Customizing your own PC based on your gaming needs, you should be sure that you've got the right software and hardware. Just the basics in such factors simply would not suffice for the demands of hard core gaming. If you know what you want, then selecting the right PC gaming system won't be that hard.
Here is a good question to start off with: what type of monitor works best for gamers? As you may already know, display is a vital element if you want to maximize your gaming experience. If you would recall your very first PC monitor, you can only imagine how huge and bulky it appears compared to the cool LCD monitors of today.
Not only will this new kind of monitor give off brighter colors, but it's easier on the eyes and yourself too, because it doesn't give off as much radiation and that much heat when in use, even during long periods of use. It is lightweight, and can be easily transported from one spot to another. And it is streamlined- to fit the most minimum of space requirements.
The graphics card is also a prime consideration, so what type should you purchase? For the budget conscious, 256 MB would be okay, but 512 MB is the norm for hard core gamers. Also, you should be sure that your motherboard has enough slots to accommodate your needs, since you will be sure to have additional hardware later on.
For the hard drive, of course you want space. Go ape on this one- get at least three hundred gigabytes of hard drive space for your computer. Not only would you be securing all the games that you want to install in your computer, you would also be able to load your computer with thousands of mp3s and mp4s and mpeg files for your viewing pleasure.
Then of course, you would want a good DVD-R. If you are the one with original games (the ones from boxes, anyway) then get a good brand- LG or Sony. You can try the ones like LiteOn but be forewarned that sometimes the cheaper brands conk out ever so often and without warning. That is bound to be a headache.
For the processors, if you aren't interested the Skulltrail, get at least Pentium 4 for your gaming needs. That is the baseline- anything below Pentium 4 will slow down the game play in the worst times.