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I'm in the process of selecting the components for a gaming pc that will sometimes be used for work and audio and video conversion.

The components I've selected so far are:

MB: ABIT AN-8 FATAL1TY
CPU: ATHLON 64 3500+
VIDEO: GECUBE 256MB X800-XL D3 (PCI-E)
HD: Seagate 200GB 7200rpm SATA
I haven't gotten as far as selecting the brand of ram, but will get 1GB

I was also thinking i might get this rig. For starters:
MB: ABIT AA8XE 3rd EYE
CPU: P4 640 3.2GHz
VIDEO: GECUBE 256MB X800-XL D3 (PCI-E)
HD: Seagate 200GB 7200rpm SATA

Pretty much the same thing but p4 based.

Which would be the better system to get based on this info?

Any comments or suggestions on any components?

Thanks

If it is primarily for gaming then the A64 wins.

Also pay attention to the PSU, ThermalTake, Enermax, Antec (may be), OCZ, Seasonic are brand you may want to look into.

Primarily a gaming PC? Athlon. Don't think there's any compelling reason to go Intel for gaming. There are other compelling reasons to go Intel, but if your primary stuff is gaming, the video/audio stuff will be "fast enough" (and usually pretty damned fast) and the "work" I can only guess to be MS Office type stuff, which is usually handled easily by a Duron 1GHz.

FWIW, I went Intel on my new build, but I'm not a PC gamer, either.

The 200GB Seagate you picked out is fine, but I worked with the same drive and was suprised to hear how loud it was. I was shocked. I might suggest getting the Maxtor Maxline III 250GB, which sports a 16MB cache. It would offer more performance and about equal noise.

If you don't fear the Deathstar, then the newest Hitachi drives are very quiet, or so I've been told.

Oh, and great choice with the X800-XL. You'll be pleased with the performance you get for the price you paid.

Echo the A64 if you game alot..P4 will definitely run warmer.