[quote name='jaykrue']Cheap but decent quality ATX case ~ $50 (maybe even cheaper (got a chieftec dragon server case for that much @ newegg.com)
Athlon 2500+ Barton core: $80 (w/ the asus board, it can be easily overclocked to a 3200+ simply by changing the bus to 400 *mine ACTUALLY came this way already so all I had to do was install the cpu - bam! instant 3200+ * )
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo: $112 ($109 RIGHT NOW - 1 day sale newegg.com)
Crucial 256mb ddr ram pc3200: $60 per stick (I'd personally get the Corsair XMS series but you're on a budget)
Chaintech GeForce4 TI4200 8x agp video card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/VIVO: $138 (decent video card but there might be better...dunno since I always go top o' da line for this)
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card: $40 (I'd go w/ the Audigy 2 Z gamer one being offered on front of the CAG website if you have some $$$ to spare or sb live 5.1 for $20 if you wanna go ultra cheap)
Total price:
$ 50
$ 80
$112
$ 60
$138
$ 40
------
$480 (w/o monitor of course)
I think this is a decent setup for the price you want and I think it's fairly comparable to anything you can get from Dell. There might be better Dell deals but I get more satisfaction out of building them myself[/quote]
I agree with most of your choices... one change is a hard drive... you forgot to include one. I would get around 80 gigs, would cost you about 80 bucks
I would also ditch the sound card and just use the onboard sound for your budget. The Asus motherboard uses the nforce chipset (soundstorm sound) which is considered the best onboard sound generally.
Also the video card is old and overpiced because it isnt manufactured anymore. It is a last generation dx8 card. I would go with a 9600 pro on your budget, not only does it perform much better but its cheaper. This is a good choice from newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-291&depa=0
Dont know if you need a cdrw/dvd.