"Help! First build ever!"

[zeroinfish]

I recently got advice for a build here, and it was great. A friend of mine wanted to try a similar build and I advised him to post here. He couldn't manage to get registered properly, so I told him I would post for him. His post is copied below.
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I'm trying to build a budget gaming rig for under $1000. While I do have some hardware experience, this
will be the first time I've built a machine from scratch, so I'd love some advice. There is a chance I will
want to do some over-clocking, but most likely I won't because based on my limited knowledge it appears to
be more difficult than someone with my (lack of) skill and laziness will be willing/able to accomplish. So,
if this build doesn't lend itself to over-clocking, that's not a deal-breaker for me. If it does, cool.

Most of the build is copied from someone else, so hopefully it's pretty good already. If anyone knows of
any upgrades that don't cost much and are a great value, awesome, but I don't really want to spend much more.
I would be willing to jump down to another graphics card to save a bit of money if it could be better spent
elsewhere.

Thanks a ton in advance!

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$115-$25 instant rebate - $40 mail-in rebate = $75
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16811129021
Yeah, I could probably get a quality case for less money, but this one looks so freakin' cool
that I'm totally in love with it. Plus, it has lots of space and a ton of big fans to cool
the monster graphics card.

APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W Power Supply - Retail
$40-$5 instant rebate-$15 mail-in rebate = $20
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16817148027

Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E2180 - Retail
$88
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16819116052

abit IP35V LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard Retail
$90-$27 mail-in rebate = $63
http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A4841009

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$65
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16822148144

XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$270
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150252
I probably don't really need a card this powerful, because I don't play much if any multiplayer FPS, but this
card comes with Company of Heroes, which is a $30 game I was planning to buy anyway. That basically makes this
$240 card for my purposes, which is only $70 more than my alternative choice, a 3850 (see below *). It
seems to me that this upgrade is almost easily worth that given the card's likely staying power. I might
even try Crysis.

OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
$25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...s&Item=N82E16820227030

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM
$35
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16827106073

D-Link WDA-1320 32-bit PCI Wireless G Desktop Adapter - Retail
$30-$2 instant rebate-$10 mail-in = $18
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16833127080
Yeah, I need a wireless card because of the way my home network is set up.

Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM
$90
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16832116056

Hanns·G HG-216DPB Black 21.6" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
$200
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16824254028
That's right, I don't have a monitor at all right now, other than an old 15" CRT, and this one looks like a
good deal to me. Never even heard of the brand, but it got 5 eggs!

Total = $1031 + $20 shipping (most of these items ship free) - $92 mail-in rebates = $949


*Alternative graphics:
VisionTek 900203 Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$170
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16814129101

 

[MegaVovaN]

Parts that look good: :thumbsup:
Case Antec 900 (personal choice)
Hard Drive (7200.10 250gb)
Video Card (XFX 8800GT)
DVD Burner - though I personally avoid LiteOn (died in 2 years on me), any brand is fine
Windows XP Home

Parts I would change:
Monitor: it has no DVI! Get something with DVI input.
Hanns-G is good brand, bought 2 monitors from them as gifts, they work great.

Parts I dunno:
Motherboard: I cannot find any info about abit IP35V

PSU: $20 PSU? Seems fishy to me. But then again I don't know much about this particular PSU. Two PSUs I was recommended myself (I just ordered e6750/abit IP35E/4gb ram/8800GT/450w PSU) are CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ($75.50-10MIR) and SeaSonic SS-500ES (500W) ($70).

RAM: rumors are OCZ may have had couple problems lately; it is OOS (out of stock) and rating is 3 eggs out of 5? I dunno...

Wireless adapter: I guess it is fine.

CPU: something faster would be neat. Maybe 4XXX? Depends on how you can fit it in budget.

What's TOTAL so far?

edit: noted you posted this:

Total = $1031 + $20 shipping (most of these items ship free) - $92 mail-in rebates = $949

 

[BladeVenom]

Fry's has a 300GB HDMaxtor on sale. It's actually a Seagate for $59.99.

I'd avoid an Apevia power supply. Last review I saw of one, it melted.
Earthwatts 380 is on sale with rebate right now.

If you change your mind about the case this Antec case w/380 psu is only $69.99 and comes with a decent power supply.

ABIT IP35-E is the more popular motherboard, and does very well in overclocking.

Neweggs return policy for monitors isn't all that good. I always wait for a local store to have them on sale. 22" ones can usually be found for $200 if you look around and wait for a sale. There have also been several good sales on 24" monitors also.

Check the Hot Deal Section and other popular deal site.

Edit: You might want to throw in a decent heatsink like the Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro for overclocking.