I want to build my first gaming pc and I have a $500 budget. It's not for intense gaming, it's more for casual gaming. The most graphic intense game I would like to play is Skyrim but it doesn't have to run on max settings. Any feedback would be appreciated.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/poZM

Sounds like an oxymoron, but alright.

Geno has an excellent thread on building builds. I don't know if he's updated since last summer, but either way it's a great resource.

http://www.giantbomb.com/pc/60-94/gaming-pcs-what-to-buy-and-how-to-build/35-420988/

Normally I would recommend going with Intel but at that price point I don't think you can get a better cpu than what you picked. The build looks fine but you should probably ask on a more tech-oriented web site just to be sure.

@LiquidPenguins: Agreed, now if only there was a site that tested such things.

You might want to clarify that the motherboard can run on a single stick of RAM. Newegg lists the motherboard as dual channel which I think means you need to put RAM sticks in 2 at a time. I'm not positive, but check it out just to be sure and change to 2 x 4gb sticks if needed.

At a glance it looks all right to me, but that's just at a glance. I'd suggest posting on a more technology oriented forum to make sure.

@CH3BURASHKA said:

Sounds like an oxymoron, but alright.

It isn't.

@brokentrain: Your build look all right to me. Be sure to overclock that chip. You should be able to get it to perform similarly to an i3 2130 / 3220 or thereabouts.

Any particular reason for not going with dual channel memory, though? (i.e 2x4GB instead of 1x8GB)