I have my new computer!

[Cassandra]

Thanks to the help here, I was able, with a friend's son who has built computers quite successfully, pick out components on Newegg. I ordered on Monday and by Friday, everything was here so we set it up on Saturday. I have:
Antec case (his choice)
1 GB of memory (Crucial)
Asus motherboard with Nvidia GF6150 939 built in (recommended, mostly, here and he agreed)
Seagate 160 GB hard drive
AMD 64 3200+ Athlon 64939P
Pioneer DVD drive, double layer, etc.
Samsung floppy drive (incredibly quiet)
Logitech keyboard and mouse and an extra fan and a new modem.
Windows XP Home

It took 8 1/2 hours to do the whole set-up. After building, he tested it, partitioned my new hard drive, transferred the contents of my old hard drive into the partitioned section, downloaded all Windows updates (including the latest security one) and imaged the whole thing so I can restore if I ever need to. Part of the time was in the downloads which took so much time with the modem that he went home, downloaded some stuff to a disk with his wireless connection, and loaded it that way.

It is so quiet and so much faster. I now have a computer that can walk and chew gum at the same time! I probably have to get a new monitor sometime in the near future; the Sony I have is now old and can't handle the speed of the new system. I probably will be able to keep Lotus Smart Suite, which I like, but will HAVE to upgrade it. I was pleased that Windows had drivers for my old HP printer and scanner.

Thanks so much for all your help and encouragement. I could never have built this without help; I didn't know enough, but I was able to follow along pretty well and be helpful.

[bemildred]

1. Sounds excellent, I approve of your choices.

I have an Asus MoBo that I've been very happy with.
:applause::applause::applause::applause:

[bvar22]

2. Good build

AMD64 +3200 with ASUS MoBo is a good combo.
I have an almost identical system.

Are you satisfied with the speed?

self-portrait the day I fired up the new box:

[Cassandra]

3. It is SUCH a difference!

The modem now seems particularly slow in comparison because everything else is so fast. Giving up on Norton helps with the speed, too. When my emails come in now, the entire system no longer freezes up waiting for the loading to complete. I have so much memory compared to before, it's amazing.

[lpbk2713]

4. Good for you. Sounds like you now have a real good machine.

It should last you quite a while, especially with that AMD 64 CPU.

[Cassandra]

5. There's room in the case...

and motherboard for 3 more drives and 3 more GB of RAM. I think I'll be cozying up to this one for awhile.