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Some of us are still humming along on our AGP 4x/8x AMD64 mobo's with plenty of RAM to spare. Where are the new graphics cards for us?!?! nVidia and ATI are in some damn war over their latest, greatest PCI Express cards while they pay little attention to providing cards built for AGP card slots. This, quite frankly, sucks. I'm not a freak about buying every new graphics card that comes out, but it's getting to the point where it's about time to upgrade (so I can enjoy more features of HL2's DoD:Source HDL tweaks) and you simply can't buy an nVidia 7800 card for an AGP slot. If I'm going to spend twice as much on a video card than any processor I've purchased in the last 5 years, it better be the best I can get right now so that it lasts me for a long time to come, but alas, no such card is made for my mobo! Where's the love, graphics card companies?

For starters, go buy Win2K licenses. Only get the bare minimum; your college _SHOULD_ have an academic license program that gets you copies on the cheap. If not, go the fun way; go on eBay and get them there.

Since you're streaming, I assume you're streaming to the entire campus (and possibly the web, via the WAN link). Grab yourself a cheap Linksys 8-port gigabit switch. Don't cheap out and get a hub; get a switch. That'll take care of LAN bandwidth; don't worry about the WAN bandwidth (that's the university's problem).

Here's a link to that on Newegg (I don't know if you can claim tax-exempt, since you're a college organization):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Manu factory=&PropertyCodeValue=1501%3A10238&PropertyCo deValue=1502%3A10242&PropertyCodeValue=0&descripti on=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=30&Submit=Prop erty

Since these are Win98-era machines, I'm assuming they don't have anything other than regular PCI, so no PCI-E gigabit cards. You can get gigabit PCI NICs from Newegg pretty cheap - I see them for $12 and shipping here.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Manu factory=&PropertyCodeValue=1281%3A9683&PropertyCod eValue=1282%3A9687&PropertyCodeValue=1628%3A10711& PropertyCodeValue=0&description=&MinPrice=&MaxPric e=&SubCategory=27&Submit=Property

Next, we come to the real doozy, QoS implementation on the streaming machines. If your college supports it, grab a Win2K/Win2K3 Server license from them on the cheap and install Windows Media Components on it. That'll allow you to stream audio and video over the LAN/WAN. If not, try to dig up an OEM license.

2K/2K3 support QoS out of the box, so that issue is solved.

Depending on the amount of listeners you have, you may want to upgrade to another gigabit LAN drop sometime.

Anyone see anything I missed?

For starters, go buy Win2K licenses. Only get the bare minimum; your college _SHOULD_ have an academic license program that gets you copies on the cheap. If not, go the fun way; go on eBay and get them there.

Since you're streaming, I assume you're streaming to the entire campus (and possibly the web, via the WAN link). Grab yourself a cheap Linksys 8-port gigabit switch. Don't cheap out and get a hub; get a switch. That'll take care of LAN bandwidth; don't worry about the WAN bandwidth (that's the university's problem).

Here's a link to that on Newegg (I don't know if you can claim tax-exempt, since you're a college organization):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Manu factory=&PropertyCodeValue=1501%3A10238&PropertyCo deValue=1502%3A10242&PropertyCodeValue=0&descripti on=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=30&Submit=Prop erty

Since these are Win98-era machines, I'm assuming they don't have anything other than regular PCI, so no PCI-E gigabit cards. You can get gigabit PCI NICs from Newegg pretty cheap - I see them for $12 and shipping here.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Manu factory=&PropertyCodeValue=1281%3A9683&PropertyCod eValue=1282%3A9687&PropertyCodeValue=1628%3A10711& PropertyCodeValue=0&description=&MinPrice=&MaxPric e=&SubCategory=27&Submit=Property

Next, we come to the real doozy, QoS implementation on the streaming machines. If your college supports it, grab a Win2K/Win2K3 Server license from them on the cheap and install Windows Media Components on it. That'll allow you to stream audio and video over the LAN/WAN. If not, try to dig up an OEM license.

2K/2K3 support QoS out of the box, so that issue is solved.

Depending on the amount of listeners you have, you may want to upgrade to another gigabit LAN drop sometime.

Anyone see anything I missed?

You have to.. compile.. these options in? Ewww. Is Linux really that monolithic and stagnant? So far your machine exists solely for the purpose of being set up. What exactly is the point here?

