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u jelly bro? :)

Actually yess you are a troll because Windows 8 is pretty good

But then again its not like a an i5 will give a massive fps boost :)

Yes, for gaming you really don't even need four cores.

Don't trust me, trust actual numbers:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6670/dragging-core2duo-into-2013-time-for-an-upgrade

Lose the quad core and get a dual core 3220. Then spend the extra cash on your GPU. You may lose <5% with the CPU downgrade, but you can gain >10% if you get a better GPU.

He won't need a gpu cooler. I have a stronger one and it barely heats up, even when cranked up voltage. MSI gpus have great stock cooling. It would be a waste of money.

That is because you are American, like me. Things are more expensive over there. We can build nicer computers for less money.

I haven't purchased it yet, thanks for the info though. Has helped a bunch.

That was a steal of a deal then.

I wouldn't get too caught up in single choices. Some, sure. Like I would get the Intel 3570k processor, for example. Most of the time you will have a few logical choices and you can then price them at the time of sale or just keep an eye on them in general, waiting for one to drop down to where you want it.

You might say that you want a 7950 or better AMD GPU, from one of the good companies, like Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, Sapphire, etc... Then you can get the best deal on the best one when you go to buy it. There are many choices for power supplies, so you can get one at a really good deal when you go to get it. Focus more on understanding what you need, then price later on. You might actually save quite a bit of money and end up with nicer parts.

Some things you can lock in on, but most you shouldn't, unless you specifically know why you want them. I, for example, paid a little more for my RAM because I knew I wanted Samsung Green ram, due to its insane overclocking ability. If I didn't want to overclock it, I could have save a bit of money and ended up with great RAM, still. I knew I wanted it, but most people wouldn't have to limit themselves to one choice for RAM.

Just be careful about thinking you only have one good choice.

i7s are not better than i5s for gaming. You would just be spending more money.

AsRock makes maybe the 3rd or 4th best motherboards, but they are decently priced. I would go with Asus, then Gigabyte, and then either ASRock or MSI.

You could spend less on a cooler and still be able to hit 4.5 on an overclock. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, for example. That isn't a bad choice, at all, you could just save a bit.

With Ram, make sure you get 1600mhz and tight timings. Read about cas latency and the memory timings, then you can understand how important they are. The lower the better, unless you plan to overclock it, yourself. You also want to make sure that it will fit under your cooler. I would price some good RAM at sale and not worry about locking in, right now.

For the Video Card, I would stick with AMD and make sure I got the Never Settle offer. With that said, both the 7950s and 7970s are very powerful. As long as you stick to only the good models, you should be happy with either. Look for a good deal. When I went to buy mine, I got a very powerful MSI R7970 model, that was on sale for almost $100 less. It still cost me $400, but it was a $500 card and I was looking at $500 cards. You never know what will go on sale and where you can save.

For the case. I like BitFenix, but the best price for quality tends to come from Cooler Master. I own a Storm Trooper, myself, and I really like their mid towers a lot. They are cheap, but very high quality. I would consider them, as well, if you need to save a bit.

You are getting closer to what you should be getting. I am impressed with your jump, so quickly. You are doing a great job.