A friend asked me to help him but a new PC for under 500._ max. After searching online the one we are looking at seems to offer a lot for the money, and comes with a 3 warranty on system components and labor and unlimited tech help (i am not advertising). http://www.computerlx.com/config.aspx?t=&product_ID=656

He is not interested in games, or cpu intensive tasks like encoding or playing much media, but. I would upgrade the cpu to the AMD Athlon dual core 5000 (40.00) and the memory to 2GB pc5400 ram (20.00), plus a case cooler (6.00). Total cost approx. 450.00 + S+H. A comparable one from Dell woud be approx. 640.000

I pray i can recommend the most for the mone, and comments are welcome, and my more specific questions would be if anyone knows how good Asus mobos are? The default one will handle up to 4GB ram, but only 2 slots.

And what Intel cpu would compare to the AMD 5000?

As for the OS. he really has no need for Vista, and XP (which is what he has now) would prevent any hardware and learning curve problems, but updates may cease rather soon.

THANKS for any input. I've never seen that website, it might not be reliable, we'll know for sure if someone bought something from there. Also, it might be a better idea to build a computer yourself, it is significantly cheaper.Intel has been in the lead for the last 2-3 years now and AMD is still trying to catch up. They both make good processors but Intel will be faster and run cooler than AMD. Benchmark tests have shown that some Intel CPUs rated at slower speeds still outperform AMD CPUs rated at higher speeds.
As far as the ASUS motherboards, they are recommended by Microsoft. They make a good board. I use Intel, however because they come with a 3 year warranty. ASUS comes with a 1 year warranty.

Windows XP will probably continue to have updates and service PACKS until 2014, when extended support ends.
If you are comfortable with building your own computer, check out www.newegg.com for good prices. If you need help picking out parts, let us know.I just built a PC and my budget was also $500. I used Newegg to order the parts, then I PUT them together with no trouble. I had never built one before, so it is very doable.

I got:

Lexa Blackline case
500W PSU with modular cabling
Gigabyte SLI mobo
Athon 64 x2 4000+ (I overclocked it to 2.6 Ghz)
2 GB Corsair DDR2 PC6400
Geforce 8400 GS
Samsung 20x DVD burner
I already had 2 HDD's

All of this after SHIPPING was right at $500 and I get $50 in mail-in rebates. Try getting this system with these specs at Dell and I guarantee you pay $600+, not to mention the fact that you get cheap parts and no control over upgrades etc..

I've never seen the site you mentioned, but I'd be weary of unknown PC builders. It's better just to do it yourself. You can get better parts for lower prices.
I appreciate the advice, and i did a search on reviews of allpczone and found from resellerratings.com that they were overall positive (Lifetime Rating: 9.40), but they only go back as far as the beginning of 2007, while on Ebay they have been a member since Feb-24-05with a rating of 99.7+. Well, praise the Lord for that, though the risk is that they can sell big for a few years and then go out of business. I will call them again for a little more history.

Regarding to the CPU, i have read some of the "debates," and it does seem Intel has gained the lead, but that is why i wondered what Intel cpu would be comparable to the AMD 5000 (not a 5 gig i am sure!)

As for building your own cheaper, it can be close. Searching on Newegg for the same or very comparable hardware ( all but the mobo, which was discontinued, but which i found elsewhere), i came up with this, with shipping (though that would be reduced if combined).

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core 100.00

ASUS M2V-MX AM2 VIA K8M890 mobo $85.00

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - 70.00

Crucial Ballistix 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) 45.00

SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA 30.00

Cyber Acoustics CA2012WW 4 watts 2.0 Speaker - OEM 10.00

Anyware EZ-9910OP Beige PS/2 Standard Office Keyboard - 10.00

Broadway Com Corp 808PA-BKGY Black/ Gray Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case w/ 450W Power Supply 45.00 (should be upgraded).

XP HE OS Retail 110.00 (ebay)

...... OR, Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM 110.00

Total 505.00

So that would be more than the upgraded PC (482.00 with S+H) from allpczone. One thing i would like to upgrade would be the case, which reviews at Newegg say are cheap.