Thanks for the advice on cooling, somehow water cooled seemed much more sexy!

You save SOOOOO MUUUCH money building your own gaming PC that it just doesn't make sense to go the pre-built route, plus you can use higher quality parts than all but the most expensive machines from boutique manufacturers (Falcon, Origin, etc).

Assuming he's ok with at least a moderate sized Micro-ATX or ATX case, building a computer is incredibly easy, far more than it was a decade ago. Motherboard stand-offs will come already in place. The hardest part is attaching the CPU heatsink, and the mount systems from Noctua, Prolimatech, and Thermalright have gotten good enough where even that can be done in a few minutes tops. Everything else is basically just insert into slot on board or tray in case, screw-in, done.

The modern UEFI BIOS also makes controlling the motherboard much easier than it used to be. Some stuff is still pretty cryptic, but most of the options can be left at the default settings, and high-end boards have even gotten pretty good at overclocking themselves with little to no work involved.

Prolimitech Megahalems, I use one!

I agree with what others have already said.

I have been doing watercooling for 3 years now, the maintenance is something to keep in mind because blowing out the dust, replacing the tubing at least once every 18 months, don't recommend leaving your pc on w/o anyone present because the pump can fail and there goes your entire pc.  Not to mention the leaks and etc..  Of course watercooling have their strengths also.

I second on the Prolimatech Megahalems air cooler definitely one of best mounting in the industrial if not the best.