x1950Pro 512mb PCIe = $137 after rebate
e4300 C2D 1.8ghz = $114 (will oc nicely to 2.5-3.0ghz)
cheap mobo $50-75 (I'm rocking out an ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA that does DDR1/DDR2 AGP/PCIe)
Decent power supply $75
Case $30
2gb of DDR2 $100
18-20x DVDRW $33
320gb 7200rpm hdd $80

Totals a little over $700 and it'll play most games beautifully at 1280x1024-1600x1200 (some it will run like ass like Oblivion, but that's cos Oblivion is rediculous). $700 isn't free, but it's not like you have to spend $1500+ like you had to in years past for a decent gaming rig. You can get a better vid card (the next step up I'd say was a 8800gts), but even the 320mb model will cost you more than double the x1950pro 512mb.

_ _ - - = = Pr3tty F1y = = - - _ _