Hey experts out there, i'm looking to custom build a computer with a budget of 1200USD. Main uses of the computer are for online music and gaming purposes. This is the finalise list of components before i head down to the computer store. I would really appreciate all people to give their precious view and comments on the configuration and what component should be removed and replaced by others and more vlaue for money. (Price/performance)
thanks

AMD ATHLON XP 2500 "Barton" 333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- RETAIL
ATI OEM RADEON 9500 PRO 128MB DDR Black
ASUS A7N8X Deluxe nForce2 AMD Athlon XP/Duron, ATX, 3GB DDR-SDRAM, 333MHz FSB
Crucial Micron 512MB 64x64 PC2100 DDR RAM, 184-Pin, CL=2.5-Unbuffered 2.5V, 6-Layers
VIEWSONIC E70F 17" Flat Screen
LITEON Black 52x24x52 CDRW with Burn Proof
PIONEER INTERNAL ATAPI 16X DVD-ROM MODEL DVD-120
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 - OEM
Western Digital WD800JB 80GB 8MB buffer.

if i were you i would get a 19" CRT instead of a 17" Flat pannel it would probably be cheaper and have better image quality, and support higher resoloutions. then you could use the extra money to buy faster ram like PC3200, since your getting an n-force2 motherboard get your ram in 2 sticks so that you can run dual channel DDR. other than that looks good.

System spec looks ok but PC2100 is a definate no go. The CPU runs on a 333Mhz FSB (166x2). PC2100 runs at 266Mhz (133 x 2). Most mobos can run with a higher memory speed than FSB but not vice versa.

You need at least PC2700 (DDR333 - 2x166)

PC3200 is a nice to have but with (512k + 128k) Cache on the Barton a 333FSB and the N-force 2 Dual channel DDR system I doubt you'd see any significant gain in any real world applications. The N-force can keep the Barton well supplied. When PC2700 is so cheap from Crucial, Kingston etc the premium price of PC3200 is hard to justify, stick 2 x 256 PC2700 and enjoy.

Do you realy need at Soundblaster? the Nforce 2 intergrated sound is supposed to be top notch. You can always add the Soundblaster later when funds allow.

I have a 17 NEC LCD1700NX,, clear, bright, great for games. Though at its best at a fixed resolution of 1280X1024. LCD's don't work as well at anything other than native resoultion. CRT's will run higher resolution but 1600x1280 is 50% more CPU and Graphics card work than 1280x1024. I wouldn't buy a CRT just on the premise of high reloutions. There's only an inch difference in a 19" CRT and 17" LCD so you won't be spending much of your time at full res anyhow.

If you do go LCD, make sure you get a DVI input, it just works. no mess no fuss, stunningly sharp picture without any adjustment or drift.

Try to take my LCD and I'll bite you ... grrrrrr

Finally, make sure you have a good 400w+ PSU, preferably Antec, Enermax or similar quality.

Thank you guys for ur helpful advice. Anyhow some so called computer geek just recommanded me these changes. So i hope you guys will see if it is justify for me to spend that kind of money and also if there will be any sigificant increase in performance.

Amd athlon xp2100 b core tbred..can easily overclock to xp2800 levels for 87 bucks delivered! Stay away from the creative card and go with the Hercules fortissimo III or the Phillips card...which has sound that will leave you panting... get the 9700pro. Also change to 256MB x 2 PC2700