My New System Specs.

this'll be my first build so any suggestions are welcome.
so far i am leaning towards the following parts:

AMD Athlon XP 2600+ 333 FSB ($85)

ATI Radeon 9800 Pro ($198)

Corsair Value Select Dual Channel Kit PC3200 1Gig Cas 2.5 ($173) my 2.5 kit is gone ...now $80 for 512MB

Thermaltake Silent PurePower 420W ($42) SPECS. now $40

Lite-On LTR-52327S CD-RW 52x32x52 ($30) SPECS.

Abit NF7-S2 nForce2 ($73) SPECS. now $69

Raidmax Silver Case ($26) Picture

Western Digital 80GB 7,200rpm 8MB Buffer SATA drive ($72)

Zalmon CNPS6000 Copper Heatsink ($29)

i think i'll stick with this big ol' 19" CRT, seems to work fine. i'm trying to keep this system below a grand so if you find any of these parts for less, please let me know. wow so far it only totals about $730. plus about $175 in netgear networking equipment and $90 for WinXP Ho. only things not included are extra fans, if i get any. Note to buyers: Wait for Month End Blowout! and restocking for cheaper prices

it looks good to me. and if you want to play games dont go with generic ram. i always have problems. or did till i put corsair ram in. and youre from illinois?

or and for the mobo that abit looks good. karsh kinda got me addicted to them. and i wouldnt trust the psu that comes with the cases. sometimes they go out within a very short time. and well yeah thats never good.

i would get a thermaltake psu. maybe 350watts

i've heard of standard psu's usually not living up to their wattage, but them actually giving out? i was hoping that that third one would be enough, supposedly being 420w i mean, to provide me with enough power even if it wasn't necessarily 420w. let's see what karsh thinks. and yes, i am from illinois

If you need firewire (like for digital video editing or something) get the AN7, otherwise the NF7 is great board.

I would avoid generic memory. Get a name brand, but if you aren't going to OC, you can get the "value" series from the name brand manufacturer.

I wouldn't use the psu that comes with the case. Aside from whether it can provide steady power in the needed amount, its more likely to fry than a name brand, and if a psu goes, often all the other hardware goes with it. IMHO, its not worth saving a few bucks to risk that. I like thermaltake, pc power&cooling, and Antec for psu's. Get at least 350w.

Those are fine cases. Just something else to look at: the x-blade is a pretty sweet case that doesn't cost too much. I have a thermaltake case and like it, but the screwless install things don't hold my video card right, you might want to check if they have solved that problem if you get the more expensive thermaltake case. (Its pretty much a cosmetic choice, you're not gaining much functionally)

Either hdd is good, (assuming they are both 7200rpm w/ 8mb buffer)

Looks like a nice setup

i dont think i'll need firewall. if i wanna buy something that's fast i'll just settle for it in USB. so i guess i'll get the NF7, and besides it supports dual channel ddr, does the other one, or did they just run out of room to put it there? nice case, reminds me of ur avatar, hah. but i've decided im going with a case that doesn't have to be opened to access the bays. anyways i'll avoid generic too, and maybe go for a 1024MB solution, more expensive but i'll save money by getting the NF7 and getting just one 80Gig Sata drive. i dont think i'll need that extra performance of a raid0 configuration quite yet and i can always buy another Sata later for cheaper. i'll get a dependent psu as well. for the drives again, what file format should i have it formatted to? and will it be bad getting the OEM for that or can i download the same utilites and drivers online? and for winXP, what about that? thanks for the help everyone, once i decide on the final specs. i'll post them again.

Good choice, maybe at a later time when they're cheap you should buy a Western Digital Raptor, they only come in 36GB or 74GB, so small, but good for RAID, Im paying about $250 AUS. and falling. As for the Drives formats, WinXP will auto format partition as NTFS, if thats what u were asking!, [edit]we don't condone cracking software[/edit]

Hope that helps

i dont think u should be posting links to sites like that.

What? Im not promoting, look at first thread, he asked for a WinXP crack, and I responded. what the...?

He shouldn't have asked, you shouldn't have answered. I've removed the reference.

will i need to buy a Sata cable for my HD? and can anyone recommend a heatsink for my cpu? if u think i'm missing anything important please let me know. thanks

You might. Depends if you're getting OEM, and if any come with your motherboard. You'll also need SATA power connections, be sure your psu has them (I think it does).
Thermaltake makes good Athlon heatsinks, though they can be loud.
I personally like Zalman, the CNPS7000a-Cu cools great and is quiet.

awesome, i think my mobo does come with one, can you tell from this picture? PICTURE and what's that blue connector? ouch, that Zalman is kinda expensive, but i'll still go Zalmon. will this one do for a moderate o'c? Zalmon

It does come with SATA cables, they are the two coiled grey ones in the picture. I believe the blue connector and panel is the for 2 additional usb ports (board supports 6, four on back, so you can hook up 2 more using that connector, or if your case has them on the front or something)

are you the only moderator who consistently and efficiently checks up on these computer hardware forums karsh? cuz i must say, you do one heckuva job thanks for all the help and quick responses