Hi Brian... I think you are on the right track. As far as a sound card, check out what brand integrated audio is on whatever mobo you buy, chances are that it has equal or better sound than a 3rd party card. Some drivers for the mobo audio now come with graphic equalizers that make a huge difference in adjusting sound quality so you might check that out. My Asus board came with a Realtec graphic equalizer as an add-on when installing the basic sound drivers. I would be more concerned about the quality of the speakers you are going to get (unless you have them already).
Motherboard: Everybody has a brand they prefer, but don't be tempted by cheeepie brands. Problems with dodgy, temperamental motherboards are the most difficult problems to diagnose that there is. Also, check how many SATA data ports they are giving you. I have six, and every one is filled. I wish I had 10, but too late.
Cooling: I suggest investigating a liquid CPU cooling kit instead of traditional air fan. I got an ECO two years ago and will never go back to air coolers again. The cost of these has dropped to the point where some are lower cost that air fan setups. They come in a complete kit for installation now and they are
quiet! Some examples from Newegg, check out the user reviews, I go heavily by them on my buying decision. They do a great job of cooling, I have my AMD quad overclocked from 3.0 to 3.8GHz stable with no increase in temp from default clock!
Link:
http://www.newegg.co...m|cooler systemThat Corsair for $64.99/free shipping looks interesting. The nice thing about Newegg is you have 30 days to return to Newegg if you have any problems with it, which means you don't have to deal with the manufacturer. Call their 800 number and they will waive any restocking charge.
Keyboard/Mouse: look into a wireless setup, once you are freed from wires you will never go back again.
Power Supply: minimum 500Watt, more if you can afford it. Also, you want minimally 6 peripheral and 5 SATA plugs, more is better. Usually they put two plugs on each power cable, but if you run out it can be a real annoyance if you want to add more hard drives/peripherals in the future. Seems like I am always scratching my head on how to hook up everything I want. Every plug I have is used at this time.
You might enjoy checking out
THIS POST on your building procedure when you are ready.
Wish you the best!