$300 - $400 gaming build

If you go with an AMD Llano A8-3870K it actually includes the equivalent of a Radeon 6670 on the CPU itself and eliminates the need for a central graphics card.

Try this:

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... - $114.99
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... - $139.99
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... - $44.99

That will come out to $299.97. Use the onboard video which is more than capable until you can get a better GPU.

microcenter near by?

^ thats a really good balanced build for ~$300. only thing i would suggest is possibly getting some 1600 or 1866 memory since the gpu performance of llano scales somewhat with increased bandwidth/decreased latency:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... -$89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... -$129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... -$101.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... -41.99

Total: $364

Depends on your monitor res and PSU. If it's 1920x1080 then try and build something around a 6850 or higher unless the PSU holds you back.

An AMD system:

$150 AMD Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition Deneb 3.6GHz: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

$90 ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

$135 SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

$42 Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1.5V SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total: $417

You'd want to consider adding in a cpu cooler for overclocking if interested. But that would give you a nice system for 1920x1080 and a 4 core overclockable cpu without getting too far out of budget.

I if was you I should totally go for the AMD A8-3850 in combination with the HD 6670. I also used this combination and I am still very happy about it. But don't expect Highest quality, most new games you'll be playing on medium ( like BF3 or whatever)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total = $350

Since the 6670 is $100 and a 6850 is $135, you might as well spend the extra $35 on the 6850. A single 6850 beats hybrid llano+6670. This really negates the need for a fusion APU. Unless the PSU is a constraint or the budget is extremely low, it is hard to find value with the APUs in desktop gaming.

I've had both, A AMD phenom X4 with the HD6850 and the Llano with the HD6670. And to be honest I'm more satisfied with the AMD Fusion combination. Of course this is just my opinion, but as you said, it depends on your budget. I've chosen to build a Vision PC, because I wanted to know how good it works. One thing to mention that could possibly be the reason why I've had better experiences with the Vision PC then with the other one, is that I overclocked the Vision PC to the limit. But even in normal clock settings, it is equal to the HD6850.

I am glad you asked this, and I am glad I found your question.

Listen...

Get yourself 8GB of Corsair XMS3 1333MHz RAM...

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&tok=qO2GsX... - $50

It is good budget ram, and would meet all of your gaming needs.

For your mobo, go with the Asrock P67. It is an excellent motherboard for the money, and really good for CrossfireX/SLi if that is something that interests you in the future.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&rlz=1C2CHF... - $125

It is also CHEAP. Just remember it uses the LGA 1155 socket, so the Sandy Bridge is pretty much your only option. Which brings me to...

...the i3 2100.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&tok=cpabNf... - $125

Really your best bet considering your budget. And for a dual-core it rocks. It will by no means bottleneck the...

...6950 1GB.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&rlz=1C2CHF... - $220

A really good card for the money, and you shouldn't have any trouble getting the most out of modern games with it (while there may be a few you can't max, it can run pretty much everything out there with high visual quality at 720p and possibly 1080p on most, while maintaining a solid 60 fps).

Total - $520

It is a little over your budget, but if you shop patiently and carefully, you should be able to get the above for about an even $500. If you don't have enough, wait until you do - it is only a difference of $100. It will be worth it. Don't settle for less in the GPU department. The 6950 1GB is the bare minimum I would recommend anyone, regardless of budget. If you can't afford at least a 6950 1GB, then you can't afford to get into PC gaming, because you shouldn't have to settle for Xbox quality - don't shoot for Xbox quality.

Good luck.