Building My First PC

[RabidEmu]

I'm looking to build my first PC. I've never done this before and I don't have a clue what all these parts and such are. I've done a ton of research, but still don't quite understand all the terms and such. I've scoured the internet and put together a list of parts that I think will work.

Cooler Master Elite 331 ATX Mid Tower Case Black

Kingston ValueRAM 4GB Kit (2x2GB) 667MHz DDR2 DIMM 240-pin Desktop Memory KVR667D2K2/4GR

Samsung 22X SpeedPlus Serial ATA Internal DVD Writer - OEM with Software

PC Power and Cooling PPCS500D Silencer 500 Dell 12V 80+ Certified Power Supply

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 8 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD5000AAJS

Sapphire Radeon HD3870 512MB DDR4 Dual DVI / TVO PCI-Express Graphics Card

Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200 Processor, 2.5 GHz, 2M L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, LGA775

Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L S-Series Easy Energy Saver Motherboard

And a cheapo monitor:
HP 2009M 20-Inch HD LCD Monitor

First of all, are all these parts compatible with each other? Am I missing anything? Is there anything I could maybe change to make it cheaper? Second, how good of a PC would it be? I plan to install Vista on it. Is it good enough to play most modern games? And third, how hard is it to put all this together and install the operating system? I've got no computer building experience, but I am pretty decent with my hands. And I've got a good deal of knowledge with computer software in general. I've reformatted a few hard drives and such, but never installed an operating system onto a newly built computer.

Thanks for any tips or advice you guys can offer, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[affinitydesigns]

If possible, I would try getting some of the products at newegg.com. I know you can get a 500GB HDD for less then listed at amazon. I would also probably jump up a few dollars for the video card and get either the nvidia 9800 GTX+ (GTX 250) or the ati 4850.

The case looks good.

I would definitely look into some better RAM. I would get 2x2GB DDR2 800. It will even save you some money and boost performance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

Newegg also has a cheaper DVD-ROM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151175

That Power Supply is excellent. PC Power and Cooling is one of the best names in PSUs

500GB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152112

GPU
Ati- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121272
Nvidia- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500088

CPU/MOBO
This will save you some money on the processor and motherboard. The motherboard also has onboard video so you don't need to get a video card right away if it's stressing your budget.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.181606

 

[gkay09]

Better Memory...
http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-OCZ2P8004GK-DDR2-800MHz-4GB/dp/B000VY8O6M/ref=pd_cp_e_3?pf_rd_p=413863501&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000XFI1EE&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0P6P7QF3NAMJJS20HEG6

Better graphics card...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102822

 

[jsc]

If your budget will stretch $15 more, get this HD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

 

[gkay09]

If possible, I would try getting some of the products at newegg.com. I know you can get a 500GB HDD for less then listed at amazon. I would also probably jump up a few dollars for the video card and get either the nvidia 9800 GTX+ (GTX 250) or the ati 4850.

The case looks good.

I would definitely look into some better RAM. I would get 2x2GB DDR2 800. It will even save you some money and boost performance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

Newegg also has a cheaper DVD-ROM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151175

That Power Supply is excellent. PC Power and Cooling is one of the best names in PSUs

500GB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152112

GPU
Ati- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121272
Nvidia- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500088

CPU/MOBO
This will save you some money on the processor and motherboard. The motherboard also has onboard video so you don't need to get a video card right away if it's stressing your budget.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.181606

Well he has free shipping on Amazon, whereas in newegg it is not the casefor all the items...So he would end up paying the same price...

 

[Why_Me]

I'm looking to build my first PC. I've never done this before and I don't have a clue what all these parts and such are. I've done a ton of research, but still don't quite understand all the terms and such. I've scoured the internet and put together a list of parts that I think will work.

First of all, are all these parts compatible with each other? Am I missing anything? Is there anything I could maybe change to make it cheaper? Second, how good of a PC would it be? I plan to install Vista on it. Is it good enough to play most modern games? And third, how hard is it to put all this together and install the operating system? I've got no computer building experience, but I am pretty decent with my hands. And I've got a good deal of knowledge with computer software in general. I've reformatted a few hard drives and such, but never installed an operating system onto a newly built computer.

Thanks for any tips or advice you guys can offer, I'd really appreciate it.

You have the right idea, but I do believe we can cut that price down and get you a better vid card, faster hard drive, etc...in the process.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119115 $39.99
COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150070 $4.99
MASSCOOL FD12025S1L3/4 120mm Case Fan - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012 $59.99 ($49.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W ATX12V / EPS12V Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.181196 Combo Discount: -$10.00 Combo Price: $112.98
GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E5200 - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130468 $129.99 Free Shipping*
EVGA 512-P3-1150-TR GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 $42.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 $74.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $24.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

* This monitor down below runs has a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 up from the normal 1440 x 900 for 19" wide screens.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009127 $129.99 Free Shipping*
Acer X193W+BD Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2000:1 (ACM) - Retail
High resolution 19” monitor

Total $507.92 | $497.92 w/rebates

OS ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99 Free Shipping*
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

 

[affinitydesigns]

+1, that's a great build Why_Me

 

[RabidEmu]

Thanks everyone, but I forgot to mention on key detail. I live in Hawaii and NewEgg would charge me $200+ just for shipping. That's why I had to use Amazon and their less than stellar selection.

I really appreciate all the advice. I'll look into those parts you guys recommend over the ones I chose and see if their on Amazon. I'll probably be back though.