Sorry bout jacking your thread.
It justs seems like everyone was saying to go with the AM2 instead of the Conroe (which I know see was renamed the Core 2 Duo). Your budget at the start was not that far off of the person I'm building this computer for.
Where the difference might be is usage. I'm building mine for good performance in gaming but for the most part I need to focus on running the basics without bogging down. This is where I see the two processors coming into play.
We all know that for the most part AMD is been held as the better gaming machine and Intel the buisness production choice. Yet I don't know how true that holds today. Like I said I remember reading articles on the Conroe saying it would blow the pants off the AM2 in all aspects, even gaming! They were pretty sure of themselves. How this has articulated into present day I am not sure.
If I was to go by history I'd know which processor fell on what side of the tracks. But instead I'd love to see some HARD evidence to prove either way that one performs better in certain situations then the other.
If I had to put money on it I would say the Intel system would probably be a better system for my particular needs and the AMD for all you dedicated gaming machines. But I'd still like to see the proof.
PS: Thanks for putting together that Intel system. It gives me a good place to start from. I know what I would want from the 939 or AM2 systems because I use to build AMD systems all the time. I haven't built an Intel system in years. Thanks again.