FYI, there is a completely pre-built solution that requires minimal set up. You may have heard of it. And it's not that expensive either ($129 from NewEgg).

Sorry, but the "install and run" ease of use vastly outweighs the "install, sync source, recompile, swear loudly, tweak, recompile, reinstall, guess, finally get working then a new version comes out and you have to start all over again" mess that is dealing with Linux. If I was employed as a sysadmin maybe I'd give a damn. Otherwise, what really is the point? Especially for a home entertainment center. Getting repeatedly punched in the throat by Linux was fun.. about 10 years ago.

(A one-time Linux advocate who loves that Windows XP on the desktop is effectively hassle-free compared to Linux).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16814125142

Roughly the same performace, more if you unlock the pipes/shaders. Passive cooling. AGP.

Open-cell foam is what's commonly used in cases that have filters. It seems to work pretty well. You could also use a metal screen, like those used in windows. That way, it'd be reausable and easier to clean. Of course, dust filtering in my case is near impossible. I've got a Cooler Master Centurion 5; the whole damn thing is covered in ventilation holes.

I like to have the minimum fans in my system. The problem with graphics card fans (and chipset fans for that matter) is that they are tiny and fast, and make more noise (and are more prone to failure from what I've seen).

My current system runs with this card (a fanless 6600 from Gigabyte. Not the GT version though). I just have a big cooler for the CPU (Zalman CNPS7700AlCu), a decent PSU with a 12cm fan, and a single 12cm fan for the case. I also replaced the chipset cooler fan with a fanless heatsink from zalman (ZM-NB47J), which makes it run hotter, but it is acceptable. The noise level is very low overall.

I use this USB enclosure for only 15 bucks shipped, combined with a cheap laptop hard drive. It fits in your pocket, is dirt cheap, does NOT need an external powersupply, and can be as nearly large (in capacity) as you want.

thank you for the Antec advertisement, Taco

as for the rest of us who actually pay attention to the tech world, this is NO breakthrough as there are already a ton of fanless power supplies out there.

list of all fanless powersupplies already availible on newegg

in fact, this antec supply still has a fan. how is this a breakthrough? how is this worth posting?

oh i forgot, it's NOT, it's and ADVERTISEMENT.

For all you guys jumpin' to get this, the detailed specs of it are located here, as well as a place to buy it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16817103926#DetailSpecs

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16812149113

The 4gb nano is what, $250?

Well last time I bought a 1gb USB 2 flash drive it was $50.

So 4x$50=$200 so you are wrong, you can buy 4gb of flash for less than the ipod nano.

A quick check on newegg will verify this. 1 gigs are going for $50ish and 4 gig USB flash are arond $200ish.
http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp? SubCategory=7-68
pick type of Flash Drive (USB) and pick capacity if you like.

However, I still agree with your point that its fairly amazing they can fit the screen and touchpad and electronics/mp3 player inside AND the 4 gig flash for $250. I just disagree with the exactness of your particular statement about flash price.

It's not very popular around here,but I would strongly suggest going with Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition 2005. If you've already got the MythTV machine with a hardware MPEG2 encode card, then it's only the cose of the OS + remote. MCE has a really good interface (shocking that it's a Microsoft product), and you don't need to pay a monthly fee for the guide data. I used to run Myth, then Freevo, and tried MCE very hesitantly, but I can't imagine going back now. And no, I'm not some Microsoft fan boy -- it's actually VERY good.

$100!? $40 nets you a nice one off Newegg. Dual layer, too.

I thought this was great news for those in the market for a new PC relic, but after a little searching look what I found! A crappy, old fragment costs $380,000! That's just a motherboard, really, and they used to cost about $100. The NewEgg site (which hasn't yet been updated to consider PCs' relicdom) puts your CPU at a little over $350, which means that, proportionally, they're now more than one million, three hundred and thirty thousand dollars!!1 If you got your PC for less than six million, by God, you've been blessed.

I thought this was great news for those in the market for a new PC relic, but after a little searching look what I found! A crappy, old fragment costs $380,000! That's just a motherboard, really, and they used to cost about $100. The NewEgg site (which hasn't yet been updated to consider PCs' relicdom) puts your CPU at a little over $350, which means that, proportionally, they're now more than one million, three hundred and thirty thousand dollars!!1 If you got your PC for less than six million, by God, you've been blessed.

