new homebuild- cheap gaming

ditchqueen73

Honorable
Nov 30, 2013
3
0
10,510
Hi,
I've built one system before for myself, (with a lot of help!) My son needs a new gaming computer for Christmas and I need some help. I will have him build it and I will supply the parts. We are going to reuse some of the stuff he has now.
Currently he has a Thermal Take TR2 600W power supply, 320 g hard drive and a case (which I am planning on keeping). ATI Radeon 5750 graphics card. He has a Core 2 which I will replace along with the mother board and 2 ram of memory . I could possibly upgrade the graphics card if you think I need too. I can get to a microcenter and don't want to spend more than $300 if possible.
Thanks!
 
it is a guid for building DIY PC
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

btw, if you really want to upgrade from Core 2 Duo, use 6 cores AMD FX 6300
these parts come at $350

but you can buy graphic card later

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($117.96 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $357.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-30 22:03 EST-0500)
 

ditchqueen73

Honorable
Nov 30, 2013
3
0
10,510
I found the AMD 6300 Black edition for $106 at Microcenter.
Which would be the better motherboard for this? I have looked at both the asus and MSI mentioned above, but am having a hard time deciding. It seems that the USB ports are one of the main difference?
Also, I ended up going with the Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB 240-Pin RAM, the G.Skill ripjaws is OOS :(