First time building, I've done some research!

[Josephtennispro]

So like it says in the title I'm going to be a first time builder, if done atleast 30-40 hours of research on parts I'd need and I guess i'm looking for some expert advice before finally jumping in and starting to put together my new computer. I'm looking to build a computer that has great graphics capability because I play loads of movies through my computer and must be able to multitask, being a student i like to watch movies while doing my work at the same time! Any help I could get would be great thanks!

Case- http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=A107-1058

Power Supply- Ultra / X-Finity / 500-Watt / ATX / 135mm Fan / SATA-Ready / SLI-Ready / Black / APFC / Power Supply

Mother Board- http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...594&CatId=2541

Processor/Heat Sink- http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?EdpNo=2905631 (I will prob not overclock, simply because I am not a crazy gamer, but i don;t wanna spare my money if i can make my processor last longer by getting a better heat sink/fan so i've included one here, if you don't think its neccessary please say so) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...210&CatId=1588

Ram- http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...800&CatId=1872 (will purchase 2 of these if you feel 4gb will be optimal for this system)

Video Card- http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...453&CatId=1826

Sound Card- http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...624&CatId=2769 (I have a 5.1 logitech speaker system that i play my movies through)

Hard Drive- http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...595&CatId=2458

Optical Drive- http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...89552&CatId=89 (I believe this drive covers all reading cds & dvd, as well as burns both cds and dvds) advice would be helpful

Monitor- http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=S203-2247

Operating System- (I've heard some bad things about vista, currenty i'm working with Xp professional) If you could see i've looking to make my system last a while so i was looking to build it so vista, 64 bit was an option if you felt it was a good idea. Again any help would be great thanks!

I have a keyboard and a mouse, any recommendations on changes are fine, I am just looking for

[Staren]

There are two big PC Mech no-nos in that list. The first is Ultra power supplies. Check the power supply stickies in the general board for our white and black lists. Second is Tiger Direct. Nothing really wrong with them for little things. but historically they have been trouble about rebates and exchanges so we generally suggest Newegg.com, or ZipZoomFly.com for people in the U.S.

If you're going to do a sound card, don't get one of the cheap ones. These days they are no better then on-board sound. If you really want one, go with the Sound Blaster X-Fi. My usual suggestion is to try on-board first and then order the sound card if you think you need it. If you're building yourself, popping the case and sticking a PCI card in later is no problem.

I personally had no problems with Vista on my last build. Has been working for about 4 months with no problems. I wouldn't go 64-bit though. The driver issues are still too much of a pain unless you know for a fact you have a program that would benefit from it. That being said, 2 GB of RAM is usually perfict these days Again, that's something that will work just fine and is a 5 minute upgrade down the road.