Same Mobo with a gig of ram; I chose the Antec Aria case, an nec dvd-rw dl; and 160gb hd.w/mepis 3.3.2 test2. The nice thing is it is quiet; I have enough power to download torrents and pass them to my TV connected computer, surf the web, write email and the whole thing was about $300 and about 2 hours setup and tweek. Yes, my processor is only 1ghz. but, that is more than enough to do what I need to do here. Plus with this case I have plenty of room to add more things as need be.

Heres some links for good hardware to start with.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16856101111 - I actually use this very one. Comes with some excellent media center software, a remote control, built in stereo Hi-Fi unit (can operate independantly of the rest of the computer). Essentially, you end up with a DVR/Media Center/Hi Fi Stereo unit.
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16856101233 - Intel-based version of above
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16814127987 - Reccomended tuner to the above hardware. I use a cheapy ATI TV Wonder that I've had for a few years anyway

You dont need a high power processor, a ton of RAM, or anything beyond the on-board video, unless you plan on doing things beyond DVRing. I have a bit of experience with this, so drop me a message if you want any furter info.

Heres some links for good hardware to start with.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16856101111 - I actually use this very one. Comes with some excellent media center software, a remote control, built in stereo Hi-Fi unit (can operate independantly of the rest of the computer). Essentially, you end up with a DVR/Media Center/Hi Fi Stereo unit.
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16856101233 - Intel-based version of above
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16814127987 - Reccomended tuner to the above hardware. I use a cheapy ATI TV Wonder that I've had for a few years anyway

You dont need a high power processor, a ton of RAM, or anything beyond the on-board video, unless you plan on doing things beyond DVRing. I have a bit of experience with this, so drop me a message if you want any furter info.

Heres some links for good hardware to start with.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16856101111 - I actually use this very one. Comes with some excellent media center software, a remote control, built in stereo Hi-Fi unit (can operate independantly of the rest of the computer). Essentially, you end up with a DVR/Media Center/Hi Fi Stereo unit.
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16856101233 - Intel-based version of above
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16814127987 - Reccomended tuner to the above hardware. I use a cheapy ATI TV Wonder that I've had for a few years anyway

You dont need a high power processor, a ton of RAM, or anything beyond the on-board video, unless you plan on doing things beyond DVRing. I have a bit of experience with this, so drop me a message if you want any furter info.

• Case: Thermaltake Kandalf VA9000BWS Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Full Tower
• Power Supply: OCZ Powerstream 520W
• Motherboard: EPoX nForce4 EP-9NPA+ ULTRA
• Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
• Memory: 2GB (2x1GB) OCZ DDR PC3200 Platinum (2-3-2-5)
• Hard Drives: 2x Western Digital SATA-II 250GB, RAID-0 Setup
• DVD-RW: NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - OEM
• Video Card: BFG Tech Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
• Sound Card: SB Audigy 2 ZS
• Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 505W 5.1 Speakers

Final cost: $1900. Is it worth it to spend an extra $3100 for a 10 fps gain in Doom3?

Final verdict: Build it yourself. You'll be happier and save money.

The units you listed (at least the first few) look like a drive cage inside an external enclosure. I do not know where you can buy one of those pre-assembled, but you can get the three major parts easily enough and just put it together yourself.

5 drive cage (built in raid - IDE/SATA with IDE drives):
http://areca.us/products/html/ide-ide.htm

1394 to IDE bridge board:
http://www.granitedigital.com/catalog/pg19_firewir ebridgeboards.htm

external 4 drive enclosure:
http://www.macgurus.com/productpages/scsi/mgscsien closures.php

if you don't already have drives, you could look here:
http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Category.asp?Cat egory=15

Alternately, you could get the areca unit and mount it inside the computer - just check that you have 3 free 5.25" drive bays without any protrusions.

I recently picked up one of the SCSI to SATA areca raid units and it has worked well so far - one of the fans went south, and they are shipping out a new one.

Slackware 10.2 is easy to get set up and running on a RAID-5 configuration (other than having to wait forever to format with a thorough read/write test). For under $1000 I've got a pretty decent 1.75TB media server, and that also includes 256M ECC registered memoery and a UPS. It doesn't include the case since I'm building a custom box for better soundproofing and cooling.

Slackware 10.2 is easy to get set up and running on a RAID-5 configuration (other than having to wait forever to format with a thorough read/write test). For under $1000 I've got a pretty decent 1.75TB media server, and that also includes 256M ECC registered memoery and a UPS. It doesn't include the case since I'm building a custom box for better soundproofing and cooling.

