If you are buying a PC for gaming that you want to last a few years at least, you will need at least 1gb of ram, a 256mb video card, at least like a 3.5 ghz proc. All the rest is just fluff. Thats if you want to play the latest and greatest games for a few years to come on at least medium to high graphics settings. I usually buy a new pc every 3-4 years and I spend about 1500 on it so it lasts another 3-4 years.