halion1- You?re asking for quite a lot for that price range. It can probably be done, but you?d end up using components from the less ?reliable? manufacturers. If you do decide to go this route, then you should be ready to deal with the worst case scenario (lots of wasted time trying to fix problems/RMAing components). Here are a couple of builds that you might want to consider:
No OCing:
Processor E6300 $183.00
Motherboard ECS P965T-A $78.99
Memory G.SKILL Extreme 1GB (2 x 512MB) 533 $110.00
Video Card $100-150
PSU Ultra V Series 500W Power Supply $0.00
HDD Western Digital Caviar SE WD1200JS $55.00
Combo+Floppy $28.00
OS Windows XP Home Edition $89.00
Total $543.99 (+100-150)
OCing:
Processor E6300 $183.00
Motherboard Gigabyte P965-S3 $122.00
Memory CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 800 $132.00
Video Card $100-150
PSU Ultra V Series 500W Power Supply $0.00
HDD Western Digital Caviar SE WD1200JS $55.00
Combo+Floppy $28.00
OS Windows XP Home Edition $89.00
Total $609.00 (+100-150)
Notes: Pretty much every component was found on Newegg.com. PSU is FAR (free after rebate) right now from Frys.com. jonnyguru reviewed it as well. Not the best, but not the worst either (it is free after all).
Review
Also, you can save money if you have a combo drive and floppy drive laying around.
I?m not sure of the video card that you?ll need (you should look at the tech specs for the games you play), but I?m sure that one can be had for $100-$150 that would suit your needs just fine.
***Edit*** - Some video card recommendations:
eVGA 256-P2-N615-TX Geforce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $112 ($109 from Chiefvalue)
Or for less
Radeon X1600PRO 128MB $64
Here is a comparison of some of the cards that you are likely looking at. As you can see, you get a lot greater performance if you can spend more to get the 7600GT.
****End Edit***
If you can spend $100-$150 more, then you?ll have a pretty decent machine that you can OC, otherwise I probably wouldn?t bother with it. Even without overclocking anything, you?re system should be plenty fast. You should also realize that extra money may need to be spent on aftermarket cooling solutions if you decide to OC your system.
If you do end up going the pre-built route, I do not recommend a Dell. They are overpriced pieces of junk and their customer service is terrible. If you?re going to buy a budget computer, I recommend going with an emachines. Their top of the line models cost about $600 for a complete system (with monitor). Typically there are lots of rebates floating around for them and you can get a very powerful system for $400-500. All you?ll need is a decent video card, and you?ll be good to go.
http://www.emachines.com/
I think the deciding factor will be what you expect to get out of this system. It sounds like you want it to be your new workhorse and if that?s the case I recommend going with something that?s a bit more reliable. If you have the money, I?d look at trying to go for the OC build, otherwise I?d recommend an emachine paired with a video card that suits your needs.
Additionally you can try and wait for sales. Now is a pretty good time for sales and with the build that I just put together, I saved at least $400-500 (maybe more) off of MSRP through the various sales that I took part in. I don?t know if there?s a Frys where you live, but they were having a pretty good sale on the E6300 recently. It was paired with a motherboard for $170. Not sure if it?s still going on though.
Here are some sites that might help you out:
Discount sites -
Fatwallet.com
GottaDeal.com
Dealnews.com
Freeafterrebate.info
Slickdeals.net
Techdeals .net
Hot Deals forums: HardOCP, Fatwallet, Anandtech
Product Price Finders -
Froogle.com
Streetprices.com
Pricegrabber.com
Anandtech real time price tracker
Online Dealers -
Amazon.com
Newegg.com
Chiefvalue.com
RadioShack.com
Monarch Computers.com
ZipZoomFly
p.s. You probably don?t want to use that motherboard with a C2D. You probably want to go with an Intel chipset for an Intel processor. It?s also not a very good overclocker. Check out
this link. In your case, unless you want to use multiple GPUs, I think the 965 chipset is a good match.
p.p.s. The HardOCP forums are quite good if you need advice and I?ve found a lot of very useful information over there. They tend to know what they?re talking about and are able to back up their recommendations with good explanations and/or links to sites. They are also quite willing to help.
***Edit***
p.p.p.s. If you live near a Frys check that deal out. It can possibly save you $90 on the non OC build and 10$ on the OC build (and you'll also have a spare mobo). Then you can put that money towards a better video card or more memory.
***End Edit***
Hope that helps.
Cheers. :beer:
Edit - Added MadAmos's suggestion. :thumbsup: Also added video card recommendations.