Anyone have any input on the second link, the 449 one?. I went through and upgraded to the Radeon 6450 for $60 more I've been toying with the idea of building a similar spec'd machine soon and all my estimations were around $500, so this is right on par.

Does your build list include a legitimate copy of Win 7 HP? If you factor in your assembly time, dealing with rebates, differing warranties and return policies for all the different component manufacturers, and the fact that you'll be your own tech support for any OS issues (presuming a legitimate OEM copy of Win 7), the Dell probably comes out the winner.

I love building computers, but gave up long ago on the idea that I'd be saving money by DIY.

Can you provide your build list? I'd frankly be shocked to see a core i5 processor, motherboard, case, PSU, RAM, HD, OD, cooling fan(s), keyboard, mouse, and Win 7 HP that could be had for ~$500.

didn't include WIn 7 in the price list. Research seems to imply that the 6450 is worthless for anything above farmville. I'm not a huge gamer anymore but occasionally bust out some CS:Source. Not much room/ small PSU would make it difficult to upgrade to anything beefier