I'm one of those hard core over clockers and a power user, so I'm looking for some perspective on what you guys would/do pay for a new gaming system. I budget myself $250 a month for computer hardware so I know I'm above average. I still talk to people who expect to buy a new system for $400 and play games.

switched to console...cheaper

I blew $2000 on the system I'm using now. I built it myself a little over a year ago, using parts that were at the time were considered "cutting edge", which lasted about two weeks.

Funny thing is... I didn't even build it for gaming. I just wanted something that was more durable than the last computer I built, a crappy Small Form Factor PC by Shuttle. I'll NEVER do the SFF thing again...

My system isn't over-clocked, there's nothing in the way of exotic cooling, and except for a more-than-what-is-probably necessary power supply, everything's pretty much off-the-shelf stuff. I MIGHT upgrade the video card at some point, but that's a maybe.

i can spend just over $500 on newegg and still have a descent gaming system

If you could build a DX10 Bioshock PC for that price I might be impressed. Windows alone is going to run you $200+ So what kind of games are you planning to play on a $300 system? Donkey Kong? No disrespect meant but that's a shady claim. No monitor? No keyboard? No mouse? What kind of video and sound are you getting for $300?

Edit:
I'm mystified honestly.

my point is,you don't need a $2000-$3000 system for gaming.


you don't need to over-clock to get the best out of a game.


my uncle's fiance paid $225 for the comp she's using.that's including Monitor,Lazer Mouse/Keyboard,a good sound system,and the tower.i haven't seen the full specs on the comp but i do know she's only running a 3 gig processor and 1 gig of ram and it handles Everquest II and America's Army just fine.the computer itself is an IBM

My computer now probably ran me about... 800-1000, I'm not sure exactly. I upgrade as needed, some years I'll go and not spend a thing, some I'll spend only 200, some I'll do a major upgrade for 400-600. I try to get pretty high end stuff so it lasts for a while.

Depends what I'm doing, but I've already got a system, I only need to upgrade small things like the video card or hard drives until I do a mobo/cpu/memory upgrade.

My computer cost me $1100 and I got it about 2 months ago (thats including the OS that I found out I could have gotten for free at school). This has a custom case, that you can see pics of in my profile, Q6600 quad core @ 2.4GHz., 2 gigs ram, 500G HD, dvd burner, Nvidia 8800 GTS 512, 700w Power supply, mother board, i think thats about it.

Agreed...




*Sigh*
You don't have to have the best pc, and you certainly don't have to OC the sh*t out of it. No matter how fast you think your PC is, your world will still come crashing down on you when someone like me (playing on the lowest settings) owns you.

A better computer gives many advantages, which someone playing on the lowest settings will never get. Better framerate, greater clip plane, etc.

I guess when someone can max the game with double your framerate your world will come crashing down too right?

Settings don't matter unless they degrade your performance. Lower settings won't magically make you any better and when people are going at it with all performance issues being even, it comes down to skill and your settings have no impact on how I feel about losing.

What I'm saying is skill is the only thing that matters. Even if you spend thousands on your PC, it doesn't make you a good gamer. Someone spending very little can still beat you. There is nothing wrong with being a budget gamer.

I agree completely, my computer was built on a very tight budget. I have a 9600 512 GT OC'd that I got for $150 and it's just amazing how much better it is than my old 7600 GT. You get the most bang for your buck from your video card and right now, you get the most video card for your bucks with a 9600 GT.

just bought a new laptop for gaming (duel use for work) and payed $1,480 (including taxes)

17" widescreen HD. core 2 duo 2.5GHz Centrino
4gig Ram
6M FSB
Nvidia 512 8600
240gig HD (7200)
Vista (which I hate) 64-bit (to be able to use the 4gig RAM)

and a crap load of non-gaming feathers (mic,webcame,etc,etc)

i love the system..but would of prefered at least an 8800+, but that would of ran over $2.5K