PC Build - For a friend

There isnt enough budget for a SSD and HDD. If you force that into the build then you have to sacrifice far too much on CPU and GPU. The best way to go is really just a single 2TB 7,200 RPM drive with only 2 platters. They can be had for around $110 again. Getting the only affordable hybrid drive is still not a good idea because it is just 4GB of SSD cache space, which is hardly anything for caching of files. You would be better off using wasted RAM as a cache but it would be faster too (wasted RAM is anything that is not used, as that is the purpose of memory). Buying 16GB of memory is really cheap so that is how you should go anyway, just dedicate 4-8GB of the RAM as a read cache for the mechanical drive. I am partial to FancyCache, it is still in beta and free to try for 180 days (half a year):
http://www.romexsoftware.com/en-us/fancy-cache/index.html
Personally, I cache 20GB of data in RAM on my gaming drive using this software.


Your parts are also far too heavy on the CPU side of things with a HUGE lack of power in the GPU area. Fine if your are doing a general purpose or work build but not good for gaming. It looks like this is more general purpose instead of gaming, but I still would emphasize more on the GPU side of things. Your best bet really is to switch over to AMD and get a $100 board (saving you $90) and the 4.2GHz quad core that AMD sells, saving you another $50 over the Intel equivalent Ivy Bridge processor. Taking that $140 savings and put it into a decent graphics card. The 6## range in AMD's graphics lineup is a piece of shit and really low end. It would be like buying an Nvidia 520 for a gaming machine.


You can save another chunk of money by getting this PSU instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256071
It will be plenty of power for you still and is of good build quality. Nothing really wrong with your pick, just too much power for what the computer will ever use. Power supplies are most efficient when using around 80% of their total power capacity.




That memory is 100% pointless for an Intel build (sorry), the memory is designed for AMD and far too low of density. Get one of these instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144488
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231545
All modern Intel processors dont care in the slightest about timings, they are completely irrelevant to performance. You just need the biggest MHz you can afford. AMD however, does care slightly about timings. Although, with their newer processors the higher MHz matter far more than timings too. So although that choice was very high grade memory in the past, it just doesnt have a place in modern computing.



A tower doesnt usually move much after its built and in place, so a cheaper tower would save some money:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146077
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146061
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112237




Go with one of these for graphics (Id go with the Nvidia):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130664
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161389
Even if your buddy doesnt care about gaming on highest settings, a quality GPU will leave you not having to think about if games will run or not. And any current games or older stuff will be able to run on high and look really nice. These will let you play GW2 on max settings, and Diablo 3 on high or max.




These are what I would get for HDD, MB, and CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106009
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280


That brings total WITH the processor to $708.93. In my opinion you fit within budget on this build and get a lot more for your money, plus it is a better gaming machine. Your buddy doesnt seem very technically inclined to me, and since he wont be trying to push for max performance and gaming graphics the AMD quad core will be more than adequate for his needs. I seriously doubt you would ever get a complaint from him about performance. The one upgrade it needs and would require an additional $150 for would be to get a 128GB solid state drive to use for the OS.

 

I just updated my post a bunch. Ill look at what you posted now.
I also realise I might have come off really harsh in my wording so I redid a lot of my post to give reasoning's behind choices for parts

 

I really dont like open box motherboards, usually it has a part of two missing. I hate it when I dont have a SATA cable or the rear I/O shield is missing. Also, BioStar isnt a top tier brand now days. And finally, the 990FX chipset isnt needed for you as that is a gaming chipset. The only difference it has is much more PCI-E lanes, which you wont use at all because you just have a single graphics card and probably no expansion cards. the 970 chipset is perfect for this build.

The power supply is plenty fine, but still much more power than needed. The CPU will draw 125 watts, the motherboard and system will draw 50 watts, and the graphics card draws 150 watts. So you only need a 450w PSU to have ample power and room for degradation throughout the years while keeping a good efficiency rating. Even factoring in a 30% capacity drop over the first 3-4 years of this computers life, you would still be doing fine running a 450w PSU