Could you advise a first time builder with some choices?

[Impolitical]

Hi there,

I am a first time builder ( and poster, to this here forum ) I'd like to ask you on your opinion of the gear I have put together: ( note, I am on a very tight budget. )
Intel Core i3 2100 3.1GHz
Foxconn H61 Mobo
8GB DDR3-1333MHz
nVidia GeForce GTX550 Ti

What do you think of this machine for playing games ( not on very high graphics, 1360x760 res ) such as Call of Duty: World at War and Modern Warfare 2?

Thank you so much,
Impolitical

[Ron2K]

It's a bit difficult for us to provide you with useful advice without knowing exactly what the "very tight" budget is.

[Impolitical]

I've got this ( plus an 18.5" monitor, 500GB HDD, 550W PSU ) for just under R5600, including shipping, sorry for the inadequate explanation of the budget.

[Ron2K]

There we go, much better.

The only concern that I have is the CPU being a bit too much of a bottleneck. The rest is fine; in particular, the GTX550 Ti should be able to handle 1360x760 just fine, although you may need to turn detail down on more graphics-intensive titles. Tomshardware is of the opinion that, performance wise, it's in the same tier as my current GTX 260, and that card is handling 1680x1050 just fine (albeit with reduced detail with the newer stuff).

[Impolitical]

Well, a friend of mine is running a slightly more powerful GFX card ( I believe it was the GTX460 ) and his i3 2120 does not bottleneck it as far as I can see, and I am considering upgrading the CPU later when I can secure some more cash.

Oh, and thank you for your help!

[D3PART3D]

Will depend on the game you're playing, but the 2100 is quite decent. What are you paying for your GPU and CPU? You can get a HD6850 for R1500.

[StarPhoenix]

Are you sure that you need 8Gb of RAM right now?

As for the CPU, I hope this helps

If a Core i3 is what suits your budget, then by all means, go for it.

Given that you will be using a relatively small monitor, you possibly won't be burdening your hardware too much by trying to run games at 1920x1080 anyway.

Your graphics options

I hope you're not spending an excessive amount of money on the case. Given your hardware, you're probably not going to need wind-tunnel class airflow, so may be able to cut costs here by getting a Coolermaster Elite 3**, for example.
Unless you want bragging rights....

[Tribble]

Yes - 8GB of ram is wonderful. 16 would be better

[StarBound]

You already got that? Would say good for now and guess you don't have the luxury of going better.