Looking into building

[TravisA]

My son wants a new computer for gaming. his current is not upgradable at all. Im thinking for a budget about 500, but im hoping to use the hard drive out of his old one. i also have two copies of windows that i got when i was student(deal college had with microsoft).

So are there any recommendations? it doesnt have to be a hardcore rig, but something that maybe could be upgraded in the future. im confident putting it together, just uncertain of what parts would be compatible with what. i prefer amd, but intel is fine as well.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

EDIT: i would also like to use the ram from his system to keep costs down a bit more.

 

[profoundnoah]

Hey, well congrats on getting to build a PC! For $500 I think your mind is in the right place for AMD. Ill get a list assembled. Do you mind telling me what games he'll be playing so I have a general idea?

 

[TravisA]

he doesnt play too much that is graphic intensive. he plays a lot of steam games, but none run smooth. he is into counter stike and things like that, so he doesnt need mega power, but i would like be able let the system grow somewhat

 

[profoundnoah]

This build should run you a little over $500, as I can't calculate shipping for your area. This build will prove to be upgrade-able in the future, primarily for the CPU. This should last him another 3-5 years at least. I think you can also reuse a disc-drive from the old system as well to reinstall windows on an SSD. Tell me what you think: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XkBgVn

 

[TravisA]

how is the raiden r7 360 2gb by comparison? also would this case work? was thinking the 3 fans it has would keep me from having to buy an additional fan, or would they not be enough? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353061

 

[profoundnoah]

The r7 360 offers similar performance to the GTX 750 ti. However I would not go with that case, as I still recommend getting a case with better construction. I've read a few reviews on it saying that there are quite a few problems, so sticking with corsair right now should be the best course of action. I think going with the r7 360 should be good if you need to save money, it's just that the 750 ti is a little bit more power efficient.

 

[TravisA]

one other quick question...is it possible to use his current hp case in place of buying a new one?

 

[profoundnoah]

It may be possible, however I think it doesn't have the cable management properties necessary for the system.

 

[TravisA]

okay, it was just a thought. thanks a lot for your help