Mid range gaming build help

[QES]

Hey all, a friend asked me to put him together a system that will last him quite awhile. He's looking to spend $600 at most, a little lower if possible. He normally just buys store bought computers but have been able to talk him out of it, I built an i7-920 system that I sold to a mutual friend of ours and that is still going strong, what, 6 years later? with only upgrading the GPU as needed. So I was able to convince him that buying yourself a solid new foundation can last you a long time instead of recycling store bought crap every 2 or 3 years.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Browsing, gaming, videos
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
600
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
US, WI
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, PSU, MOBO, RAM, SSD, CASE
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
GPU, HD's
6) Will you be overclocking?
Possibly
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1080p 60hz
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
this weekend
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
no specific mobo features needed
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
yes windows 10

So this is the list I came up with so far PC Hound - Build a PC in Seconds

He's more of a console gamer but does play a few pc games, since he just hooks up to his 1080p 60hz tv, with the hardware today he should be able to make a system that will be able to handle most games maxed at that price range. We are going to re-use his current drives as his storage, I'm not sure size and type of drives at the moment but its enough for his storage needs. Just a 240gb SSD for boot should last him the life of the system.

I'm not sure exactly which CPU would be best to go with is the main point of the thread I suppose, then to make sure that all the other parts are as cheap as possible. I'm wondering if perhaps I should step up that CPU to the 6600k, after 2 or 3 years, oc'ing it would help prolong the life over the 6500? I'm assuming that doesn't OC well, perhaps I'm thinking wrong and that will be fine too. The video card I'm going to just sell him my extra 970 I have. We do need a list of cheap cases that people recommend that aren't crap, don't need anything special, just something cheap that will cool well and not look hideous.

Thanks for any help!

 

[rastaban]

I wouldn't OC on a 4 phase board like the Z170-E. The MSI Z170A SLI Plus is the most feature-packed OC friendly board at a reasonable price (I've seen it at as low as $125). You may also want that board for stability's sake even if not OCing because, after all, the last thing you want is your friend crying to you with a fried mobo after extended use. You didn't have a case on the proposed list, but you should take a look at the Phanteks Eclipse.

You can also go with the i5 or even an i3 right now to save cost and upgrade to a Cannonlake i7 in 2-3 years, in which case the MSI board would be ready to OC. This is the route I chose for a friend a few months ago. The i3-6320 is no slouch.