Gaming Machine

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+	100
Motherboard	ASUS M2N-MX	80
RAM	2GB G.Skill F2-5400PHU2-2GBNT	134
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	256MB nVidia GeForce 8600GT	189
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Elite RC-331/RC-330 (No PSU)	49
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	732 + 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 GeForce 8600GT, which will be plenty quick enough for most games. It's a little more expensive than the budget allows, but I am of the belief that having 2GB of RAM is well worth it, especially if you plan to run Windows Vista.

$1000 AM2

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+	155
Motherboard	MSI KN9U Neo-V	100
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	189
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	256MB GeForce 8600GTS	275
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Elite RC-331/RC-330 (No PSU)	49
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	950 + Postage

$1000 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6320	219
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-S3	143
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	150
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	256MB nVidia GeForce 8600GT	189
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	952 + Postage

At a touch under $1000 the Core 2 Duo system is quite impressive. For $1000, this system would be very quick and well suited for demanding office applications and some decent gaming.

$1250 AM2

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+	168
Motherboard	ABIT KN9S	112
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	189
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	396
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1187 + 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 4800+, 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 E6420	253
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-S3	143
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	150
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	396
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1191 + Postage

Sub $1250 Core 2 system with 8800GTS in the house!

This machine is a real budget beast, with an E6420, plenty of RAM and a very quick video card :)

$1500 AM2

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+	308
Motherboard	ABIT KN9 SLI	165
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	189
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	113
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	396
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1405 + Postage

I'd say at this point, the Intel system is better value, but many dedicated AMD fans will not be disappointed by this system.

$1500 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6600	290
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	150
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	113
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	396
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1341 + Postage

$1750 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6600	290
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	150
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	113
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	768MB nVidia GeForce 8800GTX	765
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1710 + Postage

Probably as far as the average user needs to go to have a very decent gaming experience - top of the range graphics card with a decent CPU.

$2000 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6700	418
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	150
Hard Drive	500GB Samsung HD501LJ	162
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	768MB GeForce 8800GTX	765
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	600W OCZ GameXStream	165
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1931 + Postage