Well, if your into AH, your a gamer.
Eat out less, shop wise, squirrel away $40 here and there, and just build a good system till Xmas season when all the good games will be out in mass. These days every computer upgrade is well worth the small price tag.
If your struggling to meet the minimum requirments on most new software, just bite the bullet.
A screaming beast will be about $800, and that would be a mean fast Halflife2 eating sum biitch. Just hook up and be done.
You'll be cable bills ahead as you have a true venue to spend your time, game after game after game, hour after hour. Or pay $60 a month for HBO.
Just saying.