Joan's post clipped:----

<<<< Can you help figure out which Intel Pentium 4 processor will work with the
Chaintech  PT800 VIA SPT800 + VT8237R; Socket 478 ATX M/B; 800 MHz FSB,
(2)DDR400; (1)AGP 8X, (5) PCI; (2) SATA 2/Raid 0, 1, (2) ATA133, (1) 10/100Mbps
LAN, ( 8) USB2.0; 5.1CH Audio?  This is all Greek to me .. I don't know what any
of it means.>>>>

Since you have received the parts from new engineering I had a look at their site for the specs. for this mother board and this is what I find

<<<< CHAINTECH SPT800 Socket 478 VIA PT800 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

AGP Slots: 1x AGP 8X/4X
CPU Type: Intel Pentium 4 Prescott/Celeron
DDR Standard: DDR 400 (PC 3200)
FSB: 800/533MHz
Maximum Memory Supported: 2GB
Number of DDR Slots: 2x 184pin DDR
PATA: 2 x ATA 133 up to 4 Devices
PCI Express x16: None
PCI Slots: 5
South Bridge: VIA VT8237

Model #: SPT800
Item #: N82E16813152046 >>>>

However the "CHAINTECH" link (http://www.chaintechusa.com/tw/eng/product_spec.asp?MPSNo=13&PISNo=306 )
given by Hugh Vandervoort and your post also says the mobo is "SATA/ RAID" capable wheras the new egg. specs says "PATA" and I find this confusing since they are two different configurations. So I feel you should recheck the specs again.

As far as the right p4 pentium processor is concerned the following intel site has the info.

 http://www.intel.com/products/processor/pentium4/index.htm

If you scroll down to the section reading " overview of the processor in 478 pin package " you will find two items listed side by side. the first one saying
" supporting hyper threading ---- etc " should be ok but you will have to choose the clock speed which ranges from 2.4 to 3.4 GHZ.

since from your post the pc will be used for gaming the higher the clock speed the better the performance but price considerations are there.

the second important point is the DDR MEMORY STICKS should be "matching pair".

the dvd drive etc should be easy to install after the above basic points are settled I should think.

hope this helps and keep the list posted and I am sure your son will be playing his games on the self built comp. soon.

good luck--Venkat Viswanathan

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