well what i have been noticing for the best PC is that the price goes up about $500-$1000 every year, do you think there will be a time where only the rich can play games at max settings?
i dont necessarily find that true. sure if you want to play crysis at max settings you might have to, but thats just one game.
about 4 years ago i spent a little over $1400 on a gaming rig that today can still max at games like CSS and a few of the lesser demanding games at 1280x1024. here's the breakdown:
AMD 64 3200+ Sk 754 - $ 309
Asus Board (dont remember model #) - $150
6800GT - ~$400
1GB corsair DDR 400 - ~$200
and of course HDD's, case, and stuff like that.
and at the time i built it, it could max every game out there bf1942, all of steam games, call of duty, **** it even plays BF2 pretty much maxed out at 1280x1024.
today, 4 years later, you can spend $1300-1500 on a really good computer and max out pretty much every game. so im not exactly sure i see your point.
and just in case you were wondering here's a build that costs roughly in that price range that will do the job..
e8400/q6600 - $220/$260
asus p5k - $130
2gb crucials - $50 AMIR
TT120 - $60
8800gts 512 - $300 AMIR
500gb WD - $110
2x DVD burners - $60
nice case - $150
520W corsair - $120
thats still only +-$1300.....