PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 650 1GB Video Card ($89.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill REDBONE U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $617.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-25 22:38 EDT-0400)

You can't really get a cheap motherboard if you intend to overclock an AMD processor. You need a decent board because the processors use a lot of power.

I typically don't quite spec a machine for the full budget. I leave some room in the money department for the user to choose a component to upgrade. In the above build, choosing to upgrade the motherboard, RAM, and/or power supply is what I would recommend to spend all of that $2k.

However, I did spec the power supply enough for the system as is, including overclocking. The 750W Corsair CX should have no troubles there. But if the user were to upgrade to SLI on top of overclocking in the future, then I would recommend a better power supply no doubt.

Windows 7 HP limits physical memory to 16GB, and the LGA2011 platform is capable of 32 and 64GB. If he wanted to add more memory in the future, Windows 7 Pro or Windows 8 is what he will need.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9900MAX-R CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme3 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($197.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($91.87 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill ARMOR-EVO ATX Full Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1784.64
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-12 02:35 EDT-0400)

The LGA 2011 platform is more robust than the 1155 platform. Both are dead end platforms, though, as there most likely won't be any new processors released for either socket. Maybe Ivy Bridge-E for 2011. But the 3820 can have a few advantages over the 3770 pending the application - particularly programs that are either cache or bandwidth sensitive. 3770 has its advantages as well, but with a $2000 budget going with a 3820 and having the possibility of upgrading to a hex core is worth the small price jump in this situation.

3770 is good for those looking for a better value, since 1155 motherboards are cheaper.

Either option is fine for his friend. I just think there is a case to be made in favor of the 3820 when the budget more than allows for it.

Of course better yet, he could sacrifice a few things and get the hex core off the bat.

Talk him out of the Velociraptor. It doesn't really offer much more performance over standard drives and SSDs are so much faster.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3820 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS12X Ball Bearing CPU Cooler ($72.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme6 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($91.87 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1774.76
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-11 11:48 EDT-0400)

Adding a second drive would be the simplest/quickest solution. You can then cut/paste your steam folder to the new drive. After that you would have to create new shortcuts to steam, but no big deal. Other games would probably need to be reinstalled. Create music/video libraries on the new drive and move those files over if you need to.

A 660 uses less power than a 560. The 670 uses about the same power as a 560 Ti.

However, AMD processors do use quite a bit more power especially when adding cores or increasing clockspeed. Overclocking AMD processors will dramatically increase power consumption. I would not recommend he overclock his 8350 with his current motherboard and current power supply. The motherboard is mostly a budget board and the power supply is average. A high-average overclock on an AMD processor will add another 100W of power draw.

Just contact Logitech. Mine did the same thing as yours after 3 months. Mouse would freeze but not make the disconnect/reconnect sound from Windows and sometimes the sensitivity would be lower especially after resuming from sleep mode. It still worked and I put it in my spare PC after they gave me a new one, but it just kept getting worse, freezing more often, and eventually would disconnect with the Windows beep.

The cord is garbage. It's literally half the diameter of my old MX510's cord, which still works after 7-8 years of service. It's obvious Logitech cut as many corners possible in build quality to deliver that type of gaming performance at such a low cost.

What is your processor? You could potentially hold back a new card in quite a few games. TF2 definitely wouldn't see any benefit from a new video card.

Could have gotten some cheaper RAM. The stuff I suggested went up $15 since I posted. Probably not worth the hassle of canceling the order or returning it now, though.

The extra $150 can allow some nice upgrades over what I listed. A bigger hard drive is a good place to start.

For most games there isn't a big difference or any difference at all between an i5 and i7. An i7 is the same as an i5 except it has Hyperthreading and a slightly higher clockspeed. Hyperthreading helps the processor perform better when multitasking, so an i7 would help when streaming or if you're doing other things in the background while you game.

Retail processors come with a fan. A better one is recommended if you plan to overclock, wish to lower temps, or want something quiet. However the stock fan will work fine.

This build with an i5 can stream games with a minimal impact to performance. For TF2 you'll be able to stream and still get over 100 fps. Other games will vary. An i7 will perform better when streaming.

SSD has better load times and responsiveness, so it will help your boot times and load times for any games you decide to put on it. But since space is limited, you have to pick and choose what games to put on the SSD.

Find a local computer shop, or a friend, and ask them to put the computer together. Here's one option you can take. I tried to maximize your budget, but I can cut back on some things and still get great TF2 performance while saving a little money if this is too much.

I assume you need a monitor, since you're on a laptop.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($76.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.20 @ Amazon)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($69.00 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Xigmatek ASGARD PRO (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS229H-P 21.5" Monitor ($143.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $953.11
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-11 07:35 EDT-0400)

You'll have to do a fresh install of Windows onto the SSD. Your Windows license will probably work, although you may have to contact Microsoft for Activation. You should be able to reinstall Office. You'll have to lookup the license agreement for Autocad, but as long as you own it you should be able to reinstall it on the SSD.

If you want to keep everything in tact, and simply move what's on your hard drive to the SSD, you can do a more complicated procedure. http://lifehacker.com/5837543/how-to-migrate-to-a-solid+state-drive-without-reinstalling-windows But it'll be simpler if you just reinstall everything.

It's best you start from scratch when you move from a hard drive to an SSD. You don't have to wipe your hard drive, though, but you should do a fresh install onto the SSD. Before you install the SSD you need to go into the BIOS and make sure your SATA ports are in AHCI mode and not IDE mode.

For overclocking Asus probably provides software with your motherboard to help you overclock, but manually doing it is the preferred method. Best to look up some guides for your i7 920 specifically.