My First Build (Help appreciated)

[boilermaker]

Hello all, I, like hundreds of others on the boards, will be attempting my first build in the not too distant future. I've put a fair amount of time into my "research" so my list hopefully is adequate. To make things short I'll post what I'm thinking of using.

Windows XP Home - http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=604614

Antec 500W PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103937

Cooler Master Case - http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=141782

Lite-on DVD Burner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106019

AMD X2 3800+ - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103562

Asus Mobo - http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=240423

Sony Floppy - http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=111001

Corsair 1GB RAM - http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...tCode=80098-34

WD 250GB HD - http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...Code=101220-12

Video Card - I need some help here. I have about a $200 budget and I like to play an occasional game and may do some Photoshop and minor video editing in the future.

BenQ Monitor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824014090

I don't need a mouse or keyboard and I already have speakers. I'm planning on using onboard sound for now too. And now for some questions: Should I try using only one company to buy my parts from(right now I have Newegg and Zipzoomfly combined)? Is AM2 something I should check into? I've heard that the X2 series could be reduced in price up to 50% off. Is this true? Should I get my RAM in a 512 X 2 set instead of just 1 stick of 1GB? Should I get another CD or DVD drive to make some processes easier? Any spot where I could save money would be appreciated but is not absolutely necessary. I'm sure I'll have some more problems/questions in the future and I'll be sure to post them

[jayb1234]

Looks pretty good.

Your RAM link is a duplicate of the floppy link.

Other than DDR2 RAM suport, the AM2 isn't any different than the 939's and there are some pretty bad RAM compatibility problems with it. 939 will be around for a while yet, so just go with that and save the expense of AM2.

You can always add another dvd drive later if your budget is tight right now.

Getting everything at one place might save you some cash on the shipping, just compare and go with whatever is the best deal.

Rumor is that AMD is going to make some pretty big price cuts on the 939's because the new Intel's are so much better than the 939's and cost a lot less.(and AM2's too, but no price cut on the AM2's that I have heard about)

[boilermaker]

Okay, thanks, jayb, that basically only leaves me a problem with choosing a video card.

[blue60007]

You might look at an 7600GT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130017

It's pretty good for light to moderate gaming and won't break the bank.

[jayb1234]

In the $200 range you could look at the ATI 100-714600 Radeon X1300 256MB 128-bit VIVO PCI Express x16 All-In-Wonder 2006 Edition Video Card - Retail $179 which includes a TV tuner.

For Nvidia based cards a 7600GTwould be in that range and newegg has a couple of 7900 GT's for $230 after rebate and a recertified EVGA 7800 GT for $197.

Any of those would be good for most things except the more demanding games, but the recertified one only has a 90 day warranty, so you would be taking a chance there. It could be a perfectly good card that someone returned because it wasn't powerfull enough for them, or it could have issues.

[boilermaker]

I'm thinking that I probably want an Nvidia because I would not use the TV tuner function. I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to spend more to get a 7900 vs. a 7600.