Have no idea what I am doing....need some help!

[Guiniqua]

I have decided to build my own computer, but really have no practical experience in doing so. I have been reading through the forums, trying to get some idea of what I should be looking for. I have finally come up with a list of parts, but have no idea whether they would all work together, or what. I am looking to build a cheap, fairly basic light gaming and music computer.

P450-8532 :: XFX GeForce 6600 GT / 128MB DDR3 / PCI Express / SLI / Dual DVI / TV Out / Video Card $119.99

A455-1084 :: Asus P5V800-MX Via Socket 775 MicroATX Motherboard / Audio / PCI Express / AGP 8x / 10/100 Ethernet LAN / USB 2.0 / Serial ATA / RAID $59.99

CP2-CID-341 7 :: Intel Celeron D 341 2.93GHz / 256KB Cache / 533 FSB / Socket 775 / Processor $89.99

ULT315848 :: Ultra Wizard MS Blue Mid ATX Tower Case with Front USB and Firewire Ports $29.99

T925-2060 :: Thermaltake / PurePower / 430-Watt / ATX / Dual 80mm LED Fan / 20/24-Pin / SATA Ready / PCI-E Ready / Power Supply $42.99

ULT31797 :: Ultra / Fire / Socket 775 / P4 3.8Ghz / Copper Core / CPU Fan $24.99

U93-4906 :: US Modular 1024MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory $109.99

TSD-100M R :: Maxtor / QuickView / 100GB / 7200 / 8MB / SATA-150 / Refurbished Hard Drive $54.99

Lite-On Internal / 52x32x52x CD-RW / Black / EIDE CD Burner $23.99

If you have any suggestions, that would be great! I am really looking to keep this machine under $600, so if I can save money in some places to get better parts in others that would be great too!!! Thanks in advance!

[jayb1234]

You can drop the aftermarket CPU cooler. The stock unit should be fine and the aftermarket one will void the processor warranty.

That Thermaltake PSU probably can't handle the other parts, it only has 1 12V rail with 18A on it. Take a look at the fortron or sparkle units for a good inexpensive dual rail PSU.

Either Newegg or Zipzoomfly would be a much better place to get parts than tigerdirect, thier record is pretty poor.

I'm not sure if USmodular is good RAM or not, but Corsair valueselect would be a good choice and might be cheaper.

I definitely would not buy anything refurbished from tigerdirect, for a few dollars more you could get a new hard drive.

EDIT: I see that that is an OEM processor. I would reccommend using the standard Intel heatsink/fan on it.

[glc]

If you like the Ultra case, buy it from Tiger. However, here's suggestions for alternate components and vendor in the same price range.

ASUS P5GPL-X Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 915PL ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131576

Intel Celeron D 331 Prescott 533MHz FSB LGA 775 64-Bit Processor w/ Execute Disable Bit Model BX80547RE2667CN - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819112206

FSP Group (Fortron Source) ATX400-PA, version 2.0, SATA, 400W Power Supply - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104952

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145440

Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3808110AS 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148107

LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SHW-160P6S - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106014

eVGA 128-P2-N368-TX Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130214

This is $530 before shipping. You can go to a 160gb hard drive for another $22, and/or go up to a real P4 (still 533 FSB though) for another $35.