Advice on new computer

[djarvis1one]

Toward the end of this month I am planning to dedicate some resources to build a computer. As it stands now I have a 5+ year old HP Pavilion. It has a 40G WD HDD (will trash this one), a 320G WD EIDE HDD (would like to maybe use this in some way), and a DVD Burner that I can recycle into a new system.
My budget will be $300 to $400 so what would be a good set up for general use (browsing, email, some older sim games, etc...)?
I have at my disposal a newer 19" widescreen LCD HP monitor, and I recently came across 2 Barracuda 7200.7 HDD (1x 80G and 1x 120G) SATA II (if i'm not mistaken)
I would like a dual core AMD if possible (not a fanboy I just like AMD), PSU, RAM, and Video Card.
I don't need an OS. I'll either use XP Pro / Ubuntu dual boot I currently have or I think I can get Windows 7 Pro for a decent price (student pricing through my place of employment)
Would it be advisable for me to use the Pavilion case I have or should I get a new case? I don't mind modding if necessary.
This will be my first build, so if I have left anything off...
Thanks in advance for any help on this.

 

[schw32m]

Toward the end of this month I am planning to dedicate some resources to build a computer. As it stands now I have a 5+ year old HP Pavilion. It has a 40G WD HDD (will trash this one), a 320G WD EIDE HDD (would like to maybe use this in some way), and a DVD Burner that I can recycle into a new system.
My budget will be $300 to $400 so what would be a good set up for general use (browsing, email, some older sim games, etc...)?
I have at my disposal a newer 19" widescreen LCD HP monitor, and I recently came across 2 Barracuda 7200.7 HDD (1x 80G and 1x 120G) SATA II (if i'm not mistaken)
I would like a dual core AMD if possible (not a fanboy I just like AMD), PSU, RAM, and Video Card.
I don't need an OS. I'll either use XP Pro / Ubuntu dual boot I currently have or I think I can get Windows 7 Pro for a decent price (student pricing through my place of employment)
Would it be advisable for me to use the Pavilion case I have or should I get a new case? I don't mind modding if necessary.
This will be my first build, so if I have left anything off...
Thanks in advance for any help on this.

What HP model number is it? That way I can look up the case design to see if it will work for you.

 

[djarvis1one]

a305w. On the front of the case it has 2 optical drive bays (1 occupied), 2 floppy drive bays and 2 USB 2.0 ports (floppy bays and USB located behind a slide down panel)

 

[schw32m]

a305w. On the front of the case it has 2 optical drive bays (1 occupied), 2 floppy drive bays and 2 USB 2.0 ports (floppy bays and USB located behind a slide down panel)

Thank you..

Product manuals here.

MB specs here.

If you have the Try-gem MB it will be green, the Asus board will have P4G533-LA on it between the PCI slots. Both boards are uATX (micro ATX) so anything that is those form factors will fit in the case.. Don't get anything bigger if you plan on using that case as it won't fit.

PSU is ATX though the space is tight so be sure on your measurements so that the new PSU will fit. There isn't a lot of room to spare near the CD/DVD so be careful with size.

Pin outs for the USB headers look to be standard so that shouldn't be too much trouble. F-Panel connector may be a single block so check to be sure.. If it is individual for functions then you'll be okay.

Vid card space looks okay as long as you don't get crazy with it.

Only other problem I can see is making sure you have good ventilation. The exhaust fan looks to be a 90mm and there is no space to mount one in front. So if you are considering a high performance OC system I might consider looking for a different case or modifying this one to get better airflow.

 

[djarvis1one]

Thanks for researching the Pavilion specs for me.
Sorry for taking so long to get back to this thread.
I've decided that the Pavilion case can go sooo... here's what I came up with:

ECS IC780M-A2 AM 3 MOBO $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Store/BrandSu...egory=22&name=ECS-EliteGroup-AMD-Motherboards

Antec 200 Black ATX Mid tower $49.95
http://www.newegg.com/Store/BrandSubCategory.aspx?Brand=1516&SubCategory=7&name=Antec-Computer-Cases

XCLIO Stablepower 500W PSU $50.99
http://www.newegg.com/Store/BrandSu...8348&SubCategory=58&name=XClio-Power-Supplies

G Skill 4GB (2x2GB) RAM $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Store/BrandSu...6&SubCategory=147&name=G-SKILL-Desktop-Memory

XFX HD-467X-ZDF2 Radeon HD4670 GPU $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Store/BrandSu...gory=48&name=XFX-Desktop-Graphics-Video-Cards

AMD AthlonII X2 Regor 2.9GHZ $62.00
http://www.newegg.com/Store/BrandSu...&SubCategory=343&name=AMD-Processors-Desktops

Total $387.91
Once again, if i've missed anything...