Help me pick computer parts!

[Bulldozer]

Okay, this december I'll be moving, and theres a 99% chance my moms gonna give me $500 to build a new computer, I know december is still a few months away but to get some ideas what do you guys reccomend?

BTW, I would really prefer an Athlon XP barton 2500+ as my processor ( I know, the multiplier is very hard/impossible to unlock, I dont really wanna overclock though)

And I'll probably buy this Monitor (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-103-171&depa=1)
So, 500-122=$378 left

Following things need to picked out:
MoBo (must have integrated sound, and 10/100ethernet)
Ram
CD-RW drive
Video Card
HDD (Preferably SATA, and around 40gig)
Keyboard and mouse

I'll spend my own money on cooling/the case/ PSU, and I already got that stuff all picked out.

I wanna be able to play:
Counter Strike with pretty much maxed settings

Call of duty at constantly playable frame rates in 800x600res.

Halo, with good frame rates at 800x600

And I might try some other games.

:confused:

Thanks in advance guys.

[WESTOZ racer]

Mobo: Any mobo with an Nforce2 chipset, as they are the best for AthlonXP. Abit NF-7S 2.0 is the most feature packed reliable beast ATM, and is what I run. It has onboard lan, good sound, onboard SATA, dual channel ram slots, good overclocking features and all the fruit.
Ram: 512mb or upwards of generic/more decent brand DDR400 if you want to overclock somewhat (no-risk o/cing)
Cheaper CDRW
Vid card: prices are ever dropping on decent vid cards. If you can find a new cheaper nvidia Ti4200 vid card, you'll be flying. Otherwise, FX-5200 is a decent solution but not as good as Ti.
HDD: I would go with a seagate SATA hdd as they are reasonably cheap and very reliable.
K/B MS: Logitec MX duo would be the best solution.

[Bulldozer]

Thnx for your help, but if I'm not mistaken, directx 9.0 compatibility is required for call of duty, and the Ti4200 isnt a Dx 9.0 card, is it?

[ExtremeMT]

Dont touch the FX5200...its a horrible card....period...it may be DX9 enabled but the 64mb Ti4200 4x AGP outperforms that craptastic card......Look at an ATI 9600 or FX5600 if you want a good card thats DX9......other then that....i honestly dont see why you need DX9 that bad unless youre a HEAVY gamer......

XP 2500+ Barton- $80 with HSF
ABIT NF7-S Rev. 2 motherboard- around $80 online
1 512mb module PC3200 (Non overclocking memory, just generic)- $75-$80
48-52x CD-RW Lite-on or something of that sort should run around $50 in some places
Ti4200 128mb- $70-$80 in some places
80gig WDD SATA HDD around $100-$110
Standard PS2 keyboard and mouse- $10 (PS2 being the connector type)

Reuse old monitor

[SuperPede111]

If you have a big hard drive on your old system you could put that in there along with the drives and you could buy a ati radeon 9800.

[WESTOZ racer]

I agree that the 5200 is a craptastic core to a point-it overclocks really well, and can nearly double it's performance like that. It will run most games with reasonable detail when overclocked. My old 5200 core got 6000+ 3dmark 2k1 points at stock, then got 10000+ after a core/mem o/c of 306/610. Runs Bf1942 etc with 8x anisotropic filtering without lag.

[Bulldozer]

This computer is going to my brother, so I cant take the monitor, or HDD, but I do have a spare HDD and cables that i stole from my old old system, Its like 6.4gig, and I'm gonna use it to hold all my songs, and videos.

[SuperPede111]

WESTOZ racer said:
I agree that the 5200 is a craptastic core

I love my 5200 it can run unreal tournement 2k4 on the highest video mode with little or no lag with 32 bots and i agree it is showing it's age but if you want a cheap video card i'd buy it.

[Bulldozer]

I think I'll buy it, and if its not up to snuff, overclock it.

[ExtremeMT]

highest settings....but what resolution pede?

[WESTOZ racer]

640x480......:p or 320x400 hahahahahah