tweaking the price to a lower number. Again, I am a first timer and want to make sure I am not picking really crappy parts or choosing parts that I can get for a lower price.

EDIT: I should probably also add that I am not getting an SSD drive just yet, that will come in time since those are a bit pricey.

No SSD?

Yeah I put an edit explaining why no SSD, again, it will come in time but for now, have to go cheap for it.

But not pulling any punches on the Video Card from the looks of it.

I had to decide on whether I wanted a nice HDD and a decent GPU, or a nice GPU and a decent hard drive. Since I have used 7200RPM hard drives before, I can live with a decrease in performance with that.

The CPU and motherboard look fine on specs, although looking at Newegg reviews for the motherboard there are quite a few DOA reports along with the motherboard starting to have problems after 1-2 months. It can be difficult to sort out the actual rate of occurrence of these kinds of events, though, so ultimately this is a judgment call you'll have to make. For your HDD, the WD Blue series are geared more towards office and home office uses and their performance isn't that great when it comes to gaming; short of an SSD, I'd recommend going with something from the WD Black series. Your GPU choice is probably a bit overkill, and will be throttled a bit by the rest of your system. Unless you're planning to run games that are known to put a massive strain on the GPU (beyond what the game demands from the rest of the system) you could save a fair amount of money by toning the GPU down to something from the 600 series. One part of your build that I would definitely change, though, is your PSU, which is hovering at the very minimum of what your system requires and is also an off brand- not a good combination. I'd recommend going with something like this instead (while keeping in mind that the PSU is not a component you want to cheap out on).

Thanks for the tip on the PSU and the HDD, will take those suggestions for my build. I am going overkill for the GPU because I kind of want to play ArmA III in the future. Judging by comments and how the ArmA series in general is with system requirements, I figure the video card will probably be the best fit for it short of a GeForce Titan. I am also doing this so I can put money towards a machine that I will not have to upgrade for quite some time, and to fulfill those childish dreams I had where I always wanted a top of the line machine for PC gaming.

Do not buy an AMD CPU if you want to do any future or modern gaming. You will be far better off getting a weaker GPU and stronger CPU. Get an i5 2500 or better and you will be good for years even without overclocking though regardless of overclock or not you should not use the stock heat sink. If there is a Micro Center nearby check their website they sell some CPUs for $50 off (including the i5 2500) in store purchase only though. I don't know how long Micro center has those deals but that where I got my i7 for $50 off on release.

The heat sink you have is heavy and is not good for a vertical system even though many people do it anyway. I am using and very much recommend the Xigmatek Loki cooler as it is just under the intel weight limit of 450 grams, that includes the fan. If you mount a second optional fan you will go over the weight limit.

That is awfully pricey on the RAM and you probably will not need that much for a while if gaming is the concern. I got paranoid about memory and bought 16GiBs myself but I paid $96 for it. You will be fine with 8GiBs of RAM. Corsair is a good brand. Watch Newegg for RAM deal they have been having many lately, it is where I bought my new RAM.

Your mother board choice is the best brand, definitely get an Asus. I only buy Asus mother boards, but ASrock and MSI are good too.

You don't have an OS chosen do you?

Your hard drive choice is solid, yes black drives are faster but I don't think it is worth fussing over I have used both blue and black but not the same size so I don't know the performance difference. Note however the black can be noisy depending on the case, they are all about getting higher performance not being quite. I am using a 1TB Black now and love it even though it can get noisy in my ancient case. Check Newegg.com for Hard drive prices too they once had the WD 1TB black for $60 via promo code.

Excellent GPU choice EVGA is a great brand, though the price is too high if you can wait for sales. The 770 is not much over a 680 so if you can find a 680 for less go for it. Also it seem there are some nasty driver issue with 700 series cards right now, but they are new so I would not fuss. I have not seen a 700 card in action myself though.

I do not know that PSU brand. But it is insufficient anyway and over priced. Get an Antec, Corsair, or Seasonic to be safe. Rosewill can be good too though they are often booed, just don't let them get too hot. If you overclock you will need more power too.

The optical drive seems pricey to me I think I just had a promo code for an all in one blue ray burner for $40 on newegg.

Monitors are kind of subjective though I would stay away from anything HP. Some people like them though. Shopping for displays kind of sucks because if you want good picture quality it will usually cost you. If you can get a old CRT or have one lying around I would use that. I am using a CRT and have one more as a back up, I refuse to use LCD, plasma, or DLP displays. I am getting very anxious waiting for affordable OLED displays. If you want to get an LCD though I think an Asus would be the way to go but I have not looked into such displays myself but Asus is a good brand.

Keyboards and mice are mostly about taste but for gaming I would not use wireless simply because messing with batteries is a hassle. Some people will tell you to stay away from wireless all together for gaming but it really is not a big deal the added latency is about 1 millisecond or less unless something is not working right. A PS/2 port is the way to go for a keyboard if you can go that route though don't fret much if you go USB. I highly recommend a mechanical keyboard.

Specifically for mice I would need to know what you are going for and what grip you are. A safe way to go for anyone though is the Logitech G400 or G400s so long as it is one with the later serial number. Look up the correct serial number it is easy to find. The later serial number G400 I read has perfect tracking and it has ajustable CPI in increments of 100. The G400 is designed with a palm grip in mind but it can work for some claw grip people too. I am a claw grip so I am using the G9x and although it does have slight acceleration the movement is still consistant though the performance of the G9x seems to vary with the surface it is on. I am using it on a wood fermica table top. Also the G9x's acceleration varies in strength depending on what CPI it is set to, when I changed it from 1500 to 1800 the amout of acceleration decreased.

Further on mice it is important to note that although you can set some mice to high CPI values like 5700 the sensor in the mouse may not be capable of doing that, meaning the CPI is interpolated. The G9x for example can be set to 5700 but the sensor is only capable of I think it was 4800 CPI. Also the sensor in the G9x has a recommended CPI of something like 1600 to 3800 I think it was for best results. Some people may tell you to set the CPI as high as it gos, do not do that. First set windows mouse speed to 6 which is a 1:1 ratio (i.e. 1 pixel per count) for the mouse counts then set the CPI to where you need it.

Serious about AMD? People I questioned about processors for gaming always recommend AMD, then again they seemed to have a strange hatred towards Intel products. Thanks for the cooler suggestion, that will be noted in my build.

EDIT: Didn't notice the RAM message you put in, that I will note as well.

LOL I am still adding to the post.

And yes I am very serious about AMD. Those people you have run into are trying to fool you, I don't know why they are so hostile I run into them everywhere. I used to recommend AMD in the past but this is 2013 hardware is different now. In fact I was using an AMD CPU before I built the machine I have now and was using an AMD before that aswell. Intel is by far CPU king today but that could change in a decade. I go with what ever is stronger, I am not biased to either intel or AMD. To be fare though AMD can still be a great choice for super low bugget or ITX build, but for full on gaming avoid their CPUs like the plauge.

Yeah, going with Intel since my laptop has an i3 and it hasn't failed me in terms of low-mid end computing on here. I can imagine an i5 or i7 would be a great CPU. I should add I already have Windows 7 ready to be used on the new machine in response to the other information you added.

Yeah it is 64-bit, the last 32-bit OS I had was Windows XP. :P

I have updated my first post with additional information.

Good RAM on sale $51 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148544

Seasonic modular PSU $90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095 More price but modular, might buy one of these myself.

Wow.....$500 just for the GPU. Thats $100 more than what my whole PC cost.

Gateway Brand = $400
AMD A8-3820 APU
Integrated Radeon Graphics
6Gb ram
1Tb HDD