Long story short my friend built his very first PC just around March of this year and after helping him with it I became envious towards my lack performance with my pre-built pc lol. Yes, I know that pre-built pc's are horrible but at the time it was my only choice. Right now I need some help trying build my own PC that can compete with his or if not out perform his pc would be legit. The budget at the moment is ~$2,400 (US dollars). If I can beat his computer while keeping the cost down then that would be freaking amazing. If not then I would prefer to keep it below the budget while still beating him lol. Thanks a bunch.
This is the current setup he is has at the moment:
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/7QwgtJ