Budget PC build advice: $800 limit?

Hey everyone
So, here’s the deal—I’m looking to pick up a new rig, but I have to admit, I am a total newbie when it comes to actually putting a build together 🙂 I just need the tower itself, nothing else—no peripherals or anything—ideally sitting somewhere in the range of $1833. My main goal is playing MMORPGs—you know, things like World of Warcraft, Wildstar, Guild Wars 2, and stuff like that. I’m really not into shooters or anything of that nature, so I’d love a setup that can handle those games on max settings... if that's even remotely possible for this kind of budget. I was also hoping the build would include an SSD for my OS and games—128GB should be plenty—plus a separate 1TB hard drive for extra storage. It would be great if everything could be sourced from a single shop where it might be cheapest to order everything at once, because honestly, I have no clue how prices are moving lately or which online retailers are the go-to spots here in the States. I don't care if they offer assembly services or not—that's fine—but I really want to make sure I'm not stuck waiting forever for shipping. Thanks so much in advance!

SANDISK X110 128GB SSD, 2.5" 7mm, SATA 6Gbps, Seq Read/Write: 505 MBps / 445 MB/s, IOPS max: 81000, SD6SB1M-128G-1022I
XFX Pro Series CoreEdition 80 450W PSU, XFX-P1-450S-X2B9
WD Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 3 WD10EZEX Hard Drive
Desktop Memory Device KINGSTON ValueRAM DDR3 SDRAM Non-ECC (8GB,1600MHz(PC3-12800),Unbuffered) CL11, KVR16N11/8
!! Intel Core i7 2600k !! -> $376 😲
ASRock Z77 EXTREME3 Motherboard, 1155
Zalman CPU Cooler 120mm fan, ZAL-CNPS10X Optima
Zalman mid tower case black, ZAL-Z3
Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 OC Graphics Card, 2GB GDDR5, HDMI, DVI

Total: $1860 centro.hr GW2

Guild Wars 2 is pretty heavy on the CPU, so I guess an i7 with some overclocking might actually help quite a bit.

These i7s will probably be gone by tomorrow, so maybe you should just grab the CPU and Z77 today and figure out the rest later.

1 x Intel Core i5-4440 Processor (3.10GHz, 1MB, 6MB, 84 W, 1150) Box
1 x Asrock B85M, 1150, Intel ® B85, DDR3, 2 slots, 2 year warranty
1 x MSI R9 270X GAMING 2GB GDDR5 256bit
1 x 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 Kingston HyperX Blue, 1600MHz, CL10
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic, SSD, 120 GB Capacity, 2.5"
1 x XFX Core edition 80 450W PSU - EasyRail technology
1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black, SATA DVD Burner
1 x Zalman Z3 PLUS mid tower case, 192(W)x465(H)x430(D)mm, ATX standard

$1861
newegg.com

Thanks so much for the help, crimsonstag84 and Amy Vaughn12.
I just have one quick question for crimsonstag84—if I can't swing this i7 right now because my bank account is looking a little thin—what kind of processor would you suggest as an alternative? And if I go that route, am I going to need to swap out the motherboard entirely, or can I stick with this one?

Maybe an H97 board paired with an Intel Core i5-4440...

Do you have a budget set aside just for the CPU? If so, grab that Intel Core i7-2600K now—it’ll definitely be back in stock, probably by tomorrow—and then you can easily pick up the rest later...
Otherwise, if you don't land that Intel Core i7-2600K, there's really no point in splurging on such an expensive motherboard. You could instead go with something like an i5-3350p (LGA 1155 socket) paired with a B75 board (1155), or perhaps an Intel Core i5-4440 with an H81 or B85 (an H97 would work too). The bottom line is that the socket must match.

Since I'm unfortunately short on cash right now, I'm planning to wait until I get some money next week before pulling the trigger on everything—otherwise, I really would have loved to grab that Intel Core i7-2600K. It looks like I'll just have to settle for the Intel Core i5-4440 for now, though I'm pretty sure that’ll still be more than enough for what I need to do.
Anyway, thanks a ton, guys—you've been a massive help, and I honestly think I finally have all the info I need to go ahead with the order 🙂
best regards

Let’s be real, that i5 is more than enough to handle those games 😉
If that i7 pops up next week, grab it if you can afford it... To save some cash upfront, you could even skip the aftermarket cooler from crimsonstag84's build (that Zalman Optima) and just pick one up later once you decide to start overclocking.

