Need quick advice on this system configuration...

I went to a computer fair today to pick out some things to buy and then went home to see if they're cheaper/better online. Tomorrow I plan on going back to buy almost a complete system, so could someone please evaluate my choices and see if anything won't work or if there are any conflicts between parts? I'm planning on dual-booting Windows XP Professional and Redhat Linux.

The system would be:

Motherboard: Abit NF7-S v.2.0
RAM: A pair of 256MB of any non-generic non-corsair (since I've heard that corsair memory conflicts with this board for some reason) PC2700
Hard Drive: 80GB Serial ATA 150 7200 RPM (thinking of maxtor or seagate, anyone have any experience with either company's SATA drives?)
CPU: AMD Barton 2500+
Case: Case with 430 watt PSU, side window, side fan, LCD temp display, ATX form
Fans: 2-3 more generic case fans
Heatsink: SK-7 (if I can find one) or SLK 800

After buying this I'm probably also going to order the following items from newegg:
-Generic linux-compatible floppy drive
-Linux-compatible CD-RW drive
-Smart Case Fan II
-Linux-compatible video card


Please respond by the end of the day, I'm leaving early tomorrow. Will everything work together? Am I missing anything? Do I have to buy cables or connectors or things like that?

It might serve your needs better if you purchased PC3200 memory if you're overclocking, I doubt now that it will cost very much more either.

With the hard drive, I haven't had much experience from either brand, but judging from the experiences of others, Seagate is a bit slower than Maxtor, but much quieter. I have also heard of some people having some reliability problems with Maxtor, but not that many. If you can find it, a Western Digital or a Hitachi 80GB SATA Drive would be a better choice.

Also, SATA does not really bring any improvement in performance compared to IDE, and the only major benefit ATM is the thin cable, and this will come with your motherboard if it's a retail box.

The only other issue I can see is with the PSU. If it's a generic brand, then it might give you some problems with stability over time. Brands such as Antec, TTGI, HEC, and Fortron (Sparkle and Acer are both Fortron), are the most reliable. Consult the Case and Power Supply Forum for better info on PSU's..

Other than that, you have made some nice choices.

I agree get some faster ram like OCZ PC3200. I hear good things about the New IBM/ Hitachi harddrives. The case you're describing sounds like a Xaser to me. What kinda video card do you have in mind? The 9600 Pro is a good card for the price(I'm gonna get a AIW version when it's avaible). As for CD-RW you can't go wrong with Lite-on.

Bought the stuff, but I'll need to wait for some stuff from newegg to arrive before I can start assembling it. I decided to get PC2700 RAM because my mobo supports 3x 2700 but only 2x 3200, so I have some expandability later on. I was also able to find this one guy that sold me arctic silver 5 (even though it's october 19, and 5 isn't supposed to be on the market until oct. 20 ).

Wanna post what you bought? Well the stuff you decided on that wasn't listed b4.

I got:
Abit NF7-S v.2.0
2x 256MB PC2700 Corsair RAM
80GB Seagate 7200RPM SATA HDD
XP 2500+ Barton CPU
Case: 430 watt PSU, side window, side fan, LCD temp display, ATX form. I'm wondering what brand this is, I looked on the power supply and it said "Award". Anyone ever hear of this company? I know BIOS is made by award, do they make cases too?
SLK800 Heatsink
Mitsumi Floppy Drive
Samsung SC-148 48x CD-ROM Drive

On newegg I ordered:
3x Smart Case Fan II (1 to use as a CPU fan, the other 2 as case fans)
Aopen GeForce2 MX400 64MB DDR 4X AGP Video Card


I've got a few questions though. Do the floppy drive, CD-ROM drive, or hard drive need driver software? I bought them all OEM (drive only, no manuals or software). If so, where could I get this software? Is there anyplace I could download it?

The SATA hard drive needs SATA drivers to install WinXP, and XP will ask for it upon installation. and I believe you recieve it with your motherboard. The floppy and the CD-ROM drive should just run without any problems.

As for the power supply, it's pretty much a no-name, and something that you should probably replace. I don't believe Phoenix Technologies (the company that make the Award BIOS) makes power supplies. The best solution would be to pose a question at the Case and Power Supply Forum to get the best info, as the people there have much better knowledge on the subject than I do.

The PC2700 is going to limit you heavily if you plan to overclock. You'll do much better off with PC3200. On newegg the windbond modules for Buffalo 512MB PC3700 is 99$ and the CL2 PC3200 is 89$, that's about the same as say some Crucial PC2700. I haven't checked prices on the Corsair PC2700, though.

As for a PSU, you got 3 good choices: Channel Well (Antec), Fortron, and the Antec Truepower series. And for a case, don't just order anything. Your cooling will only be as good as the ambient temp in your case (air & water cooling) and never lower without something like a peltier or water chiller. So, a case with good airflow is very important. I have a thread here: http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=239013 that might help you with that.

Everything else you picked looks great to me, though.
Good luck.

Oh yeah, don't forget to purchase some good thermal grease.