How to build a computer and run games at max settings?

Well, we have a very similar gaming PC setup =P

here are my suggestions:

1. Get i5-3470 instead, much better than i5-3450 for a few dollars more.

2. 500W is okay but it would be better if you could get a good branded 600W PSU so that you have ample power reserves for other upgrades as well.

3. Your HD7870 is a bit overpriced, where are you buying it from??? here is one that is cheaper:

MSI R7870-2GD5T/OC Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card - $240 ($225 after rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...

And BTW, if someone told you that the Asrock H77M mobo is not good, well, I can vouch for it since it is the one I am using right now and is perfectly fine, good for its price (gets the job done).

With your setup, you can play all games on max settings smoothly on a 1080p monitor =P

In my experience, the most important parts to focus your budget on is (in order of importance): motherboard (chipset), cpu, ram, video card. I don't recomend a micro motherboard as it won't have the cooling capacity to game with. Everything else you mentioned should be a decent setup except the power supply (I recomend going with something that will handle minimum 600 watts, so 750+ should last your system's life). If you want a really good motherboard I recomend checking out ROG (republic of gamers) by ASUS, they're a bit more expensive than asrock, but are designed to be pushed hard and are worth the extra buck. You also may want to check if your processor comes with a heatsink, if not you will need to find one designed for a socket LGA1155 (the bigger the heatsink, the better).

Your tower (case) should still be reusable if it's a full size, but it may lack propper air circulation, if you want to spend the extra buck on a new case that should still be usable for a future upgrade (10+ years from now) I recomend an HAF tower (high air flow) and comes with optional water cooling kit that would replace the heatsink on the processor and cool far more. Lastly on the operating system, 64 bit os may prevent you from running some games, so you may want to go with a 32 bit version, but if you don't plan on running any older games you may be fine with 64...

Assemly is simple and usually parts come with manuals, so start by reading the motherboard manual and you shouldn't run into any major problems. It's simple and parts only fit one way in each slot. Always double check for any loose wires and parts before plugging the power in.

Good luck and hope this helps a bit

i built a computer with nothing more than a 1997 A+ certification for dummies book. I built a computer in 2009. the basics don't change. building computer is not hard. if you can do research on what you want and what to buy, follow instructions, you can assemble your own PC. well if you want max settings anot not laggy, you're going to want a i7 CPU, more ram, and a nvidia GPU. dual monitors- I highly recommend dual GPU's or your performance and really suffer. I can't do basic CAD drafting (I'm asking for like 8 fps) on dual monitors with one GPU. If I was to game i doubt I'd see even one frame a second. you need one gpu per monitor. cpu coolers in my experience is not necessary, intel cpus have very good stock coolers. I believe the only reasons you'd want to replace it is: - you will OC alot. if that's the case, go water cooled. - you want silence. big sinks + silent fan = cooling and no noise it's just unnecessary cost unless you're going for one of these goals.

Sounds like you want the ultimate gaming rig. What's your budget?

In the above spec, I can look at one feature and tell you that this is not the PC you are looking for. That's the 500W PSU. The above system is good for internet browsing and word processing. Nothing more.

Look for :

CPU : 2nd or 3rd Generation Intel i7

RAM : Minimum 4GB DDR3 (8GB is more than sufficient)

Power supply : 750Watts minimum

Graphics : GTX660ti minimum

Things like HDD space is not relevant for gaming speed, though if you get Solid State Drives, games do load faster, but after loading, it has no impact.

Hope this helps

Look on YouTube for NeweggTV's How To Build A Computer series. There's 3 parts. Don't reuse your case. If you want to save money, get an i3-3220 instead because there's not a big difference is gaming between the i5 and i3.