First build.Am I on the right path?

[signal13]

Ok so this is my first build and Ive been doing a lot of research to make sure it is successful. I think i pretty much have a good grasp on things. Mind you Im doing this as mainly for fun and as a learning process.

Im building this as a a mid level project and plan on using it for a lot of multi-media (music,photos, videos, burning, etc) internet.Probably No gaming. Basic office stuff, and a few investigative programs I use for work ( ie; large databases, interactive programs such as "E-fit".) I want to also later set up a wireless network between this PC and my wife's new laptop.

Budget: $1000.00

I have an old HP Pavilion 533w from two years ago I'd like to try to recycle some parts from. At least keyboard, mouse, HD, and monitor.

What Im sure about:

Case: Xion II (black) Mid Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811208005
PSU:Antect true power__II__550W
Mobo: _Biostar NF4st-a9 http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813138248
CPU: AMD Athlon 3200 venice http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819103535
HDD: WD caviar SE wd800jd 80GB http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822135106
RAM: Patriot Signature Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820220037
Keyboard: recycled from old HP_

Mouse: recycled from old HP
OS: Windows XP

What Im not sure about:
As far as video cards go...Im lost. There are so many choices and some of these things are so $$$ i dont wanna waste money on something I dont need, But I also want something adeqaute to run my "E-fit" program.

As far as FD and CD drives go does it really matter if I save a few $$ by going OEM?

Are there any compatibilty issues Ive missed? Besdies that I may not be able to recycle the HD and FD from the old Pavilion.

Am I on the right track?

Thanks. And I apologize if this post is redundant.

[MaxRat]

Welcome to PcMech....

Yes you are on the right path...you're here and thats a big step in the right direction....

You have assembled yourself a nice list of parts....That will make a nice budget build and do just what you like...

That board does how ever need a PCI-Express video card....since you won't be gaming much you can save quite a bit here....A 6600 or 6800 nVidia card or price equivalant ATI card will do....

OEM drives are fine....you dont need driver for them....and some even come bundled with software...just minus the retail packaging and price...

As cheap as they are now I would use the floppy out of the HP or buy new there only like $10..same with the cd drive...but I would recomend getting a DVD burner...they are $40 roughly and never know when you might need it and it will burn cd's and dvd's....enjoy the build

[kosova]

I'm not a big fan of Biostar, I'd stick with Asus or Abit. Cool rig, you could also get an OEM OS. Also aren't your recycling the HDD from old comp? Or do you plan on having 2 HDD's? ANyways looks good, as for video cards, you don't need a 6600 or anything better since your not gaming. When you choose, make sure the memory on the video card isn't labeled TURBO TACHE (TC) or Hyper memory, because they take up system memory. Good luck

Edit: You have 1k for a system, so you could go after an Athlon 3500+ or 3700+, also as for DVD/CD this has been in my mind lately.
ZIpZOomFly

[PCBrandon]

If you are into multimedia and other large files you may want to look into getting a bigger hard drive. I don't know exactly what you do, so just think about your needs before you do. If you find out that you need more space later you can always buy an external hard drive.

[signal13]

Thanks guys. Yes I do wanna also recycle the old HDD as a second HD just for storage for Videos, images, music, etc.

Ill look into those suggestions for video cards. and now that i am sure..I will recycle the Floppy drive as well as the DVD drive.
Thanks again