For a friend

[Cuross]

1. Are you building this computer yourself or having one built for you (Like HP, Alienware, or even a small shop)?
Building it himself.

2. What is your budget and does that include shipping/taxes?
$2,200

3. Where do you live (Please list town, state, and country)?
Richland, WA

4. What do you need this computer to do (like gaming, Photoshop, and so on)?
Gaming

5. What parts will you need for the computer? List what parts specifically, saying you need everything will not do.
Power supply, Motherboard, Hydro cooling, CPU... don't know what else. He has already decided to get two Geforce GTX 780's, but just doesn't know how he wants to go about the rest. He hasn't built a computer in years and has forgotten what to look for.

6. Are you reusing any parts for this computer? If so say what parts (make and model).
None besides peripherals and some hard drives he has laying around.

7. What kind of monitor/resolution do you have or want to get to use for the computer?
Currently 1920x1080. But he has future prospects he just doesn't know about those yet.

8. Do you have already have a OS or do you need one? What OS is that?
Already has one.

9. What are you looking for the motherboard to have feature wise? Like SLI, Crossfire, Firewire, USB 3.0, Sata 6.0 Gb/s, and so on.
SLI compatible at least. He's not certain what to look for, again, but he's wondering about this one, and if it will support what he wants or if there are better options.

10. Any plans to overclock the CPU or GPU?
No plans currently, but may venture there.

11. What time kind of time frame are you planning on ordering these parts?
As soon as more competent advice is given. Hopefully within two weeks.

So yeah, he's building a computer from scratch, but after going to newegg, he found that he couldn't navigate the options as well as he could years ago. Thanks for the help.

[Goku]

I'll make a build up when I get home from work tonight.

I'm guessing the 780s are included in the build budget? That makes it about $1200 now if so. What are the size of the hard drives he has?

[Cuross]

Yeah, the GPU's are part of the cost so 1,200. He has a couple 1TB hard drives. He is thinking that he will get a SSD later, but that depends on how much sound the computer makes. Thanks, man!

[Goku]

Here is what I came up with:

2X EVGA GTX 780s with ACX Cooler - $1,001.98 (~$500 each)
Antec HCG M HCG-850M 850W Powersupply - $130
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 - $79.99
ASUS Maximus Hero Z87 Mobo - $199.99
Intel Core i5 4670K - $239.99
CORSAIR Hydro Series H80i High Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler - $89.99 (I'm assuming you don't mean full out water cooling)

Total = $1,741.93

Everything here meets your friend's need at $460 under budget. How crazy does your friend want to go now? I can easily get to $2200, but I wasn't sure what areas were really needed.

Of that $460 I would set aside about $100 to $200 for a solid case to go with the build. Does your friend have any particular cases in mind? If not I can recommend some.

The remaining money after that I would suggest going towards a SSD. The SSD will give the system the most added value compared to anything else. Even compared to throwing in 32GB of ram or going with a 4770K. The only other area I would recommend spending money is for getting a better PSU. The one I listed is a solid unit, but there are better models out there.

In terms of the mobo the Maximus VI Hero is a bit over kill for what your friend will need. A $150ish motherboard will suffice for his needs if he wants to go cheaper.

[Cuross]

Thanks for all the help. It really sets my friend's mind straight since he just doesn't know what to look at anymore. He had looked at a lot of those things that you mentioned, and he will probably make his decision in a few days. Though, he wants to know, if you could upgrade any one of those parts (just for yourself), what would you change? He asks because he's trying to get back in to the PC building scene and wants to compare his thoughts.

[Goku]

Personally I like to spend extra on cases as chances are you will keep the same one for multiple builds. If he sees one he likes and its a little extra money I think its worth getting.

In terms of the components I already laid out, if it is me personally I wouldn't bother with any better parts. Only additional one I would highly recommend getting is a SSD. Next to having a solid CPU a SSD is what is going to make the system feel most snappy in every day operation. Something like a Samsung EVO or Pro 256GB would be perfect.