Building my first computer - need comments plz

[JAG84]

Hello, I'm new to the forum.

This is my current system:
P3 750Mhz
384MB SDRAM PC133
WD 40GB Harddrive
32x Cd-rom
8x Cd-rw
19" monitor
Nvidia 32MB TNT2 video card

As you can see, I need an upgrade. The system I'm thinking of needs to be able to run high-end graphics programs like Maya 4, 3d Studio Max 4, and PhotoShop 7. Maya requires 512MB RAM just to run. Besides doing 3D Animation, I'm a gamer.

This is what I have in mind:

Case - Antec SX1040B w/400watt Power Supply
MB - Asus P4S333 6PCI, Up to 3GB DDR
CPU - P4 2.0Ghz 400Mhz FSB
RAM - 1GB Kingston PC2100 266Mhz DDR
Video Card - PNY Verto GeForce4 Ti 4600 128MB
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Special Edition WD800JB 80GB 7200RPM
Sound Card - Audigy X-Gamer Sound Blaster
Speakers - Yamaha TSS-1 Black 6 Piece Dolby Digital DTS Speaker System
DVD - Lite-On 16x DVD Model LTD-163
CD-RW - LITE-ON External CDRW LXR-24101A 24x10x40X
Keyboard & Mouse - Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical
Monitor - ViewSonic 19in CRT Monitor
Operating System - Windows XP Professional

Current Price - $1,692.31 w/s&h

As I said in the title, this will be my first computer I've built. Comments/suggestions welcomed, thank you for your time.

PS $1,800 is my cap...I'm looking for something around $1,500-$1,600

 

[Ben50]

Why on earth would you want an external cd-rw when you have all that room in your case. Also, get at least pc2700 ddr-ram and an 845G chipset for your motherboard.

 

[JAG84]

Well I was looking at the ASUS P4B533-V http://www.asus.com.tw/mb/socket478/p4b533-v/overview.htm , which has the 845G chipset - but it only supports 2 GB of pc2100. Is the trade off worth losing the GB of ram? Better yet, is there a motherboard that has the 845G and supports 3GB of pc2700?

On the cd-rw matter - I wanted to be able to pack my cd-rw up when I'm not at home and take it with me.

 

[ahsia]

Case - Antec SX1040B w/400watt Power Supply Good Choice
MB - Asus P4S333 6PCI, Up to 3GB DDR Good Choice
CPU - P4 2.0Ghz 400Mhz FSB If you have money to burn, otherwise, P4 1.6A is a better deal
RAM - 1GB Kingston PC2100 266Mhz DDR Go with Samsung PC2700 DDR or Mushkin PC3000
Video Card - PNY Verto GeForce4 Ti 4600 128MB Good Choice
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Special Edition WD800JB 80GB 7200RPM Good Choice
Sound Card - Audigy X-Gamer Sound BlasterGood Choice
Speakers - Yamaha TSS-1 Black 6 Piece Dolby Digital DTS Speaker System Some like the Logitech Z560
DVD - Lite-On 16x DVD Model LTD-163 Good Choice
CD-RW - LITE-ON External CDRW LXR-24101A 24x10x40X Again, why external?
Keyboard & Mouse - Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical Good Choice
Monitor - ViewSonic 19in CRT Monitor Good Choice
Operating System - Windows XP Professional Good Choice

I don't know exactly what you will be doing, but 1gb of RAM is MORE THAN ENOUGH. Otherwise, everything looks good.

 

[JoPalm]

Good choice on the keyboard/mouse .