Think about it Jace, he's going cheap. An X-fi is unnecessary expense if you're wanting cheap. Most decent mobo's now have a good quality 7.1 support built in. I know the 8400 is a balls cad, but i was just trying to se a platform to work with, start off low, then he can add shit according to his budget, not going uber than having to 'shave' parts off.
On a lighter note, my DVD drive appears to be completely fucked. Takes about 30 minutes to recognize COD4 now, and that's after i've rebooted the computer, and had to put the disc in beforehand (oh yeah, it's that bad)
As well as needing that, I'd like another 2g of ram. Planning to double up on GFX cards in the not too distant future too. Christmas probably.