so this is wat i have so far the main purpose is to use this for web serfing, movies, recording shows and thats about it maybe light gaming like halo 1 is the video card ok? any opinion on any of these parts? budget is under 300. thanks.

Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1 ECS N8400GS-256DZL GeForce 8400 GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card

Open Box: ECS GeForce 8400 GS N8400GS-256DZL Video Card
Item #:N82E16814134030R
Return Policy: Open Box Item Return Policy
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$26.99
1 hec Black 0.7mm Thickness SECC Steel 7KJ9 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

hec Black 7KJ9 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
Item #:N82E16811121068
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
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-$10.00 Instant
$69.99
$59.99
1 Intel Celeron E1200 1.6GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E1200

Intel Celeron E1200 1.6GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Item #:N82E16819116064
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy
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$49.99
1 ECS GF7050VT-M LGA 775 GeForce7050 / 610i Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

ECS GF7050VT-M Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813135064
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
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-$5.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate
$47.99
$42.99
1 pqi 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Desktop Memory Model MAC412UOE

pqi 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820141188
Return Policy: Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy
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$10.99
1 EXCELSTOR Jupiter Series ESJ8080S 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

EXCELSTOR Jupiter Series 80GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Item #:N82E16822210003
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
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$34.99
Grand Total: $225.94

It's simple. If this build meets or exceeds the recommend system req. for HALO, it's good. Hell, my family pc has the same cpu o/c'ed from 1.6 to 3.0ghz. I'm itching to push it to 3.2 = 100% o/c. But that mobo may be limiting.

You're missing an optical drive (if you want to load games or watch DVDs), a TV Tuner/Capture card (can't record without one), and an OS (unless you're going with linux).

At the very least, I'd recommend doubling your RAM to 1 Gig. With such a low-end processor and minimal RAM, I'm not sure how well this system would record tv shows.

The video card is bare minimum for playing any games, but should be fine for surfing, e-mail, media viewing.

-Wolf sends

i already have a extra optical drive and im planning to use linux.
As for the tv tuner im going to add one later on. And i think ur right 1 gig would be better idea. Its just a basic computer im putting it in my living room i got a gaming rig as well with a quad core and a 9800gx2 so im just gonna game with that.
thanks guys for ur help.
=]