Building a gaming PC without going to bankruptcy

Have you seen the hardware specs of those PCs used for game benchmarking? Feeling ashamed? Dont be, as you dont need a multi thousands dollars computer to have a good playing experience.
I will detail you what you need to build a reasonably good PC, capable of reaching good playability (around 60 FPS, with no lag).

CPU
Even when most of the work is done by the video card, the CPU takes care of important tasks like AI and physics (unless the game uses PhysX, that can be accelerated using an Nvidia card). The CPU can spoil your gaming experience, so, you should pay special attention to your choice. AMD processors provide the best perfomance/price relation, I havent used them, but if your budget is limited, you should try them. Forget about single core CPUs or Celerons, they can no longer keep the pace of modern games.

$100
There is a wide range of processors under $100 (depending on the seller), that can be considered as good choices. After a quick search in newegg.com I would pick the Pentium E6400, which is a dual core CPU, in the Intel side. Please notice that this is a Pentium D not a Core 2 CPU. Pentium D are dual core CPUs, but they tend to run hotter. In the AMD side, the offers are much better, for $30 less you can get a three core CPU: a Phenom X3 8750, for $10 less an Athlon II X3 8750. For the same price: a 4 core AMD X4 9750.

$100+
Again, there are some good AMD X4 offers around $120, the cheaper Intel offer here is the dual core E7500 at $119, a good price I think, with the cheaper quad core being the Q8200, priced at $159.

Motherboard
It is a bit difficult to narrow the advice to a few models. In my opinion, motherboard is not so important, just pick one that supports your CPU and superiors, in case you decide to upgrade later. I have good experiences with ASUS and intel motherboards. ASUS offers a wide range of good choices, I like their P5k and P5Q series. It will take a big part of your budget without having so much impact in your gaming experience, that can't be avoided.

Video cards
The most important part of a gaming station. So, I will extend more in the available choices and I recommend you that you save most of your budget for this.

Sub $60
Geforce 9400: not the card I would recommend, but it is an Nvidia card and should be able to move most games if you dont demand too much. Forget about FSAA, Anysotropic filtering or max quality settings. This is a modest card and Im not sure that it would even able to accelerate PhysX.
Radeon HD3650 is a much better choice, but I would recommend staying away from this price range if you want to keep the goal of 60 FPS.

$60-$80
Geforce 9500: a bit more decent than his younger sister 9400, although still far from being a 100% reliable card (Mass Effect lists this card as incompatible). But again, it is an Nvidia card and it can move stuff if you dont demand too much. there are 1Gb models available in this price range.
Radeon HD4650: A good choice, as the 9500, there are 1Gb models, which is, in my opinion, just a bait. Any 512Mb card will fully satisfy your needs.

$100
Probably the best card in this segment is Radeon 4770. Almost matching 4850 in perfomance and beating similar priced Nvidia cards, it is build with the new 40 nm process, making it a cooler and less power demanding card. It is supposed to cost less than $100 when announced, then $80, but that never happened. Simply, it is too good to be sold so cheap.
Geforce 9600GT: This one can be found even cheaper if you go for the 512Mb model. A good card that moves any of the current games.

If you are feeling rich and want to spend some more, you can go for the new HD5770 card, which is over the $100 limit, but under the $200. If you want to spend much more, then go for the GTX260 or superior, Nvidia rules in the high perfomance segment.

Memory
I recommend at least 2gb. Check your motherboard specs and go for 800Mhz if you can (probably around $60). Kingston and Corsair are my favorite brands. You can save if you get the 667 Mhz DDR2, it is no more that $50, the difference wont be noticeable. Forget about 4Gb, it is too expensive and unless you use a 64 bits OS you wont need them or wont be able to fully use it.

Monitor
There is a wide range of offers and prices, I would recommend LG and Samsung, because they have their own panel factories. Why is that important? Well, the LCD panels are built as a long band. usually the ends of the band porduce a less quality display, so Samsung (and probably LG) cuts and sells the ends and keep the middle for its monitors.
Lg have some sub $150, 22" offers. Lesser known brands have even 19" offers under $100. Samsung offers are really expensive, their 19" are in the $130 range. Avoid substandard displays with more than 8ms response time.

Hard drive
this is an easy one. I have been a satisfied Seagate user, and they have some 500Gb offers around $60, another good brand is Wester Digital. Any brand will do, as long as you have some general care with your PC.


Sound card and speakers
Most motherboard integrate audio, some of them with even advanced features. But if you want true support for stuff like EAX, spend some more in a Creative Audigy or X-Fi soundcard. This is a luxury, depending on the model can cost you from $30 to $50.
A good speaker system is essential. You can get a 2.1 system for less than $30.

PSU
Powerful video cards requires power supply. It is enough with 450W, which are around $30. There are 600-700W, but too expensive and they are an overkill for what you want.

Ok, do your calcs and make your conclusions. I havent covered the case, as it is not so important for game perfomance. In fact, I have friends that assembled PCs on top of a table, without case. Of course, I dont recommend that you do the same. Also, I have omitted accessories like gamepads or joysticks. they can improve your experience, but are not essential and can be added later.