Choosing a CPU and Motherboard [First Build]

[ErdosDagon]

I am looking for some advice on building a gaming PC. I will be buying parts in the USA and am looking to keep the budget about $700-$800. I would prefer not to overclock, though if it is the best option, I suppose I am open to it.

I have done some research, and this is the list of parts I have tentatively come up with:
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Biostar TA970 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($145.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Microcenter)
Snacks
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($10.29 @ B&H)
Mouse: Rosewill RGM-300 Wired Optical Mouse ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Speakers: Logitech Z130 5W 2ch Speakers ($14.99 @ Best Buy)
Other: HDMI Cable ($5.79 @ Amazon)
Total: $747.14
Or on PCPartPicker: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2TiVz
I was also wondering if, as this PC will be primarily used for gaming, a better choice for CPU would be something like the i3-4120, with less cores but better single-core performance.

Edit: Some prices were mis-typed.

 

[schmuckley]

I am looking for some advice on building a gaming PC. I will be buying parts in the USA and am looking to keep the budget about $650-$750. I would prefer not to overclock, though if it is the best option, I suppose I am open to it.

I have done some research, and this is the list of parts I have tentatively come up with:
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Biostar TA970 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($145.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Microcenter)
Snacks
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($10.29 @ B&H)
Mouse: Rosewill RGM-300 Wired Optical Mouse ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Speakers: Logitech Z130 5W 2ch Speakers ($14.99 @ Best Buy)
Other: HDMI Cable ($5.79 @ Amazon)
Total: $671.28
Or on PCPartPicker: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2TiVz
I was also wondering if, as this PC will be primarily used for gaming, a better choice for CPU would be something like the i3-4120, with less cores but better single-core performance.

That's a good possibility.
hmm..$180 for cpu+ mobo..yeowch..lemme see..
nope,What you have is OK.
PSU is really underpowered if you decide to overclock.
I'd go cheap on the case and get a better PSU that's 550w or so

 

[mfenn]

What you have is reasonable, but I would change the RAM out to a dual-channel kit like this Team for $68.

 

[ErdosDagon]

I came up with a possible parts list using the i3-4130 as suggested:

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Line-M MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($38.99 @ Staples)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
+Peripherals
Total: $760.95
Or on PCPartPicker: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2TsoI

When changing motherboards to the i3, I found that there was a good micro-ATX option, so between using a smaller mobo and a smaller case, I was able to put ~$50 more into the graphics card (that is the right place to put the money, right?). This seems like a better price/performance ratio.

What you have is reasonable, but I would change the RAM out to a dual-channel kit like this Team for $68.

I will take your word for it, so I went ahead and changed it (the specific set you recommended was out of stock), but out of curiosity, why is a dual-stick set better?

 

[mfenn]

Yes, the GPU is where you want to put the savings. The GTX 660 is faster than the R7 260X on average, but the gains are minimal or nonexistent in some games. The R9 270 would be a great choice if cryptocoin miners weren't driving the prices through the roof.

As for why dual-channel kit is better, it's because it lets your CPU's memory controller run in dual-channel mode. What that means is that memory reads and writes are interleaved between the two DIMMs, doubling bandwidth on streaming operations (games do a lot of this when loading textures and such). I wouldn't go for that particular kit though, it's too expensive. This G.Skill DDR3 1600 kit is $74.