Let's be realistic: most of us cannot afford to build the latest and great gaming machines out there. Fortunately, there are some cost-cutting moves we can take to reduce the cost of our computers without drastically reducing the performance.

Step down to a slower CPU model

Having a top of the line CPU is great - your computer is as fast as it can possibly be - but spending almost $1000 for one processor can seem pretty insane. Heck, even spending $200 can really tighten the purse strings. Thankfully, you don't need to spend a lot of money to get great performance out of your processor.

Most of the money in the processor market is made in the mid-range price-point - anywhere from $100 to $200 - because it's the best combination of price and performance. Fortunately for us, it's also the price point where taking a step down to the next processor model doesn't cost us an arm and a leg in performance value; for example:

The AMD Phenom II X4 965 is $245. While it offers top of the line performance, it's a bit expensive for most tastes. On the other hand, the AMD Phenom II X4 945 is only $185, with the only major difference being a 400MHz drop in clock speed.

Step down your memory speed

This one is a tad controversial, but hear me out! DDR3 memory is expensive when compared to DDR2, and the performance advantage of using DDR3-1333 over DDR3-1066 is almost nothing compared to the performance advantage of just having more RAM.

A stick of DDR3-1333, on average, costs about $50 more per stick than DDR3-1066.

If you have to choose between memory speed and memory size, always go with size.

Use last generations top of the line video cards

Another controversial cost saving move, but I swear I'm not insane! If you stick with only the latest generation of video cards, you're going to end up paying a lot of money. If you want comparable performance at a discount, then getting last generations top of the line performer is a great way to save money while still getting great performance out of your machine.

On average you could save anywhere from $200 to $300 if you stick with old technology.

Smaller Hard Drives are OK

Generally, I like having more space in my system so I don't have to do a lot of rearranging, but if you find yourself trying to squeeze every last dime out of your computer, then using a smaller hard drive is fine, so long as you know that you're going to run out of space and need to clean up your machine every once in a while.

If you can, stick with something above 500GB.

You don't NEED a Burner

You do not absolutely have to buy a DVD or CD burner for your computer. Yeah, it would be nice, but you could save upwards of $50 or more by sticking with just a DVD reader.

Of course, you CANNOT skip out on a DVD drive - how else are you going to get your games on your computer?

Don't waste money on peripherals

There is an infectious disease amongst gamers: they must have the flashiest and shiniest things. This includes a $200 keyboard and $100 mouse.

That's just insane. Don't get me wrong: they're great products, but you do not need them to play your games (and chances are, you won't notice them when you're playing). Your best bet when on a tight budget is to put your money elsewhere and pick up a cheap keyboard and mouse.

Step down your monitor size

It would be nice if we could all afford 30" monitors for our computers. The reality is, though, that we simply can't. Heck, some of us can't even afford a 24" or 22" monitor - and that's no big deal.

At the distance most PC gamers play their games at, a 19" monitor, while smaller, will do the job just fine, and could save you hundreds of dollars.

Do you have a question? Send it to lordkat@gmail.com

Be safe,
Jason