I'm the only person that my friend knows who is into computers, so he wants me to pick out some parts for his gaming build (he's new to PC - a nintendo fanboy). The only problem is that I don't know what I'm doing. I need your guyses (you guys'? your guys'? I dunno) help!
He wants something in the $650-750 range, and it's probably going to be exclusively for gaming and internet use (no editing stuff). And the budget does not include the mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc. Just everything that goes inside the case.
Here you are :D I did not include an OS and this price is only after $70 of MIR. But I didn't want to skimp on things that were important. Also it's AMD centric, I don't really know enough about mid-range intel and Nvidia stuff to say that I can recommend it with confidence. Also, no dvd burner. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2fbFP
First thing i will tell you is that since you are the "computer guy" for your friend that also makes you defacto tech support minute anything goes wrong or doesn't work you're getting the call. Since you yourself said "I don't know what I'm doing" you may want to pass on the assignment. That said this is at the top end of the budget but gives you "everything that goes in the case"
Give him a part list and point him to ncix.com (us/Canada only). They'll give him tech support and build his PC with their components for only 50$. They also price match amazon etc. so you'll get the best deal no matter what.
may want to jump on newegg like right now and order http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231550 while its on sale for $50. I have a set of these sticks already and I like them enough to jump on this deal to expand to 16gb. Really under rated sticks and they are fast and reliable. And they will go good with those motherboards these guys linked^^. I have AMD FX-6300, M5A99FX motherboard, and the G.Skill AREs, and I love them.