So Im gonna put one together myself and have only three remaining questions to ask if anyone could help.Below is my system specs 1) What controller should I use for this system?2) Are there any forseen conflicts?3) Do I need a 56K modem if I only use Cable for my internet?Case: maxpoint CS-5171LBFS-SMotherBoard: DFI LanParty 865PEATX MotherboardChipset: Intel 865PE chipset, Intel 865PE Memory Controller Hub (MCH), Intel 82801EB I/O Controller Hub (ICH5).Processor/CPU:Intel P4 3.2Ghz HT PGA478pin800MHz FSBMemory: Kingston-HyperX 512MB (x2) HyperXDDR434Mhz PC3500 KHX3500/512Hard Drive: Seagate Serial 160GB 7200RPM S-ATAVideo Card: gForce FX Golden 5600 ultra 256ramSound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS PlatinumModem:CD/DVD drive: Toshiba SD-R5112 DVD and CD Recordable DriveFloppy Drive:Controller:Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP HomeFan controller: Maxpoint UC-A8FATR4NP

I have never heard of that MOBO but If you want to really make that system fly I would look at the ABIT IC7max 3(Intel 875 chipset), its a great MOBO , a little expensive but great for overclocking and customizing.There are other versions of the IC7 board that are a little cheaper but also very nice.Don't skimp on the power supply, look at a good brand name (fotron ,antec, but to me the best power supplys come from PC power and cooling.)get at least 400 watts. Alot of power supplys that come with case's really suck ,even though they specify a certain wattage they deliver inferior power to your system under load.I would go for a least 1024 MB of ram for an xp gaming system, with the Abit board you can use DDR400 (pc3200).Or any bumped version of that type of ram.Floppy drives are cheap throw one in, you never know.The SATA drives are nice.That video card is ok but may hold your system back compared to other cards out now (nvidia 5950 and top of the line ATI cards.Not sure what you mean by controller, do you mean yokes and rudder pedals? I like cH yoke and rudder pedals fairly cheap and work nice.I like the audigy cards, I just hate all the junk software that comes with them,I Dont use the install disk that comes with the card ,just go to creatives site and get their latest driver(the latest version will alow an install of the driver only) and install that, unless you like all that software scattered around your system.If your on a budget ignore what I have said, because my options start to get expensive. :) Good luck.

No you do not need a 56k modem if you use cable. You will be using a cable modem and a network card. A good power supply and lots of cooling fans will avoid lots of problems. Good luck.Richard

Wallace,Thanks for you input. That MOBO (thats short for motherboard huh?) comes with UV parts that would look good with all the other lights and whistles that I was going to install since this is a home build. I've attached a photo but on second thought your right about getting the best preformance out of the system over cool looks.I was wondering if 350 was enough power and you helped in understanding that no I do need more with some good brand names to choose from.It will be 1024 ram I had put (x2) meaning two sticks but that kind of ram is ok then right?Floppys are cheap so I didnt take the time to put one down but will have one in the system.The video card I already have and figure that I'm going to build my new system aroundit because I know that as soon as I do a new better everything is going to come out and the card is only so old.Contorllers I dont either. I was looking at a barebone configer and it allowed a drop down selection of controller so I had no idea. But not joysticks.The reasons for building my own is so that I will get a clean system with out all the junk that manufactors add in and to get the actual items I hear to be what is the best for my needs. But the total package is about 1000 bucks cheaper this way if not more because in order to get this set up you also have to get other hardware things thats not what I need when buying form gateway or dell.NP http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/53167.jpg

Hi Nathan,Quick point about the video card. I am currently a user of the FX 5200 video card and am looking at getting an ATI 9600 pro or XT. I am looking at the 9600 for budget reasons. If you too are on a budget, then you might want to at least read some reviews on the ATI line of video cards, in particular the 9600 (lots of bang for the buck!!). Apparently, the Radeon cards just do AA and AF better, meaning less FPS drop, than the Nvidia cards which really improves the look of FS. That is way I'm thinking of upgrading, because if I enable AA or AF on my card, it brings it to its knees. Now perhaps on the higher end Nvidia cards that is not much of a problem, but for my budget, if I can get great AA and AF performance out of an ATI 9600, that is the way I'm gonna go :-)Now about the sound card. I have read posts about poor sound quality with the Sound Blaster cards. I can attest to that as I on occasion get really crappy sound quality out of my Live! Value.Here is a link to Guru3D where they reviewed a new video card to just hit the market: http://www.guru3d.com/article/sound/105/Maybe give it a read and see what you think :-)Take care Nathan and good luck!

The DFI Lan Party PRO875 MoBo is actually an ok piece of work, and comes with lots of toys and stuff. Spec-wise it has lots of cool feautures going for it. However, the benefits of a more established manufacturer are software upgrades (drivers and patches) you will need to download someday soon from their website.The OEM retailers are ok in as much as plug and play goes, when you build your own there will always be potholes down the road so if your not of the faint of heart, go for it. Problem with OEM (Dell is the least guilty) is that their rigs are very hard to upgrade.If you want to access you PC from another location then you might need a regular modem. Controllers (?) are you referring to yoke and pedals? if so, whatever comes in USB is good. CH is a good brand.Good Day!

350 watts will work, as long as its a good quality power supply, but if your going to run alot of extra fans or multiple hard drives, case lights ect... it doesn't hurt to have some overhead to play with. 1024 of pc3200 is a good thing. In my opinion you can never have to much.

Ditch the floppy drive, when's the last time you ever used one? Get a USB Flash Disk that supports floppy emulation. I have one, and I use it to boot from when I flash my BIOS.

Good one, someone! Never thought of ditching the floppy. Can't remember the last time I used one. Anyway the Radeon 9600 XT is the latest and greatest from ATI: it's optimised for WinXP and DirectX9.0. Fabulous card with no vices.PJ