dub/taurus
I've seen barebones systems (case, PS, MB w/built in vid, proc, 128 RAM) for $200 locally and on the web. A buddy of mine sells these as a side business and built 1 for each of his kids.
Found it:
http://www.pcusa.com/
KIT-13: AMD Duron CPU w/ Mothreboard Combo
- Qty. 1, AMD DURON 1100MHz CPU
- Qty. 1, 333 MHz FSB: MSI K7N2G-L, NF2, Dual-DDR400, AGP 8X w/Video, Audio, LAN
- Qty. 1, ThermalTake Volcano 8
- Qty. 1, 256 MB DDR / 266 MHz RAM
ATX, MID TOWER w/ 300W PS, w/ 2nd Fan
[ Item #.: CS-ATXMID300W
Total $206 (about the same as a 9500 Pro
$285 for whole system w/same MB (no OS). About the cost of a 9700 Pro.
Here's link to MB
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/chipset.asp?chipset=nvidia
Not a bad MB, very upgradable. Get a descent power supply when you start upgrading. And don't go for the Athlon 1333 upgrade the chip is a power pig! I had one.