I have similar needs are you and these are specs I've put together for my
last 2 builds:

CPU     Athlon64-754 3400+ N'castle             $205.00
Motherboard     MSI KN8 Neo3                    $76.00
HDD     WD800JD (2)                                     $114.00
DVD-RW  Pioneer DVR109                  $108.00
Ram     Corsair TwinX1024                               $122.00
CD-RW   Lite-On LTR 52327S                      $35.00
HSF     Thermaltake                                     $37.00
Ethernet PCI    Netgear 10/100          $16.00
Video   MSI NX6600 PCI Express          $160.00
Case    Antec Sonata 380w PS                    $99.00

Total                                                           $972.00

OS (optional)   WindowsXP Pro                   $90.00

CPU     Athlon64-939 3200+ Venice               $175.00
Motherboard     MSI K8N NEO4 PLATINUM   $120.00
HDD     WD2500KS                                        $113.00
DVD-RW  Plextor 740A                            $83.00 (with $20 rebate)
Ram     Corsair TwinX1024                               $105.00
Video   MSI NX6600GT PCI Express        $150.00
Case    Antec Sonata II 450w PS                 $99.00 (with $20 rebate)

Total                                                           $845.00

OS (optional)   WindowsXP Pro                   $110.00

All (well most) parts purchased at one of the following on the web:

www.mwave.com
www.newegg.com
www.zipzoomfly.com

I looked at the SLI boards and didn't think I would need it. The 6600 gt
series nforce pci express cards get good reviews and can be had at
relatively good prices and I find them worth the money for improved screen
quality.

DVD burners are cheap as are dual layer burners. And memory and hard drives
are really cheap these days.

Have fun!

Vincent Winterling
Vineland, NJ

-----Original Message-----
From: PCBUILD - Personal Computer Hardware discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of daniel
Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2006 2:30 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PCBUILD] First Build

Hello, and a Happy New Year too all.
After vacillating for some time,  I am ready to build my first computer.
I am unclear however on which components to choose.
I will try to delineate my needs.
I will never play games.
I will surf the web.
I want to do scanning, as well as working with a digital camera.
I enjoy MP3 files.
My pricipal question is which motherboard to purchase.
Do I need SLI? If I purchase a board with SLI, must I use two video cards?
I have noticed that the newer memory is DD2. Is there a big advantage to
having a board that would support this memory?
Any additional advice would be appreciated.

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