To add something more constructive, basics I wouldn't cheap on for such a build:

1. Solid PSU from a good brand with solid amps on the 12s, usually $70+

2. Solid motherboard from a good brand with a socket that's got at least one good upgrade you can plan on and has a chipset with decent unlocked abilities, usually $80+

3. A decent case $45-75 at least

4. A decent 1080 monitor $100+ (Or assume it's already there, ok)

5. Decent sound, probably headphones $60+ (Okay, we can wait on this for later and use crappy $15 speakers or ibuds orwhatever)

(I'll assume we've got a cd drive, and a keyboard  mouse combo worth it's weight, which is actually a big assumption)

6. At least a 500gb 7200 drive $50 or less from a good manufacturer

So that's the stuff that'll last 4 years through one or two upgrades, possibly much longer. Then you've got what you need for NOW to play at middle quality and performance:

7. i5 quad core over 3ghz or equivalent $130+

8. Video card in decent budget bracket $150

9. 8gb of ram that's around 1600/9cl, about $80

10. Really should get a SSD, at least plan for it within 6mo

Anyway, my math says that's more than $290. Close to $700 assuming you've got peripherals, an OS, and at least one or two internals already. Excludes the OS, which is another $80-120 for MSFT. I know I'm spending a lot on the first 6, but those are investments that will last. A $30 PSU isn't making it 5 years with all the voltages still within spec like mine has, and a cheap motherboard means a constant risk of getting fried plus the inability to stick in faster RAM down the road, which kills upgrade ability. Like mine, I made the mistake to go too far towards budget chipset, and now I can't go over 1600mhz for ram freq just two years after purchase. Spending a bit more up front is cheaper if it means you don't need to replace that item getting only 50 or 60% of the lifetime use of the $15 more expensive option.

If you want cheap gaming, there's consoles. Why bother building something that's going to cost as much as a PS but probably look and run even worse? Just hook an xbone to your TV and be happy. PC rig building is basically just for avid PC gamers, and none of those are going to be happy with a $290 machine.

There's more to PSUs than watts... That inability to understand... It doesn't inspire confidence in the rest of the list. That weak processor might run a low CPU usage game like Crysis well, but it'll chug and slideshow any CPU bound game like Arma, DayZ, Stalker, etc. whether it's appropriate really depends on what you want to do.

One thing I've learned is you absolutely cannot be overly specific when talking in general. There are certain common minimums, but one guy might be fine with a dual core(not sure who exactly) and a midrange vid card, while another would be far better served with a $250 processor and an "economy" vid card. Either way, I doubt a crummy dual core is ever appropriate in 2014, and I severely doubt a $290 rig will do anything but look like a PS3.

What's the point? Buy stuff to upgrade ASAP? Sounds like impulse buying and burning money when you resell that crap CPU for peanuts in six months to replace it with a proper i5/7, assuming the two are the same socket, which I'm guessing they aren't, so throw a new motherboard into that "simple upgrade" price also.