Ok, so I have about $500 to spend...

[UOMaddog]

I've run Windows 7 64-bit with as little as 1GB of RAM and it works wonderfully. I dealt with the hassles of WinXP64 for 2 years and I would choose Win7 in a heartbeat for ANY task

[Hoby]

What did you ever decide on??  Overall cost?? 

[Cerveza]

Never pulled the trigger, was going with the described system though....

[Hoby]

Here's what I would buy: (In fact, I just hooked my brother-in-law up with this setup)

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Retail (w/ Fan): ($150)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4615717&CatId=4432

Corsair 4GB Dual-Channel DDR3: ($120)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3642209&CatId=4524

ASUS M4A79XTD Motherboard ($110)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5023028&CatId=4296

Now, for the graphics card, you have A LOT of leeway. You could finish off the last $120 of your budget quite easily, or save yourself a lot as well. I would recommend any of the following:
XFX Radeon HD5450 ($65):
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5692362&CatId=3669
ASUS GeForce GT240 ($83):
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5516904&CatId=3669

is this still a decent build or is there better, newer pieces out there. 

[Masscre]

it is still a decent economical build. There is always better builds but for the price that is a good decent build.

[UOMaddog]

I was actually just customizing a new system (but decided I didn't want to drop $500). Here's what I would recommend now:

PROCESSOR: $180
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851
Why: Top of the line 6-core processor for an amazing price (compared to i7's from Intel) not to mention, only 95W vs 125W for the 3.0Ghz version that is exactly the same otherwise! Also is a retail box so it includes the heatsink/fan (you could upgrade if you want, but no point if you're trying to keep the budget down, plus it's 30W lighter in the power department)

MOTHERBOARD: $103
ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131646
Why: First, USB3.0 (2 ports). Might as well get it if you're building a new PC now. 6Gb/s SATA ports (5 of them). HDMI, Digital-Optical, etc. are nice bonuses!

MEMORY: $120
CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145315
Why: 2x4GB gives you room to expand in the future. (Just buy 2 more sticks instead of having to replace all 4x2GB). Corsair XMS is extremely reliable. Lifetime warranty (very easy to deal with)


I'd have to do a little more research on Graphics Cards etc. for the rest of the build, but $403 for the main 3 components is pretty darn nice! I'd probably consider an ATI card simply because the motherboard has a built in 4250 graphics chip that you can do Hybrid SLI (might as well get something out of it, right?). Although, the nVIDIA GTX 4?0 series is not that expensive for a nearly top-of-the-line card! Maybe someone who has research recently could shine some light on the graphics cards! Power supplies/cases really don't change that much so just about anything decent will do (700+W modular power supply, any half-decent case)

[Cerveza]

This is a *VERY* timely resurrection.

I may just go with the very setup UOMD mentioned above. I don't need a top line graphics card yet... I'm still using a 6600... I don't play many games on the PC anymore, just UO. But I'll probably want to get an ATI for this. I hate crossing platforms.... if the MB is ATI then that's the type of video card I want to have.

I like that the MB has graphics also, in case I want to dual monitor.

Maybe toss in a faster drive to take advantage of the SATA, I think mines the old slower SATA drive.

Read THIS REVIEW of the MB and sounds very impressive. They say best bang for the buck.

[Cerveza]

Looks like the processor is a 125W? You mentioned 95, but even the description shows 125....

[Hoby]

I need a new desktop, and i got some money coming in finally.  System sounds good.  Cerv mentioned dual client support.  I am really interested in this, but never have done it before.  Any other components needed?

[UOMaddog]

Hmm...you are correct. When I look at it now, it says 125W. I could swear I read it as 95W but maybe I was crossing two in my head.

[Cerveza]

1055T - 2.8 GHz - 2MB L2 - 6MB L3 - 125w
1045T - 2.7 GHz - 2MB L2 - 6MB L3 - 95w

That might be what you were seeing. But they don't have the 1045T at Newegg. Looks like they are very hard to find and mostly in "pre fab" systems.

That's not a biggie, for the price I think you've chosen the most processing for the $$$ with the 1055T.

[UOMaddog]

Yea...I mean $20 difference if you want to go up to 3.0Ghz and run your electricity bill up just a wee bit more each month! LoL

[Cerveza]

Well, I'm very seriously considering this as an upgrade to my system.

The CPU is impressive and I probably won't need additional cooling, I don't plan to overclock. The MB is VERY nice for the money. And the RAM is pretty slick for the price as well. I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on this setup.

[UOMaddog]

RAM prices are the only thing that annoy me. I bought 8GB of DDR2 800Mhz RAM 2 years ago for $35. Now I'd be paying 4 times as much for the same amount (albeit the newer RAM is DDR3 and 1066MHz)

P.S. I decided not to drop $500 on this build and just upgraded my processor for $75 (95W Phenom X4 9750). My current motherboard ( XFX nForce 750a ) only supports AM2+ processors up to 95W so I couldn't get the 125W Phenom X4's that are $20 cheaper, but oh well!

[TrailMyx]

Ya, don't cheap out on your RAM like I did.  I had the opportunity to go DDR3 back when I put together my quad-core.  I wish I had - it's worth the extra buck-a-lux.