Help on compatible / best components

Hi all,
I'm planing on buying a new system this month, it is the first time will put one together myself. Mostly I want the pc for gaming and programming. I don't want to make any mistakes, so ... I'm asking for help and advice, regarding compatibility of the components and suggestions. I want to stay on the same budget, so if you have any suggestions, let the be on the same price range.

This is what I planned:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester (tray)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
2x DDR-RAM 512MB PC400 CL2.5 Corsair (VS512MB400)
200GB Maxtor 6B200M0, SATA2, 8MB
Gigabyte 6600GT DDR3 128MB (GV-NX66T128VP)
ATX Midi Arctic Cooling Silentium T2 (350 Watt)
Toshiba SD-M1912, 16x/48x bulk (DVD-ROM)
Toshiba SD-R5372 bulk (DVD-burner)
19" Samtron 98PDF 96kHz TCO03
Creative Inspire T7900 7.1
Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop 1000 USB
(and I already have a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum Pro)


Thanks in advance!
Alejo

Just my $0.02 worth...

Loose the underpowered PSU. I would recommend you check out the recent article on high powered PSUs done right here:

http://www20.tomshardware.com/howt [...] index.html

I tend to use Antec True Control 550 in all my PCs... Its a good PSU but it runs far to hot (without my customisation of fitting an external 120mm fan :-) You will need one with 24 pins for the newer ATX 2 standard MB.

DON'T get that harddisk!! Maxator HD are old school and way behind the pack. The best 7,200RPM SATA disks by far are the SATA2 Hitachi series (K400). Check out the recent THG article on SATA disks.

http://www.tomshardware.com/storag [...] 10-05.html

This series approaches the responsiveness of the WD Raptor without the $$$!! If you are looking at HD you want the lowest access time/seek time possible and a long warranty. Sustained transfer rate comes second.
The Hitachi is way ahead!!
I use some Hitachi K250 250Gbyte PATA drives in my PC and they are real performers.

The rest of the stuff you are going for looks fine. I personally would get a 6800GT but... :-)

Bob

Hi

I would go for the Hitachi K400 SATA II Series anyday.

My reasoning is thus:
if you transfer big files you go away and make a cup of tea/coffee... (Spinpoint wins here or does it :-)

if you have multiple random accesses that don't saturate the drives transfer capacity...
if you are doing and kind of editing of big files (e.g. video) where you need quick and responsive feedback...
if you are gaming...
if you are running office aps. and want them to respond quickly...
etc., etc.
Get a Hitachi. They have the best SATA2 7,200rpm drives...

Both these drives have SATA NCQ BTW.

I would really recommend people to get a WD Raptor 74 Gb 10Krpm... I personally boot Windblows off U320 15Krpm SCSI drives... But if haven't got that kind of money $$$ buy Hitachi!! (Its always best to boot off the fastest drive you can't afford :-)

Bob