First gaming PC build

[mrclueless]

hello all I decided that i'm going to build my first gaming pc but i'm not sure if i'm on the right track in regards to the parts that i've picked so far. My pc is mainly going to be used to play games like Minecraft and Team fortress 2 as well as being used for schoolwork every now and then. I'm trying to work with a budget of 500$ but I'm willing to cough up some extra money if need be.

CPU:intel core i3-3220 ($99.99)

Motherboard:ASRock H77M micro ATX LGA1155($69.99)

RAM:G.Skill Ripjaws X series 8gb (2x4gb) DDR3-1600 ($66.99)

Hard Drive:WD scorpio black 500GB 2.5" 7200RPM ($62.99)

Video Card:Gigabyte geforce 650 1GB ($99.99)

Optical Drive:Lite-on iHAS-124-04 ($14.99)

PSU:Antec Basiq plus 550w ($69.54)

Case:Antec three hundred ATx mid tower case ($32.50)

*What I was especially uncertain of was the PSU. When choosing the PSU I noticed the specs to certain parts (motherboard & Video card) would recommend a PSU between 400w-500w or greater while a PSU calculator would generally recommend a PSU that was around 300W, still not too sure which recommendation I should take.
*Another important thing to note is that if possible I'll be installing Linux (Ubuntu 12.04). I heard the OS is known to have some issues with certain hardware and I was hoping if someone with experience could inform me on whether or not any of these listed parts would give me any issues.
*Any additional advice that could help me cut down on costs while maintaining a decent level of performance would be greatly appreciated. (mainly looking for a cheaper hard drive that offers the same level of performance and memory)
Sorry if this post is a long one, I need all the help I can get D:

 

[Knufire]

I'd recommend going AMD for this route. At the lower price range, the performance is close to Intel, but it's MUCH more upgradable in case you run into more cash in the future and want to expand your rig.

 

[mrclueless]

Alrighty, there's a lot of AMD cards though. Which one would you recommend?

 

[Knufire]

I meant CPU, sorry, should have clarified. The 650Ti is definitely the best GPU in that price range.

Here's what I would go with. After all the MIRs it's about $35 over, but I think it's worth it. It's VERY upgradable, with an aftermarket CPU cooler to overclock and a high end GPU you could play stuff like BF3 at near max settings.

 

[mrclueless]

ah I forgot to mention that I'm not really looking to OC or upgrade in the near future, also i'll be sticking to mostly valve games which aren't too demanding as far as I know. However 535$ isn't bad, and with a little bit more lurking I could shave off a bit more from that total. But i'll still purchase the AMD CPU and mobo just in case I have a change of heart.

 

[ASUS ROG]

For GPU, go with Radeon HD 7790, cost $150 and you got 3 free awesome game, making this card only cost around $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...727&Tpk=asus radeon hd 7790&IsVirtualParent=1

NVIDIA card is good too but you don't got anything, just the card only

 

[mrclueless]

For GPU, go with Radeon HD 7790, cost $150 and you got 3 free awesome game, making this card only cost around $90

I would but I'm trying to keep linux compatibility in mind as well, I hear that Linux runs into a lot of trouble whenever the HD 7000 series is involved.

 

[ASUS ROG]

Didn't know that you're running Linux, in that case, go with NVIDIA then

 

[mrclueless]

alrighty thanks for the help guys