I will agree with you that faster hard drives, more ram, etc... are not that important, as most computers today are very fast. I will say that with multiple monitors (I currently have 6) I can scan for opportunities much quicker without having to toggle between screens, etc... BTW, I am thinking about going with 8 monitors.
I have bought/ordered following components. MSI mb $77 non bluetooth non raid(box) AMD xp 1700 $60 (box) Maxtor 80 GB 7200 $60 after rebates(box) Samsung 512 MB PC2700 $122 (OEM) Enermax 501w case w/ 300w power $59 (box) Pacific Digital CDW $35 after rebate (box) still need modem, floppy and video card. I will order a regular video card before I buy quad or dual card to make sure computer will run first since this is the first time building a computer. Any last minute warning?
i build my own too. it's as easy as 1-2-3. six-eight major parts to connect with cables and you're up and running. be careful not to damage the processor when fastening down, and use a very thin film of thermal paste, or you'll fry that little baby.i've never once cracked a proc but i can see how easy it would be. she sits in there tight. nice prices, where at? a sweet sound hearing that first post. no beep ...you got probs. make sure you connect cables to proper pins. are you gonna share cable with the drives. i wouldn't.
Hardest part about building a new PC is installing the heat sink on the cpu. I suggest you practice a few times without the processor. As LongShot points out it is easy to crack it if you install the heatsink incorrectly. (Go to the amd site to get info on how to do it. See http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_869_4348^6678,00.html for details). Also if you intend to have multimonitors-don't waste your money on a single monitor card. A dual card installs just as easily and you can start with a single monitor at first and add a second later.
You will not need thermal paste if the heatsink has a thermal interface material on it. Actually AMD recommends thermal interface material rather than the paste. If you have a heatsink from there recommended list you will be ok.
paste is better from everything i've read. runs cooler. i scratch off the tape and use paste (it's a bitch to get it off)