I went for the [b:3c6a82a6a4]cheapest[/b:3c6a82a6a4] possible build while sticking with brand name components that I've had good experiences with or I've actually read good reviews about.  I also used the UT3 recommended system specs as a rough guide.  Don't knock the C2D for being under 2.4 GHz... a Pentium D is also dual core BUT at equal clock speeds a C2D smokes a Pentium D AND runs cooler.  Cooler running processors not only cut down on heat (a cooler operating environment can also extend the life of the components) but will also use less electricity.

Epic's UT3 Recommended specs:
• 2.4+ GHZ Dual Core Processor
• 1 GBytes of System RAM
• NVIDIA 7800GTX+ or ATI x1300+ Video Card
• 8 GB of Free Hard Drive Space 

<table border="1"><TR><TD>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811156062">RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black SECC STEEL ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail</a>
</TD><TD>$84.99</TD></TR><TR><TD>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131189">ASUS P5K SE LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail</a>
</TD><TD>$104.99</TD></TR><TR><TD>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814102080"><font color="#333333">SAPPHIRE 100173L Radeon X1550 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail</font></a>
</TD><TD><font color="#333333">$54.99</font></TD></TR><TR><TD>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150185"> XFX PVT73GUGF3 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail </a>
</TD><TD>$87.99</TD></TR><TR><TD>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115031">Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz LGA 775 65W Processor Model BX80557E4500 - Retail</a>
</TD><TD>$129.99</TD></TR><TR><TD>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820148069">Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA1065 - Retail</a>
</TD><TD>$101.99</TD></TR><TR><TD>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136161">Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500AAKS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM</a>
</TD><TD>$69.99</TD></TR><TR><TD>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106228">LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DH-20A4P-04 - OEM</a>
</TD><TD>$27.99</TD></TR><TR><TD>
<a target="_blank" href="https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=9206447&amp;WishListTitle=Budget%20UT3%20Machine">Newegg Wishlist</a> - Subtotal:</TD><TD>$607.93
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Anyone have the guts to buy, build and try it?  Come on... the case has a window :)
I used <a target="_blank" href="http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/17/sbm_low_cost_system/">this</a> tomshardware article as a rough guide.

The Raidmax Smilodon case... It's not aluminum (so I don't think I'd really get it for myself - aluminum cases are lighter, have better thermal dissipation, are easier to cut and mod but also cost more than steel cases) BUT the motherboard tray is removable - it opens on the backside as if it's hinged at the bottom and looks like it can be completely removed from the case without removing any of the PCI cards you have installed.  Being able to get the motherboard out of the case with the PCI cards attached aids greatly in installing the components (putting everything together outside of the case so you have full 360 degree access to just about everything is sooo much better than trying to assemble parts inside the case with access from only one side) and it also comes in handy should you want to upgrade something later or if you have to do some hardware troubleshooting.  It comes with a 500 watt power supply too which should be more than enough power for this system.

The Asus P5K was also used in the tomshardware article - I've had 2 Asus mobos with no major complaints.  It has on-board audio so there's no need to add a sound card when trying to keep the cost down.  It doesn't support dual PCI express video cards and neither does the budget for the system.

The Radeon x1550 is above the UT3 recommended system spec, cheap, and has a passive heatsink cooler.  Stock fan coolers on video cards are notoriously noisy... why put up with potentially excessive noise from a tiny fan if we're already compromising by trying to keep costs down?
Nvidia's <a target="_blankl" href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&amp;N=2010380048%201069609641%201305520548&amp;bop=And&amp;SrchInDesc=6800&amp;Page=1">6800</a> series might be a better choice if we go by <a target="_blank" href="http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&amp;model1=737&amp;model2=721&amp;chart=318">tomshardware charts</a>... by the model numbers the 6800 is below Epic's spec but the ATI x1550 doesn't even show up on tomshardware's chart so I take that as a bad sign.  Going with the Nvidia 7600GT is a much better choice - thanks Havok.  <a target="_blank" href="http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&amp;model1=716&amp;model2=721&amp;chart=318">6800GT vs 7600GT</a>

The C2D E4500 is cheaper than the E6750 used in the tomshardware article.  It has a front side bus (FSB) speed of 800 MHz.  The Asus P5K supports an FSB of 1333 MHz and for another $60 the E6750 has a 1333MHz FSB.  The cheaper CPU will work fine on this board but if you can afford another $60 or so it's worth it to upgrade IMO but I bet you wouldn't noticed the difference between 800 and 1333 FSB speeds.

The RAM is rated for DDR2 1066MHz and that's what the P5K wants.  You want [b:3c6a82a6a4]two[/b:3c6a82a6a4] sticks of RAM (no matter how many MB or GB) to take advantage of the higher &quot;dual channel&quot; bandwidth.  If you want to cut costs more you can find 2x512 DDR2 1066MHz kits for <a target="_blank" href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&amp;N=2010170147+1052420643+1052308476&amp;name=1GB+(2+x+512MB)">around </a>$60.

The 250GB Western Digital Hard drive.  Not much to say there... if you know you'll never need that much space feel free to cut costs by shopping for a cheaper drive and have fun saving about $20-$30.

The DVD burner is an IDE drive ONLY because Matt and I have both seen people complaining that they are having problems with SATA interface DVD drives.  You do NOT get any more speed out of the SATA interface vs the IDE when it comes to optical drives.  The SATA data cables are much smaller than IDE cables though and I prefer them for that reason.  I would get a DVD drive that has SATA for myself because hardware problems don't scare me until I've wrestled with them for weeks and been beaten into reluctant submission.  IDE/PATA is old tech... but it does work very well and still supported on many new motherboards.

I'd hoped I could get this system under $500 but I guess not with Intel and trying to stick with as current, up-to-date, nicely benchmarked tech as possible without paying through the nose for bleeding-edge tech.  The ATI x1550 video card is probably the weakest link of this system but it's going to be better than on-board graphics.  Someone else could reply with an AMD system that's just as good but cheaper but I bet they won't :P

If you can't continue to use the monitor from your old or another system... the only thing I can recommend is the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001096">Samsung 226BW</a> LCD.  It will set you back $300+ but Matt loves his :)

You're on your own for the keyboard and mouse if you need new ones.

A <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspndt_53x?c=us&amp;cs=19&amp;l=en&amp;s=dhs&amp;~tab=bundlestab">Dell Inspiron 530</a> with the same processor, less RAM, bigger hard drive, worse graphics (integrated = on-board graphics chipset = same as you'd get in a low-end notebook and HELL NO the monitor in the picture is NOT included!!!) [b:3c6a82a6a4]STARTS[/b:3c6a82a6a4] at $699 so I think I did okay with my virtual build.