I'm going to attempt building a system for the first time ever and was wondering if you could give me some info on whether there'd be any problems on the parts I'm going for and if its underpowered/overpowered in any regard.

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=49XS - Antec 900 case
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4QXH - 500GB Seagate 7200rpm hdd
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4YCZ - 3.0ghz intel E8400
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=55PF - Sapphire ATI radeon 4870
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4B0R - Corsair 620w hx PSU
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=50TN - 4gb corsair dominator 1066mhz ram
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4BJF - Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro
[url]http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4ZSL[url] - lite on 20x DVD+/-RW
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=529F - 802.11n PCI wifi card
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=54HV - Gigabyte intel p45 motherboard
+windows vista home premium
+22" LG monitor
+keyboard
+mouse

id go for a 700 W psu probs give u tht little bit more power for future upgrades.

dnt know about intel amd for me

perhaps 2 smaller Harddrive in RAID would prove better.

xonar 7.1 sound card is designed for 64 bit vista im told maybe a little bit more user friendly for you?? no driver issues.

www.overclockers.co.uk give them a try also before you buy they have some good deals and a good service!

yeah I might go with the 750w corsair psu depending on reccomendations

intel is just plain better atm for performance builds afaik

I'm going to stick with one I think and the creative card is fatal1ty with a pretty hefty discount so I'll stick with that.

I looked at overclockers but they seem more expensive for most stuff

also I plan to overclock and might even put put a second 4870 in for crossfire further on down the line when the price has dropped

Get the 750TX, it's cheaper and better for Crossfire.

http://www.dabs.com/productview.as [...] y=49450000

I have no idea about the Wireless card. Are you sure you need 802.11n and not 802.11g or whatever?

Dump the Sound Blaster. Creative's drivers for Vista have a bad reputation. Try onboard audio for a while, then, if you still want a sound card, do more research.

I'm assuming you intend to overclock, based on the RAM you picked. This is by far the best cooler I've seen at dabs:

Noctua NH-U12P CPU Heatpipe Heatsink with NF-P12 Fan, £57
http://www.dabs.com/productview.as [...] 1258,50831

My second favorite from their list is much cheaper, but it offers less performance and more noise
OCZ Vendetta 2, £26
http://www.dabs.com/productview.as [...] 1258,50121

Make sure Vista is 64-bit, not 32-bit.

The rest is very good.

Your Lite-On link in the first post needs a slash like this / between [ and url] - just in case you care to fix it. It's a good burner, no problems there.

This is a good list.

Your corsair 650 is plenty.

DDR2-1066 will be of value, only if you need maximum overclocks. DDR2-800 will be less troublesome otherwise. Also note that the Corsair dominator designation just gives you a fancier heat sink which is not really needed.

I would defer on the sound card. Onboard HD sound is very good these days, and you could always add one later. Also, sound card drivers seem to be very troublesome.

Would a wireless router be better than a card? What is it for?

be certain to get the 64 bit version of vista.