Buying Dell is a fine way to get a computer. It works for a lot of people. There are fewer headaches. Unfortunately, it's also more expensive than building it yourself. This might be the way to go, though. Dell makes fine computers, they're not the best but they'll do what you need for a fair price.
Now that I've said that, I recommend building it yourself. It's more fun. You become more educated about computer parts. There are tons of guides online that can help. It is more difficult and can be a real headache if you get a bad part, but that's all part of the learning experience. It's very rewarding to be a total noob and get a computer working after receiving a bad part or two. My first self-built computer had two bad motherboards in a row. Every computer I've built since then, either for myself or others, has never had a problem
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If you do buy a dell, here's some general advice.
Get a motherboard that uses PCI-Express (NOT AGP). I believe all of their computers will have this feature by now.
Standard Intel Integrated Graphics are crap and are not going to be good enough. I'm running on an ATI x800 XL 256MB video card. It hasn't failed on anything (it is slow on certain games that use ridiculous graphics, but not the kind of stuff you're interested in). The NVidia 8800 GTS is pretty cheap right now and it's a pretty good card. DO NOT SETTLE FOR INTEGRATED GRAPHICS! If you want a gaming rig, a video card is a must (and should not be affiliated with Intel at all)
Without going into too much detail, pretty much any dual core processor should be fine. Just remember that higher Cache = better, so if you can get a better cache for not much more you may want to spend the extra little bit. More cache = more data can be processed at the same time = faster computer overall
Get at least a gig of ram, two gigs would be better. DDR2 is good.
If you go the Dell Route, I recommend
$70 upgrade for the E4600 Dual Core processor
Windows XP Home
Your choice of warranty
Your choice of monitor (I'd do 22", it's only a little more)
2GB of RAM upgrade (more than 2GB is unnecessary, but 1GB is quickly becoming mediocre)
Just one optical drive, the included DVD burner is fine
160GB Hard Drive (Dell charges WAY too much for their hard drives, it'd actually be cheaper to buy your own and upgrade later)
DO NOT GET A SECOND HARD DRIVE FROM DELL, they overcharge
Don't let Dell charge you just for a hard drive partition. I can't believe this
256MB ATI Radeon 2900 XT for the graphics card. Man, they really don't let you have any middle ground, do they? The 8300GS is a pretty poor card, but it'll get the job done for most things. I still recommend the 2900 XT since it's only a $100 difference and is well worth the price difference
No floppy drive
No modem unless you want a wireless connection (all of my stuff is wired, I don't know what people have against wires)
Integrated 7.1 sound is fine
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No productivity software is needed for a gaming rig
No accessories
Since it's a desktop, risk of accidental damage is low. If it were a laptop, this might be worth it, but it's a waste for a desktop (unless you have children?)
You don't need a Dell Tech to plug it in for you. No on-site service
No backup
No "tune-up" (your PC is not some fucking automobile)
Disable Dell Network Assist
Dell says this build will cost $749. That's pretty good! It's a little more expensive than what I've picked out below, but overall this is a very solid PC. And that's with the 22" monitors! I have to say, this is a highly recommended route. It's cheap and easy (the Paris Hilton build).
If you want to go the build your own route... (as a challenge)
Use Newegg to get reviews on the parts. Even if you don't use them to purchase your items, the user reviews and descriptions are valuable tools.
With the right amount of research, you should probably be able to get two pretty good computers for maybe $1000-$1200. They'll run the games you want and more.
Here's a list of some items that I just picked out on Newegg,
Motherboard - $100 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131289
CPU - $124 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103234
Power supply - $40 shipped after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817153023
Memory (2GB) - $75 shipped after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227269
Video Card (320MB 8800 GTS) - $130 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130082
Hard Drive (500GB) - $100 shipped (you could get more GB for less $, but we're shopping for speed, 7200.11 with 32MB cache)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148288
DVD Burner - $24 shipped (I went cheap on this, this won't influence the system at all, any cheap LiteOn drive will do, you can upgrade to Lightscribe for an extra $15)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827106228
And now pick out any case you want for any price you want. Usually something with some space is nice. Something study is preferred over something cheap and poorly designed. The case won't make or break the system, but most people find that they're happier with a nicer case than with a flimsy case. Personally, I like having a 120mm fan too (instead of standard 80mm on the back)
I recommend, for $86 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811133172
This brings the grand total to $679. This is a pretty good gaming rig. It will be able to play anything on the market now and in the near-future. With some more research and possibly a downgrade of the processor (I splurged on the choice), you could knock this down to $500-$600 easily. That's without a monitor, unfortunately, which definitely makes up the difference. My build is only slightly better, but the Dell is easier and comes with a year of service I believe. Take your pick. Keep in mind, this required literally only five minutes on my part. I haven't done ANY research and haven't been keeping up with benchmarks on a lot of this stuff (I only look into them when I'm building a new computer for myself, which was 9 months ago).
If I were in your shoes, I'd just get the Dell. Be sure to upgrade the RAM to 2GB and the Video card to the highest choice (the middle choice was shit and the integrated graphics are worthless).
