Fall Systems Report:

Best budget gamer (AM2): ($380 base)
Athlon 64 3200+/3800+ ($90-110)
1GB DDR2 (1 stick for upgrade) 4-4-4-12 ($150)
GeForce 7600GT 256 ($130)

This gives you a decent processor and video card while allowing you DDR2 now so you can upgrade to a Core 2 platform when you need to.

Best midrange gamer (Core 2): ($650 base)
Core 2 Duo E6300 @1.86GHz ($180)
2GB DDR2 (2 sticks) 5-5-5-12 ($250)
Radeon X1900GT / X1900XT 256 ($200-240)

This midrange gamer should handle anything you throw at it right now quite well.

Best performance/value gamer (Core 2): ($940 base)
Core 2 Duo E6600 @2.4GHz ($320)
2GB DDR2 (2 sticks) 4-4-4-12 ($300)
Radeon X1900XT 512 ($320)

Want to run everything on highest settings and be future-proofed for 6 months or so? This system will do the trick and won't break the bank either. If you need to run everything above 1600x1200, then strongly consider a dual-GPU setup. At 1600x1200 and below, single card presents the best performance/value.

~Paladin~