Gaming Machine

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ EE	99
Motherboard	Asus M2N	89
RAM	2x512MB Generic DDR2	70
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	256MB nVidia GeForce 7900GS	198
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	Foxconn TSAA805	49
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	691 + Postage

This system, despite its low price is a viable ticket to entry level gaming. It features a reasonable sized hard drive (250GB) sufficient for most users, and a 7900GS (capable of pulling reasonable frames for most of today's games I believe). You could also replace the 7900GS with a 7600GS DDR3 and go for 2GB of RAM if you please.

$1000 AM2

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Brisbane Core	159
Motherboard	ASUS M2N	89
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	165
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	256MB GeForce 7950GT	288
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-BB	72
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	958 + Postage

I believe this system is the sweet spot for bang for buck computing. It features a decent CPU, plenty of RAM, a large hard drive, and a decent graphics card. The case is pretty good looking too. This system would be appropriate for moderate to frequent gaming.

$1000 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E4400	217
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-S3	149
RAM	2x1GB Generic DDR2 667	138
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	256MB nVidia GeForce 7900GS	198
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	72
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	960 + Postage

At a touch under $1000 the Core 2 Duo system is quite impressive. The RAM, CPU and Board will allow for some nice overclocking, whilst the 7900GS is not too bad either. For $1000, this system would be very quick and well suited for demanding office applications.

$1250 AM2

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+	242
Motherboard	ASUS M2N	89
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	165
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	406
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	72
Power Supply	500W Super Flower Black Diamond	95
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1207 + Postage

This machine is designed to focus this more on stock performance than overclocking, since the Core 2 Duo systems are typically the way to go for the overclockers. However, with a 5200+, Geforce 8800GTS and 2GB of RAM, for the money, this system is a bargain beast!

$1250 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E4400	217
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	205
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	256MB nVidia 7950GT	288
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	72
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	63
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1189 + Postage

This machine is similarly specced to the AM2 system, however with the aftermarket HSF and the E4300 CPU, probably better suited to overclocking rather than sheer gaming.

$1500 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6420	287
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	165
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	125
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	406
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	72
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	63
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1447 + Postage

Sub $1500 Core 2 system with 8800GTS in the house!

$1750 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6420	287
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB G.Skill F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK	300
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	125
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	406
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	72
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	63
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1582 + Postage

$2000 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6600	429
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	165
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	125
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	768MB GeForce 8800GTX	792
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	72
Power Supply	600W OCZ GameXStream	165
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1956 + Postage

This is a $2000 system with an emphasis on stock performance (for those who do not plan to overclock), so it eschews the aftermarket HSF and high-end RAM in favour of a quicker CPU. It is still a hell of a machine, though!

$2000 Core 2 Duo (overclocking)

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6420	287
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA Vitesta DDR2 800	205
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	125
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	768MB GeForce 8800GTX	792
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	72
Power Supply	600W OCZ GameXStream	165
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	63
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1917 + Postage

2K system designed for overclocking, hence the E6420 but DDR2 800 RAM and the trusty 1333 FSB of the 965P-DS3 V3.3

$2250 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6600	429
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	205
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	125
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	768MB GeForce 8800GTX	792
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	Thermaltake Armor Jr.	165
Power Supply	700W OCZ GameXStream	199
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	63
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	2186 + Postage

$2500 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6600	429
Motherboard	ASUS P5N32-E SLI PLUS	285
RAM	2GB G.Skill F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ	405
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	125
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	768MB GeForce 8800GTX	792
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	Thermaltake Armor Jr.	165
Power Supply	700W OCZ GameXStream	199
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	63
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	2513 + Postage

After this stage, you get to the area of diminishing returns. This machine is not so much faster than the $2250 system, more a better platform for going crazy with even more high end upgrades, such as two 8800s in SLi or quad core CPUs. However, after this stage, you will get to the stage of spending hundreds of dollars for a small improvement in performance. This machine does currently go over-budget, but if money's a problem, the cheaper (about $305) G.Skill PK RAM is an alternative.