My Proposed Custom Build - Critique?

Legion Kreinak

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Alright, I've decided to throw together a custom computer, after much deliberation. Here are the parts I've chosen:

ASUS A8N5X ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131569

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103533

Windows XP Home Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16837116194

Geforce 6800GS 256 MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130258

OCZ Value Series 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM (x2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227221

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 200GB 3.5" SATA150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822140168

LITE-ON Beige ATAPI / E-IDE DVD-ROM Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827131407

LITE-ON Beige IDE DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106990

NEC 17" CRT Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824002245

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16829102162

Logitech X-530 5.1 Speaker
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16836121118

LITE-ON 2-Tone Wired Keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16823107120

Logitech Value Optical Mouse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16826104181

Thermaltake SViking Case With Side Panel Window
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133142

Thermaltake TR2 W0070 430W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153023

$1,421 total (includes shipping)

Whew, those are all the links. Fifteen parts to the computer. I think that's everything I need. I'm building it from the ground up.

Could someone help critique the build? I'm pretty sure the PSU is more than enough, and that the computer will suit all of my needs. The only thing I'm unsure of is compatability all around, and whether or not I need anything else (i.e., screws or cables that wouldn't come with the hardware).
 
looks pretty good!

i have them speakers! they rock! though they do make a loud crack when i switch my light on lol, but perfect quality rest time!
 
You have beige optical drives with a black case. That would bother me, I don't know about you.

I like the motherboard a lot :D. We talked about the video cards, so I'm guessing you decided to go with the 6800 series. The 6800GS is a good card.

Otherwise, everything looks hunky-dory. And that'll be a good system, too!

I really am liking that case with the temperature readouts, that's awesome. And, it looks like it has those "easy remove" things which come in handy a lot too.
 
Yeah, I'm going with the 6800GS. I'm actually probably getting the same priced card from XFX, which has slightly higher attributes.

I wasn't concerned with color at the time. I will change it, though. Just was more looking into the functionality, first.

I'll likely need my own thermal compound and stuff, right? Or will my CPU just come with a thermal pad, so I don't need to go through all that? I gotta make sure that, when I decide to order this thing, I have all the extra stuff I'm going to need to put it together. I don't know if I need certain pins, cables, screws, or anything like that.

Is that case good? I opted for it over the $125 Lian-Li 'cause it's cheaper, still seems to get good reviews, and I've been told that Lian-Li case is a bit of a pain for a beginner builder.
 
Yep, the HDD did get bad reviews. Consider a Western Digital, they're pretty good. However, I have a Maxtor and it works very, very well.

You may as well get some thermal compound just in case you have problems with temperatures. It is only a few extra dollars and is worth it just to have around. But, you CPU should come with a thermal pad on the heatsink it comes with. Try that first, then if your temperatures are bogus apply some thermal grease (get Arctic Silver 5 by the way), but we'll let you know what you need to do if it comes to that.

I don't know about XFX, though. I remember when I was shopping for a 6600GT the XFX card got TERRIBLE reviews. I know it isn't the same card, but I've heard their heatsinks are quite poorly designed. If it has good reviews, though, I say go for it.
 
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