I've spent the last couple of months buying the components to build a PC. Here is a list of the stuff i've got:

Asus A8V deluxe S939 M/board AGP (VIA K8T800pro chipset)
AMD Athlon64 3200+ socket 939 Venice CPU
Nvidia 6800GT AGP video card

I am assuming that I can use most of my old hardware from my existing PC like DVD +R/RW, CDR/RW and my floppy drive. My main concerns lie with the compatability of my HD drive and my RAM chips.
The HD I am hoping to use is a Hitachi Deskstar 180GXP, but its interface is an 'ultra ATA/100' and my new motherboard is SATA compatible. Will I be able to use my old HD?

The RAM I am hoping to use is PC2700 DDR SDRAM 166mhz. Firstly, is this compatable and secondly, is this the best memory to use in a system of this spec? I don't mind spending out on better memory if I'm going to be rewarded with a significantly faster system.

Finally, I am a bit apprehensive about setting up the BIOS for the first time. Once the machine is built and switched on for the fist time, do I need to do anything in particular to get the O/S and everything running OK? I'm not looking to overclock or anything, just literally to get it all started up.

I know there's a lot to answer here, but any help at all will be appreciated.

Cheers all

Hi I think this is the specs of your board.

Asus A8V Deluxe SKT-939 S/L 2000MT/s
Model Number A8V DELUXE

BIOS AMI

Chipset VIA K8T800Pro + VT8237

CPU Interface Socket 939

Max. CPU Support AMD Sempron 3200+
AMD Athlon 64 4000+
AMD Athlon 64 FX-57
AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core 4800+

Front Side Bus 2000MT/s

RAM Technology DDR (Dual Channel)
ECC / non-ECC un-buffered

RAM Slots 4 x 184-Pin

RAM Speeds
DDR266
DDR333
DDR400

Max. Memory Support 4GB

Expansion Slots 5 x 32-bit PCI
1 x AGP 8x/4x

Storage Controller(s) South Bridge:
2 x IDE (ATA-100/66/33)
2 x Serial (ATA-150)
RAID 0
RAID 1
JBOD
RAID controller:
1 x IDE (ATA-100/66/33)
2 x Serial (ATA-150)
RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 0+1

On-Board LAN 1 x 10/100/1000

On-Board Audio Realtek ALC850
8-channel

On-Board Video

Back Panel I/O Ports 1 x Parallel
1 x Serial
1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x Audio
1 x LAN
1 x S/PDIF
4 x USB 2.0
1 x IEEE1394

Internal I/O Connectors 2 x USB2.0
2 x FAN
1 x Audio
1 x IEEE1394
1 x GAME
1 x COM
1 x 20-pin ATX Power
1 x 4 pin ATX 12V Power

Form Factor ATX

Special Features Dual RAID
AMD Cool 'n' Quiet Technology
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Intelligent Features for BIOS and Audio Setup

Package Contents User's Manual
SATA Leads
IDE Lead
FDD Lead
Firewire Riser
USB & Games Port Riser
BackPlate
WinDVD
Drivers CD

looking at that it has a IDE socket on the motherboard it includes an IDE cable so at least 2 drives can be fitted.
I think the RAM should be ok
if using a graphics card you'll need to disable the onboard graphics.

Thanks damage,

how would I go about disabling the onboard graphics? I have spent 4 years studying web design but I am a bit clueless when it comes to hardware setup etc...

also, any ideas on how to set up the BIOS?

cheers for your help.