Man am I out of it..

[killergamer]

So last night my friend asked me to start researching some computer setups that are around the 600 to 700 range. While I was like sure I used to do this stuff all the time, it was how I would kill like 30mins to 45mins to set up wish list that worked together in all different price ranges..Now I'm sitting at Newegg and have no idea where I should start..He just wants a rig that can play most games fast but doesnt really care as to what its using to get there..so no preference on intel or AMD.. So here we go, I'm diving back into the world of researching better equipment for cheaper..Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[blaze15301]

i would look at some of the open box stuff.

[Konrad]

If you have a budgeted price range and limited hardware knowledge then it's often "best" to just buy a pre-built gaming box. Trust your nerd-gamer friends more than you trust Geek Squad and don't spend money upgrading old tech to old tech. If you do plan to build your own then I would say focus on the mobo-chipset, processor, and video cards in that order ... if your computer has a solid "foundation" you can get minimal RAM and stuff now (to defray initial costs) and upgrade those components later. Never skimp on PSU and cooling.

Diablo 3 is the big title which just came out and a lot of gamers will be liquidating their old or spare rigs so they can buy upgrades ... assuming you don't plan to run Diablo 3 (which admittedly has fairly low PC system requirements), you can probably pick up a decent gaming rig (or parts for the same) on craigslist right now for fairly cheap.

[AmEv]

Take a look at the Newegg DIY combos http://www.newegg.com/Store/MasterComboStore.aspx?StoreID=7&name=DIY-PC-Combos.

Honestly, I'd stay away from the AMD FX series right now; performance per gigahertz is not that great right now. If you're a die-hard AMD fan, get a Phenom II Black.

And these new "APU"s are simply a CPU and GPU slapped together.

[Fuganater]

Get a used i5 system from forums.

Corsair 600T - $150 new
2500K - $150-175 used (Stock cooler is fine in a well ventilated case)
Mobo - $100 used
8GB RAM - $40 used or new (depends on sales)
GPU GTX 560 Ti - $150-175 used
650W PSU - $70
120GB SSD - $100-130 used or new (depends on sales)
1TB HDD - $50 used

The case is a great starter case. Yes there are cheaper out there but if he gets more money he can get some water into it. Even if it is just with an Corsair H series.

Or get a cheap-o case for $40-50.