I have recently done the same thing, so I will give you a listing of what I 
put together, maybe that'll help.  Simply,
the form factor for the motherboard, case, and power supply must match up, 
and the cpu you select must match
the cpu socket on the motherboard.  Here's my list from newegg:

VGA BIOSTAR 7300LE V7302EL26 R - Retail  256MB DDR2 video card
KB LOGITECH|967740-0403 INRNT 350 % - OEM  Logitech keyboard
MNTR HANNSG|19" 5MS DVI JW-199DPB R - Retail  Hanns-G 19" LCD Monitor
CASE ROSEWILL|R5601-BK RT - Retail  Rosewill Steel Computer Case w/2 case 
fans ATX mid-tower
PSU XCLIO|XCLIO 450BL 450W RT - Retail  XCLIO 450 Watt power supply ATX - 
AMD/Intel compatible
CPU AMD|A64 3700+ 2.2G 939 1M R - Retail  AMD Athlon 3700+ San Diego core, 
socket 939, 1MB cache
FDD 1.44MB NEC|FD1231H-302 OEM BLK - OEM  NEC 1.44MB Floppy Drive
LINK DEPOT 18" ATA133 CABLE GREEN - Retail  Round IDE Cables (2)
BIOSTAR GEFORCE T6100-939 uATX AMD Motherboard - Retail  Biostar mobo socket 
939, micro-ATX w/nvidia onboard video
GIGABYTE GH-ED821-LC 94 mm Ball CPU Cooler - Retail  Retail version of cpu 
comes w/ factory cpu cooler, but I wanted
a better fan, and of course you'll need whatever mouse you want.
LG 18X DVD±R Super-Multi DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black IDE Model 
GSAH22N-BK - OEM
Don't waste money on a cd burner, the dvd burners will also burn cd's.  I 
bought 2 of these LG dvd burners from newegg for 30 bucks each.

That's my system, but you may need a different set-up, as I'm not a gamer. 
Some of the gamer video cards are fantastically expensive, so that's
a decision you have to make and live with.  As for putting the right things 
together, just Google building a PC, and you'll come up with all kinds of
sites that will give you a basic guide.  Good Luck.

Milt deReyna

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Harris" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 6:09 PM
Subject: [PCBUILD] first time building a PC


> Im a college student into gaming and class work, I want to stick with a
> pretty fast processor (2.8ghz +) and a good video card (128mb +),
> storage doesnt have to be massive, 80gb is fine, I'll also want a cd
> burner. Software wise I'll more than likely buy Windows XP, because I 
> havent
> heard too many good ratings on Vista yet. The problem with me building
> one from scratch is I'm not familiar with what parts will work with
> eachother, (mother boards to processors etc..) although I do know how to
> assemble the hardware itself. My budget isn't all that great either
> being a college student and all (hoping around 700$). Newegg.com has been
> suggested to me by friends to buy the parts I need, but what exactly I
> need to buy and what will interoperate, once again I dont know. If
> anyone could help me pick some stuff out or even what parts will work with
> eachother ( key definitions to look for) I would greatly appreciate it.
> Also I already have an Apevia X-Navigator Case with their 500w
> power supply.
>
>
>
>
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