if you have extra money in the budget, you could always go with the $500 type box and enhance the video card and ram.  more the merrier.  dont forget costs of keyboard/mouse/monitor unless you have stuff in the barn.

Good Point. I'll narrow it down a bit. I'm looking to buy everything at once. I'd rather it be a system that comes preassembled, and yes, it'll be for gaming.

To give you an idea of the direction I'm going, I took a look at the Dell website to see what kind of gaming computers they had, but figured I'd like to do some poking around with other companies and what they offer.

Let's rule out me putting the computer together or installing the OS. I'm not that computer savy. I just like the games. That help?

You could go to cyberpowerpc.com or ibuypower.com

Those sites (and many others) will let you pick which pieces to put in your rig, and it will come pre-assembled.

I would recommend a core i7 920 CPU, an Asus p6t motherboard, at least 3gb of RAM (ddr3), A 1tb hard drive, and a power supply with 700 watts or more (antec, corsair, or bfg prefferably)

For graphics cards, it really depends on what resolution you are going to be playing at. If it is 1440 x 900 or less, then a ~$100 9800gtx+ from nvidia will be more than enough. If the resolution is higher than a geforce gtx260 (core 216) will be suitable for about ~$200.

Also, what games do you play? Games like sins require a much different system than a rig trying to rock crysis on max.

If you have any questions on what parts to get then just post them here.

Edit: A core 2 quad system is also a good choice (and somewhat cheaper than the i7)

A dual core system is not as future proof as a quad core one, and games will soon be taking more advantage of more cores.

There are some decent pre-made systems out there, but you'll probably pay a bit more for less performance than building it yourself.  It's really not hard to build one, and there must be a ton of guides on the internet to help.  Here are my suggestions:

1. Get something that can be easily upgraded.   That is, get a motherboard and case that can easily be used for next generation hardware.  Asus, Nvidia, and Gigabyte make good upgradable boards. It is much easier and cheaper to swap out an old video card or add more RAM than to have to get rid of a whole computer because of the upgrade limitations of the motherboard.  On this point, I would skip Dell.  Their computers have proprietary motherboards and cases--that is, only Dell parts fit in many instances (which tend to be expensive and limited in performance).

2. The big hardware items for gaming are the video cards and the CPU.  These two items alone typically account for 33-50% of the price of a good gaming computer. Dual core CPUs are fine, though I would try to get something toward the 3ghz range.  Intel seems to be on the cutting edge now, but AMD makes good CPUs, too.

I favor Nvidia graphics cards, so something like a 260 or 275 should be fine (make sure it has at least a 512MB memory).  I also overclock, but that's not for everyone.  If you do overclock, be sure to get a case with enough cooling fans. Actually, you should also be sure to get a computer case that is well ventilated.  Excess heat can ruin a computer fast.

Other hardware items such as RAM and soundcards are easily added.  Onboard soundcards (the default ones that come with about any basic motherboard) are probably good enough for most gamers.  Do make sure that the motherboard can take at least 4GB of 1066RAM (you should probably  try to get faster RAM with a new computer). 

3. Storage devices: A 250gb, 7200RPM Hard drive should be the minimum specs. Some people have more than one hard drive, but I think that a single hard drive with a partition set up (you can do this when you install the operating system) is fine for gaming.  I typically get Western Digital hard drives and Lite-On DVD-RW drives.  They are fairly easy to install and inexpensive.

4. Operating system: I'm still using XP SP2, which is great for gaming.  I can't recommend Vista, since I have heard too many troubling reports about it.  If you want an upgrade from XP, I would say just skip Vista and go to Windows 7.  I think that both Vista and W7 are backwards compatible with games made under XP.

5. Other items: I personally find a 19' monitor to be fine for gaming, but this is up to the individual. If you desire very high resolutions (such as over 1680x1050), you'll be in the 22'+ range.  I wouldn't suggest spending a lot of money on an LCD monitor.  Being an external component, it is easily upgraded later if you want something different.  Do try to get one with a response rate of at least 5ms and refresh rate of 75Hz.  I use an optical mouse with a cord--I had a cordless mouse but it froze up a lot.  There are many varieties of keyboards, speakers, etc. to choose from, user's preference.

6. Power Supply: I would not go with less than 500W (check to see what is required by the video card in particular) and would probably go with 600W if you are planning multiple hard drives, SLI video cards, etc.

Even if you go with a pre-built system, I would suggest getting one with a very basic, cheap video card, maybe a cheap dual-core CPU, and onboard sound (to keep the overall price of the system down). Then, I would use the money saved to upgrade both the CPU and video card.  However, do make sure that you have a good enough power supply (again, check the requirements of the video card in particular) and that the motherboard will allow for upgrades to premium parts.

I hope that this is helpful.

I've seen "budget" PCs that have 4870s in them. No need to buy a 256 MB card (and you don't have to buy nvidia. ATI and Nvidia both have cards that perform pretty similar, just buy what is cheaper). But go for nvidia 8000 series, nvidia 200 series or ATI 4000 series. All those cards will last you awhile and be able to play games high - highest.

And it's always cheaper to build your own PC. Good luck getting a $500 gaming PC from Dell >.>

And what do you mean a decent monitor? Like what size, what resolution, widescreen/fullscreen? I built my computer back in January and bought a new screen, so I do know what I'm talking about

I HIGHLY recommend building your own system.  This months maximumPC magazine and/or online articiles will guide you through all of the steps.

