Build for a friend, need some advice

My friend has decided to build a rig, his limit is $900, although that limit can be changed, he'd rather keep it under $900.

He is going to be using it for gaming, and probably nothing else. So he wants the best graphic performance he can get for his price limit.

I've gone ahead and picked out a couple of things, but other things like the psu and mobo is where i need help picking.

Cpu: sandy bridge i5 2500k, would this still be a reasonable cpu or should he just get an i5-3570k?

Gpu: GTX 560 ti, i don't think he would have room for a 670 in his price range would he?

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1 TB, he wants plenty of hard drive space, but he would settle with 500 gigs though

He also wants his pc case to look sexy, but im sure theres a decent case out there with some lights or something.

I don't like to bug you guys with builds and stuff, but im clueless on what motherboards are good, i'm also not good at building on a price limit, i would probably pick out stuff for his budget that totals like $1,100 xD

Oh, and i have a copy of windows that i used for my build, but its that OEM, could i re-use that for my friends build?

Boom

Edit no PSU brb

linky

Anybody else wanna comment on this

How about this build:

secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=20566566

Oh and he told me that he wanted his parts to ship together, buying from three different sites would be troublesome for him. He also probly isnt going to overclock his cpu, And even if he did want to, he wouldnt know how to use google to look up an overclocking guide xD. but if he does decide to overclock, he can simply upgrade the cpu cooler later down the road.

edit: hey i actually got within $10 to the budget, im not that bad at this :D

Get the Asrock Z77 extreme4 for the motherboard instead.

And just because I used parts picker does not mean that you have to buy from those places, they just have the best price. I'd still reccomend the 7850 > the 560 Ti as well.

And aftermarket cooling isn't needed only if you overclock it keeps the CPU far cooler than the stock POS you get with the CPU.

Boom

Edit no PSU brb

linky

Anybody else wanna comment on this

Masenkoe

How about this build:

secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=20566566

Oh and he told me that he wanted his parts to ship together, buying from three different sites would be troublesome for him. He also probly isnt going to overclock his cpu, And even if he did want to, he wouldnt know how to use google to look up an overclocking guide xD. but if he does decide to overclock, he can simply upgrade the cpu cooler later down the road.

edit: hey i actually got within $10 to the budget, im not that bad at this :D

blizzard158

Don't be afraid to use price-comparison tools like ShopBot or PriceGrabber. On the other hand, don't get too obsessed with nickle-and-diming everything.

Get the Asrock Z77 extreme4 for the motherboard instead.

And just because I used parts picker does not mean that you have to buy from those places, they just have the best price. I'd still reccomend the 7850 > the 560 Ti as well.

And aftermarket cooling isn't needed only if you overclock it keeps the CPU far cooler than the stock POS you get with the CPU.

Masenkoe

Picked out the mobo you recommended, and i think i have a pretty solid build for him, the only thing that worries me is the 7850, I hear terrible things about the radeon drivers, are they really that bad?

[QUOTE="Masenkoe"]

Get the Asrock Z77 extreme4 for the motherboard instead.

And just because I used parts picker does not mean that you have to buy from those places, they just have the best price. I'd still reccomend the 7850 > the 560 Ti as well.

And aftermarket cooling isn't needed only if you overclock it keeps the CPU far cooler than the stock POS you get with the CPU.

blizzard158

Picked out the mobo you recommended, and i think i have a pretty solid build for him, the only thing that worries me is the 7850, I hear terrible things about the radeon drivers, are they really that bad?

No way! I think that's made up fanboy bs. I recently upgraded from a 9600GT to a 6870 and the drivers are fine. No problems whatsoever.

if its gaming, then graphics arent all that matter. what matters is the entire experience.

which means you need a good sound system so he can be competative in fps games, and a quality mouse and mat.

id see if i can get a 2500k,

a freezer 7 pro or similar cpu cooler for no more than $20 so he can kick that 2500k to 4.5ghz

550w psu with ~30a on the 12v rail

gtx 560 or equivelant ati card.

motherboard cheap as possible making sure it supports sata 3 and decent ram. i would try and get a z68 board or better for onboard graphics should his gpu ever fail so he is not left with a dead pc.

i would get the best asus or creative sound card i can buy for ~40-60.

and some decent closed cup headphones for ~40-60

id get him a razor goliathus medium size mousepad ~$15

a g400 or g500 mouse, depending on what i could afford.

does he need a keyboard? basic keyboards are fine, no need to spend more than $20

$50 for a case

64 gig crucial m4 ssd

640gb wd black (or 500gb or 1tb depending on money)

$20 for a dvd writer.

upto $150 for a 22-24 inch flatscreen monitor if its needed.

i think that would give a very good gaming experience for the money.

ive no idea what that would all come to but its what i would aim for.

He has a decent monitor along with a nice keyboard and mouse, and a pad too. Spending $40 on a sound card would be a little much, considering he doesnt have quality headphones to actually use the improved sound, but if he wanted to, he could just get a Xonar DG for like $20 later on. He wont be overclocking the cpu, at least not anytime time soon so theres no need for another cooler.

And besides, even if i did lower the mobo to something cheaper and try to save money here and there, Buying a monitor (although he probly needs a new monitor), Headphones, and a soundcard would more than likely push the build over its pricelimit. But those are things he can buy later.

He has a decent monitor along with a nice keyboard and mouse, and a pad too. Spending $40 on a sound card would be a little much, considering he doesnt have quality headphones to actually use the improved sound, but if he wanted to, he could just get a Xonar DG for like $20 later on. He wont be overclocking the cpu, at least not anytime time soon so theres no need for another cooler.

And besides, even if i did lower the mobo to something cheaper and try to save money here and there, Buying a monitor (although he probly needs a new monitor), Headphones, and a soundcard would more than likely push the build over its pricelimit. But those are things he can buy later.

blizzard158

and hes not gonna know thats its worth buying those parts later if hes asked you to build him a gaming pc he expects you to be experienced enough to know what makes a well balanced gaming rig.