This is actually one of the problem I see with most shop-built PCs here.
Seriously, pairing GeForce 8400 with Core 2 Quad 6600 (few months ago)?? LOLWUT (don’t forget 1 GB of ram). (and crappy PSU no less)
So, don’t get your priority wrong.
Absolutely need care:
- RAM (less than 2gb is unforgivable)
- PSU (never trust cheapo/built-in PSU)
- Hard Disk (just make sure you get best money/gb rate. Or close)
These below have different priorities, depending on your need:
- VGA card would be the main concern for gamer. Dual core processor is still fine.
- Processor is only useful for users heavily involved in compiling programs, encoding, virtualizing etc. AFAIK, even the current lowest available AMD processor is capable of playing 1080p – the task that most likely heaviest for users I don’t above. Well, gaming is a little bit heavier VGA card is still on higher priority.
Etc.