Cheap as possible first build

[Trotter]

Case/Power Supply Combo - Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

CPU/Motherboard Combo - Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Ram - Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Desktop Memory

GFX Card - Newegg.com - XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
($12 more, but has a lifetime warranty)

Hard drive - Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Optical Drive - Newegg.com - HP Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA 24X Multiformat DVD Burner LightScribe Support - CD / DVD Burners

$462 w/free shipping on the case, CPU, mobo, and hard drive. Does not include operating system.

If you opt to go with Vista, get the 64-bit version and up the RAM to 4GB: Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Desktop Memory
It will add $30 (w/free shipping), but will be well worth it. Also, if you buy Vista now you get a free upgrade to Win7.

 

[apsoul]

Hmm, take my advice with a large grain of salt because i'm new at this as well, but if you're going for a "best bang for the buck" sort of build, wouldn't it be better to get a dvd drive without lightscribe and maybe rated at something like 16x-20x? Or is the 24x required for certain games? Gaming is definitely not my forte, but just some thought. If you were able to drop the price by $15-$30 then the OS would only put you about $50 over your budget.

Once again, I'm not very experienced in this, if someone says that I'm wrong, then I probably am

EDIT: My bad, I should have looked at the price of the optical drive listed by Trotter, its only $30, might as well get better one, the $5 more would be well spent. But thanks for the thread, has helped me out some.

 

[95BlackGA]

If you were to wait until November, prices on the ATI graphics cards should go down. Not drastically or anything, but it'll save a few bucks.

 

[JorgeHGPR]

This case is alot cheaper and is awesome.

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite RC-310-BWN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases