I have been running a computer building business for quite some time.  I've built dozens of PC's in my time, maybe even over a hundred by now, but I'd never built myself one.  First I built one for the family, then I built one for a few friends and people I knew.  I bought a laptop at this point.  Next I started my business, and while I always wanted to build a PC of my own, I kept justifying that I had 2 gaming consoles which was enough and that my laptop was good enough.

Lately that laptop is starting to act up.  It is 2 years old, with crappy graphics and specs, so I am selling it, building a desktop, then buying a cheaper small laptop.

Here are the specs of my entire setup:

Case:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147113
PSU:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189005
Mobo:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186141
CPU:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103289
Heatsink/Fan:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004
GPU:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121289
RAM:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209
HDD:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075
DVD:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151179
OS:  Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit

Also included in my setup:

Speakers:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121019
Wireless:  802.11a/b/g/n

After all mail in rebates and combo discounts, the total cost is $570.  Some highlights of this build is obviously the CPU, while old, is the unlocked Black Edition, and that combined with the great 780G chipset mobo and the Sunbeam heatsink/fan will allow me to overclock this bad boy to at least 3.2GHz.  The RAM has great timings of 4-4-4-12.  The GPU is the Asus HD 4830 with an aftermarket dual slot cooler and fan for added overclocking and cooler/quieter performance.  I already have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and at my 19" monitor's 1440x900 resolution, this video card should destroy everything!  It is better than the 9800GT/8800GT and 8800GTS 512MB for a bit cheaper!  The hard drive was small because I don't need extra space yet and will upgrade the HDD when needed.  The case is a Newegg brand, which I had never heard of, but after looking into it, for $40 you get a very nice case with 2x 120mm fans!  The PSU is a 500W Xcilio, which again I would not have normally used, but for it's price, amperage, and great reviews, it was plenty for my system.

Now, what games should I get that are must haves for PC?  My real motivation for getting this PC was for Games for Windows Live, but I see so far that sellection is limited.  I am looking forward to purchasing all my future RTS games on this desktop such as Red Alert 3.  I am also into FPS games, but I mainly do those on my 360 or PS3.  I already have Half Life 2 and Counter Strike:  Source on my steam account so I'll re-download those!

Videocard is awesome. I have the 4850 which is the same one just overclocked a bit and it owns. Same processor too... I only have 3 gigs of ram tho :(

Yeah I have had plenty of builds use the HD 4850.  I love them to pieces!  Ever since the HD 4000 series I have been favoring ATI for graphics cards.  I was about to get the 9600GT since I had used those a lot in the past, but this one was like the same price or slightly more for a lot better video card!

I'm getting this for my HDTV... Up the 3D Capabilities for the TV that is...

MSI K9N6PGM2-V Socket AM2 Barebone Kit - AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz OEM Processor, 2GB DDR2-667 Kingston Memory, 250GB SATA II, ATX Mid-Tower Case, 450-Watt Power Supply Add A Review
More MSI Computer Products		Item Number: M452-2847 D Model: Availability: Usually ships within 24 Hours Original Price: $299.99  Instant Savings: -  $100.00  Price:   $199.99

$200 for that isn't bad, although you'll still need an OS, GPU, cpu heatsink/fan, and DVD drive. If you need any help picking things out, let me know. I'm well educated in computer hardware and really know my business

@sega4life

You'll need a DVD drive too right. Bluray drive maybe...

@nightsurge

All AMD cpus come with heatsink I believe. Unless stated otherwise...

Only retail processors come with heatsinks.  His clearly states it is OEM, which basically means he is only getting the actual chip and not the heatsink (and a limited 30 day warranty instead of the manufacturer's full warranty that retail CPUs have).

Oh...eww!

Lol...dont mind me sega4life, its still a good buy :)

RTS:

Older games, but cheap and still worth it:

Rise of Legends (fantasy)

Act of War (modern)

Paraworld (dinosaurs)

Spellforce 2 (fantasy+RPG)

Empire Total War (March 2009)

Red Alert 3: Uprising (March 2009)

Dawn of War 2 (February 2009)

Panzers Cold War (February 2009)

Funny, I just built a new system with an AMD x2 64 6000+ and a Radeon 4830, very similar to your system, with only 2 GB of ram currently though hehe. I reused some of my old PC, since my PSU broke on my old one, and I decided it was time to upgrade a little bit anyway.

sega4life, I'd be a little worried about that 450W psu, otherwise that bundle seems like a good deal. But if you get a new GPU and a couple case fans, you're pretty much maxed on what that psu's capable of...just keep that in mind in case you decide to get another hard drive or really power-hungry GPU or something.