1st ever build - credit card at the ready - help!

Having spent the best part of 6 weeks trawling various posts I’ve decided to bite the bullet and go for a self-build. Since there seem to be many and wise likeminded people on this forum I would really appreciate some advice on the following first time virgin build…………….

The PC will be used for web surfing, DV editing and burning to DVD and some gaming (never had a decent PC to do this so would like to get into it).

MOBO
Gigabyte GA-7N400PRO2 nForce 2 8xAGP Ultra400 400 FSB DDR400 IEEE 1394 Retail Box
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/pro [...] 2578#pinfo
£77.83

CPU
AMD Athlon XP3200 400FSB 512Cache Barton Retail Boxed Inc Heatsink & Fan with 3year Warranty
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/pro [...] _uid=48376
£158.12

CASE & POWER SUPPLY
http://www.savastore.com/products/ [...] 866&pid=44
SX1040B II/MT 400W, 4x5.25", 2x3.5" ATX Case
£81.08

DRIVE
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Maxtor2.html
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus9 Serial ATA 160GB 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-026-MD)
£80

MEMORY
http://www.dabs.com/uk/productView.htm?quicklinx=2M12
256MB 184DIMM PC3200 DDR RAM Non-Parity CL3
£31.88 inc VAT (£27.14 ex VAT)

x 2 = 512MB = £63

GRAPHICS
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acat [...] cards.html
PowerColor Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB - Retail (GX-006-PC)
£178
Although might have to reduce spec to save some cash - any views?


TV TUNER
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/pro [...] _uid=40627
Leadtek Tv2000XP Deluxe TV/ FM Radio/Teletext Optional/remote control And Doubles as a PC Video Recorder
£36.10

DVD
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acat [...] rives.html
LiteOn LDW-851S 8x DVD±R/±RW Drive - Retail (CD-021-LO)
£76.73

TFT MONITOR
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/pro [...] _uid=43564
LG Electronics L1710B 17ins TFT DIG TCO99 USB Silver Slim Bezel
£340.74

FLOPPY / MOUSE / KEYBOARD
Using old bits

SPEAKERS
Using old Karman Kardon set

OS
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/pro [...] _uid=50264
Microsoft XP Home With Service Pack 1A OEM
£62.96

TOTAL = about £1116

Thanks in advance everyone.....

If its just for "some" gaming, i would get a cheaper videocard really, and would use the price difference to replace the AXP with an Athlon 64 3000+(well, there hardly is a price difference anyway). AXP is dead end, and not as fast as a A64 3000+. 64 bit could also get usefull over time as OS and apps become available (especially for DV editing !).

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

Now you have to decide whether you want your games to be “ultra fast” or “playable”. The 9700 Pro and the 9800 Pro and really good cards, almost identical in fact, but they are in the $200-250 range. The 9600 series are a joke, even for their $150-200 price tage. My over clocked 8500 performs better then it does, and its was $50. I personally don’t like NVIDIA cards because they change the way my games look. I had the 5950 Ultra and everything looked poor compared to my 8500. So I took it back and got the 9700 Pro and saved my self $300!

Supporting AMD with your breakable stuff.

Maybe he was talking the non-pro or the SE. The Se performs at about 1/4 of the pro, while the non-pro is between the two. The 9600pro is a very good midrange card, the XT is a bit better. Can you get a 9800np for a reasonable price? That card is in between the 9600XT and the 9800pro, but can be found at better price.
Do not buy SE cards, most of the ones available have a 64 bit interface.

I have the 9600pro. I've had it for about a year now. It is great. No problems. Most problems I've seen with video cards are operator error. No card is proof against that. If a retailer is having problems with Ati cards, it may not be a great place for support.

One little comment: DLing WXP would be a bit, um, cheaper...

A long long time ago, but I can still remember, how that music used to make me smile... <A HREF="http://www.nexus.hu/zonix/DIGGER.MID" target="_new"><b><font color=blue>Digger rulz</font color=blue></b></A>

Fair comment PeterF - thanks.

Once I know exactly what parts I need (think I'm almost there) I will try and price all in one store to get the cheapest. I don't think E-buyer is too bad though.