Helping my friend purchase a gaming computer!

[mr tambourine man]

Hello, my friend is looking for a gaming computer< nothing too incredibly serious, just something to run a few games, such as flight simulators, nascar online and whatnot. he wants something pretty reliable and quick. i need your help, this is what i'm thinking of suggesting to him, although my only concern is that a compucase 400 watt power supply isn't going to be enough. suggestions?


Cybertron International, Inc. - Home and Gaming -

 

[mr tambourine man]

oh and i forgot he only wants to spend around 750$ but he would be upgrading as time goes on

 

[MindoverMaster]

You can build one yourself for him and save you money, plus unknown parts are not a good idea. 1TB HDD.... 4GB Memory. They like to cut corners and give you crap, IMO.

You can get a pretty beefy system for $750, you need LCD, keyboard, mouse?

 

[mr tambourine man]

hes just looking for a cpu. he has a monitor, and old keyboards and an old mouse that he will be upgrading as he tests them out.

 

[MindoverMaster]

You mean a desktop? Anything prebuilt is garbage. Can he and/or you build a computer? You'll save yourself a lot of trouble down the line.

 

[mr tambourine man]

yep he is looking for a desktop. between the both of us we can build one. i just need help getting him the most bang for his buck. like i said 750 is the budget what are the best websites that have the best deals and are trusted distributors?

 

[MindoverMaster]

Newegg is #1 in that respect. I'm sure Roark can price you a nice setup. He'll post when he gets on, no doubt.

 

[mr tambourine man]

excellent. thank you very much for your help. much appreciated

 

[Roark]

I'm sure Roark can price you a nice setup.

You're going to over-inflate my e-ego.

Sadly I'm a bit inebriated at the moment, but luckily there have been a few posts along this topic:
$631 http://www.techist.com/forums/f75/help-me-build-computer-251290/
$735 http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/pc-build-advice-251278/
$807 http://www.techist.com/forums/f75/gaming-pc-build-w-budget-700-a-251346/#post1942875

I'll try and frankenstein a build that mix/matches some of those...
Maybe the CPU + MB from the $735 build in the $631 build, should come out around $750.

*Edit - This will give you a good base system to upgrade as needed:

CPU: $200 Intel i5 2500k
MB: $125 ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
RAM: $30 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 1600/CAS9
ODD: $20 Asus 24X DVD/CD Burner
HDD: $110 750GB Hitachi Deskstar
GPU: $84 XFX HD 6670
PSU: $75 OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W
OS: $100 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit OEM
Case: $45 Raidmax Altas

Total = $789 (-$80 in rebates = $709)