I just bought these parts and put them together.  It was my first time building a PC, and it was easier than most lego kits.

I copied the build from Techreport,

http://techreport.com/articles.x/15381/2

(they also have builds in the $1000 and $1500 price range, but $500 is all you need to beat the consoles)

My build is slightly different, I went with 4GB of RAM, and I overclocked the e2180 (which was easy) to 3ghz on the stock heatsink and it's running nice and cool, and I got a good deal ($140!) on a HD4850 video card.

Performance:

A dream.  Crysis on high settings running at 28FPS.  Bioshock well over 70FPS, max settings (looks way better than 360 version).  Assassin's Creed, Oblivion, Devil May Cry IV, GOW, Mass Effect all running great.

Simply put, the graphics for the same games are better than anything you'll see on PS3 / 360.

I'm looking forward to GTA IV - which will have longer draw distance, more detail and higher resolutions than consoles, FFXIII, and all the other multiplatform games :)  Not to mention PC exclusives are going to rock this holiday.

For putting it together, I used the guide here:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/13671

And for overclocking, I used this beginner's guide:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/13815

I like TR's build guides because they update them every 2 - 3 months, and they do a lot of research into each part.  If anyone knows any other good sites with build guides, link them up!

For anyone whos interested, theres a 2.8ghz Black Edition (Unlocked multiplier) CPU for $77 on Newegg and IMO thats a great deal for anyone inspired by this thread. IIRC its more powerful than the older pentium design even at 3ghz.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103289

Btw, nice build.

Good price on that CPU! TR listed a similar (slightly slower version) in their "alternatives" section on the next page.

"The Athlon X2 5200+ likely outruns the Pentium E2180 in our primary config overall, but we find the socket's upgrade path considerably less appealing. Still, the Athlon is a decent choice for folks who don't overclock and have no interest in upgrading to a Core 2 Quad CPU down the road."

how abt gears of war? does it run smoother and nicer than 360?

Not interested.

Used to game on PC's got tired updating every 18 months.

It may not be an ideal solution but consoles at least give devs a stationary target as regard specs for a solid 5 years.

Its a fair price considering you need a PC to surf Vgchartz!

The PC has a feature called downloading HD movies.

Good for you.

Nice build.