Praetor

Budget: <1600USD

• AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)
• ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)
• PowerColor 1900XT512OEM Radeon X1900XT 512MB ($479.00)
• Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)
• BenQ DQ60BK ($37.99)
• Spire BlackFin V SP-3005SB Case ($21.99)
• Corsair XMX PC3200 2x1GB 2-3-3-6@2.75 ($176.00 after $40.00 MIR)
• Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)
• Thermaltake Big Typhoon ($54.99)
• OCz PowerStream 520ADJSLI [12V@33A] ($124.99 after $15.00 MIR)
• SUBTOTAL: $1599.95

Adding an extra 100GB and upgradsing to a class leading power supply we're definitely approaching the maximal performance/price value point for this type of system

Budget: <1700USD

• ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)
• RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)
• PowerColor 1900XT512OEM Radeon X1900XT 512MB ($479.00)
• Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)
• BenQ DQ60BK ($37.99)
• Corsair XMX PC3200 2x1GB 2-3-3-6@2.75 ($176.00 after $40.00 MIR)
• Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)
• Thermaltake Big Typhoon ($54.99)
• OCz PowerStream 520ADJSLI [12V@33A] ($124.99 after $15.00 MIR)
• Athlon 64 X2 4400+ [Toledo, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4400DAA6CD] ($458.00)
• SUBTOTAL: $1699.46

For a system that will easily cost you a few grand when bought from an OEM, this box packs a whallop of performance for it's price.

Bigger Budget?
Realistically after this point I'm essentially looking to spend money and it's not really for a few more budget steps that I can direct the system to a more balanced state (i.e., add a RAID5 infrastructure as well as upgrade the memory and then processor/motherboard)

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ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8
4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400
5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10
OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI