Nice guide, pretty comprehensive. Just a few suggestions...

1) "Celeron" may be awful, but "Celeron D" can hold its own as a budget CPU. This is especially true if you plan to overclock. As soon as I get a working motherboard, I'll be able to personally verify this with my 2.4 GHz (90 nm, 256 kb, 533 MHz) Celly D.

2) The Intel mobo rec of a 925XE w/DDR-2 really only serves the very upper end of the market. Unless you're a millionaire, a 915P-based board is probably more suitable.

3) Samsung also makes good hard drives. They the quietest 3.5" 7200 rpm drives out there, AFAIK, and quite fast too.

This guide is exactly the kind of thing we need to keep producing here at Fix-IT. Keep up the good work, guru.

I'd skip Samsung drives until they've proven themselves for a few years.

-MrD

Comparison of the Intel Celeron D 335 2.8Ghz vs AMD'S Sempron 3100+ 1.8Ghz

Conclusion: "Intel has taken trip down memory lane, and released a value processor line that matches up well against such classics as the Celeron 300A and Celeron 500A. The Celeron D 335 sports an entry-level price, but displayed serious overclocking potential and the ability to compete with a 3.0 GHz Pentium 4.

The Sempron 3100+ may be the best value overclocking chip AMD has ever released, and no Duron has competed against Intel in this way. At 2.15 GHz, our Sempron 3100+ results were excellent for this class, and surpassed Intel in terms of real-world gaming performance. Both processors offer excellent value and overclocking, and it's been a long time since entry-level buyers had this much power at their fingertips."

NOTE: This is @2.15 GHz for the Sempron -They will do 2.5+ on a mainboard with a working AGP/PCI lock

Read Full Review here:
http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardwa...3261_3398581__8

CURRENT PRICING
Celeron
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-112-186&depa=0

Sempron
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-104-214&depa=0

While I'm inclined to agree with you, I prefer to "shop" down.

I omitted Samsung due to replacing so many failed ones. Same w/Quantum.
Jury is still out on Hitachi...
Thank You for the kind words and encouragement.

Good read Mr. Gurutoo...

Thanks Pete!

Here's a quick write-up on memory by me.

Memory

With the current shift in platforms from both AMD and Intel, there are also several new trends in memory. For AMD systems, you still need DDR. The rule of thumb is to get it at the speed of 3200, which matches the CPU. For most systems, memory with average Cas latency, such as Corsair's Value Select at Cas latency 2.5 is a good choice. If you are planning on overclocking or just want the fastest memory around, look for TCCD chips. These are often in memory with latencies of 2-2-2-5, such as Corsair's XMS XL line.
On the Intel side, it depends on your platform. DDR2 was recently introduced, but price and performance of this new memory just aren't top notch yet. In general, it can oly be had with latencies of 4-4-4-12, with a few exceptions such as some ddr2-533 with latencies of 3-3-3-x by OCZ. However, it is not wise anymore to get regular DDR on an Intel platform, as it is simply not futureproof.

For a new gaming PC, 1024mb of RAM are recommended. If you are getting a budget PC based on a Athlon XP, Sempron or Celeron D processor, you might only get 512, but if you are getting a Pentium 4 or an AMD64, you should buy a gigabyte.