A Gaming Desktop

[Kaymish]

definitely go for AMD your dollar to power ratio is like 100 times better or there abouts as you can get the equivalent or better of a $2000 Intel for as little as $200 and AMD has an 8 core processor out right now that has not even reached its full potential and as far as i know inlet has not even got an 8 core out on the market for PC
also you are probably going to want an SSD too but they do not have much storage so you will have to buy multiple drives if thats the way you want to go

anyway the first rule i follow when doing a build is choose the processor chipset first because that will change how you do the whole build

 

[Crises^]

definitely go for AMD your dollar to power ratio is like 100 times better or there abouts as you can get the equivalent or better of a $2000 Intel for as little as $200 and AMD has an 8 core processor out right now that has not even reached its full potential and as far as i know inlet has not even got an 8 core out on the market for PC
also you are probably going to want an SSD too but they do not have much storage so you will have to buy multiple drives if thats the way you want to go

anyway the first rule i follow when doing a build is choose the processor chipset first because that will change how you do the whole build

Find me an AMD CPU that is 100 time better price to performance than a i5 2500k or an i5 3570k.
AMD are better at the cheap end but Sandy Bridge and Ivy bridge chips are amazing price to performance.

 

[Arthran]

My recent build was a i5 3570K with a all in one liquid cooler (makes a decent noise/temp difference), 8 soon to be 16 gig of the corsair vengeance ram (much cheaper than what you've quoted above), A 120gb SSD as my primary with a 2TB data drive. HD 7870 2Gb and NZXT Phanton 410 case with a Coolermaster GX Power supply.

Beast takes anything you throw at it and cost me about £8-850 after a little shopping around and the extra ram. SSD does make a sizable difference, there isnt 1 online game where I dont load the map first at the moment. well within budget and easily takes on anything you ask of it. the i5 will overclock nicely if needed and you end up with more than enough storage. Only thing im missing now is a Blu-ray drive

 

[RaptorShark]

Okay, taking all in to account again, the build now stands at this:

PCPartPicker part list [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k6eu] / Price breakdown by merchant [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k6eu/by_merchant/] / Benchmarks [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k6eu/benchmarks/]

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570k] (£149.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/asus-motherboard-p8h77v] (£83.99 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/corsair-memory-cmx8gx3m2a1600c9] (£24.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st31000524as] (£52.78 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdp128gg25] (£49.98 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 3GB Video Card [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/evga-video-card-03gp43663kr] (£246.79 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/corsair-power-supply-tx650m] (£76.83 @ Ebuyer)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/samsung-optical-drive-sh222bbbebe] (£11.96 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £696.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

with this case: http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/140858191672?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&cbt=y

and this CPU cooler: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-018-XG&campaign=pcm/googleshopping&pup_c=gs along with this thermal compound: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/arctic-silver-5-thermal-compound-for-cpu-and-chipset-coolers-35-gram

 

[Crises^]

Okay, taking all in to account again, the build now stands at this:

PCPartPicker part list [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k6eu] / Price breakdown by merchant [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k6eu/by_merchant/] / Benchmarks [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k6eu/benchmarks/]

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570k] (£149.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/asus-motherboard-p8h77v] (£83.99 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/corsair-memory-cmx8gx3m2a1600c9] (£24.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st31000524as] (£52.78 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdp128gg25] (£49.98 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 3GB Video Card [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/evga-video-card-03gp43663kr] (£246.79 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/corsair-power-supply-tx650m] (£76.83 @ Ebuyer)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/samsung-optical-drive-sh222bbbebe] (£11.96 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £696.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

with this case: http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/140858191672?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&cbt=y

and this CPU cooler: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-018-XG&campaign=pcm/googleshopping&pup_c=gs along with this thermal compound: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/arctic-silver-5-thermal-compound-for-cpu-and-chipset-coolers-35-gram

I would advise either getting a different motherboard or an non K chip as that board doesn't allow overcloking. You'll need a P67, Z68 or Z77 board for overclocking

 

[TimeLord]

I recently got a new computer (i.e two days ago) these are my specs.

CPU: FX 8120 3.6GHz
Motherboard: Asrock Extreme 990FX
RAM: Corsair XMS3 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
HDD: 2TB Baracuda 7.2k 64mb + 120GB Solid State OCZ Agility3
BD-ROM DVD-RW Drive
Graphics: Sapphire HD 770 1GB
Various other boring stuff like power supply, wireless adaptor and case

It laughs at all graphics settings. 8 cores helps too. Plus the graphics card look sweeeeeet.

 

[RaptorShark]

Okay, taking all in to account again, the build now stands at this:

PCPartPicker part list [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k6eu] / Price breakdown by merchant [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k6eu/by_merchant/] / Benchmarks [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k6eu/benchmarks/]

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570k] (£149.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/asus-motherboard-p8h77v] (£83.99 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/corsair-memory-cmx8gx3m2a1600c9] (£24.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st31000524as] (£52.78 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdp128gg25] (£49.98 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 3GB Video Card [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/evga-video-card-03gp43663kr] (£246.79 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/corsair-power-supply-tx650m] (£76.83 @ Ebuyer)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/samsung-optical-drive-sh222bbbebe] (£11.96 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £696.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

with this case: http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/140858191672?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&cbt=y

and this CPU cooler: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-018-XG&campaign=pcm/googleshopping&pup_c=gs along with this thermal compound: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/arctic-silver-5-thermal-compound-for-cpu-and-chipset-coolers-35-gram

I would advise either getting a different motherboard or an non K chip as that board doesn't allow overcloking. You'll need a P67, Z68 or Z77 board for overclocking

My bad, I have changed the motherboard but I forgot to save it. Build is actually this:

PCPartPicker part list [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k7qq] / Price breakdown by merchant [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k7qq/by_merchant/] / Benchmarks [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/k7qq/benchmarks/]

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570k] (£149.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/asus-motherboard-p8z77v] (£120.92 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/corsair-memory-cmx8gx3m2a1600c9] (£24.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st31000524as] (£52.78 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdp128gg25] (£49.98 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 3GB Video Card [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/evga-video-card-03gp43663kr] (£246.79 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/corsair-power-supply-tx650m] (£76.83 @ Ebuyer)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer [http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/samsung-optical-drive-sh222bbbebe] (£11.96 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £733.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[Arthran]

much better, In my opinion at that price, you may as well get double the ram and have too much. It's not like it will have anything but a positive impact, and at £25 your not really wasting money

 

[Silvianoshei]

That last build is great. The thing about building a PC is that you'll generally get comparable performance in anything between 1k-1.7k. So you might as well just save your cash. My rig cost me 2.2k, but I'm also running computational simulations on it for 40+ hrs...not just gaming. For gaming you don't need 32 gigs of ram or an i7-3770k.

One big tip, keep an eye out for SSD sales on newegg, they happen all the time. You can get tons of SSD storage for cheap if you keep your eyes open. get some extra SATA III cables and set em up in raid 0. GG.