Gaming Machine

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+	88
Motherboard	Gigabyte M55SLI-S4	103
RAM	2GB Kingston DDR2-667	100
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	82
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT	165
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Elite RC-331	49
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	49
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	680 + 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.

$1000 AM2

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+	242
Motherboard	Gigabyte M55SLI-S4	103
RAM	2GB Kingston DDR2 667	100
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	82
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GTS	251
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	49
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	940 + Postage

$1000 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E4400	182
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3	145
RAM	2GB Kingston DDR2-667	100
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	82
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GTS	251
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	49
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	921 + 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 5600+	242
Motherboard	ABIT KN9S	112
RAM	2GB Kingston DDR2 667	100
Hard Drive	320GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10	105
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	320MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS	381
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1174 + Postage

This machine is a bargain beast, with a 5600+, Geforce 8800GTS and 2GB of RAM. Definitely a good value system :)

$1250 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6420	253
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-S3	132
RAM	2GB Kingston DDR2 667	100
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	82
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia GeForce 8800GTS	381
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1195 + Postage

I'd say that this machine is probably the sweet spot. It has a quick CPU, plenty of RAM, and a very quick video card. :)

$1500 AM2

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+	298
Motherboard	ABIT KN9 SLI	165
RAM	2GB Kingston DDR2 667	100
Hard Drive	320GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10	105
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	640MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS	517
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro	35
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1454 + 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	145
RAM	2GB Kingston DDR2 667	100
Hard Drive	320GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10	105
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	640MB nVidia GeForce 8800GTS	517
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro	39
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1431 + Postage

$1750 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6600	290
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3	145
RAM	2GB Kingston DDR2 667	100
Hard Drive	320GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10	105
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	46
Graphics Card	768MB nVidia GeForce 8800GTX	748
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	CoolerMaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05	67
Power Supply	600W OCZ GameXStream	166
Cooling	Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro	39
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1706 + 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.

After this point, the higher end systems are found in the Dream Machine section