Build for friend, opinions?

[hunterpostit88]

My friend lives up in Canada and he wants me to give him list of parts for a good gaming rig. He said he wants $950 to be the budget range.
Sites he prefer are Newegg Canada he said. So here are 2 mock builds(he wants an AMD example and Intel and wants AMD to be able to upgrade to Piledriver series):
AMD
CPU: FX-6100 $157 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007670%20600213781&IsNodeId=1&name=Socket%20AM3%2b
Mobo: Biostar TA990FXE $150 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138341&Tpk=Biostar%20TA990FXE
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 $230 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102987
RAM: Ripjaws X Series 8GB @1600MHz $52 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit $105
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 750GB $71 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148702
PSU: Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-650 $86 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182132
Case: Rosewill Blackbone Black $50 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023
Optical: LG DVD Burner $21 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136236
$922

Intel(wants mobo that can upgrade to i5 or i7 later)
Core i3 2120 $132 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077
ASRock Z77 Pro4 -M $142 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157306
ZOTAC GTX 560Ti $232 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500196
Seagate Barracuda 750GB $71 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148702
G. SKILL Ripjaw X Series 8GB @1600MHz $52 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428
OS: Windows 7 Home 64 bit $105
Optical: LG DVD Burner $21 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136236
PSU: Coller Master eXreme Power Plus 700 $96 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171054
Case: Rosewill Blackbone Black $50 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023
$885
He wants more graphical power than CPU. He is an AMD kind of guy so he leaning more towards AMD.
He will use it to capture videos on his Xbox with his Roxio Game Cap and editing the videos. And he'll be doing a lot of gaming on his PC.

 

[azeem40]

If you replace the PSU in the second build with the one in the first build and get the Z77/Z75 Pro3, the better system is the second one.

 

[hunterpostit88]

He said he wants the Cooler Master PSU because it has 2x 6+2 pins instead of just 2x 6 pins

 

[azeem40]

He is giving up reliability for convenience, which is not a good thing. Adapters are cheap nowadays.

 

[hunterpostit88]

I'll try and convince him but this is his build and it is his decision.

 

[azeem40]

I wouldn't even ask people if he is set on the parts. Why ask you to ask for advice if he won't take any?

 

[hunterpostit88]

Just got off Skype with him and he said he'll do the Rosewill PSU but wants that AMD CPU. So anyway to combine the builds to make it somewhat good.

 

[azeem40]

Then just replace the i3-2120 with a Phenom II X4 965 BE and get a compatible AMD MOBO from ASUS, ASRock, or GIGABYTE.

 

[hunterpostit88]

FX-6100 $135 @DirectCanada
MSI 990FXA-GD65V2 $155 @Newegg
Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 $230 @Newegg
Ripjaw X Series 8GB 1600MHz $52 @Newegg
Seagate Barracuda 1TB $80 @DirectCanada
Rosewill HIVE 650 $86 @Newegg
Cooler Master Elite 371 $41 @DirectCanada
Windows 7 Home 64 bit $98 @DirectCanada
LG DVD Burner $21 @Newegg
Total:$896
Thanks for the advice about the PSU!

 

[hunterpostit88]

Best answer selected by hunterpostit88.