What's currently the best-bang-for-your-bucks?

 So far, I came up with the following,

$269.97

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz / 2MB Cache / 1000MHz (2000 MT/s) / Dual-Core (Windsor) / Socket AM2 / Processor with Fan

$59.97    x2   

XFX GeForce 7300 GT / 512MB DDR2 / SLI Ready / PCI Express / DVI / VGA / HDTV / Video Card

$189.99       

EVGA nForce 590 SLI NVIDIA Socket AM2 (940) ATX Motherboard / Audio / PCI Express / SLI Ready / Dual Gigabit LAN / USB 2.0 & Firewire / Serial ATA / RAID

$119.97       

OCZ SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)

$39.97       

Ultra / X-Finity / 600-Watt / ATX / Dual 80mm Fan / SATA-Ready / SLI Ready / Black / Power Supply

$146.99       

ThermalTake Tsunami Series Aluminum ATX Mid-Tower Case with Top USB, Firewire and Audio Ports - Black

$119.97       

Western Digital / Caviar SE16 / 500GB / 7200 / 16MB / SATA-300 / OEM / Hard Drive

 $79.97       

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard

 $73.99       

Logitech G5 Laser Gaming Mouse

$239.97       

Hyvision by Megavision MV220 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 5ms, 1000:1, WSXGA+ 1680 x 1050, DVI, VGA, Component Video, Black, Integrated Speakers

Total: $1400.46

I could use old/existing parts that I got and cut the last 4 items off the list and comes out with total $886.56

Note that the prices are listed in CND and priced after rebate from tigerdirect. (Probably several hundreds more if I didn't count rebate)

I want to spent the least amount possible but not suffer from performce cut too much. Of course, I won't want it so cheap that I ended up with some crappy celeron system. I also noticed that I I buy pre-built system, it seems cheaper but the parts aren't exactly what I want. I've always prefer building my own computers and been doing that starting my 3rd computer since the P2 age. I am open to suggestion for barebone builds also.

What I am using the computer for,

• gaming
• encoding videos (creating DVD)
• internet
• probably some web/app programming

Gaming and encoding videos are the 2 main things that suck the computer dry, IMO. That's why I picked 2x SLI video cards. I also tend to multitask. Most likely, encoding videos in the background. Watching stream videos and browsing.

I would probably have chosen intel build but the cost for the same performance is a lot more. I am open to all suggestions, though. 

Two crud video cards in SLI is worse and more expensive than one good card. Really.

Try AMD. They have the best value for mainstream graphics cards. Um, one HD2600 XT $129? Most games don't take advantage of SLI and 7300 will not give good frame rates at all. It also has a complete video decode pathway which helps in video playback.

The CPU is OK, perhaps even overkill. 5000+?

I find "gaming mice" and "gaming keyboards" no different from the cheap versions.

You can get a much cheaper motherboard than that. $100 even. Just has to be Socket AM2 and 1 PCI-Express port. You don't need SLI/CrossFire for 1 card.

You do NOT need a 600W power supply. 2600 XT is very power efficient so 400W would do.

Have you thought about the OS? Vista? XP? Linux? For performance and price XP Home is the best option.

I mean it about the graphics card though: two of last generation's worst cards is completely inferior to one of this generation's midrange cards for the same price.
Um, What about RAM? 2GB DDR2-667 should do.

I'm no expert but it seems to me your spending a decent amount on the CPU and motherboard and then scrimping on the GPU. I haven't checked any benchmarks but I reckon a single more powerful Geforce 8600GT (about the same price as 2 7300's) would be better than two 7300's (for gaming at least). You could then always buy a 2nd graphics card at a later date.

Just personal opinion as I'm too lazy to check out the performance benchmarks of 2 cards vs 1.

I will most likely put XP on this system and save the old system for linux. Or even dual boot.
I haven't got vista, so, I don't know how compatible it is with current games and/or compatible with older games.

As for video cards, I thought dual cards work faster than a single? Must be false advertising getting into my head :)

The PSU was just randomly picked since the price for that 600W is the same as 500W.

When I built my pc, I got an Intel Core Duo 4300 which is 1.8GHz stock and o/c'd it to 3GHz simply by upping the fsb speed. At the time, all of the 4300's would do it, but I'm not sure if it's still true. I believe the E6600's are good o/c's too.

Here you go!

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/07/19/system_builder_marathon_day_3/

Note that they went with a $500 video card, I got an ATI x1950 for about $130. There really isn't a nice DX10 card right now in the midrange price.

Ok, so my recommendation is to put together something similar to the setup on Tom's, but get a cheaper video card and upgrade it in a year or so when DX10.1 is more mainstream and the cards are cheaper. I'd also look into getting a better processor, possibly the E6600 and o/c it. Search around the internet and there'll be plenty of articles similar to the one on Tom's, but with different hardware used.

Looking at the list that you put together, I have one really big problem with it. DO NOT skimp on the power supply. It's the number one system killer that everyone always overlooks.

P.S. I know all the console users always freak out about how much it costs to upgrade your pc. If you know what you're doing, set aside a couple hundred bucks a year and you'll pretty much always have a competitive pc. One year, upgrade the video card, next year add more ram, next year cpu/mobo. You get the idea. IMO, it's really fun because you're always anticipating what you'll do next!

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+: $139
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103768

AMD Radeon HD 2600XT: $109
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102700&Tpk=HD%2b2600

2GB DDR2-667: $76
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145098

Don't overclock. You don't want to worry about stability. The power supply is not that important, 600W is overkill - I have a 6000+ and an X1950PRO on a 500W and it's fine and that'll be way more power hungry than a 5400+ and an HD2600XT. As for the 8600GT he mentioned, HD2600XT is the same performance, but cheaper and with a better video pathway. As for Intel processors, AMD is cheaper in your price range unless you overclock which is unnecessary. Gaming and video will be fine with my build and it's far cheaper than you suggestion and better because games are heavily video-card dependent.

I wouldn't spend more than $200 on a CPU considering how fast the technology is advancing and ESPECIALLY if you don't want to spend more than $150 on a graphics card.

The graphics card is DEFINITELY the bottleneck in this setup. I would recommend spending $200 on a CPU and $200-300 on a graphics card, or some sliding scale of those numbers in proportion to each other.

500W power supply is safe, 600W is unnecessary except for high end graphics card AND in SLI. Low end SLI and high end single cards will both be fine with 500W. $40 is an amazing deal on a 600W PSU but won't that hurt the electric bill? I honestly am not sure on that point.

Personally I would get a second hard drive for backup purposes, but if you have a different backup solution then never mind.

And get XP Pro if you can, Vista is a total resource hog. Vista is slick but gaming will probably suffer.

Certainly do not use SLI/Crossfire. Games do not fully utilize it, those cards don't have proper video acceleration, it costs more than a single card with more performance and you need an expensive motherboard. $120 new card > $130 2x very old cards

Gaming? XP. Period. End of story.

Next year may be Vista's year, but for now nothing beats XP for gaming.

/opinion