Best gaming rig I can build for about $350-$400?

ghostface97

Honorable
Jul 29, 2013
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Hi, so Im helping a friend out build a PC. Unfortunately he is on a very low budget and only has about $350 to build one. He already has a XFX R7 240 GPU so that will save him a few bucks so he can buy better parts for the rest of the PC. He also says if he can get better parts for $400 then he wont mind going up that high.

Considering he wants to play at 1080p, med - high settings at 60fps and already owning a GPU (r7 240) what is the best he could build, that is compatible with the GPU, for or under $400? Also, he doesnt need keyboard, mouse, or monitor. Just PC parts. Thanks in advance!!

Edit: Forgot to add he mainly wants to play Minecraft, Call of Duty (Black ops 2, WAW) maybe Battlefield 4. He would like to play some newer games too but not a necessaty. Also if possible, please no rebates as he wont be using them.
 
Solution
- Add your R7 240 and it's ready to go. Hope you have a copy of windows.
- Upgrade CPU to Intel i5 or i7 at anytime.
- Power supply will support GPU upgrade up to R9 380 or GTX 980.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($112.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power...
- Add your R7 240 and it's ready to go. Hope you have a copy of windows.
- Upgrade CPU to Intel i5 or i7 at anytime.
- Power supply will support GPU upgrade up to R9 380 or GTX 980.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($112.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $391.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-30 23:18 EDT-0400
 
Solution

ghostface97

Honorable
Jul 29, 2013
59
0
10,640


Cool, thanks a bunch! I appreciate that you left some space open for upgrades. Just curious, if he were to upgrade his gpu to maybe a r9 280 or so, would the i3 handle it or would he need to upgrade the CPU too?