$1000 Build

This system should have no trouble with playing new games on high settings.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 2.13GHz (Conroe) LGA 775 CPU - $200
- high overclockability
- 4MB cache

Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 motherboard - $110
- all solid-state capacitors, meaning high durability
- gigabit ethernet, SATAII, 8-channel audio, lots of USB and firewire
- nice layout, passive cooling on chipsets

G.Skill 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 (F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ) RAM - $75
- flexible voltage range, 1.8-2.0V

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB (ST3320620AS) OEM hard drive - $80
- 7200RPM, 16MB cache, SATAII
- 25 cents per gigabyte

EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 640MB PCI-E video card - $370

Fortron AX500-A 500W ATX power supply - $87

Lite-On 20x DVD±R/RW (LH-20A1L-05) OEM optical drive - $33
- black, SATA

Cooler Master Centurion 5 (CAC-T05-UW) ATX mid-tower case - $50
- black, very basic
- includes 120mm and 80mm fans

GRAND TOTAL = $1005

Wiggle Room

A 500GB hard drive can be had for the ridiculously low price of $120; that'd be my choice if I were to omit the case and/or DVD burner.