WAX has all the right questions; but your budget should get you plenty of muscle
example
an awesome motherboard can be had at mwave.com / refurbished for about $80.00 or less 9example = gigabyte P35 chipset or Asus)
Intel core-2 duo E6550 = CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115030
Video card = 8800 GT >>>>if you are a very serious gamer / if not we can drop down a notch to the 8600GT (look on mwave.com / refurbished for this one too! )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130301
Ram sticks = Corsair XMS DDR-2 800mhz with timings of 4-4-4-12 which costs around $87.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145034
BTW: all the refurbs I have bought from mwave.com have all come with a 15 day warranty (plenty of time to verify they work) all have come retail boxed and havent had a hick-up yet !
they change stock in there VERY fast each week their is generally a different motherboard manufacturers lisitngs in there >>>> you have to move FAST though, they go VERY fast
if you are not a casual gamer; this card will suit you
ATI x1950pro extreme 256mb gddr3 / 256 bit pci-express dual dvi / vivo / hdtv (oem - powered by ati) #X1950PRO256M (refurbished w/15-day warranty) (*Limit 1 pcs/customer) $139.00
SKU: CA52570 Mfg. Part No: X1950PRO256M
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