Wow! You all gave me some nice suggestions. I really like some of the ideas here: I had done some "shopping" before all your replies came in. What do you think of these?:
Newegg.com - Intel BOXDP43TF LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - MSI N9400GT-MD512H GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
This is $297 before shipping and rebates.
I do like Trotter's idea for the Sapphire video card. I've traditionally been an Nvidia guy, but I do have the Sapphire Radeon X1650 at this moment.
Is there a significant difference between the E7400 and E8400/8500 CPU's? I figured that if I was to pay upwards of $160 for the processor, I should probably buy a quad-core, no? The Intel Mobo seems to have everything that I want - PATA/SATA, PCI X'Press (1X and 2.0/16X), three standard PCI slots, 6 USB, etc.
EDIT: I just took a second look at the Asus P5Q SE Plus Mobo and I'm really liking it! I think I might go with that one.
Thanks for all the suggestions, and keep `em comin'!
Viken K.
Newegg.com - Intel BOXDP43TF LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - MSI N9400GT-MD512H GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
This is $297 before shipping and rebates.
I do like Trotter's idea for the Sapphire video card. I've traditionally been an Nvidia guy, but I do have the Sapphire Radeon X1650 at this moment.
Is there a significant difference between the E7400 and E8400/8500 CPU's? I figured that if I was to pay upwards of $160 for the processor, I should probably buy a quad-core, no? The Intel Mobo seems to have everything that I want - PATA/SATA, PCI X'Press (1X and 2.0/16X), three standard PCI slots, 6 USB, etc.
EDIT: I just took a second look at the Asus P5Q SE Plus Mobo and I'm really liking it! I think I might go with that one.
Thanks for all the suggestions, and keep `em comin'!
Viken K.