Okay, I'm finally doing it. I'm going to step into uncharted territory. I've never done this before so I'm looking for a little help. I'm trying to put this all together for around or under $1200.00. Here's the PC I've put together on paper. Can someone let me know if what I have here is at all compatible and practical....thanks! ASUS "A8V Deluxe" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 939-Pin 64-bit Processor Corsair Value Select Dual Channel Kit 184 Pin 1G(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 XION Black/Silver ATX Gaming PC Case With 450W PSU, Model "XON-002" ABIT ATI Radeon X700 PRO Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express, Model "RX700PRO-256PCIE" Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD800JD Plextor 16X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW SATA Drive, Model PX-716SA/SW Obviously I'm missing a new monitor. I'm not entirely too concerned about the sound card as the motherboard has an integrated sound card. All this is coming in at around $900.00. Is there anything else that I am missing? Are these compnents compatible? Any words of wisdom? Any how-to's? Thanks in advance!

A monitor, keyboard and mouse might be useful. I also like to add a floppy drive. Otherwise it sounds like a great rig. Observe static precautions before and while assembling. The loungroom floor carpet is not the ideal workbench. It's generally easier to install the CPU before installing the motherboard. Make sure that you only install the correct number of standoffs. A common mistake is to install as many as will fit. This causes the motherboard to short to the frame. Double check the cabling at each stage. It's best to install the HDD as primary master and the DVD burner as secondary master. Begin the project when you are fresh and have plenty of time. A rushed job often ends up as a stuffed job. These are fairly general pointers, without knowing your level of expertise, it is difficult to provide the exact information you require. If you have any problems, be sure to check here for further advice.

A few things you may want to go over; - Bigger hard drive space. - See how the cards compare before buying. - Check PSU's 12v rail amp distribution. B4 you criticize a bigger man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, you're a mile away, and you have his shoes.

You will definitely need a floppy drive in order to install your OS on a SATA drive, UNLESS you want to go to the trouble of creating a custom WinXP install disk with the proper drivers and configurations. Michael J

Ooops!....here's the link intended. B4 you criticize a bigger man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, you're a mile away, and you have his shoes.

All good advice. I did forget the floppy, so I will be adding that on. The link to graphic card benchmarks was a giant help. I'm looking into changing now, but honestly, I don't want to spend $400.00 on a GE Force Ultra 6800. That's just way to damn expensive for me. 80GB of hard drive space is perfect for me. I don't do a ton of downloading and what downloading I will do I will be putting onto DVD's or CD's. As far as my level of experience, I'd say I'm in between a beginner and a novice. Im kinda like the kid who can't find clothes to fit him. So I need a little help along the way, especially since this is my first attempt. I'm really worried that I will do something wrong and destroy $$$. I'm looking at the how-to's on this site and they are dated a bit. Anyone know of an up to date how-to?

I'd recommend something with an Nforce3 or 4 chipset. Either is faster than the Via KT800. Regardless, that motherboard has AGP, not PCI-e, and your video card is PCI-e, so no worky there. As far as the video card goes, the Nvidia 6600GT cards are significantly faster than the X700's are. 6600GT's are available in both AGP and PCI-e. X700's are PCI-e only, so if your heart is set on that, your only option in motherboards is something with an Nforce4 chipset. "80GB of hard drive space is perfect for me. I don't do a ton of downloading and what downloading I will do I will be putting onto DVD's or CD's." However much storage you think you need, double it. Systems with half their drive empty or more run faster than those more than half full, all other things being equal. I would spend a few more dollars and just get a 120 gig to be sure. You'll spend like $20 more tops. The SATA DVD burner is kind of a waste if you ask me, but if the burner is good quality, as plextor usually is, by all means. "...but in my defense, it was dark, I was drunk, and it was delicious!"