Okay, if you're just getting the box, this should be a nice setup. Since you're in the Great White North, I'll use
NCIX as a reference, with prices in the Canadian $.
Motherboard:
-Abit AV8, Socket 939 motherboard ----$146.76
CPU:
-Athlon 64 3500+, Socket 939, Retail box (includes heatsink) ---$355.53
RAM:
-Kingston HyperX 1024MB (1GB) PC3200, 2x 512MB sticks ----$350.30
Video Card:
-XFX GeForce 6600GT AGP 128MB ------$309.98
Hard Drive:
-Western Digital 80GB, 8MB cache, ATA100 ----$82.70
-Optical Drive:
LG GSA-4160B, DVD+/-RW, CD-RW, IDE ----$94.01
-Case
Antec SX1040 Performance II, Black w
400W Antec Power supply ------------$135.65
Total: $1,474.93
A few notes:
-The hard drive and optical drive are OEM, meaning you don't get a big fat bundle. You do get software with this particular optical drive, but NCIX doesn't have it with all of them as far as burners go
-If you get another case, make sure to get a power supply, even if it has one bundled with it. The reason is, Antec bundles their own power supplies with their cases and these are good quality units. Other cases bundle cheap, crappy power supplies that are either under powered (despite whatever wattage they may claim) and/or not large enough to accomodate your system to start with. Antec, Sparkle, Thermaltake, or Enermax are good brands to stick with. If you really want to splurge, PC Power & Cooling has some awesome units, but the are extremely expensive ($200 USD for their 510W unit).
-If you stick with AMD, stick with a Socket 939 processor as AMD has relegated Socket 754 to the budget sector and has said there won't be any faster CPU's than the Athlon 3400+.
-If having 1GB is too much for you, that's fine. To get the most out of your CPU, get a dual-channel kit for starters. This has two matched sticks of memory, which is a requirement for dual-channel memory setups, like all Socket 939 systems have. Get PC3200 (DDR400) or faster if you like, but don't get anything slower. Make sure you don't get anything less than 512MB or you'll suffer some performance.
-Make sure you stick with AGP video cards, as there are some that are PCIe (PCI Express) and will not work with any other slot but a PCIe 16x one. Half-Life 2 can run at good resolutions without an uber-expensive card. I wouldn't get anything less than a Radeon 9600, 9600Pro or 9600XT (skip the 9600SE).
-Price doesn't include the OS, shipping, any applicable taxes or floppy drive.
-Feel free to go to an optical drive that's not as expensive.
