Couple drivers and maybe some initial startup settings but nothing too advanced that you cant figure out.  About your ram...2 gig is the new standard...so yeah i suggest you get another gig.  :)

Because of the classic "fanboy" issue you will always have haters.  Like all the MAC people are going to rip on vista automatically because you HAVE to hate pcs just because you're a mac user.  People can never look at both sides of the spectrum.  Its a very asthetically pleasing OS with some nice features.  The only problem right now would be compatibility issues.  Personaly, the one thing i dislike about Vista is the price :D.  If it wasnt so expensive id have my own copy right now. 

I've went to NewEgg and compiled a Core 2 Duo list and I think you should be able to work with it just fine with your budget.

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115013

Gigabyte P965-DS3 Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128012

Corsair XMS2 2 GB DDR2-800 Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145590

Thermaltake ToughPower 750 Watt Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817153038

Western Digital 160 GB SATAII Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136062

Samsung DVD Burner SATA Optical Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827151141

NEC Floppy Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16821152005

Total comes around $821.20, which would leave you $400, which should be enough to cover your $80 case and 8600 video card, heck maybe even a 8800 video card. Your call though, since you said you're going to build the system around March, prices could change.
GamingMonkeyPC

I'm not really biased towards either company, I'll get whichever is faster at the time I need a new build. That being said, Intel is currently quite a bit ahead of AMD, not only that, their prices for the gamers that wish to overclock are unbeatable. You can spend $180 on the E6300 and exceed the performance of an FX-62. If you have a bit more money to spend, the $320 E6600 is ideal. To put this into perspective since you know about AMDs, at a stock clock speed of 2.4 ghz the E6600 beats the FX-74. It will easily get to 3 ghz and 3.6 ghz+ with an aftermarket heatsink. No AMD cpu can even touch that currently. There is no reason to go AMD right now unless you want to spend less than $180 on a cpu. BeavermanA

this is why steam games suck1337_ownage

On average there are between 1500 to 2500 people playing Call Of Duty each day. The same for Call Of Duty: United Offensive. For Call Of Duty 2 there are sometimes more than 15000 people playing. That is across all gametypes, so you should be able to find a server to suit your needs.

Just somethine to keep in mind - a lot of the players have been playing this game for a long time, so don't complain if you get 'owned' by skilled players.  Call Of Duty 1 especially requires more skill to play.
RobertBowen

nice, were did you get a 8800 gts for 380 bucks? quaddrag500