i have never built a computer before

[1457]

as the topic title says, this will be my first build. i have heard that dfi lanparty ultra-d is pretty tough to setup, especially for a beginner. i also heard people complaining about epox ultra. the following is going to be the rest of my system:
cpu amd 3800 x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562 347.00
gpu BFG 7800GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143037 349.00
hd Seagate 7200.7 160GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148034 91.00
ram G.SKILL 2x1gb DDR500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231021 245.00
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047 38.98
os XP Professional SP2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16837102153 141.95
case Antec p180 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129154 129.99
psu Antec NEOPOWER 480 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103924 97.50

i do not need sli, but would not hurt if the board has the function. i plan on getting 3800 x2. however, i learned that with some motherboards i have to update bios(?). if i get asus a8n deluxe, i think i will have to do that. but what about asus a8n premium? do i have to update bios for that motherboard? if not, i will gladly buy that. please share your opinion.

 

[vanvock]

I don't understand where all this stuff about the DFI boards being hard to set up is coming from. My Ultra-D was no big deal. I guess it's from the introduction when it was a gamble as to what RAM to use & the impression lives on. You will find complaints about any board (component) & if you went by that alone then none of this stuff is worth buying.The majority of the time problems are inflicted by us not reading the directions, doing a little research or being in a hurry. I see plenty of help sites full of posts looking for help on the Asus boards as well as any other brand. Just because the DFI's have an extensive BIOS is no reason to freak out. You are not required to manually tune every setting. I don't know what BIOS version you might get but updating it is really not a big deal anymore. That looks like a good system although I don't know why you need XP pro.