In very general terms--

Fast, multicore processor
Fast memory (DDR3)
Fast SDD & HD (Decent sized SDDs are not cheap!) A good fast HD is about
double the cost of a more common one of the same capacity.
Dual GPUs (one card) or two fast video cards minimum. Fast, high capability
video cards are expensive, and new "faster better" ones are always coming
out.
Decent DVD/CD burner drive (They are fairly inexpensive, unless you need
"Blueray", which may cause a 5x price increase)
Power Supply (capacity depends a great deal on the video cards) 600W
minimum, 750-900 W or more preferred. Beware cheap "peak rated" Power
Supplies.
The power supply should be "SLI" and/or "Crossfire" approved/rated.
A "Single Buss" supply may be better than a multiple buss design, unless you
can carefully balance loads and outputs.
Multiple Video cards may require a 1Kw or better supply and heavy duty case
cooling.
Case with variable speed fans adequate or better cooling capability, and
easy access to components. Temp monitoring is a plus.
Case prices are not aways a good indication of quality or capability. There
is some concern involving the motherboard layout and case layout and
cabling.
High quality motherboard that is "overclocking friendly", with enough slots
for multiple video cards. ("Cross fire" or "SLI" motherboards)
You cannot mix Nvidia and ATI video cards on the same system without
problems. Motherboard support for AMD/ATI video is available, as is support
for Nvidia.
Don't mix Nvidia SLI video cards and motherboards optimized for AMD/ATI
"Crossfire", Etc..

Fast response LCD display. (Lots of caviats in the specs.)

Windows 7 64b Professional version (allows use of virtualization and win
XP), and 8Gig or more of RAM
Actually, compatability with games without the virtualization and XP is
fairly decent.
One of the problems seems to be some games that run fine with DX 9, and not
so well with DX 10 or 11.
Active UAC can also be a problem.

Remember, Google is your friend!

Cost? You had to ask--bottom cost is around 1k US with prices rapidly going
up with speed and multiple video cards.
4 to 5 k US (and up) might be a reasonable guess for a very high end gaming
desktop, unless you want to get into very high end processor chips at 1.5 k
ea.



"Ken" wrote in message
...
I am buying a new gaming / multimedia capable computer and I am looking for
suggestions on good gaming rig specs. Can anyone give what they'd consider
the best specs for a gaming computer. This will help me choose a rig and
how much I'll need to spend. Much appreciated.