This is my contribution to the never ending saga of "first builds" 

I want to edit graphics and flash movies, and to record and burn tv shows. I don't need to play fancy games or edit video. I've allowed myself a little overkill, which drove the price up to a thousand dollars, not counting the monitor. A more detaliled list with all the specs is at http://reenie.org/site/wishlist.txt
I'll include some comments here about what led me to choose these parts.

EverCase E4252-AB (BEIGE) 10-bay Case Retail without Power Supply.
$23.00 $23.00   
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=11-127-014
highly recomended by http://silentpcreview.com. Its quiet, probably because its made of steel. Cheap too. Why spend $200 on a case ? 

SEASONIC 400W APFC SUPER SILENCER POWER SUPPLY    
$99.95
http://www.atacom.com/program/print_html_new.cgi?cart_id=5364990_205_184_160_251&Pagecode=SEARCH_ALL&Item_code=POWS_SESN_SI_40&USER_ID=www
 I probably don't absolutely need all 400 watts (just a wild guess, I haven't done the math), but I'd rather be on the safe side of power needs. 

 
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - Retail
$90.00   
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=19-103-379
Again, this might be overkill for this machine, but that's the way I like it.  Maximum PC says 1.5 is probably sufficient for recording tv. 

ABIT NF7-S nForce2 SPP chipset Support AMD Socket A with 200/266/333/400 FSB 8X AGP SATA 150 ATX motherboard Retail 
$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=13-127-166
Maximum PC recomended the ASUS a7n8xm deluxe, but many people on usenet prefer the ABIT, for various kinds of additional functionality I mostly don't understand. I lit incense and prayed to king tut, and he said go with the ABIT. Its supposed to have pretty good sound processing, which is good because I save money by not having a sound card. 

Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, Low Latency (Twin Pack) 184 Pin 256MBx2 DDR PC-2700 with Platinum-Silver Heat Spreader
$126.00   
 http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=20-145-430
 Corsair was kind of a wild guess, so its possible I'm wasting some money here. I realized I don't really need the 1012 version and saved $75 by going with the 512. Maximum PC says this is sufficient for recording tv.  Does dual memory do anything for me ? I don't know, but the motherboard supports it so maybe it does something.  
 
Hitachi 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model IC35L120AVV207-0, OEM 
$88.00   
 http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=22-145-030
 
The WD raptor is faster but only packs 36 GB, not enough for keeping a week or two's worth of TV shows long enough till I can burn the ones I want to keep. Two raptors would be too expensive. The WD 2500 jb is also faster and has alot of space, but Maximum PC says the Hitachi is preferable for video capture because of its higher areal density.  Ths Hitachi is also recomended as a  very quiet hard drive by http://silentpcreview.com, and that convinced me. for another $70 I could get 60 more gigs, but I really don't think I need it. 

Videocard:
ATI All-In-Wonder VE 64MB DDR PCI RETAIL
$99.00   
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=14-102-257
This is the slimmed down version, recomended by MaximumPC. It has all the TV recording funcionality of the $400 all in one without the 3d stuff. 

Modem:
US Robotics USR5610B 56K V.92 Internal PCI Performance Pro FaxModem Data/Fax Only (No Voice)
$64.00 
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=25-104-131
 
 
DVD writer
Sony DRU510A DVD-/+RW Recorder Drive Retail 
$172.50   
 http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=27-131-211
 Doesn't burn DVDs faster than the Pioneer DVR-A06, but according to MaximumPC, its faster as cd-burner, and a better all in one drive.  
 
Operating system:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack SP1a $140.00   
 http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=37-102-143
 Windows has their new xp mediacenter, but you have to buy only certain computer configurations and then only from certain dealers. Besides, you don't need it. I believe the all-in-one graphic card  even comes with its own remote. 

 monitor:
 Sony STYLEPRO CPD-E240/B
 highly recommended by zdnet as affordable with good picture quality. The sony f520 is $1500 so MaximumPC's recomendation was not much help. 
Available for $ 199.95 as a special order at   
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=ShowProduct&Q=&KW=SOCPDE240B&O=&sku=269870   
 
 Almost the same thing for $20 less- I don't know what the difference is except the color: 
 Sony STYLEPRO CPD-E240 - Monitor - CRT - 17" - 1280 x 1024 - 0.24 mm 
 $180.50
http://www.techforless.com/cgi-bin/tech4less/CPD-E240?id=qruuCfak&mv_pc=91
  

Subtotal w/out monitor: $1002.44
    total with monitor: $1182.94
    
    Any suggestions ?