well
i ended up going with the sapphire radeon 9800pro
i couldn't turn it down and at $210 for what it is..i could stretch the budget.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-032&depa=1 is the case i was going to get
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...182-538&depa=1 I ended up paying $3 more for this one (forgot about shipping, $35 vs $38) bc it comes with 2 fans (not one like the descript says) and the other doesn't have a single fan, so it would cost more for cooling.
Anyway, i did end up going:
abit IS7 mobo, has a good reputation and is faster than the IC7
PIV 2.8 Ghz 800 fsb and ht tech
2x256 kingston ddr400 kit, 512 total, i know, should go with a gig, but that will be a while, probably when i can buy a gig cheaper trhan i bought this..the mobo supports up to 4gb, so it'll be a while before i really sweat it.
80GB maxtor Hd 8mb cache (staples for $65)
16xdvd 52/32/52x cdrw. I don't need dvd burning capabilities, but i would like to have dvd playback, so this was a steal at $39.99 after $10 rebate.
56K modem: just bc i may need to dial in if i don't have lan access
and it was $16, so i figured it would be better than having to buy one later...
sapphire radeon 9800pro..mainly bc i coulnd't find a better price/performance deal and i would like to have some graphic power while i can,ya know
17" monitor, $99 shipped, i wanted 19", but i spent the money on a graphics card. good news is that i can dual display wtih a 15" monitor i have, so i consider it a decent deal.
Case: 2 front usb, normal case.
total cost was a bit less than $840. i scavenged a keyboard, mouse, floppy drive and cd drive from my 1995 packard hell.
Also, if you are looking for cases to mod, just go to newegg.com click on computer hardware, then cases, then in the search field, put in a max price of $30 and you'll find 4 pages of cases