fluffyPC

Key re-sellers or something. This forum has a thread on this: [World] Windows 8.1 Pro 32/64 $35. The price fluctuates by the way.

Sure, but I'd need a finalized PC build for myself. If anything, you could use their "Shield" program or whatever it's called. I think they just have a G2A employee connect with you and see if everything goes all right. Or, you could build a $600 PC and during shipping, scrounge up for Windows 8.1.

You also have to keep in mind, an i3+h81 board will be $150 vs. a g3258+z87 board will be like $160~, so the difference is negligible.   r9 270 is much better than the r7 265x and you should definitely go for the 49 270 if you can. SSDs are constantly getting cheaper, and the performance gains from an ssd are "less important". With a better gpu you'll get better fps at higher settings; with an ssd you'll get faster OS load times--and frequently used apps (which will be installed on the ssd) will open a bit faster. 
 
So....which is more important...being able to play a game or having general use feel a bit snappier.

The Pentium is cheap and performs quite well if you OC it, but you need a Z97 board for that, which is expensive.
 
The FX you mentioned at first (FX 8120) is from the older Bulldozer architecture and it sucks. The Piledriver FX are good CPUs (example: FX 8320) However unless you OC them, the i3 still beats them in single threaded performance, which is what games take advantage of. You can check the Anandtech Gaming CPU roundup, that can inform you a bit more of how a CPU impacts on gaming performance: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7189/choosing-a-gaming-cpu-september-2013  they don't have the i3-4130 on the list, but it's going to perform a a bit better than the i3-3225 they have on the charts.
What basically the article says, is that on games where the multi-thread optimization is done and heavy CPU workloads are needed, a good CPU is worth it (example Civ V), for everything else (the majority of the games that exist), a good GPU is all you need.
On games like BF4, the Hyperthreading on the i3 becomes very useful and bumps the performance nicely, there are also other games where this happens.
 
Please, check this link, a review of the R9 270, where is compared to the R7 260X, you can see the difference is big. when future games launch, you wouldn't want to regret not having pick a beefier GPU on the first place. http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_radeon_r9_270_review,21.html
You can partition the hard drive before you install the OS, and create C: with 120gb and D: as the rest of the drive. Use those 120gb as they were your SSD, and then when you buy it in the future you only need to use the Acronis software to migrate those 120gb to the SSD. I know you don't want to go over budget, but SSDs this size cost around $60, and you will probably be stuck with this system for at least 2 years, I think it's worth it.

There is no point in getting the g3258 if you're not going to over clock. Or a mITX build unless size is a critical issue. 
 
 
GT*740
 
Don't...just don't get something less than an R7 260x or GTX750Ti 
 
Dual channel ram is better than single channel ram in pretty much anything other than gaming--and also games that are highly cpu intensive. He can also get two more 4gb sticks since you don't want to go mitx unless you absolutely need to. Not that he's likely to need more than 8gb of ram anytime soon. 
 
+1 for Forsaken's last point. If you have to you can get an ssd (or hdd) at anytime down the road. But do get yourself a good gpu now; optimally r9 270 tun gtx750ti then r7 265x then r7260x depending on what your budget allows. 

The GPU does make quite a difference, there is a big chunk of performance between a low end GTX 740 and a R9 270. Even if the SSD is an awesome boost, you will regret not picking a good GPU on the future, don't buy anything less than a R7 260X or GTX 750. A R9 270 can be included on this budget and it's worth it. You can always partition your HDD upfront and upgrade very easily a few weeks later.
 
Theoretically 2 memory sticks are better than one in single channel. But there is not even 1 fps in difference in games, and most applications are either bottlenecked by the storage or the CPU without being able to take advantage of the dual channel. If you find yourself using a lot of memory on the future there is still the possibility of going 2x8gb (16gb) if you only get 1 memory stick now.
 
Get a strong build now and drop something like a SSDNow V300, SP600 or MX100 in the future, the 120gb models are cheap.

Yes, 2 4gb sticks > 1 8gb stick. And you definitely want a better gpu....at the very least a gtx 750ti or r7 260x.

Something like this is going to be much better.
 
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ML2XYJ Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ML2XYJ/by_merchant/   CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.98 @ SuperBiiz)  Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Newegg)  Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Amazon)  Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.92 @ Amazon)  Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2GB Dual-X Video Card  ($159.99 @ Newegg)  Case: Rosewill RANGER-M MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Amazon)  Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Micro Center)  Total: $497.85 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available   Are you building it yourself? Where are you located?

At that point why not just suggest getting an APU? would save money for nearly the same performance... 
 
 
That's where preference comes in, and the fan boys come out. If your gonna multitask or use something that can use more than one core it's probably better. at that point it's Quality vs Quantity or Intel vs AMD. I personally would suggest the 8120 specially if your not using the IGPU but remember you'll need a different motherboard for it which can change everything drastically very very quickly.

I'd go for a 128GB or 256GB SSD, and store your most used apps and maybe some games on it with a 1TB HDD.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant   CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.98 @ SuperBiiz)  Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Newegg)  Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($71.88 @ NCIX US)  Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Amazon)  Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.98 @ OutletPC)  Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card  ($69.99 @ Newegg)  Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ NCIX US)  Total: $486.80 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available   And then windows at G2A   If you want to spend a bit more you could buy a better graphics card, although for everyday use I think an R7 260X, or equivilent card, should be plenty. You could also get a better motherboard or processor, but again for a computer that will be used lightly I think the current specs are fine.

I agree with this, even light video editing for 1080p output or other variable semi heavy programs on an i3 and onboard will suffice, the SSD keeps her snappy and the extra threads for the semi decent workloads. Secondary or External storage thereafter...

Games require good core performance, so do regular applications. Regular applications are usually single threaded, not like how games are being multithreaded. Better performance in games will show the cpu can handle less stressing loads.

For regular day to day stuff you'd probably be fine with something like an i3 with an SSD.The extra threads would help for multitasking, while also being at that relatively low price.
And an SSD would make it more responsive.

Loading applications is a combination of your storage device and processor. 
 
As far as clock speeds Never go by what the clock speed is to base what kind of performance you will get.
 
For instance you can have a quad core clocked at 3.3ghz and a dual core clocked at 3.5ghz. The quad will outperform the dual any day.