Ok, so here is my very humble recommendation:

 CPU:
 Intel Pentium E6300 Wolfdale, AMD Anthlon II X2 250 Regor, or AMD
Phenom II
 X2 545 Callisto.
 If you plan to upgrade either the CPU or mobo, but not both, anytime
in the
 future, I'd recommend AMD as their CPU's are backwards compatible with
 AM2/AM2+/AM3 mobo's whereas Intel will stop making P43/45/55 type
CPUs once
 their X58 i7 (maybe i5?) takes full reign. All of the CPU's are dual
core,
 but the 545 has 6mb of L3 and 1mb L2 cache while the E6300 and 250
only have
 2mb of L2. The 545 needs 80w while the other two live on 65w. This
may be
 important depending on how good your PSU is and other things like how
many
 fans you run, or if you need to power an external graphics card.
Since your
 using this computer just for the NC Mill, the difference in your
electrical
 bill shouldn't be noticible between the 80w and 65w.

 Motherboard:
 Look for whatever combo deals Newegg may have with the CPU. Stick with
 quality manufacturers like MSI, Asus, Gigabyte, and Foxconn. IF it is
PCI
 you need (not express,) that basically eliminates all the micro atx
boards
 and a few of the HDMI ones. If you look for AMD boards, make sure it
can use
 AM3 CPUs. So any AM2/AM2+/AM3, AM2+/AM3 or AM3 board will suffice.
With the
 Intel boards, P31/35 mobo's are almost non existant so don't bother. In
 regards to P43 vs P45, get whatever is cheaper. P45 is better, but the
 difference only shows itself on OCing.

 Memory:
 I don't know if you already have memory stick or where plannning on
getting
 some but here is my view on the matter. DDR3 is only worth the extra
cost of
 you really up the speed (1600+) as most tests show DDR2 1066 performaing
 almost exactly to DDR3 1333.

 Here are some good deals (IMO):
 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.237631

 and
 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.241238


 I couldn't find any combos with the E6300 that had a good quality
mobo that
 wasn't micro ATX.

 This is just my opinoin. Since James seems more qualified to answer then
 myself, I would follow his word.

 Vlad




 On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 5:48 PM, Vladimir Zakrevski
<vnz893@gmail.comwrote:

 The dating back 30 years comment is scary when it comes to technology ;)
 That said, I'm haven't a guess as to how efficiently the NC Mill
software
 utilizes multi-cores, do you? Do you plan to upgrade anytime in a
 foreseeable future or is this a 1 time shot? Last question, when you
said
 PCI slots, you ment PCI right? Not PCI express x1 or 2.0 x16?

 Vlad



 On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 5:21 PM, Rotary Engine
<rotaryeng@earthlink.netwrote:

  Anybody building their own PC?
  I am a little rusty on the latest tech.

  What is a good mother board around $100?
  What is a good processor around $100?

  I need 3 PCI slots and preferably DDR3 memory.
  I plan on using external video.

  These are some of the requirements.


 http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.distributions.emc.user/11971/focus=11974

  Some of the recommendations seem out of date.

  Low heat on the processor would be a plus.

  Paul Lamar

 What's the computer for? What's the overall budget? When is the next
time
 you plan to upgrade? Are you comfortable overclocking or would you
prefer
 to
 leave it factory specs? Do you already have a good psu, fans?

 Vlad

 My NC Mill. http://www.rotaryeng.net/Nc-Mill-How-To.html
 No over clocking. As little money as possible. I have lots of
 computer parts already. Some dating back 30 years.

 Paul Lamar

James,

Do you by any chance know what the effective memory limit is when using
Linux? I know that with XP, adding more than 2gb give no increase in
performance and with Vista anything 4gb gives the same pissing into the
wind effect.

Vlad


Vlad et al:

On a 32 bit windows system it is 4 GB.  I have also seen a figure of 3.5
GB.  This may be because the first 500 MB are allocated for other in
system memory and buffers..  My quick calculation tells me that 32 bits
( lines) of address range would be 4GB.  Thus the same problem may exist
in Linux also unless special system or paging features are implemented.
In 64 bit OS systems the range should be 16 x 10 sup18.  It will be a
while before I need that much RAM!

PS anyone following my recommendations on cooling and air flow, a few
more comments:  Tape closed ALL external vents on the back of the
computer case.  With this large 12+ inch fan the whole mother board is
directly cooled.  The airflow then exits the case either through the
power supply which has large inlet and outlet orifices, or out the front
of the computer over the disk(s), providing major cooling over the hard
disk space.  A good idea is to leave off any front of computer
decorative attachments as they will reduce the cooling efficiency of the
WHOLE system.  Doesn't look great but functions quite effectively.
These are just guidelines which will vary according th the size of your
computer box and storage requirements.  KEEP YOUR HARD DISK(S) COOL...
YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID. An easy to mount it in a 5.25 inch bay (for
extra space and cooling) is to use the top metal section of an old CD
ROM disk case.  Just turn it upside down drill 4 holes and mount your
Hard Disk on the rubber (sound & vibration) isolators.  The side screw
holes are already there.

If you decide to mount your disk(s) in the normal 3.5 inch bays, keep an
open bay between each disk for air flow and make certain the front of
the bay is totally open for air flow out the front of the computer Then,
no fan will be needed  in this front space...it will create only extra
noise.. Most of the designers of these boxed don't have a clue about
ventilation or air flow.  Again each installation will have it's own
variables.  Just keep an eye on the temperatures of all of the
components until you get it right.

Also this large fan requires a relatively large amount of exit orifice
area to keep the back pressure down and promote air flow/ cooling. Some
experimentation with the openings in the box may be required.
However,  This approach works quite well.  I also recommend running the
fan directly on the five volt (red wire of power supply).  Forget the
somewhat dicey 12 volt speed controller circuit.  On 5 volts it runs
somewhat slower and even quieter, and longer fan life, yet provides
plenty of circulation.  For example, you may not want the back taped
totally closed off, but keep plenty of open orifice in the front for
disk cooling.

James