Just noticed today that Newegg has this case on sale with free shipping:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024

This has to be the best value for a low budget build, it is one of the few case/psu units with a really good PSU. The Earthwatts 500 watt, and it does come with all the connectors you would need for a budget build, both the 4 pin 12V and the 8 pin 12V, and even a couple of PCIE 6 pin if you would want to add a more powerful video card later.

I think you can aim for a cheaper power supply and low-end case... Or just get a low-end case but stay with a decent PSU.

 These are pretty good and if you pair it along with the new 7200.12 Seagate drives they match perfectly.

Corsair XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory

$59.99 Your Price: $54.99

$39.99 After $15.00 MIR

Rosewill 0.8mm SGCC Steel Slim MicroATX Computer Case with ATX12V Flex 300W Power Supply

$64.99 Your Price: $39.99 With Promo Code EMCLVML43

Some cheap power supplies:

hec HP585D RETAIL 585W ATX12V Power Supply - Power Cord Included

$34.99 Your Price: $24.99

Topower ZU-550EZ-1 550W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - OEM

$49.99 Your Price: $24.99

Okay so far I've found 2 good newegg combo deals that fit this budget, can you guys help me figure out which one is better bang for the buck?

AMD Combo deal

Intel Combo Deal

Any input on this would be great.  I understand the AMD might be superior due to the L3 Cache, but I hear lately intel has had better architecture with it's CPUs over AMD.

My recommendations are based upon - little to no gaming, no or extremely minor overclocking. Once you start to talk about serious overclocking (changing voltages, and other complicated issues) things become different.

The AMD Combo deal you posted above would probably be a little slower than the Intel Deal.

My recommendation would be:

This combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211558   [$74.99 After MIR]

Processor: AMD Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition Kuma 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

Graphics: GIGABYTE GV-R435OC-512I Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card - Retail 

You can probably push the 7850 to 3.0 GHz on stock cooling and voltage without issue. The 4350 gives you enough for general movie viewing and casual games, plus HDMI, VGA, and DVI output for connectivity. Plus with the combo discount & MIR its like getting the 4350 for $15.00.

This combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.214789 [ $104.98 after MIR ]

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC

I used this exact motherboard in a recent build. Its solid, runs well, and is available at a great price with the combo deal. OCZ makes great power supplies, 600W may be more than you need, but it won't hurt.

 Memory: Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS24G8500ELKR2  [42.99 After MIR ]

I used this memory in my build with the Gigabyte motherboard. It runs fine in that motherboard, and you get the DDR2 1066 speeds out of the box with no configuration necessary due to EPP.

Optical Drive:  Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe Support [$31.99]

Any SATA DVD burner should be fine. Most of the less expensive ones are sold out right now so I just threw this on in there. 24X is super fast. If you wait a few days you can probably pick a burner up for $24.99 or less.

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" [$99.99]

The Caviar Black has 32MB of Cache, is know for being very fast for a 7200 RPM Drive, and has a FIVE year warranty.

Case:  Rosewill R230-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case [29.99]

[ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147075 ]

Intake Fan: APEVIA CF12S-UBL 120mm Case Fan [$4.99]

[ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998124 ]

Cases are really a matter of personal preference. So its up to you and your Aunt.

Total $389.92 After MIRs

nibs:

My recommendations are based upon - little to no gaming, no orextremely minor overclocking. Once you start to talk about seriousoverclocking (changing voltages, and other complicated issues) thingsbecome different.

 

The AMD Combo deal you posted above would probably be a littleslower than the Intel Deal.

 

My recommendation would be:

This combo:http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211558  [$74.99 After MIR]

Processor: AMDAthlon X2 7850 Black Edition Kuma 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

Graphics: GIGABYTEGV-R435OC-512I Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card - Retail 

You can probably push the 7850 to 3.0 GHz on stock cooling andvoltage without issue. The 4350 gives you enough for general movieviewing and casual games, plus HDMI, VGA, and DVI output forconnectivity. Plus with the combo discount & MIR its like gettingthe 4350 for $15.00.

This combo:http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.214789[ $104.98 after MIR ]

Motherboard: GIGABYTEGA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Power Supply: OCZModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI CertifiedCrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC

I used this exact motherboard in a recent build. Its solid, runswell, and is available at a great price with the combo deal. OCZmakes great power supplies, 600W may be more than you need, but itwon't hurt.

