I want to build my first cpu. I dont know much about hardware really but I have disassembled and reassembled my system a few times. I hope I can do it and this is what I am looking at. I got advice from magazine etc :( Intel 2.8 Intel D850EMV2 pc-106 RDRAM (advice) Pioneer 16 x dvd Plextor 48x24x48 80 gig WD Soundblaster card 400 watt psu Geforce 4 4600 Ti I have no clue if the mobo is any good or not. I see it listed in some mags but I am open to suggestions. I just want to game. I can care less about anything else. Please help me with your expertise.

since youre gaming, add like another $30 and you can get a radeon 9700 instead of a Ti4600.

I have thought of that. I may get the Radeon. Never had an ATI that is why I leaned towards the GF.

Save a couple hundred bucks, get a GeForce4 Ti4200, OC it to Ti4600 speeds, then save the rest of your money till the GeForceFX shows up in a couple of months.

if a hes gonna get a GeforceFX why would he even spend money now..... "Gee thanks i spent 600$ for my geforceFX cause i bought a 4200 a month ago..."

I don't know why you people are making a big deal about the video cards. I've seen hard core gamers running on an overclocked ge3. Anyways. On to actually helping the guy. Building a computer is actually easier than people make it sound. Just follow the instuctions that came with the parts and you should have no problems. Just remember that on your cdrom that you have to set the jumper correctly. But there are only three choices so it shouldn't take long, and don't worry about making a mistake on that setting it wrong won't cause it to blow up, it just won't work until you set it correctly. The only part that may take a while is installing the os, but if you got a new hard drive it should be easy.

I agree with UTLLAMA, I would get the Ti4200, OC it to 4600 speeds, and wait until ATI and NVidia drop prices on the 9700 and the Geforce FX. The Geforce 4 is still a great gaming GPU, and there are no games out now that support DX9. I'm not going to upgrade my Ti4200 just to get more FPS. Besides, I've never liked ATI's drivers. As far as your question about the Intel D850EMV2 board...I've heard it's a good board. And as far as system building goes, probably the hardest part and easiest to screw up is CPU and heatsink installation (at least it is on Athlons)