Newbie build, seeking advice.

[Huinstinct]

So a buddy of mine is looking to build a budget gaming PC instead of purchasing a next gen. console. I wanna encourage him to do this but since he's never built his own PC before and I've only done it once I'd really like some advice.

His breaking point is about 900$ but he expressed only really wanting to spend 750$

Here is a build I stole from cyberpowerPC.com that seems to fit his price range, although a monitor is not included.


*BASE_PRICE: [+655]
BLUETOOTH: None
CAS: Xion Predator 970 Gaming Series Mid Tower Case w/ 2 External Removable HDD Bays
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
COOLANT: Standard Coolant
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-3570K 3.40 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified)
CS_FAN: Default case fans
FA_HDD: None
FAN: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) (Single Standard 120MM Fan)
FLASHMEDIA: None
HDD: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Drive)
IEEE_CARD: None
IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
KEYBOARD: AZZA Multimedia USB Gaming Keyboard
MB_SRT: None
MEMORY: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
MOTHERBOARD: * [CrossFireX] GIGABYTE GA-Z77-HD3 Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Ultra Durable 4 Classic, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, 2x Gen3 PCIe x16, 2x PCIe x1 & 2 PCI (Extreme OC Certified)
MOUSE: AZZA Optical 1600dpi Gaming Mouse with Weight Adjustable Cartridge
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: None - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY
OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
POWERSUPPLY: 350 Watts - Antec Basiq BP350 Power Supply
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
VIDEO: AMD Radeon HD 6450 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by AMD)


I'm looking for thoughts on the build, areas you might spend more to improve components and any compatibility issues you might see.

Thanks in advance!

 

[tenaciousk]

Tried to make this build keeping closer to the $750 in mind. This will run all games on max setting.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($76.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($214.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS72 DVD/CD Writer ($22.75 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $777.64
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-06 15:19 EST-0500)