[garasaki]

Well, 512 of higher speed DDR is about 200...which leaves you around 70 to spend on misc. stuff. And there actually are a lot of AMD mobos that don't have a NIC onboard still.

A lot of that 70 bucks goes to shipping...so there ya go, you just described the AMD computer I'm talking about. Some people insist on Intel, and I figure you end up spending 150 to 250 more on an Intel machine, for the same performance.

And a note on pricewatch and ebay...why gamble that you're gonna get totally screwed (which a lot of pricewatch companies do) do save 20 bucks?? Cross reference pricewatch with http://www.resellerratings.com or just do what everyone else does, and buy from http://www.newegg.com. Then you know you won't get screwed.