Yeah, I'm definitely pulling the trigger on an Intel Core i7-2600K paired with an Intel Z77 Chipset if everything goes according to plan next week....
So, just to be totally clear—if I end up going with the Intel Core i5-4440 instead, I can just ditch the extra cooler, right? Thanks!

You don't actually need a second cooler for an i5 (just look at Halek's build for reference), nor do you need one for an i7 since you'll get the stock cooler included. You only really need extra cooling if you plan on overclocking—which is exactly what a K-series CPU and a Z77 chipset are designed for.

I've put together a somewhat complex gaming build, so I wanted to run it by you all before I pull the trigger on the purchase just to make sure everything is compatible...
Feel free to suggest changes if anything looks off (maybe the GPU...), but I really can't go a single cent over this budget:
Intel Core i5-4440 - $446
Kingston DDR3 HyperX Blue, 1600MHz, 8GB - $205
Asus B85M-G - $181
Toshiba 1TB, 7200rpm, 32MB HDD - $143
LG GH24NS - $43
Zalman mid tower case black - $153
XFX Pro 450W, 80+ - $122
Gigabyte GF GTX750 OC, 1GB GDDR5, DVI, DP - $303
Spire Kepler Rev.2 - $38
Corsair SSD 120GB ForceSeries LS - $236
Total: $1887
Best Buy

1 x Intel Core i5-4440 with Asrock H81M-HDS
1 x Asrock H81M-HDS, Socket 1150
1 x Transcend JetRAM DDR3 DIMM, 8GB, 1600Mhz, CL11, retail
1 x Seagate HDD, 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6, 64M
1 x LG GH24NS
1 x XFX Pro 450W, 80+
1 x Samsung 840 EVO 120GB
1 x Sapphire AMD Radeon R9 280 3G GDDR5 PCI-E DVI-I / DVI-D / HDMI / DP Dual-X with Boost (UEFI), 850MHz (940MHz) / 1250MHz, 384-bit, 2 slot active, Aerocool GT Black Advanced
1 x Aerocool GT Black Advanced, USB 3.0, black

Total: $1886

Just to be clear, I've actually installed a much more powerful graphics card 😉

1 x Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H, Socket : 1150, Intel B85, 4xDDR3 1600
1 x Intel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box
1 x DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL9, HyperX Beast.
1 x Sapphire R9 280 3GB OC, 3GB GDDR5 384bit, 28nm
1 x Samsung SH-224DB SATA Bulk Black, SATA
1 x Zalman Z3 PLUS mid tower case. 192(W)x465(H)x430(D)mm. MB standa
1 x Toshiba 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x Samsung 840 EVO 120GB, SSD disk, Capacity 120 GB, 2.5"
1 x Corsair CX500

$1893

👍 Thanks for the reply. I'll be back in touch this September when I'm ready to pull the trigger on my new build.
Anyway
By the way, Kimberly Gomez34, where did you grab this configuration from? Futura-IT doesn't even list a case for it...

ironridge352 said:👍 thanks for the reply, catch you in September when I'm actually buying my rig.
So
So Kimberly Gomez34, where did you get this build list from? It's missing a case.

😂😂😂
Buying in three months? Man, if that's the plan, wait until then to ask. Who knows what kind of new tech will be hitting the shelves by then anyway.

ironridge352 said:👍 Thanks for the reply. I'll check back in September when I'm actually ready to buy my PC.
But hey,
hey, Kimberly Gomez34, where did you get this build list from? It looks like it's missing a case.

It seems like things have just vanished. Like Robert Rodriguez2 mentioned—who knows what will happen in three months? Who can say what the market offers will even look like by then...

A fan just popped out of my graphics card, and since I'm actually studying web design rather than hardware, I'm not quite sure how much of a fixer I am. Is this something that can be swapped out? My PC is only about six months old...
The main issue is that it keeps overheating!
Any suggestions on what to do? Ideally, I'd love to find a budget-friendly solution...

It’s definitely replaceable. Since you've still got the warranty, just take it back to the service center.

Actually, this isn't really my thing. It’s more that my friends were asking me to reach out and get some answers from you all on their behalf.