Budget Gaming Build (C2D; $503.77)

Ok, I have only really been involved with this small portion of the community for two days and I've met nice people and almost double in knowledge gained. I see a lot of the same posts coming in about budget builds for gaming, so I kind of made the best/cheapest one I could create using nothing but MIR's.

This is what I came up with, feel free to interject your own with your own findings!

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53 GHz - 45nm, cheapest C2D, highly overclockable (No MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115052

Mobo - ASUS P5Q 775 P45 ATX - Good price/feature ratio, Only 1 PCI/e x16/2.0 (but it's a budget build - $20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131335

OCZ "Fatal1ty edition" 4GB DDR2 800 SDRAM ($35.00 MIR!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227334

EVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI/e x16/2.0 ($30.00 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130318

OCZ "StealthStream" 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($20.00 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341012

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB 7200 RPM HD (No MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148262

Antec 300 ATX Mid Tower (No MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042

Total - $672.89

With Shipping - $641.25*

Total with MIR's - $536.25*

So for $536.25 you get a machine that can play anything you throw at it on high settings and will last you well into late next year before OEM mainstream really starts to make you look like everyone else (IE, your hardware gets old). Not bad, I think...

*Pending on your location/shipping package you chose.

Edits in BOLD

I was thinking that too after a while, so I'll mod the current list to fit in an HD 4850, which will have a much more longevity.

Removed the EVGA 8800GT, and add the ASUS HD4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI/e x16/2.0

Projected totals now are at - $556.86

Edit 2

Removed HD 4850, e7200, Asus P5Q and Fatality RAM

Added:

EVGA 384-P3-N966-TR GeForce 9600 GSO 384MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 *Two for SLI* ($50.00 MIR each)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130356

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (Better at 1.8v for only $5 more, $20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146692

ASRock Penryn1600SLI-110dB LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard (For SLI)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157120

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116072

Projected Totals with SLI setup: $503.77!

CPU - E5200 wolfdale $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116072
RAM - Mushkin DDR2 800 1.8v Better RAM for $5 more
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146692
as long as we're having fun, this SLI motherboard for $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157120
Get 2 9600 GSO at $50 each after rebate and SLI them (have to be sent to 2 different addresses)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130356