Video games are an expensive hobby — for PC gamers, it’s even more so. When you adjust for inflation, it’s plain to see that the price of consoles have come down quite a bit. In 1977, an Atari 2600 cost $199 — that kind of scratch would almost net you a Wii, these days. For a few dollars more, you could own a new Xbox 360 Arcade at only $279. In the PC gaming world, however, this kind of cash would just about cover the cost of a decent video card — and that’s just one component. You still need some RAM, a case with good air flow, a capable motherboard, and a CPU — none of this is cheap. If you already have most of the components you’ll need to build a new system, you can usually save yourself a few hundred bucks, but for the modern-PC gamer who’s just starting out, you’re looking to spend over $1000, easily. Oh, and don’t forget the monitor!