I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO MAKE NOTE: THESE SETUPS DO NOT INCLUDE AN OPERATING SYSTEM, MONITOR OR KEYBOARD UNLESS SPECIFIED
You must have a 64 bit operating system to take advantage of the 4Gbs of ram!
600 USD INTEL SETUP
XCLIO 188A COOLZER Fully Black Finish 0.5 mm SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $49.99
Newegg.com - XCLIO 188A COOLZER Fully Black Finish 0.5 mm SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
GIGABYTE GA-P31-ES3G LGA 775 Intel P31 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $62.99
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P31-ES3G LGA 775 Intel P31 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail $164.99
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$144.99
($129.99 after $15.00 Mail-In
Rebate
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $44.99
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0 Power Supply - Retail
$59.99
($34.99 after $25.00 Mail-In
Rebate
Newegg.com - Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0 Power Supply - Power Supplies
Western Digital Caviar RE WD2500YD 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136010
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 22X DVD?R DVD Burner - OEM $22.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151175
Grand Total $590.92 not including rebates
AMD SETUP $600 USD
Switch out the intel mobo and cpu for these items.
GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128376
AMD Phenom 9650 2.3GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor - OEM $165.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103284
I recommend the intel setup for gaming, but if you're like me and want to do multitasking with dual monitors the AMD setup is the way to go here. If you're going to run the AMD setup go with vista 64 bit, it handles multiple threads a lot better than xp with the 4Gb of ram installed.
The cases can be switched out, my choice of case was due to the price range of the pc. There's no point of having a low end system with a 300 dollar case. Of course that's up to you though