Gaming PC for around 500

At this price range it's all about getting the best video card and CPU possible. In total, the gaming system build below comes to right around $500. If you can go as high as $600 I recommend upgrading to the GTX 460 Graphics card, the AMD Phenom II X4 955, and doubling up the ram. Depending on how intense the games you play are, you may have to bite the bullet and get at least 4GB ram anyway. World of Warcraft, for example, only recommends 2GB ram but remember when it comes to memory, more is always better.


Corsair Enthusiast Series 650-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply Compatible with Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD platforms - CMPSU-650TXV2
                                                            Amazon Price: $80.99


Cooler Master Elite 371 Mid Tower ATX Case (RC-371-KKN1)
                                                         Amazon Price: $41.96

Corsair 4GB Dual Channel Corsair DDR3 Memory for Intel Core i5 Processors (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)             Amazon Price: $32.99

AMD Phenom II X2 560 Processor, Black Edition (HDZ560WFGMBOX)
                                                       Amazon Price: $94.99


Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB SATA III 7200 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive - WD5000AAKX  Amazon Price: $75.99

GIGABYTE AM3+ NVIDIA GeForce 7025/nForce 630a Chipset DDR3 1600 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard GA-M68MT-S2 Amazon Price: $49.99

Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98 - Retail 
                                                               Amazon Price: $30.27

EVGA GeForce GTS 450 FPB (Free Performance Boost) 1024 MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 2DVI/Mini-HDMI SLI Ready Graphics Card, 01G-P3-1450-TR
                                                         Amazon Price: $130.99

 Some prices my change or go up but for a little over  $500 you cant beat it for what you want it for.
The total of around $538.17. In stores you would pay a lot more.
I use Amazon for all the parts.E-bay is ok but most of the parts are used and you don't really know what your getting.