I have a really old Pentium 4, 6200 LE PC which I would like to upgrade to gaming capacity at the lowest cost possible.

The only thing I can probably salvage is the case, the hard drive, the recovery drive, and the power supply so I need a new motherboard, RAM, processor, and video card if I haven't missed anything. Maybe a DVD drive, too.

I think I want to get:

Core 2 Duo E7200 clocked at 2.53 GHz.

GeForce 8800GT.

4 GB DDR2-800 RAM.

For the motherboard, I am not sure. Maybe this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186140 . The reviews are average but it's cheap but I know so little about PC compatibility. Someone know of a better motherboard at a modest price?

So, all in all, it'll cost me around $400. What do you think? Is the 7200 good enough? Should I should switch to an AMD processor? Other thoughts?

Well, AMD makes the cheaper CPU's but I heard Intel beats them by a little in performance.....So, if you're on a budget, get AMD...

EDIT: You can get the Athlon 64X2 6000+ for a little less than a 7200...

If budget is a concern, you are probably better off with an AMD. Yes, Intel core processors outperform AMD's, but whether the difference is worth the premium depends entirely upon budget and price/performance payoffs.

The difference in your case, probably wouldn't justify paying an additional premium for the CPU. Not to the point where your CPU is the bottleneck for gaming performance anyway.

Instead of a 8800GT I would suggest getting the ATI 4850 for a couple extra of dollars it will be worth it in the end trust me :D

That's the thing, though. a 3.0GHz Athlon X2 costs as much as the E7200, which is Intel's budget processor. So which one is more powerful? I would guess E7200 so I might as well go Intel.

Before you salvage those parts from the old pc make sure that the specs will be enough for a new pc.

As for the CPU, I say pick the cheaper one because CPUs are not nearly as important for gaming as people claim. Video card is the most important, then RAM and only then CPU.

Last thing, if you want to get 4gigs of ram you will need a 64bit operating system. Otherwise your system will only see 3.5 gigs of ram and .5 gigs of your video memory.

How about this:

Antec Sonata III with 500w PSU $99

EVGA Dual slot 9600gt $110 or $170 for 4850

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $108

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7200 - Retail $120

Total $450 Shipped or $510 with extra room for a HDD/Ram

Im pretty sure that your Power supply will be too old for the new Core 2s so getting the new Antecs a pretty smart move as they are well designed cases.

this is a good PC, nice quick part selection Squil.

Umm, an 8800GT is stronger than the 9600GT and it only costs $120 and it comes with Frontlines: Fuels of War free. Also, that is so not a budget PC (at least within my budget). My selection will only cost me $380 and I will a relatively capable PC.

That card is also $90 after MIR - its an awesome brand and its a dual slot cooler which is better for your PC because it blows the hot air out the back ~10-20% slower than the 8800gt. And that 4850 is $155 after MIR also comes with either the Witcher or Grid depending on the brand and is 40% faster than the 8800gt. So you can pick where you want to throw your flag in the sand.

But you should consider your PSU, open up the case and pull the big cable going to the motherboard and count the pins. 20pins - bad you need a new one, and 24pins good. If your PSU is bad consider getting the Antec case because its like a decent PSU with a great case thrown in for $40.

 Edit: Also you need to find the wattage and whether or not it has a 6 pin cable free. (For graphics)