Price range??? Macs don't suck thats true. They have their purpose. But since he stated gaming is one of his inteneded uses they are subpar. Game makers just don't release games quick enough for them to be a gaming computer.
This one is good. You can save some money by taking some of the pretty things and choosing non pretty versions.
My personal changes to the computer to optimize performance and play down looks and keep the base systems price close to what it was are as followed by section.
Case: Bump it down to ATX MEDIUM TOWER CASE 350 WATT save $20
Neon Light: Just say no. Default choice.
Power Supply: Default.
CPU: Default.
Free Game: Why not????
Fans: Upgrade to AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK + 3 EXTRA CASE FANS. loose $3 dollars and piece of mind that the system will stay cool
Motherboard: Sckt939)MSI K8N NEO4-F nForce4 Chipset SATA Raid PCI-E w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio I just like MSI better than default. I have a puter with this board and no problems. $0 change
Memory: Default is fine.
Video Card: Default is fine or you can switch to the ATI version for 1 more dollar. Its a matter of taste. No real need to upgrade the video card any further than default unless your just dying to have the best.
Video Card 2: Trust me you don't need it so don't. Default is what you go with.
Monitor: Default is not fine. There isn't a monitor with this system. This is completely up to you. You probably won't notice much of a difference. You could just keep your current one. I do have a like for flats. ViewSonic is the brand I trust BTW.
Hard Drive: Its up to you but I'd save some money and drop the 200 down for something a little more reasonable in size. I don't use 200 I'd say youd be fine with 80 but you know your useage better than I do. I trust Maxtor or Western Digital.
Hard Drive 2: Default you don't need raid or more space.
Raid: None. Default
Optical Drive 1: Default
Optical Drive 2: Default These choice are fine for most users.
Sound: Default. The sound on this board is fine.
Speakers: Default is fine. Great surround sound.
Network: Default is fine.
Modem: Default unless your dial up then take your pic.
The rest of the choices on page 2 and 3 are fine at default. Possibly only suggestions would be undersoftware I like Office better than works and Mcafee is worth the extra doe. Theses are both up to you and without them your total is 919.00 with added software its 1093.00