Do those links work for you?
As soon as you said gaming your going no where with 500 bucks.
Bump it to a grand and you've got a mid range gamer.
I have an old desktop that I built in 07! I am hoping to rebuild it, but use some of the old parts. Mainly the PSU, case, and Optical drives.
This is my PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
This is my case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
This is my optical drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
I really only want to spend about $500, so I am hoping I can reuse those things above and just concentrate on new CPU, MOBO, RAM, Gfx card, and HDD.
Which begs the question of what would be the best components for that money if I just need those 5 things. I have to admit I haven't really kept up with hardware these days. I am not brand loyal either.
This box would be for gaming and software development.
Thanks.

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic