Gaming Machine

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+	105
Motherboard	ASUS M2N-MX	80
RAM	1GB A-DATA DDR2 667	79
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	256MB nVidia GeForce 8600GT	185
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	Foxconn TSAA805	49
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	682 + 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 an 8600GT (capable of pulling reasonable frames for most of today's games I believe).

$1000 AM2

Part	Model	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+	136
Motherboard	ASUS M2N	89
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	189
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	256MB GeForce 8600GTS	279
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-BB	81
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	960 + 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	182
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-S3	148
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 667	150
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	256MB nVidia GeForce 8600GT	185
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	81
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	934 + 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 8600GT is a decent card. 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 5600+	242
Motherboard	ASUS M2N	89
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	189
Hard Drive	250GB Samsung SP2504C	88
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	396
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	81
Power Supply	500W Super Flower Black Diamond	95
Cooling	-	-
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1230 + 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 5600+, 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	249
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	189
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	117
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	256MB nVidia GeForce 8600GTS	279
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	81
Power Supply	430W Coolermaster Extreme Power	48
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	62
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1233 + Postage

This machine is similarly specced to the AM2 system, however with the aftermarket HSF, probably better suited to overclocking.

$1500 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6420	249
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA Vitesta DDR2 800	189
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	117
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	320MB nVidia 8800GTS	396
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	81
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	62
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1423 + Postage

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

$1750 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6600	290
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA Vitesta DDR2 800	192
Hard Drive	2x 250GB Samsung SP2504C	176
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	640MB nVidia 8800GTS	539
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	81
Power Supply	SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W	121
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	62
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1669 + Postage

$2000 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6600	290
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3 V3.3	158
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	192
Hard Drive	2x 250GB Samsung SP2504C	176
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	768MB GeForce 8800GTX	765
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	iCute S901-4GA-SS	81
Power Supply	600W OCZ GameXStream	165
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	62
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	1939 + 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

$2250 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6600	290
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3P V3.3	188
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	192
Hard Drive	2x 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	234
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	768MB GeForce 8800GTX	765
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	Thermaltake Armor Jr.	165
Power Supply	700W OCZ GameXStream	195
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	62
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	2141 + Postage

$2500 Core 2 Duo

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Duo E6700	418
Motherboard	ASUS P5N32-E SLI PLUS	285
RAM	2GB G.Skill F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ	362
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	117
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	768MB GeForce 8800GTX	765
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	Thermaltake Armor Jr.	165
Power Supply	700W OCZ GameXStream	199
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	62
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	2423 + Postage

$2500 Core 2 Quad

Part	Model	Price
CPU	Core 2 Quad Q6600	785
Motherboard	Gigabyte 965P-DS3Pro V3.3	192
RAM	2GB A-DATA DDR2 800	192
Hard Drive	320GB Western Digital Caviar SE16	117
Optical Drive	18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA	50
Graphics Card	768MB GeForce 8800GTX	765
Sound Card	Onboard from motherboard	-
Case	Thermaltake Armor Jr.	165
Power Supply	700W OCZ GameXStream	195
Cooling	Thermaltake BigTyp 120	62
Additional	-	-
Total Cost	-	2523 + Postage

After the $2500 machines, 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. However, you will get to the stage of spending hundreds of dollars for a small improvement in performance.