[Build Ready] First Build - How does it look?

A couple things:

I disagree with the people saying you should drop the SSD. It will make everything run faster and snappier. Highly recommended for just about every build except the ultra budget builds. Since you're on a somewhat tight budget, I would recommend getting a smaller size, maybe a Crucial MX100 128 GB. It'll only run you about 70 bucks and it will improve the day to day experience of using your computer.

One way to save a couple dollars on this build is to get a different mobo. The one you selected seems a little expensive for what you're getting (b85 chipset). Since you're getting a locked CPU, you could easily get away with a cheap H81 mobo, such as this MSI H81 Motherboard for about 55$. One thing to note is that this mobo doesn't have any USB3 headers, so the USB3 plugs on the case would have to be USB2. It isn't that bad though because if you ever needed the extra speed you could just use the USB3 plugs on the back of the mobo.

Another way you could save a couple bucks is by getting rid of the optical drive. Most people end up not using the, and you can install the OS with a USB drive. Just a suggestion that would trim down price a little.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type Item Price
CPU Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor $189.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard $54.98 @ Amazon
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $69.58 @ Amazon
Storage Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $72.00 @ Amazon
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $61.22 @ Amazon
Video Card XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card $209.99 @ Amazon
Case Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case -
Power Supply EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply $49.50 @ Amazon
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) -
Wireless Network Adapter TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter $19.99 @ Amazon
Monitor BenQ GL2250HM 60Hz 21.5" Monitor -
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total $727.25
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-07 06:36 EDT-0400

So this is what it would look like with my suggestions. I only used Amazon prices because that appears to be what you want. I tried to trim it down to under 750 because you said you were already over budget. I made my alterations and then dumped the rest into a video card. The R9 280 should be capable of doing 1080p in most games. One thing to note is that if you do get the R9 280 you might want to bump up the wattage of the PSU to 500W or so. I chose a pretty decent EVGA 500W bronze rated PSU.

/r/buildapc Thread