For starters you could build it into a fireproof safe. That'd take care of any future kicks.
Unfortunately, with the way game programmers are inflating requirements (Crytek I'm looking at you, you nVidia share-boosting cocksuckers), this part:
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don't want to have to upgrade it for a few years. At the same time, I cannot afford to just buy top end parts, so that is out
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Is sadly going to be a one-or-the-other deal. I'd wait for ATI or nVidia to announce some earthshattering new product line and then jump on the inevitable price drop of their current (or then old, I guess) stuff.
My advice is to focus most on getting a great motherboard and a good proc. RAM is pretty cheap so that won't be much of an issue, but video cards are an upgrade treadmill from hell. There's little way to win with respect to video unless you have gobs of cash that you're willing to dump into it. A solid mobo will save you a lot of headaches in general as well as offering some nice features of its own (onboard gig-e, onboard RAID, onboard audio, plenty of USB/1394 connections), and a good proc will help your performance overall. Athlon64 X2s are really cheap now that the Phenom's out so you can get some pretty good CPU oomph for not too much cash. Grab a Socket AM2/AM2+ mobo and you can always upgrade to a Phenom later on.
Jam it back in, in the dark.
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CelticWhisper