Sheesh, this is a VERY thinly disguised ad. Here's a direct link to NewEgg $169. Has the same details as this "story."

They're available, just look for 'class 1' radio devices instead of 'class 2'. This is the one I got: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16833124143

Office 2003 Basic is good... Word, Excel and Outlook for ~$170.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16838152006

http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16823128030&CMP=OTC-Froogle&ATT=ZIPPY+WK-720+Silv er+USB+Wired+Slim+Aluminum+Keyboard

Try this keyboard it is very nice. Industrial grade Scissor switches and the keys are machined out of aluminum with the letters engraved no way you'd wear them off. Plus aluminum is non porous so bacteria die a horrible death as they dry out.

I love mine.

Hitach 7K500 - $357 - .71 cents per gigabyte
Western Digital WD2500KS (250 GB, comparable specs) - $122 - .49 cents per gigabyte

Hitach 7K500 - $357 - .71 cents per gigabyte
Western Digital WD2500KS (250 GB, comparable specs) - $122 - .49 cents per gigabyte

Ok, bad link. Anyway, 4GB only yielded this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16820228036
But I still agree with the pricing, argument was never really the point of my post.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82 E16820183156 Anyway, I'd be really interested in this if Apple's sole intent was to acheive an absurdly long battery life. I'm sure they could do with with a black and white screen and no hard drive.

X Mystique, Dolby Digital Live-encoding PCI sound card.
I have three of them. They rock. Best hardware I've purchased in years, since they let me junk shitty Asus boards (AFAIK Asus is the only company that ever fully implemented soundstorm to begin with) for Gigabyte and Soltek hardware that I'm much more comfortable with.

Here's a good summary of my experiences with the first card I got.

it's $28 per 100 pack.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?subm it=PROPERTY&SubCategory=71&propertycodevalue=874:8 097,876:8118&bop=and&order=price

replies. yeah, the psp is a bit expensive and you /could/ just buy a portable dvd player, a video game player, an ipod and the various accessories, or you could have it all in one sleek package.

Yeah, when you consider that the iPod is the PSP of MP3 players. All style, no substance. The simple replacement works wonders.

Portable DVD - 79.99
Zen Xtra 30GB - 184.99
Nintendo DS - 129.99
Backpack - $10.49

Factor in the cost of rebuying all of your movies, enough Memory Stick (or whatever the hell they call it now) space to store ripped movies/music, etc... and it's about neck and neck, in favor of the different parts.

Of course, save more bucks by replacing the DS with a GBA-SP, getting a smaller Mp3 player (or skipping it altogether, the linked DVD plays MP3s), etc.

If you want to play watered down ports and impress the same sort of person that makes up the iPod Fanboy Brigade, get a PSP. (Note: This does not imply that the DS has a great selection itself. There's a reason I've wasted my cash on neither of these dogs)

It's at Newegg for 107USD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16856110030

Add a few bits and you've got a complete low power system.

Its hard to see how a computer savy group can live without computer shops around, without the modern amenities and most importantly without coffee !!

You can order computer equipment from Newegg. As for coffee, get yourself an expresso machine and make your own. :P

newegg has an 80 gig notebook drive for 90-something dollars.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82 E16822149016

Oh I'm sorry, but that's not the answer we were looking for!
40GB for less than $110 including shipping
Thanks for playing though!

Do I detect a CHALLENGE???

DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 - $98
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146
Samsung Spinpoint SP2014N 200GB ATA133 - $86
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB - $169 (comes with XIII, so there's one game)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $90
Seasonic S12-330 PSU (22a on 12v channel, 330w max) - $59
In-Win S508T case - $53 (includes okay power supply for backup)
Logitech MX510 mouse - $28
Logitech cheap keyboard - $8
NEC DVD Burner - $50.

(I'm assuming that, since the 360 doesn't come with any way to watch/listen to games, that this computer doesn't come with a monitor or speakers.)

Total cost: $787, including one game. That leaves $413 for ten games (from ebgames.com), so here we go:

Guild Wars: $50
Advent Rising: $30
Madden NFL 06: $40
Battlefield 2: $50
Doom 3: $30
HL2 - GOTY: $50
C&C Generals Deluxe: $30
Empire Earth II: $50
Rome: Total War: $50
UT2004: $30

Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?

