I guess what I need most is information on where parts can be purchased for the lowest prices, that are reputable merchants. I know all about Pricewatch.com, and all that, but is there one single merchant that someone would reccommend, preferably online?
So you have an idea, its going to be an AMD Athlon XP based system, with a 333mHz bus, preferably the Asus A7N8X board, etc.
Thanks!
Many good experiences with them.
I second newegg – I’ve had really good luck with them.
Pricewatch is your friend. I like your choice of the A7N8X, by the way.
I like a Dell, cause you just push two buttons & everything is right there in front of you & all set to take more HDs or cdrom drives. Also they use a bios lock software actvation which never needs to be activated & you can change all the stuff with out having to activate. They are always having one sale or another. Used to be cheaper to buy parts & make one yourself, but not anymore.
Personally, I had a good experience with Essencompu.com when I was building my computer, and they haven’t gone bankrupt yet, which is a good sign in this day and age 
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But… may I ask why you want to limit yourself to one or two certain merchants?
In my experience, I’ve found that no merchant seems to consistently offer the lowest prices on EVERYTHING.
IMHO, it would make more sense to search for a low price on the item(s) you want, and then compare the merchants that offer it to each other.
You can easily do this with tools like:
Pricegrabber.com. It’s like Pricewatch, but I think it has a better interface… and more importantly, it has buyer reviews for the stores. For example, it tells you that newegg.com, Zenham’s recommendation, has the second-lowest price for the motherboard you want, and that the store was rated 4.88/5 by some 1600 people (so it’s probably a good choice).
Bizrate.com. Go to the Store Ratings section to get reviews.
BBB.com. Use “Check Out a Company”. For US stores (including online dealers), you can get the Better Business Bureau’s report on the company, including information on unsettled customer complaints, etc.
Just wondering 
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Pricewatch is good, but Pricegrabber is better.
I bought my CD-rw drive from Directron.com… no complaints, and their tech support boards are excellent.
Just wanted to drop buy and note that if you go for that motherboard, make sure you get the Deluxe version. The A7N8X non-Deluxe doesn’t feature nVidia Soundstorm onboard audio, which really is quite a major feature. I would also suggest the Abit NF7-S v2.0 as an alternative choice, as it includes TOSLINK Optical audio out, as well as a free SATA adapter. It also tends to cost a little less too, and I just prefer Abit over Asus. YMMV.
As for buying from multiple shops, the increased shipping you pay usually cancels out any cost savings. I’ll third the suggestion of newegg.
Between googlegear.com and newegg, you’ll usually get pretty damn good prices.
I have the A7N8X Deluxe and I like it plenty. Comes with built-in Firewire.
Another useful resource for evaluating unknown retailers is www.resellerratings.com. It’s a database of customer feedback, so there’s a certain subjectivity to it all but it can still be quite helpful - and most of the comments are quite specific as to the pros and cons of people’s experiences.
I’ll second www.googlegear.com . Also I’ll second the idea of using more than one vendor. Someone else almost always has a better price on something.
Well, I decided NewEgg.com was my best bet. Here are the stats of what I am building. Criticisms and suggestions welcome and desired!
Lite On 48x24x48x16 CDROM/CDRW/DVD Combo Drive LTC-48161H
SMART-BURN avoiding Buffer Under Run error, Automatically adjusting writing strategy & running OPC to provide the best burning quality
Specifications:
Speed: Writing 48X, Rewriting 24X, Reading: 48X
Maximum Speed 48X DVD Read: 16X
Interface: ATAPI/E-IDE
Buffer Memory Size: 2MB
Operating System: MS-Windows 95/98/NT4.0/ME/2000/XP
Lite On 52x Cd Rom - Model LTN-526 -Full OEM PACK Innovated SMART-X®
Specifications:
Speed : CD-ROM 52X Interface : ATAPI-E/IDE
Sustained Transfer Rate : 3300~7800KB/sec (Average:5700KB/sec)
PIO mode 4 16.6MB/sec, SW DMA 2, 8.3MB/sec, MW DMA 2, 16.6MB/sec,
Ultra-DMA/33, 33.3MB/sec
Access Time : 80ms (typical)
MTBF : 120’000 Power On Hours with 10% Duty
Full OEM Package with manu, driver, Audio cable and screws.
MAXTOR 60GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # 6Y060L0 - OEM, DRIVE ONLY DiamondMax Plus 9
Specifications:
Size: 60 Gigabytes
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA133
Seek time: 9 msec
RPM:7200
Cache 2MB
OEM(Drive alone) 1 Year Manufacturer Warranty
ALL COMPONENTS 64x64 512MB PC-2100 DDR266 Memory module. 16-chip. 184 pins. OEM.
Specifications:
Type: 64X64 DDR RAM
Capacity: 512MB
Speed: DDR266 PC-2100 Lifetime warranty
Asus Motherboard for AMD Athlon XP Processors, Model# A7N8X-VM Retail
Specifications:
CPU: Socket A for AMD Athlon XP Thoroughbred/ Barton Core Support
FSB: 333/266/200 MHz (up to Barton XP3000+)
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce2 IGP + MCP
RAM: 2x Dual Channel 184-pin DIMM Sockets DDR400/333/266 non-ECC (DDR400 Support w/ external VGA card only)
IDE: 2x ATA133/100
Slots: 1x AGP 8X (1.5V), 3x PCI
Ports: 2xPS/2, 1xLPT, 6xUSB2.0, VGA, & Audio
Onboard LAN: Integrated 10/100 Mbps LAN controller + Realtek PHY
Onboard Video: Integrated GeForce4 MX GPU + Integrated TV encoder
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC650
Form Factor: MicroATX
NVidia nVIEW Dual Display Architecture allows you to use two displays at once (VGA+TV or DVI+TV only)
AMD ATHLON XP 2500+ “Barton” 333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- RETAIL
Specifications:
CPU: 1.83 GHz
Type: XP 2500 Barton Core
Cache: 512K L2, 128K L1, Total 640KB
BUS: 333MHz
Socket A
Retail Box (Heatsink and Fan included)
Creative SBS450 4.1 Speakers - RETAIL
Oh, and total cost after shipping is about $500
Stccrd, send me $1000 and I’ll take my Dell apart and ship it to you in 15 or 20 small boxes (at no additional charge).
***Hmm. Sounds suspiciously like a ransome note
I really need to remember preview. The ram is actually this kind:
KINGSTON KVR333X64C25/512 512MB 32x64 PC2700 DDR RAM
CL 2.5; 184-Pin Unbuffered. Lifetime Warranty.
Not sure what your budget is, but a dual format (DVD +/- R +/-RW) DVD burner can be had for <$200 these days. Just a thought.