Building a new computer for gaming

[pulledpork]

Hi all, I do not have much experience with the hardware aspect of computers, but am attempting to build one from various websites online. My tentative build is as follows. Please let me know if you would anticipate compatibility issues, or any suggestions for more bang for the buck. I'm also trying to keep this below $550-ish.

**I can't post links until I have 5 posts so I've tried to be as specific as I can with each component. Not sure how to post the links without it registering it as one.


Apevia X-plorer 2 computer case: (on Newegg)
APEVIA X-PLORER2 Series X-PLORER2-GN Black / Green Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Motherboard (on Newegg)
ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Bulk WD 650 gb harddrive (on amazon)
Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD10EARS

Power supply (on amazon)
Cooler Master Elite 460W ATX +12V V2.31 SATA, PCI-E Power Supply RS460-PSAR-J3-US

4 gb RAM (on Newegg)
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9

Video card (on Amazon)
Asus ATI Radeon HD5450 Silence - 1 GB DDR3 VGA/DVI/HDMI Low Profile PCI-Express Video Card EAH5450 SILENT/DI/1GD3

Processor is the intel i5 650
intel Core i5 650 3.2GHz Processor Boxed

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[Gamerjock]

The only real problem I see is the motherboard and processor aren't compatible.

 

[mailpup]

One other problem is the low end graphics card that is not very suitable for most new games.

 

[pulledpork]

How did you know that the processor and the motherboard are not compatible? What information from the specs should I be reading to find this information, as I am not well versed with computers. Also, what could you recommend as a video card that would better match the build so far, it doesn't have to be the best one, but just a good one for the money and I more able to handle newer games as you've stated?

Thanks guys!

 

[mailpup]

This part, "AM3 AMD," alone tells us the motherboard uses a socket AM3 AMD processor. An "Intel Core i5 650," well, isn't.

Also, if you read the description details at the Newegg site it says, it's for an AM3 Phenom II / Athlon II / Sempron 100 Series.

A Radeon HD 6870 might be a better card for your gaming system.

 

[pulledpork]

Hi Mailpup, I've always used an Intel before and my dad always suggested it as well. However, I know technology nowadays and 10 years are eras apart. Would you say a "Phenom II X4 Quad-Core Processor 955 Black Edition Boxed=$140" is equally as good? They're the exact same price at microcenter.

Edit: additionally, I found these two other processors that should be compatible for a lower price. Would you estimate these as being decent as well? I'm not looking to do extreme gaming, and quite honestly I don't know the difference in processor capability between these three. Here are the other two:

Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz Boxed Processor=$96
Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition Boxed Processor=$100
Thanks again.

 

[mailpup]

The Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition would be better than the Intel processor you listed.

If you prefer to use an Intel processor, go ahead and choose one but you'll have to select a different motherboard to go with it. Also, the Intel compatible motherboard you choose might support triple channel RAM instead of the dual channel of the AMD board so you might want to change the RAM from two sticks to three matched modules.

 

[pulledpork]

So lets say I don't need that much of a graphics card as you suggested: Radeon HD 6870. I checked the price and it's in the $200s. What if I just need something to run COD games with decent graphics. Would I even need the "Phenom II X4 Quad-Core Processor 955 Black Edition Boxed", or could I go with either "Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz Boxed Processor" or "Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition Boxed Processor" whichever is better of the latter two. Also, what would you suggest for a video card compatible with the aforementioned parts excluding the intel core i5 that would be in the $80 to $150 max? Really appreciate the help!

 

[CamaroMullet]

People are having luck unlocking the cores of the Phenom II X2 555. For your budget I would go AMD for sure. Even if you don't unlock those cores the processor you will do just fine. Cheaper processor, better video card and you should be good. Could get a Nvidia 460 or 465 for around 150.