Well if he got an i7 it will probably last him till the next time he overhaul the whole system... if he overclocks.

Whatever you do, if you plan to game, don't get anything lower than a 9800gt/250gts/4850 if you're gaming at 1680 resolution. If you're gaming on a 24" monitor at 1920, then I'll say pay the extra for a 4870/gtx260.

Best Gaming CPU i think at a good price would be AMD X3 710/720.

I live in Aus where the prices are different, so I can't say much about the other components u listed. But the graphics card and CPU i reccomended shouldn't matter where you live.

I put my chumping to the test, and I came up with this!

• Athlon II X2 2.9GHZ
• 4GB Corsair Ram
• 500GB HDD
• ECS Microatx Mobo (Pretty good reviews)
• XFX 4850 1GB (Dual slot cooler +++)
• Rosewill case/500W PSU (good reviews)
• Windows Vista 64 (Apparantly it can be upgraded to 7 when that comes out for free?)

$493 + shipping/taxes with $35 Mail in rebate should you so desire.

Im lazy so links are below:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150351

Video card $117

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

OS $99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.215959

PSU + Case combo $53 with $9.90 shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.235851

Mobo + CPU + Ram + HDD combo

Now, it would be difficult to out chump the chump master, yes?

Impressive. Excellent find.

You should put in the extra few dollars for a Phenom II X2 550 rather than that Athlon II, it performs a lot better than the Athlon. >_>

It was a massive combo deal to save $$$, little flexibility.

Oops, I completely missed that.

Go with the Athlon II X2 then since you're on a tight budget. XD

I'd still recommend putting out a little bit more money so you can get the Phenom II 550, though.

Ya for sure, its a good option but to get everything for $500 means you have to cut it back where you can. If the budget were say $600 it would be far easier, spend another $50 on the case/PSU and another $50 on the CPU and it would be a fantastically balanced system.

It seems like they are starting to liquidate some 4xxx series cards.

This one is on for $113 Canadian ($143 before MIR)

Asus 4870 512mb Dark Knight Edition (sold out at the moment)
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530BD0756&vpn=EAH4870%20DK/HTDI/512MD5&manufacture=ASUS

Guessing they're going to get even cheaper in the near future. I'll bite at $100 for a 4870 and hopefully sell my old card for $30-$40. For the OP it might be worth waiting for a sale to buy a better graphics card instead of the regular price 4850.

I suggest buying a manual $19.99 and Squilliam for 3 hours $139.99

Good luck!