1st Build, Compatibility and PSU help

[Binh]

Hi, this is my first build and would really appreciate if someone could double check my work and answer some questions. I've spent countless hours reading about PC building and picking out my parts. This is the general set up for my budget gaming PC.

-ASRock 775Dual-880Pro Socket T (LGA 775) VIA PT880 Pro ATX Intel Motherboard
-Intel Pentium 4 630 Prescott 800MHz FSB 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 EM64T Processor
-CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) System Memory
-SONY 16X DVD±R DVD Burner with 5X DVD-RAM Write Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model DW-G120A-B2
-Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L080P0 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA133 Hard Drive - OEM
-HIS Hightech H925H256-1TOAN Radeon 9250 256MB 128-bit DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card
-JPAC 550ATX ATX 550Watts Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CB, CE, TUV, FCC
-X-Clear Acrylic Computer Case from Xoxide.com

The hard drive is small because I really never store anything on my computer or I keep all data on DVD and CDs. The only thing that would be on my hard drive are games.

My first question is about knowing where all the extras plug into. For example, the case fans that come with the case from xoxide.com. Are they supposed to be plugged into the mobo or the PSU? Whether they plug into the PSU or the Mobo, how do I know if there are enough plugs for it to fit. Does the graphics card need a power plug from the PSU? Basically, how do I know if there are enough plugs for everything?
Second, I'm confused about the connections. Specifically, what are the differences between IDE ATA100, IDE ATA133 and ATAPI/E-IDE? Are they compatible with each other or strictly one way? I'm asking this because my Mobo has two IDE ATA100 slots, but my hard drive uses Ultra IDE ATA133 and my optical drive uses ATAPI/E-IDE.
Third, What's Burnproof and how do I know if my burner has it?

I'm almost 100 percent certain that everything's compatible, but if someone could double check my work (expecially the MoBo, CPU and RAM) to make sure everything will fit, that would be great.

Lastly, any general ideas about how to make things better would be great. The price for this rig clings around 650 US, and I would really like to keep it like that.

Thanks in advance for anything. I know doing compatibility checks for newcomers isn't exactly fun, but if you could spare a few minutes on google and newegg for me that would be great. Any and all help is appreciated.

[flanzig1]

Case fans should plug into the PSU and NOT the mobo. Only the CPU fan should plug into the mobo. The drives will work in the IDE slots. A thought on the video card, may want to up the grade on that. Could drop to 1gig of ram and put the savings to a better video card.

[blue60007]

I don't see any need to get a dual AGP/PCI-E motherboard (I recommend the ASUS P5PL2 for that, costs a few more bucks, but for a reason - it's higher quality). I would get something that's PCI-E and change your video card to match that.

You only need DDR2 533 RAM, what you've got is overkill. On this budget (and on a gaming machine), you should probably only get a gig of RAM for now and get a better video card. The equivalent PCI-E card (and that AGP) is not going to play the latest games very well.

You should probalby get an SATA drive instead of IDE (PATA). It's newer, doesn't have huge ribbon cables to work with.

That's an extremely cheap power supply, and it's cheap for a reason - it's junk. You'll need one with a 24 pin or 20+4 pin connector for a PCI-E build and probalby around 450W. Antec, FSP, Sparkle, and XClio make good cheap units. Just check on the main connector (24 or 20+4 pin).

If you aren't set on that case, you might look at the Antec Sonata II - it's a good quality case and comes with a quality power supply that's just right for this build. It's a good deal at $100.

Don't forget your OS, Win XP Home OEM is around $90.

The case fans should be plugged into the PSU if they have 4 pin connectors. Into the motherboard if they are 3 pin, but you should really have 3-4 pin adapters for that. It's best to get power from the PSU. The Xoxide site doesn't specify which ones it has.

I don't think ATA133 drives are compatible with ATA100 (but I'm not sure). You should get an SATA drive anyways.

Not sure what Burnproof is.

[Staren]

I googled Burnproof. It's some trademarked concept Sanyo came out with back in 2000 to avoid Buffer Underruns in CD burners.

Where did you hear about this? I wouldn't worry about it.

[glc]

I would recommend an Asus P5LD2 motherboard, DDR2-533 ram, a Lite-On DVD burner, and a decent power supply such as one of the XClios. If you are going to game, get at LEAST a 6600GT video card.

[Binh]

Okay, after some careful consideration, how's this?

-ASUS P5PL2 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard
-Intel Pentium 4 630 Prescott 800MHz FSB 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 EM64T Processor
-A-DATA V-Series 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Unbuffered System Memory
-LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE 16X DVD±R DVD Burner
-HITACHI Deskstar 7K80 HDS728080PLA380 -0A30356 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
-eVGA 256-P2-N384 Geforce 6800 256MB 256-bit DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card
-FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN, RoHS, 12cm FAN, version 2.0, 2 SATA, 20+ 4 pin, PCI -Express, 400W Power Supply
-X-Clear Acrylic Computer Case

Okay, I have some more questions. Does the PCI express graphics card need power from the PSU? Does the motherboard come with the SATA 3Gb/s cable? Can someone make sure everything will fit and I'm not double booking a slot or cable? I'm fairly sure that I'm good to go, but this is my first time. THanks in advance for the feedback and advice.

[Alaron]

Just a couple suggestions.

Look for Corsair ValueSelect RAM. I'm not sure on the quality of AData. Be sure to get 2x512 sticks instead of one stick.

I would change the hard drive to Western Digital or Seagate, Hitachi's are not the best quality.

Your card does not have a power connector. Your board will come with a SATA cable.

[Staren]

I would go with what Alaron said. AData isn't talked about much around here. It might be fine, but going with one of the major brands for RAM, like Corsair is a good idea.

The harddrive brand you picked out has a pretty bad past. They didn't call the older Deskstars 'Deathstars' for the fun of it. They have gotten better since Hitachi took over the brand, but Seagate and Western Digital are a bit safer bet.