Need Input on Computer Modding

[matthewd]

Ok this is the first time building a computer from scratch. Below are the parts that I'm thinking about getting so far. I would like some of your input on my choices and whether they are good or not for a beginner setup in terms of stability to performance ratio. My main concern is stability becuase this comp is going in our senior room at school so I won't have time to be fixing it alot, but it will mainly be used for fairly intense gaming and ofcourse internet. I would also like it to be fairly quiet is at all possible. Please feel free to offer any products that might suit me better or are more reasonably priced

Intel Pentium 4 processor 2.8 ghz 800Mhz Fsb 512k Cache - 185.00
MSI "Neo2-PFISR " i865PE Chipset Motherboard - 130.00
Corsair XMS Extreme 512 ddr Pc-3200 OEM ( Would it be worth the extra $ for 2 sticks?) - 128.00 for 1 stick
Maxtor 120 gig 7200 rpm IDE Hard Drive OEM- 98.00
Audigy 2 Zs Gamer Limtied Edition
I need ideas on a case under 65 bucks that is fairly small, lightweight, good airflow, and is compatable with all above
I also need some ideas on a good cd rw/ dvd combo drive for under 75 bucks.
I already have nvidia 5900 so at least thats taken care of.
All of this will be paired with a kds 17 inch lcd monitor
Any info would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Matt

[Incognitotj]

www.newegg.com has a rosewill (aopen) 52 X 32 X 52 X16 cdrw / dvd playing drive for 36.00 until 4pm pacific time on 6/2/04

Incog

[whip_cracker]

Well... fat chance in my decision making a difference... the stuff we have over here Down Under won't be of any use to you. But when it comes to cases, I would make sure that really, you have at least 1 fan on the case and a pretty good CPU fan. It'd be worth the money to buy a schweet ass fan for the CPU rather than getting a stocko and being on the brink or frying the damn thing. I have 5 fans on my case... mind you, it's got 5 holes, so I'd try and make goos use of it, also... if you want good ventilation in the case, make sure that not all air is circulating inside... the air will heat up, rather than cool down and yeah... don't want to have a fried computer now hm? I have 1 fan on the front and 1 on the back... the air blows from the front into the case, and the back fan works more like an exhaust and cools the computer down a few degrees. The other fans won't make too much difference, but the 2 side fans I have both blow onto the board, and the ceiling fan sucks air out too. So far, it's like a damn cyclone inside!