Do I detect a CHALLENGE???

DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 - $98
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146
Samsung Spinpoint SP2014N 200GB ATA133 - $86
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB - $169 (comes with XIII, so there's one game)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $90
Seasonic S12-330 PSU (22a on 12v channel, 330w max) - $59
In-Win S508T case - $53 (includes okay power supply for backup)
Logitech MX510 mouse - $28
Logitech cheap keyboard - $8
NEC DVD Burner - $50.

(I'm assuming that, since the 360 doesn't come with any way to watch/listen to games, that this computer doesn't come with a monitor or speakers.)

Total cost: $787, including one game. That leaves $413 for ten games (from ebgames.com), so here we go:

Guild Wars: $50
Advent Rising: $30
Madden NFL 06: $40
Battlefield 2: $50
Doom 3: $30
HL2 - GOTY: $50
C&C Generals Deluxe: $30
Empire Earth II: $50
Rome: Total War: $50
UT2004: $30

Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?

Do I detect a CHALLENGE???

DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 - $98
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146
Samsung Spinpoint SP2014N 200GB ATA133 - $86
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB - $169 (comes with XIII, so there's one game)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $90
Seasonic S12-330 PSU (22a on 12v channel, 330w max) - $59
In-Win S508T case - $53 (includes okay power supply for backup)
Logitech MX510 mouse - $28
Logitech cheap keyboard - $8
NEC DVD Burner - $50.

(I'm assuming that, since the 360 doesn't come with any way to watch/listen to games, that this computer doesn't come with a monitor or speakers.)

Total cost: $787, including one game. That leaves $413 for ten games (from ebgames.com), so here we go:

Guild Wars: $50
Advent Rising: $30
Madden NFL 06: $40
Battlefield 2: $50
Doom 3: $30
HL2 - GOTY: $50
C&C Generals Deluxe: $30
Empire Earth II: $50
Rome: Total War: $50
UT2004: $30

Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?

Do I detect a CHALLENGE???

DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 - $98
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146
Samsung Spinpoint SP2014N 200GB ATA133 - $86
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB - $169 (comes with XIII, so there's one game)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $90
Seasonic S12-330 PSU (22a on 12v channel, 330w max) - $59
In-Win S508T case - $53 (includes okay power supply for backup)
Logitech MX510 mouse - $28
Logitech cheap keyboard - $8
NEC DVD Burner - $50.

(I'm assuming that, since the 360 doesn't come with any way to watch/listen to games, that this computer doesn't come with a monitor or speakers.)

Total cost: $787, including one game. That leaves $413 for ten games (from ebgames.com), so here we go:

Guild Wars: $50
Advent Rising: $30
Madden NFL 06: $40
Battlefield 2: $50
Doom 3: $30
HL2 - GOTY: $50
C&C Generals Deluxe: $30
Empire Earth II: $50
Rome: Total War: $50
UT2004: $30

Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?

Do I detect a CHALLENGE???

DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 - $98
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146
Samsung Spinpoint SP2014N 200GB ATA133 - $86
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB - $169 (comes with XIII, so there's one game)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $90
Seasonic S12-330 PSU (22a on 12v channel, 330w max) - $59
In-Win S508T case - $53 (includes okay power supply for backup)
Logitech MX510 mouse - $28
Logitech cheap keyboard - $8
NEC DVD Burner - $50.

(I'm assuming that, since the 360 doesn't come with any way to watch/listen to games, that this computer doesn't come with a monitor or speakers.)

Total cost: $787, including one game. That leaves $413 for ten games (from ebgames.com), so here we go:

Guild Wars: $50
Advent Rising: $30
Madden NFL 06: $40
Battlefield 2: $50
Doom 3: $30
HL2 - GOTY: $50
C&C Generals Deluxe: $30
Empire Earth II: $50
Rome: Total War: $50
UT2004: $30

Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?

Do I detect a CHALLENGE???

DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 - $98
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146
Samsung Spinpoint SP2014N 200GB ATA133 - $86
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB - $169 (comes with XIII, so there's one game)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $90
Seasonic S12-330 PSU (22a on 12v channel, 330w max) - $59
In-Win S508T case - $53 (includes okay power supply for backup)
Logitech MX510 mouse - $28
Logitech cheap keyboard - $8
NEC DVD Burner - $50.

