In our years as computer repair technicians, it has always amazed us at what people will pay for a computer.  This is not to say that we think people are paying too much for their specific computers, it's just that people will buy a much more powerful computer than they need.  In our experience, the vast majority of PC owners use their computers for 2 simple tasks:  Internet and E-mail.  These tasks can be accomplished by even the most basic of computers. 

Consumers get drawn in by the advertizing and hype of more powerful computers.  The idea that only an Athlon or Pentium processor can edit photos or video is pushed at the consumer so hard that they overlook the more affordable Celeron and Duron processors.  If you edit video every day, you would definately benefit from the extra processing power but if you edit one or two videos a year, it is not necessarialy worth the extra money to buy a more powerful processor. 

Gaming brings in a whole different class of machine.  Gaming systems need to be on the cutting edge of currently available technology if you want to be able to play games for more than a year or two.  Keep in mind the minimum requirements when buying any game.  For optimum performance we recommend that your computer be as far above the minimum requirements for the game you are wanting to play as you can afford.  Gaming as used here does not apply to casual online gaming (games such as Bejeweled, Super Collapse, etc.).