Except I don’t know where to start looking. I’ve heard some good things about AMD processors but I don’t know. I’ve got roughly $1,200 that I can spend. So, any help would be appreciated from you computer people. 
Hard Stuff Trinity (PCGamer)
MID-RANGE System (roughtly $1,250)
CASE
300-watt ATX form factor $50
PROCESSOR
Intel P4 3.GHz 800Mhz FSB $178
MOTHERBOARD
Asus P4P800 $90
MEMORY
512MB PC-3200 DDR $70
CD-ROM/DVD-ROM DRIVE
Pioneer 16x DVD-ROM $35
FLOPPY DRIVE
Samsung 3.5-inch 1.44MB $8
HARD DRIVE
120GB 7,200rpm $80
SOUND CARD
Creative Labs SB Audigy 2 ZS $84
MONITOR
19-inch CRT $300
VIDEO CARD
ATI RADEON 9600 XT 128MB $150
JOYSTICK
Saitek Cyborg evo $40
GAMEPAD
Logitech $30
SPEAKERS
Klipsch ProMedia GMX A-2.1 $149
KEYBOARD
Standard $15
USB MOUSE
Logitech or Microsoft $30
Total: $1,309
I’d suggest buying a car, not a computer.
I suppose, but I’d rather have a motorcycle than a car and since I haven’t bothered to actually get my license for either of the two yet, buying one is pretty much out of the question for the time being. 
Thanks, GM, I’ll look into that.
Those are just suggested parts, they get the prices from pricewatch.com
The total will probably be a bit higher if you buy a pre-made computer, but leaving out the joystick and gamepad should help lower the price.
I’m not planning on buying a joystick or gamepad since I don’t use my computer for gaming.
BTW, you’re awesome because the book listed as your favorite book is awesome.
If you want some quality for your money, buy a processor based on AMD Athlon 64. It’s not that great yet, but a 64-bit computer will last for atleast five years, if not longer, as opposed to a 32-bit system that’ll only last for another two to three years. And, it can run 32-bit and 64-bit apps simultaneously, another plus.
Motherboard + 1 GB RAM + CPU should cost about $600, harddrive anything between 60-100$ (anything more than that isn’t worth it), DVD+/-RW another $100… Then you can spend the other $400 on a kickass graphics card.
And try and find a local dealer, they usually have more reasonable prices.
OR, save half that money, get a Mac Mini for $600 or so and spend the rest on videogames. Works for me, and that computer can handle anything pre-Doom3 with ease. Although there’s less games available for it, it still has WoW, StarCraft, WarCraft 3 and Diablo 2 - all the essentials, in other words. >>
<<
I gotta say I’m impressed by the mac mini. Its kinda neat.
If your not using it for gaming, what do you need it for? I certinly wouldn’t spend a ton of money on a computer unless I needed it to be good for a specific use, like gaming, or video editing.
My current computer’s getting to be rather sluggish and it can’t play the few games I want to play (namely the two Knights of the Old Republic) which my current comp can’t…Hmm… I’m not even sure if a new computer is the answer, but I’ll definitely look into what Wert and GM have suggested just in case.
Okay, I bought a 90 dollar ATi Radeon 9200 a while back because I couldn’t run KotoR, and it runs fine on my PC, my processor being only a 1.34 GHz AMD Athlon. Above all else, get at least a half gig of ram and a decent video card. But I don’t know how bad your current processor is either.
I just purchased a computer myself. I haven’t been disappointed by it yet, and I’m pretty sure one like it could handle your needs. (Although, I got mine during Boxing Week, so the price has gone up somewhat) (I’m not all that knowledgeable in this area, though, so…)
Mine has the following stats (reading off the side of the box)
HP Pavilion a700n
Hardware
-AMD Athlon XP 3000+ Processor,
-512 MB PC2700DDR SDRAM
-80 GB 7200RPM Ultra DMA hard drive
-CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, speed 48x32x16x48 max
-Integrated graphics with 64 MB shared video memory
-Built-in 9-in-1 memory card reader
-10/100BaseT network interface
-High speed 56k modem
-HP Internet Keyboard and scroller mouse
-Front Access USB 2.0 and FireWire ports
Software
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
HP Image Zone Plus
Apple i-Tunes
Intervideo WinDVD SE player (Awesome DVD player program! I love it.)
Sonic RecordNow
HP Organize
Microsoft Office 2003 - 60-day trial version
Norton Personal Firewall and AntiVirus 2004
Easy sign-up to dial-up and broadband internet service providers
If you can understand what all that means, then you’re one up on me. XP
Anyway, suffice to say, it’s an awesome computer, and I, for one, am glad I bought it. I think it would be able to cover most of your needs, and even have some room to spare. For your information, the final cost on it was $813. After taxes and all that crap. (during Boxing Week) My only problem with it is that it has no 3 1/2 inch floppy drive. But those are hardly necessary anymore, right?
If this one won’t do the job, you can always check this out.
I hope this was helpful.
Go with an Athlon 64, man…they have a better bus speed than Pentiums.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_cpu.asp