Agreed on building it yourself.
Here is what I would recommend (prices as of May 12th):
Motherboard: ASRock A790GXH/128M - $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813157156
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz - $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103300
RAM: OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1100 (PC2 8800) - $19.99 After MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820227159
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB - $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136073
Case: GIGABYTE GZ-X5BPD-500 Black SECC Steel - $34.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811233039
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W - $25.99 After MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817153023
Monitor: Acer X193W+BD Black 19" 5ms Widescreen - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824009127
Keyboard: Microsoft Comfort Curve Black - $13.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6823109043
Mouse: Logitech MX518 - $39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826104178
Operating System: 2 options -
Option 1) if you still have your student ID card, go to your computer shop and buy a version of windows XP or Vista.. doesnt matter. My sister-in-law picked up a version of Vista 32-bit for $9.99. All depends on the relationship your campus has w/ Microsoft. Usually, there is a big discount. Don't listen to anyone gripe about Vista most of the negative claims are complete BS.. usually by Apple Fanboys (I own a MacBook btw). Vista is just as good as OSX.
Option 2) Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic - $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116480
There you go. A simple build it yourself system for under $540. S&H shouldn't be too much, so you should still be under $600. The nice thing about a setup like this is that it will give you room to grow in the future. If you video is lacking, you can upgrade. If you need more power, add a new Processor.. etc.
If you are wondering why I didn't list a video card, it is because the Motherboard has a built in ATI Radeon 3300. This will handle WoW and then some. I have a similar board and while I was waiting for my video cards ( CrossfireX 4850's) I was playing w/ zero problems.
I can pretty much vouch for any of the products I have recommended as I have either owned it or a version not far from it.
Stick w/ Newegg for any PC hardware purchase though. TigerDirect is a joke. The customer service is horrible and the prices are generally greater than Newegg.com.
If you have more than $600 to play around with, you have many... many more options.
Don't worry about building a PC if you have never done so before... It is ridiculously easy.
Anyone else have a hardware recommendation?