Ok, since my previous Dell post only pulled 13 views with no replies, I will rephrase the question. I am looking to get:
Intel 3.2C processor
512 MB PC3200 RAM
Audigy2 ZS
80 GB hard drive
monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, etc

Basically an entire system, all for around $1200. I only found a select few vendors that semi-matched this (Compaq,HP,Dell). I could not get a 3.2C anymore, only the Prescott is available. I would love to build my own rig again, but if I bought all the parts the price is through the roof. I buy most of my parts through Newegg, so I figure their pricing is equal to most. Is there some other vendor or online place I could make this come true? I really want this upgrade, but can't find a match. Please share your wisdom, I could use it. Thanks!

www.pricegrabber.com
also u can downgrade some of the components
p4 3.2 itself is litte bit more expensive than 2.8...

what kind of monitor? 17" 19" 21"? lcd?

Scorpy,
Here's an example of an alternate computer manufacturer that get's great reviews:
Barebones
Treeman

I didn't know budget gaming rigs existed.

But seriously, if you put together a gaming system with 'less than top-notch components', it's going to be obsolete before you turn it on. Unless you plan on playing this years games for the next 3 years, I'd suggest saving your cash and buying better components.

If you do want to skimp, do it with things that don't effect performance much. But that bear in mind that cheap components will shorten the lifespan of your system.

I know some people will tell you that a p4 will give you better gaming performance, but do you really want to spend that much? My computer (specs below) cost me about 1300, not counting the 120 gig HD (but you don't need that anyway) and it gives me a 3dmark03 score of 7500-7600 (if you care about such things) but it can play any game I have at full detail and resolution without lag.

Happy Searching (but then you'll be happier once you have everything )

Don't buy a Audigy ZS, it's waste of money, especially when you're looking for a budget pc.

Why don't go AMD? Alot better prices for equal performance! Buy a mobile Athlon XP cpu and a decent aircooler. Choose a nForce2 Ultra motherboard with Soundstorm and you won't need your Audigy ZS anymore!
I'd recommend a 9800 pro 256 bit, they also overclock nice.

All this will cost alot less than the setup you mentioned!

Diddly Squat
I disagree !!!
I had a PIII 800 768MB SDRAM Kingston 133MHz and a 80GB HDD 7200 RPMs untill 3 months ago, and there was no game I couldn't play. The trick was I upgraded my MB and my Graphics card to a High end ASUS and an ATI 9500 128 MB RAM onboard ( I also used a GeForce FX5200 128MB DDR for some time but got a really good resale value so I got rid of it).
I could play at Very high resolution levels where the trouth is 1024x768 is enough, sometimes, like in NFS Underground I had to turn off one or 2 extras - like the "speed stream" and background lighting, but that's about it.

1. Move your swap file off the system drive
2. Change you cluster size to 32KB right after system installation
3. Install all your games on a separate partition and defrag it once every two weeks

I have sold computers for more than 10 years now, and have come to a conclusion, that overpaying for "the newest", "most to of the line" equipment is NOT worth it, one step back is just enough for 3 years.

For a long time, I had a PIII 500 Mhz with 256 (maximum) ram that could play anything my friend's systems could just because I had it optimized (defragmenting, few processes running, etc, etc.) even though they had double my specs (when a 1Ghz processor was impressive...lol).

BUT I've come to the conclusion, now that I have my new rig, that buying the new computer definitely has its advantages. If you can afford it, save yourself the hassle of trying to figure out what options in games will keep your framerate up and just get something that'll pull off 60+ FPS (30 is the maximum human detectable FPS) all the time so even if you lose a few fps here and there you don't notice it...

That and you can tell your friends what you have and not have them laugh at you...

Besides, you wouldn't be here if all that power doesn't make you drool... (Go MSFN!)

And welcome from a fellow "new subscriber" to Azazel.

Ok, if I could figure out how to put in my signature I could spec out my current PC. But anyways, it basically is what you said.

Athlon Xp2400
512 MB RAM (256 Crucial, 256 Kingston)
Chaintech Nforce 2 mobo
Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB

But my complaints are:
1. Lack of quality sound from onboard
2. Athlon's seem more laggy in plain Windows tasks than my trusty 667Mhz P3
3. System built on a budget, and caused compatibility issues. I want quality parts
4. I want a faster system!

So I definitely like the computer as spec'd with a 17" CRT, but I have that $1200 price range. I will check out that barebones site, it might work out. One thing to note - I will be taking that graphic card for my new box. My siblings have to keep my current build, so I do have to include some sort of low-end card for them. But either way, this is what I currently want without holding back. I just need to find that magic site now. I have settled for sub-par parts for awhile, I need something reliable!

P.S. Read some posts at Nforcershq.com forums. They all complain about Soundstorm. It sounds good, when it works. But Nvidia is less than supportive in working drivers to get it to work right. Its too bad, but thats life.

Ok, so you upgraded 75% of the hardware that video games need to run well which, btw, are some of the most expensive components. So what you're saying is...

"I ended up spending more money because I didn't buy high end components to begin with".

And saying there was NO game you couldn't play is BS. I know of several games released in the last year that would barely run with a p3 800 onboard.

Scorpy -

You don't have to spend a ton of cash to buy top notch hardware. Look for deals and don't be affraid to spend several days shopping around.

It's not all about speed either, buying cheap hardware can cause all kinds of problems. Quality is always the best way to go with a gaming rig.

Goto Directron i bought all the parts for my system there. And they usually have good prices.

Hope that helps!