Question : Problem: Require Help Buying Parts for My First Self-Built Computer

Hi,

I have been looking into building my first computer for some time now, with some soft-modding included. I have come up with a lot of the components that I would like, after giving much time reading reviews about power, quality, reliability, performance, overclockability and quietness, but I still have a few 'gaps' in my wish-list that I can't fill!

Basically, this is what my rig will consist of:

Case: i-Cute 0314TL Black ATX Case With Side Window
PSU: Fortron FSP350-60PN, Tagan 480W Silent PSU or Nexus NX-4000
Motherboard: ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe nForce2 DDR400 / Abit NF7-S v2.0 nForce2 DDR400
Processor: AMD Athlon XP-M 2500+ SKT-A OEM Barton (Mobile) Unlocked
Heatsink: I hear Thermalright are the best but I don't know what to get!
Memory: 2 x 512MB Matched Pair = 1GB. I Don't know which brand to get!
Graphics Card: Hightech ATi Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB IceQ
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracude 7200.7 SATA 120GB
CD/DVD Drive:
CD-RW Drive:
Floppy Drive: Just a standard Panasonic one I've seen
IDE/SATA Cables:
Floppy Cable:
Fans: Blue LED fans to go with aesthetic look or Panaflo L1As for HSF and PSU with PC Power & Cooling Silencers for case fans.
Other things: Fan Guards, cable ties, power lead, blue cold cathodes.

As you can see, even though I've spent months thinking about this, I haven't gotten very far apart from the main components. Unfortunately I'm indecisive, and find it hard to part with money - not a good combination for someone buying parts to build a PC!

What I need, is some help. Please bare in mind that I want a black rig, with blue lighting.

- Which PSU should I get? The ones I have listed are supposed to be very good and quiet.
- I can't decide between the two motherboards.
- Can anyone give me a product code for a good thermalright HS for a SKT A setup?
- Any input on which brand of memory to get would be excellent. I'm not looking to spend more  (or much more) than a £100 on the matched pair though.
- not sure about the hard drive - it's something I've barely researched but the 7200.7 120GB has had good reviews, but it's SATA. I understand SATA in that it's quicker etc, but can anyone explain what cables I will need etc? Please assume that I am a complete newbie when it comes to SATA... because I AM A NEWBIE. :D The HD I will get will probably be OEM and therefore, supplied with no cables.
- I would LOVE input on quiet/but fast optical drives. I want a CD/RW and a CD/DVD drive.
- As for floppy cables and fans etc I'm fine, I just need to make DECISIONS! Ahhh!

I'm really sorry that this is such a long-winded and ultimately, a pain in the a$$ of a question to answer because it's so badly stuctured. But please, I would love help on getting the components I need. I have parts from my old (current) rig that I can use, but mainly just the stupid things like monitor, input devices, NIC etc. I will expand on anything that needs more input if needed. But I have been looking for ages and feel I need to get in on the "sweet-spot" whilst I still can.

Thanks very much,

[cookie]

Answer : Problem: Require Help Buying Parts for My First Self-Built Computer

I didn't read through it all (at work, 5 min before going home ;) ), but what I noticed:

You chose a Athlon XP processor in your main setup (socket 754), still your mainboard is socket A!!

Get the Asus K8N-E Deluxe Nforce3 SATA/Raid/1394/G-Lan instead  - it's about 120€ (don't know what that is in £...). You should make use of that onboard Raid with the SATA, get or WD Raptor if you want raw speed, or something like a few 120GB SATA HDD in RAID.

Tom's hardware guide community forums - CPU Guide August '04: http://www.community.tomshardware.com/forum/showflat.m?Cat=&Board=comp_cpu&Number=527673&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5 . Good guide to what CPU suits you best!

I opened a post there myself, am building a system too (feel free to compare): http://www.community.tomshardware.com/forum/showflat.m?Cat=&Board=comp_cpu&Number=546307&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5