(I'm assuming that, since the 360 doesn't come with any way to watch/listen to games, that this computer doesn't come with a monitor or speakers.)

Total cost: $787, including one game. That leaves $413 for ten games (from ebgames.com), so here we go:

Guild Wars: $50
Advent Rising: $30
Madden NFL 06: $40
Battlefield 2: $50
Doom 3: $30
HL2 - GOTY: $50
C&C Generals Deluxe: $30
Empire Earth II: $50
Rome: Total War: $50
UT2004: $30

Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?

Do I detect a CHALLENGE???

DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 - $98
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146
Samsung Spinpoint SP2014N 200GB ATA133 - $86
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB - $169 (comes with XIII, so there's one game)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $90
Seasonic S12-330 PSU (22a on 12v channel, 330w max) - $59
In-Win S508T case - $53 (includes okay power supply for backup)
Logitech MX510 mouse - $28
Logitech cheap keyboard - $8
NEC DVD Burner - $50.

(I'm assuming that, since the 360 doesn't come with any way to watch/listen to games, that this computer doesn't come with a monitor or speakers.)

Total cost: $787, including one game. That leaves $413 for ten games (from ebgames.com), so here we go:

Guild Wars: $50
Advent Rising: $30
Madden NFL 06: $40
Battlefield 2: $50
Doom 3: $30
HL2 - GOTY: $50
C&C Generals Deluxe: $30
Empire Earth II: $50
Rome: Total War: $50
UT2004: $30

Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?

Do I detect a CHALLENGE???

DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 - $98
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146
Samsung Spinpoint SP2014N 200GB ATA133 - $86
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB - $169 (comes with XIII, so there's one game)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $90
Seasonic S12-330 PSU (22a on 12v channel, 330w max) - $59
In-Win S508T case - $53 (includes okay power supply for backup)
Logitech MX510 mouse - $28
Logitech cheap keyboard - $8
NEC DVD Burner - $50.

(I'm assuming that, since the 360 doesn't come with any way to watch/listen to games, that this computer doesn't come with a monitor or speakers.)

Total cost: $787, including one game. That leaves $413 for ten games (from ebgames.com), so here we go:

Guild Wars: $50
Advent Rising: $30
Madden NFL 06: $40
Battlefield 2: $50
Doom 3: $30
HL2 - GOTY: $50
C&C Generals Deluxe: $30
Empire Earth II: $50
Rome: Total War: $50
UT2004: $30

Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?

Do I detect a CHALLENGE???

DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 - $98
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146
Samsung Spinpoint SP2014N 200GB ATA133 - $86
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB - $169 (comes with XIII, so there's one game)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $90
Seasonic S12-330 PSU (22a on 12v channel, 330w max) - $59
In-Win S508T case - $53 (includes okay power supply for backup)
Logitech MX510 mouse - $28
Logitech cheap keyboard - $8
NEC DVD Burner - $50.

(I'm assuming that, since the 360 doesn't come with any way to watch/listen to games, that this computer doesn't come with a monitor or speakers.)

Total cost: $787, including one game. That leaves $413 for ten games (from ebgames.com), so here we go:

Guild Wars: $50
Advent Rising: $30
Madden NFL 06: $40
Battlefield 2: $50
Doom 3: $30
HL2 - GOTY: $50
C&C Generals Deluxe: $30
Empire Earth II: $50
Rome: Total War: $50
UT2004: $30

Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?

Do I detect a CHALLENGE???

DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 - $98
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146
Samsung Spinpoint SP2014N 200GB ATA133 - $86
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB - $169 (comes with XIII, so there's one game)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $90
Seasonic S12-330 PSU (22a on 12v channel, 330w max) - $59
In-Win S508T case - $53 (includes okay power supply for backup)
Logitech MX510 mouse - $28
Logitech cheap keyboard - $8
NEC DVD Burner - $50.

(I'm assuming that, since the 360 doesn't come with any way to watch/listen to games, that this computer doesn't come with a monitor or speakers.)

Total cost: $787, including one game. That leaves $413 for ten games (from ebgames.com), so here we go:

Guild Wars: $50
Advent Rising: $30
Madden NFL 06: $40
Battlefield 2: $50
Doom 3: $30
HL2 - GOTY: $50
C&C Generals Deluxe: $30
Empire Earth II: $50
Rome: Total War: $50
UT2004: $30

Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?