I used to be like your avrage Joe, and go out to retail stores like best Buy or CompUSA and would spend top dollar on an average-performing Gateway or HP computer. Today, I've learned from numerous guides on the internet on how to build my own PC. That's right build it from scratch.

All you need to do is look into computer hardware stores, like Microcenter, or sites like Newegg (Newegg is my favorite) and buy the basic hardware and software.

The following is a list of things to buy that will fit a budget of under $800, and the outcome will make you wow.

RAIDMAX AZTEC ATX-619WU Black/ Blue 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case

You need a case big enough to contain everything that you want to put in it, plus more. The bigger the case, and the more ventilation it has, the better it is. A case will be the longest-lasting part of your PC since you could re-use it in ten years with totally different hardware on the inside.

Price: $70

RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-730SS 730W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Modular LED Power Supply

In order to run a powerful gaming computer, you will need a powerful PSU. This PSU packs a 730W punch, enough to power up a very good graphics card.

Price: $60

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz

Multi-core processors are the future. This processor is just about all that you need to run any game. It's a quite and powerful processor from Intel, the leading processor-maker.

Price: $155

PNY VCGGTX275XPB GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

The Nvidia GeForce GTX275 is one of the most powerful GPU's out there. It can run every game out right now on high settings, and is very much a future-proof GPU.

This card is being offered with a free game of Call of Duty 5.

Price: $200

Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 32 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD7501AALS

Today, HDD space is cheaper than ever.This is the thing that you install your images, videos, games, and everything else on. The bigger the better, though a 750GB HDD is perfect for any user, and these can be added on at any time.

Price: $80

WINTEC AMPO 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 3AMD2667-4G2K-R

4GB of RAM is more than enough for today's gaming, and the price is perfect. RAM is used to multi-task. Every open application uses a bit of RAM, the more RAM you have the more things you can have open.

Price: $73

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

The motherboard (MOBO) is the central unit that connects everything together. This is probably the cheapest MOBO you could buy for a Quad Core Intel processor, and it's not bad.

Price: $90

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium

Windows operating systems are the only operating systems that are capable of playing most of the games, so you have to install a Windows OS.

Windows 7 is the latest Windows OS, and it is known to be the true successor to every other Windows OS.

Price: $50

$778