It is surprisingly easy so don't be intimidated.  Seriously.  You will get a lot more computing power per $ than purchasing a prebuild system.  You also have the internets to be able to ask questions.  I certainly dont mind helping out at all.

The specs i recommend are:

1.  Core i7 920 - this is easily overclockable for higher througput but it isn't necessary.  Microcenter has been running specials on it for $200 (plus tax because it has to be purchased in store).  This processor is amazing and my sim speed stays between 9-10 on 5v5 maps. (i was able to get it to drop to 8 when i was burning a dvd and listening to music in the background)

2.  Motherboard - I recommend the following brands:  Asus, Evga & MSI.  I have always had excellent experiences with all three however i typically fo with Asus in my personal computers.  If i had to pick one for you it would be the asus P6T Deluxe but you could aslo go with the P6T SE LGA 1366 $250 (if you have the money then the Evga Classified looks awesome and the Asus Rampage II is awesome but those boards are for overclocking.)

3.  Ram - 6 gigabytes is the sweet spot.  (three stix of 2 gigs) DDR3 PC1600 with timings at 8-8-8-24 or less (lower numbers are better).  there are a few great brands (OCZ, patriot, crucial, Corsair etc.).  Personally i prefer corsair.  Ocz has some at newegg that is $115 after the mail in rebate.  model:  OCZ3G1600LV6GK

4.  DVD burner - $30, sure get a cheap one, why not?  newegg has a samsung for less than $30 model: N82E16827151188

5.  Power supply - i would go between 650 - 750 watts.  PC Power & Cooling arguable makes the best.  Other good brands include Corsair, Thermaltake, Sparkle etc.  I've had a Lot of Antecs burn-out on me so i dont use them anymore.  Newegg has a 750 watt corsair model for $100 after mail in rebate.  model: CMPSU-750TX

6.  Case:  There are a lot of good case manufacturers (antec, thermaltake, lian li, silverstone, Zalman and many more)  just get what you would like.  $150

7.  CPU cooler, you can use the stock cooler, it's good enough.  You could also get a thermalright ultra or zalman cooler $80 plus thermalpaste (arctic silver) $10 or so.

8.  OS:  Windows 7 release candidate.  This will be good until March when a full version will have to be installed.

Total spent thus far:  $935 budget left = 565

Now that leaves us with the last 2 components - video card and hard drive.

Do you want a big hard drive?  I will assume so. If you play a lot of games then i would dump the rest of the $ into the video card, if you do a lot of video editing then i would recommend velociraptor hard drives along with a storage drive. 

(assuming SSDs are out of the budget range)

large:  1.5 terabyte seagate:  $110   model:  ST31500541AS

Use the rest of the money for your video card:

I typically go with nvidia but ATI's are good too.

GTX 275:  $220

GTX 285:  $260 after MIR model: 01G-P3-1182-AR  (evga)

ATI 4870 X2:  $370  xfx model: N82E16814150349

Mouse+keyboard is yoru preference of course. you would have about $100 to use.  (or save and get windows 7)

Im also assuming you have a monitor that you use.

Use these specs to compare against whatever pre-builts you are looking at.

I hope that helps!

j

Those are good points psy!

I agree. Buying a good system now and upgrade it in a year or 2 will give him the performance he needs without ever having to spend the huge amount of money. A RAM or videocard upgrade isn't too hard to do, I'm sure he can find a friend or collegue that doesn't mind spending an hour on that.

You can easily buy the best from the previous generation (Intel Core 2 Duo E8400, 2x4850, 2x2GB DDR2) but today I would recommend AMD Phenom II. The motherboard however, should support the next generations cpus so you don't have to shell out money for a new motherboard (like me who got the E8400 and have to switch motherboard if I want to use the iCore).

Everything else has already been covered. Buying parts individually and assembling them yourself/let a friend is the best choice. The second best is a store that assembles individual parts.

Buying a branded PC are a smart move for corporations but DUMB for private persons (All people I've been home to who got branded PCs are computeridiots and have never opened them)

Or you buy a retail copy of Windows, which does not have that restriction.

If you change the mobo out for the same make / model then it isn't a problem.  OEM copies are definitely tied to the motherboards and MS has the ability with Vista to tell if you changed your motherboards out.  Im really hoping that they still can't tell with XP since i pre-order win7 upgrade lol.

The AMD Phenom II is a good proc.  I had to call up MaximumPC and ask their opinion on the i7 versus phenom, they suggested i7. 

Hey, the MaximumPC guys should post in here!

j

IIRC the Windows license gets registered to a unique motherboard ID. Windows will notice when you swap it to a different mobo of the same make but they assume you got a replacement after a broken one.

I hear the Phenoms have excellent prices for their performance and are certainly a good choice. I'm an Intel man myself atm but I switch every 5 years or so.

AMD also tries to make their new cpus work in older motherboards which is a great move. Intel though, you have to change the motherboard every time you upgrade to a new generation....

The AMD Phenom II is more costeffective then iCore 7 and it has been like that since the 1700+ days or so. If an AMD Phenom II gives (just a simple example) 10 in performance for 100$ then an iCore 7 gives 15 in performance for 200$.