Component choices

[SHODAN]

New system - need help choosing parts

I am preparing to assemble a new system, and I need a little help choosing the right components. The only item I've bought yet is a Lian-Li PC-65B case. Without other guidance, this is want I am planning to purchase:

$159 PC Power & Cooling Silencer 400 ATX PFC
$172 Abit IT7 MAX2
$187 Pentium 4 2.4B (Northwood) (OEM)
$182 Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200 cas2.5 (OEM)
$116 Western Digital WD800JB
$115 Plextor PlexWriter 48/24/48A (OEM)
$36 LogiTech Elite KB
$--- Cordless mouse
$599 ViewSonic P225fb

The PCP&C price is from Directron, the ViewSonic price is from ProVantage, and the rest are from NewEgg.

Are there any likely compatibility issues with these components, and will I be wasting money on any of them?
I need the 21" display, and a highly regulated PFC power supply, so those aren't wasted money unless there are less expensive alternatives that will work as well or better.

Clearly some items are missing from the list, most notably a video card and FDD, because I don't know what to get. I want a cordless mouse for convenience and I want it to work well, but I don't want to spend a fortune if that's possible; a three meter range would be preferred.

This system needs at my option to either run silently, or overclock well (with moderate noise permitted) simply by changing fan speeds and settings. I intend to water-cool at least the CPU, utilizing dual heater cores and probably a Gemini Spiral waterblock. I haven't yet chosen a pump or decided whether to water-cool other components such as the GPU, chip-set, or HDD. I need a silently operating pump that is very reliable and moves a good volume of coolant to pull this off.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[ed8150]

an fdd can be picked up at newegg brand new for $7 so dont worry about that. as for gpu the two main contenders are the geforce 4 ti 4200-4600 series and the radeon 9700. the 9700 blows the ti series away but the nv30 is *supposedly* coming out soon so you may want to wait till its release to buy, for the better performance or that drop in the prices of the other componets that follows a new release. if you are not into gaming though you can just fall back on a gforce 3 ti200 or ti 500 or radeon 8500, both of which still have a good deal of life left in them and are bargains which i have seen for less than $100.

 

[JimmyG]

Forget the cordless mouse. It is heavy and will not be as precise consistently in gaming. Go with a standard optical mouse. Even the evil M$ optical mouse is OK.

 

[SHODAN]

an fdd can be picked up at newegg brand new for $7 so dont worry about that.

I figured as much, but that's what came to mind when I thought of parts missing from the list.

if you are not into gaming though

Take another look at my avatar, and tell me, does it look like that's the case?

Actually, I don't have time for many games, but then I want to really enjoy the few that I do even more.

you can just fall back on a gforce 3 ti200 or ti 500 or radeon 8500, both of which still have a good deal of life left in them and are bargains which i have seen for less than $100.

Thanks for the rec. Do any of these have TV tuners built in, it would be a nice bonus?

 

[SHODAN]

Forget the cordless mouse. It is heavy and will not be as precise consistently in gaming. Go with a standard optical mouse. Even the evil M$ optical mouse is OK.

In that case I'll probably need two mice, because I want to be able to sit back from the computer a bit (hence the 21" ViewSonic), and the weight of a long cord will really get in the way. I imagine that some cordless models are better than others though, so what should I be looking at?