Hey there I plan on building a new computer to replace my current one
Current specs are:  
AMD 2500+ (1.8GHz)
ASrock K7S8X
1 GB ram (256+256+512)
80GB HDD
no name cd burner
ATI Radeon 9550
westinghouse 19" widescreen
 
I am looking for a cheap (about 500) build for mainly web browsing, apps, maybe some image editing nothing to big, and some gaming, im not looking to get amazing gfx i just dont wanna lag anymore ^.^ i currently play BF2, CSS, TF2, COD2    
but i don't plan to play Crysis or anything like that
 
i am not looking to overclock and this build needs to last me a while
 
i have taken a look at the 500 dollar gaming pc build and most of the parts im planning on getting are about the same price
anyway heres what i have so far
 
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+   ($66)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103211
 
Thermaltake TMG A3 ($14)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835106084
 
GIGABYTE GA-MA770-DS3 ($90)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128081
 
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) ($45)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231098
 
XFX Geforce 8600GT XXX 256MB ($90)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150229
 
Seagate 250GB ($65)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148300
 
Samsung DVD burner ($27)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151154
 
 
Questions:
 
1. Is AMD the right choice, my 2500+ has been pretty reliable and it seems like you get more bang for your buck with the 5000+ over the pentium D (1.8), im not overclocking
 
2. Well i havent decided on a case yet, the Antec case with the earthwatts PSU included is at 100 bucks now on newegg instead of 66 stated in the "$500 Gaming PC" article, so any advice here??
I don't care about having a fancy case, just a cheap one with a good PSU would be nice
 
3. I honestly have no idea about what CPU cooler to get, any ideas?? the one that i put looks ok, but are there any good ones i havent seen yet? some thing cheap would be nice
 
4. Is the motherboard i chose a good one?
 
5. Any other ideas to help me save some cash on this build??
 
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me
 
-Zack

The build seems fine, but most people wont like your build because this is the kind of system they are upgrading FROM not To..I mean if you are really on the budget and this seems the only way out, dont hurry yourself take ur time research and while you take your time save some more because that pc is something u will want to change after u get it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103211
comes with CPU cooler

you wont need the cooler ! my 5400 ran at 31c/ 38c at full load with the stock cooler !

for about $50 more after mail in rebate, you could get,
 
Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 Allendale 2.4GHz 2MB L2 Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115032
 
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128337
 
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) TWIN2X2048-6400C4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145034

retail box comes w cooler fyi ...sorry 4 2 posts...ebaying !

I agree with snakej, u really should take some time and consideration into building this computer. U might wanna also give yourself a little bigger budget, because games are just gonna get more and more intense. From my experience , i would say that building low-end computers by hand doesnt really help u at all. Companies like dell excel at building low end computers because they get parts for wayy cheaper than we do. So if u want a really low end computer for really cheap, u should also look into dell or hp computers

zack, blow an extra 30 bucks on a wd 640 aaks, you can take it with u when u upgrade again

Save money and use the same case?  

The 8600 series are absolute crap.  
 
Look at fatwallet.com and slickdeals.net, they post the best deals on the web.  A month ago there was an 8800gt 256mb with a game (Call of Duty 4?) for $77 after a $30 rebate.  

For the Same Price, Consider the 8600GTS.......
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121069
 
For $20 More AR, Seriously consider a Seriously better card.....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814103051