matt / aenon raises some interesting questions... what is the best computer you can buy at the moment, with the best value for money? This Opteron 1.8ghz review shows the 1.8ghz Opteron performs similarly to a 3.0Ghz P4. But what about these computer options? (case, motherboard, CPU)

Small Form Factor Via Epia System: Motherboard+CPU from �70-�123 Case about �80
Total: �200 Pros: Small, quiet, low power consumption, includes 5.1sound, vga etc. Cons: Slow performance. No AGP.

Small Form Factor Shuttle: Case and motherboard about �200 + Any AMD CPU, eg: XP2400 OEM �55inc at ebuyer.
Total: �255 Pros: Small, includes gfx, sound, AGP slot etc Cons: Expensive

Normal AMD Midi Tower PC: Case about �76, Motherboard "A7N8X Deluxe SKT A NForce2 Chipset Motherboard VER: 2.0" �89 inc Ebuyer.com, CPU: XP2400 OEM �55inc at ebuyer.com.
Total: �220 Pros: Lots of choice, expandable etc, best value for money. Cons: Large, probably noisey.

Normal Intel Midi Tower PC: Case about �76, Motherboard "ASUS P4PE/l/Black Pearl Skt478 3GHz+ ATX Motherboard Sound/LAN/USB" �92 inc Ebuyer.com, CPU: P4 2400/533 �137 inc at ebuyer.com.
Total: �305 Pros: Lots of choice, expandable etc. Cons: Large, probably noisey, EXPENSIVE CPU, confusing (3 different types of CPU 400/533/800mhz FSB - need to buy matching motherboard etc)

Single Opteron Midi Tower PC: Case about �76, Motherboard "Asus SK8N (Socket 940) Motherboard" �164 inc, CPU: AMD Opteron 142 1.6GHz 1MB Cache �267 inc at overclockers.
Total: �507 Pros: 32/64bit capability etc. Cons: Large, probably noisey, VERY EXPENSIVE CPU and Motherboard, not much choice.

Dual Opteron Midi Tower PC: Case about �76, Motherboard "MSI K8D Master-F (Socket 940) Dual Motherboard" �361 inc v., CPU: 2 x AMD Opteron 242 1.6GHz 1MB Cache �403 inc at overclockers.
Total: �1243 Pros: 32/64bit capability etc. Cons: Large, probably noisey, rediculously EXPENSIVE CPU and Motherboard, not much choice, NO AGP, questionable benefit from dual CPUs, special case may be required to fit motherboard, special power supply also required.

Future systems not considered (as pricing and availability are not yet available): Athlon 64, these are basically Opteron CPU's but cut down, and aimed at the consumer / desktop PC market, so it would probably be worth waiting till these CPUs (sept 23rd?) and motherboards are available, as they will probably offer Opteron like performance or possibly faster (if they start at 2ghz) but be priced much more competitively than the Opteron CPUs. I would expect them to be around similar prices to P4 CPUs.

Other systems not considered Apple.com. why? because it is not possible to buy the CPU/motherboard/Case and add your existing parts that may not need replacing, eg 40/80gb HD, CDRW, DVD-ROM, RAM, etc.