It's getting hard to buy such a computer though (except second-hand).

Theres no reason to upgrade, unless it breaks which is my point.

That's exactly what you should never do when comparing PC and console prices. If you want the best quality for a decent price, you'll pay no more than $200 for a single component with the exception of the GPU, which is $300 at most. Ideally you should go for even cheaper parts. You, on the other hand, seem to be going for high-end parts however. High-end parts always cost more.

You can get rather good CPU and motherboard for a maximum of $200. Let's put in a $150 GPU, although you can probably get an excellent GPU at a cheaper price as well. Then $100 for a 1TB HDD (I think they're around that right now). A DVD writer ough to cost some $30. A good case with a good PSU will cost $100. Oh, and finally, let's pay some $20 for RAM. That's some $600. With Windows, it'll become $700. That's a rather good gaming PC that will suffice for some two or three years, depending on how things develop.

Of course if you try, you'll be able to cut at least $150 rather easily. It'll be $550 then. Actually eve $500 ought to be pretty easy. And surely you have a PC already... You can sell it when you get a new one, or use some older parts to save money. Let's say you can get $100 for it. The new PC will then cost some $400-$600. I'd say it's already a nice price, and depending on your old PC, it might be even more.

My PC has cost me some... 330€ I think? 260€ for the PC, 70€ for the GPU. Core 2 Duo E6400, 2GB RAM, GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB. Not bad I'd say, and if I had spent a little more, I could probably have got a lot more power (a 9800 GT for example could have cost about 20€ more). And that includes shipping. I must admit though that I bought this used - but that shouldn't come as a surprise. Anyway, more powerful than any of the consoles, for 330€. Also, I'm planning to sell my old GeForce 7900 GS Bliss (ought to get some 30€ for that) as well as my GF 6600 GT (some 20€).

All in all, you can definitely get a good gaming PC at a rather cheap price if you look into it a bit more.

For gaming, there is absolutely no need for a Core i7 at this point.

If you're on a budget, the strategy for buying PC's is to get something equivalent to current gen consoles (or better) so you can play all the multiplatform games.

When a new gen comes around with a slew of new multiplatform games, then you upgrade again.

Generic PSU and freebie MoBo are two good ways to ask for trouble with any build, regardless of how cheap you want to go.

Most of the freebie MoBos won't even overclock, and unless we're in Bizarro Land, I'm pretty sure an E5200/ 2.5ghz Dual Core doesn't have better processing power than either the 3.2ghz CBE or the 3.2ghz tri core Xenon.

E5200; easily the best Dual Core for overclocking on a shoestring budget, but not on a POS MoBo, and preferably not in a small enclosure without adequate active cooling (fans) on a stock CPU HSF. These are just common sense things every builder knows.

But for the sake of argument, it should still run Fallout 3, assuming no RMA problems or lost deals (which most PC part deals are, being half the challenge in sourcing a build for the best price).

Now build me a fully operational PC for $199. The Xbox 360 Arcade will do that too.

LOOOOL yeah he really is a troll.

6 Wii exclusives with 90+ on Metacritic xDDDDD - the console only has 3

Good find ameratsu !

i7 depends entirely on the market you're in.

Being far overpriced is actually a pretty common myth and generally only applies to budget builds (budget and fastest CPU architecture on the market don't really mesh) or total cost of upgrading from a 775 socket based system.

X58 motherboards are dropping in price, which along with the price of DDR3 RAM (also dropping significantly in price as it's becoming more common) are the real costs of the upgrade beyond the CPU itself, which at $280 for a very OC friendly 2.66ghz stock 920, is on par with what a consumer would pay for a similarly clocked Core 2 Quad.

Also consider longevity. Buying cheaper components invariably means upgrading them sooner or being stuck with outdated specs before you're ready to upgrade (unless you regularly do a cheap build every other year).

A Core i7 build will actually be viable for at least 3+ years.

As for total build cost, an OC 920 build can be done for around $1200 or less (including OEM VistaX64) even without scrimping on VGA cards (GTX260 core 216, HD4870) or resorting to cheap cost cutting moves (generic power supply, inadequate case for OC cooling, etc.).

If I hadn't built a gaming rig within the last year, there's no reason why I wouldn't build an i7 PC.

Not sure if anybody answered this, but if you were ordering from Newegg then you would not have to pay sales tax if you are in New York.

"Newegg.com charges the appropriate state and/or local sales tax for any order shipping to California, New Jersey, and Tennessee."

http://www.newegg.com/HelpInfo/FAQDetail.aspx?Module=2

I remember before when I was living in California I would always have to pay sales tax when buying from Newegg, as they are located in California.

Hmmm, can this challenge still be done as poorly as it was before?

Oh.  My.  God.  That guy's reviews and posts are so annoying.

Well, PS360 are $299 now.  Surely PC components have dropped a bunch as well.  I'm surprised the case and power supply were so cheap.  As in, perhaps likely to break cheap. 

AND, I'll say this: the OP only payed $5 for a keyboard and $5 for a mouse for the control setup.  Then he says to use your TV as a monitor.  Well, that doesn't compare to a wireless console controller used from a couch.  Consoles come with a good controller included, and his setup certainly doesn't compare.  Add charges for a bluetooth mouse and bluetooth keyboard to your PC.  Or sit at a desk with the cheap wired crap and admit that there's a difference.

Clever that OP chose Fallout 3, which is on PC.  Tons of console games just never show up on PC... (and vice versa, yeah, but I don't have an axe to grind against PC, either).