[cksboy15]

Very true. Now back to subject.

Aaron suggested a nice build for the $500 budget seeing that the amd phenom II is faster than the core 2.

Quote:

Mobo
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
$109.99

CPU
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Processors - Desktops
$139.00 Free shipping

Memory
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Desktop Memory
$49.99 Free shipping

$298.98

Honestly you could go even cheaper and get the dual core version of the phenom II which is cheaper than the triple core and runs at a higher operating frequency (3.1GHz). Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

If your stuck on intel the 7400 is ruffly the same price ($5 difference)Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops. Either way the price is still pretty good and give you plenty of the budget left to pick and choose a video card and case.