There is a law of diminishing returns when it comes to processors. Granted, a $200 CPU is much better than a $100 CPU. However a $500 CPU isn't much better than a $200 CPU when it comes to real world gaming performance.
A prime example is the 3930K vs the 3960X. Both offer similar performance but the 3960X is about $450 more than the 3930K.
In my opinion, the i5-3570K is the go to processor for gaming. You won't find much of anything that offers better bang for the buck.
Hameister said:I couldn't agree more, and it's only around $225.00 the last time I looked, so there's two opinions right there Mr. BadReligion83.
Damn insomnia anyways thanks for the input on this. So far I've gotten the case, power supply, and processor picked out. All that's left is the motherboard, memory, hard drive and gpu. Right? Or am I forgetting something?
Hameister said:The optical drive! You'll need one of those.
Let's work on the motherboard next. As always we need to start with your budget.
Like I said damn insomnia . The budget is between $100 and $150 but as always feel free to disagree
Anyways here is what I was looking at for the motherboard
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Hameister said:Nope, that's a Z68 board. You want a Z77 chip set board like this...
Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
It's a very popular mobo, and within your price range. If you have an aversion to Asus for some reason we could look at another brand. I have always found them to be very reliable motherboards, but there are others of course.
Hameister said:The Z68 vs. the Z77 chip sets. Remember, I suggested that you research your questions, you'll learn and retain more that way. Google anything you want to know.
You can start here... Z68, Z77, and H77 – What's the difference? | Puget Systems Blog