For what it's worth, you'd be surprised how good of a PC you can build, now, for like $300. I know that's still $300. But... *shrug*
When Starcraft 2 came out, my friend wanted to play it, but his old PC could barely handle it. So, he got a barebones kit, plus a video card for like $400, total, that ran the game on ultra settings, with ease.
Just thought I'd mention it, because some people think you have to pay closer to 7-or-800 for a decent gaming PC.
Ok not to be a negative nancy... 300 USD in my country (Argentina) is 300*15=15000 and that's a LOT of money. It would take me half a year or more to pay that and that's not counting the money I spend on my career and bus money, food, rent... ETC XD It sucks bro but I used to live in the US so I know what you mean. A mid end PC is cheap there.