 Memory: PatriotViper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) DualChannel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS24G8500ELKR2  [42.99After MIR ]

I used this memory in my build with the Gigabyte motherboard. Itruns fine in that motherboard, and you get the DDR2 1066 speeds outof the box with no configuration necessary due to EPP.

Optical Drive:  SonyOptiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe Support[$31.99]

Any SATA DVD burner should be fine. Most of the less expensiveones are sold out right now so I just threw this on in there. 24X issuper fast. If you wait a few days you can probably pick a burner up for $24.99 or less.

Hard Drive: WesternDigital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s3.5" [$99.99]

The Caviar Black has 32MB of Cache, is know for being very fastfor a 7200 RPM Drive, and has a FIVE year warranty.

Case:  Rosewill R230-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX MidTower Computer Case [29.99]

[ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147075]

Intake Fan: APEVIA CF12S-UBL 120mm Case Fan [$4.99]

[ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998124]

Cases are really a matter of personal preference. So its up to youand your Aunt.

Total $389.92 After MIRs

Thank you very much for your substantial input, it is helping me a lot.  You mentioned that the intel deal might be a little faster than the AMD, why is that exactly?  I thought it would be the other way around since the AMD I listed earlier had L3 cache, is the intel CPU better within architecture?  

If Intel does have superior architecture than would it be wise to find a little better intel cpu than the  AMD combo deal you listed?

The deal you posted was for a lower clocked AMD processor and with a locked multiplier which makes overclocking a little more complex. The 7850 with its unlocked multi and 1066 ram should be a little better than the E5200.

At stock speeds and ram they are almost a toss up, see: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=66&p2=90

My feeling is that if you were to configure a similarly equipped E5200 system, you'd probably have to compromise and end up slower ram, a smaller harddrive ( or one with less warranty ), or a power supply that isn't as good. 

For my builds I never compromise on power supply, and I generally only trust OCZ, Antech, or Corsair. You are building this computer, so if something goes wrong you are going to be the person that gets called to fix it... I do freelance computer repair and the power supply is normally the most common thing that fails. Spend a little extra and get something that will work the for life of the computer.

You might also want to consider this deal / processor:

 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.207567

AMD Phenom 8650 Toliman 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Triple-Core Processor Model HD8650WCGHBOX - Retail 

benchmark results vs 7850: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=90&p2=25

nibs:

You might also want to consider this deal / processor:

 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.207567

AMD Phenom 8650 Toliman 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Triple-Core Processor Model HD8650WCGHBOX - Retail 

 

benchmark results vs 7850: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=90&p2=25

Looks like a nice CPU, do you know if that mobo you suggested earlier is compatible with the X3?  I can't see it in the specs anywhere, i know it's the right socket type, but I hear if the mobo doesn't recognize the X3 then it won't read the 3rd CPU. 

The page here: http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=2978&ProductName=GA-MA770-UD3 says that the mobo does support the X3.

Oh hey nibs by the way, if I'm going to use a XP 32-bit should I just use 2 gigs instead of 4 since i hear it would only read 3.5 gigs within windows?

And would there be a noticeable difference between the two in a 32 bit XP? 

Oh, and how is the onboard sound on that mobo?  Is it worth buying a pci sound card or is the onboard sound good for surround sound movies? 

The recent build I did with that mobo was for my uncle. He is using XP 32-bit & Ubuntu Linux 64 bit. There is a huge difference between 4GB ( or 3.5 GB ) vs 2GB of RAM.

okay, I finally made up a list.  I altered some things of yours nibs and took what others had to say into consideration in this thread too.

Most of it is of your suggestion though nibs, so thank you very much.  It's over the 400 budget, but my aunt is content with the revised price since it's no more than 200 dollars more.

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=7271409

If you think I can better bang for the buck within this price range then please feel to provide input. 

nibs:

I'm always happy to help. It says the wish list is empty.

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=7271409&guid=68c3701c3a724adaa24bb6c474875bbc 

if this link isn't working then be sure to make sure you're logged into newegg I tried it on my other web browser and I saw a similar message and then logged in and was able to see it. 

WoKeN:

nibs:

I'm always happy to help. It says the wish list is empty.

 

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=7271409&guid=68c3701c3a724adaa24bb6c474875bbc 

 

if this link isn't working then be sure to make sure you're logged into newegg I tried it on my other web browser and I saw a similar message and then logged in and was able to see it. 

Thats linked completely wrong .................... in order to link to a wishlist, it must be a Public wishlist.

Should look like this                        

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=12067026

Gms

EDIT: here is yours in its corrected form.........

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=7271409

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