At the moment dual-core systems are a waste of money, most games don´t use the second core. This will most likely change in a year or so. They are also very expensive. A 2.4GHz AMD dual-core CPU (Athlon 64 X2 4800+) costs about $630, the 2.4GHz AMD single-core CPU (Athlon 64 4000+) only about $330.
AMD makes the best gaming CPU´s, so I suggest that you get an Athlon 64 3500+ single-core CPU ($200). It´s a very good mid-range CPU for todays standards. Once dual-core CPU´s are affordable you can remove it and put in one of the X2 processors.
Then you need a good mainboard (Socket 939) with Nforce4 chipset (about $90). Look for Asus, Elitegroup or MSI boards. They also support the X2 dual-core processor, later upgrades are no problem.
Add 2GB RAM (about $150). This will keep you happy for a loooong time.
The video card... The ATI X800XL is a good mid-range card (about $170). The Nvidia Geforce 6800GS is a very good card, costs about $210. The latests and fastest cards cost $450 and more.
You also need a good power supply, don´t buy any cheap stuff. Look for a 450-500w Enermax or Antec PSU, they cost about $75.
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