Suggestions on a New System

I'm planning on building a new system with an athlon 3200+ processor
I would use it mostly for accounting, some photo editing, and a little bit of gaming but not heavy duty. So I don't need an expen$ive video card
want to be able to utilize pc3200 DDR Ram
Decided on a 200GB Western Digital Hard drive
What motherboard should I use
other suggestions? ie. case
I don't want to spend a pile prefferably $850 USD or less
Any comments on the pc3200 ultra ram seems to be at a good price.

 

motherboard: any nforce2 motherboard, preferably one by a popular name (just to avoid any risk of getting a not-so-good board). you can be the judge of what features you want.
video card: radeon 9800 pro
case: anything that strikes to you as 'good looking"
ram: any pc3200 from a BRAND NAME. i can't stress that enough.
power supply: an antec or fortron source.

avoid fry's electronics cuz many of their computer parts are DOA

as for anything else you might want to know about, your setup will easily be below your $850 budget.

 

I was thinking of starting with a cheap video card and upgrading later just so i can spend more money on Ram and other things now.

 

but for only $200, i stand by the shear cheapness: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-268&depa=0

 

I just don't think what I will be doing requires much of a video card

 

i guess you can use something like this: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-128-190&depa=0

 

what do you plan on using it for?

motherboard: Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe
Video card: GeForce FX5700 or Radeon 9600

best cheap cards out there.

for RAM, check out http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-212&depa=0

if you're doing lots of photo editing (like Adobe Photoshop) you may consider 1GB of RAM (2x512MB sticks to utilize Dual Channel on the motherboard)

 

one more thing
sound card: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=29-120-103&depa=0

 

why would he need a soundcard with onboard sound? unless hes hooking up a powered 5.1 system, theres no need.

 

some people can't stand onboard sound, since they are prone to clipping and have a low quality DAC.

 

agreed, as I'm one of those people, just thought it was odd to bring it up unprompted. good lookin out i guess

 

what motherboard is good to go with a 3200+?
This one any good?
Biostar - M7NCD Ultra - nVIDIA nForce2 Motherboard

 

probably the best one available, Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe

 

What size power supply do I need?

ANy favorites for cases? Idefinitely want front USB and Firewire

 

inexpensive and reliable power supply: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-966&depa=0

and i use this case for originality and security: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-124-060&depa=0
the power supply in this case should be sufficient, but i don't know about long term reliability. i recommend you shop around and use your gut feeling for the case, since there are so many to choose from, and all of them are equally sufficient for most people.