I guess you looking for an opinion ...well, it depends on how much you want to spend right now. As far as the CPU, if you have tons of money, go for the top T'bird. As for me, I got a 650 Duron, and I plan to have fun making it get to the 900+ mark.
Same thing applies to vid cards, cases, and the rest. Myself I have K6-3 400, and I have bought the FOP32-1 fan, Antec KS282 case, ...and next will be the new MSI Pro 2 ..when it comes out. Then I will take my 8.3 Maxtor, 128 Mg. PC100 mem, ATI 16 Mg. Rage vid card ...and the rest and put it all in the Antec. This will do me for a long time. One day, when the prices on 1 Gig T-birds come really down, who knows.
Neos (Andrew in AL)