Woo - lots of questions. I'll try to answer what I can, and others will have to step in to correct/add to my woefully lacking knowledge
 
1) The VIA chipset is the set of chips (known as Northbridge & Southbridge) that handle communications between the processor, memory, add-in cards and all the other bits and bobs inside your computer. They have nothing (directly) to do with your soundcard or video card. It is not possible to buy a motherboard with out some kind of chipset, and VIA is the most common brand used in AMD-based motherboards.
 
2) It shouldn't really be necessary to update your BIOS. Also, don't be confused by the numbering on the new AMD chips (Athlon XP). The 1800 doesn't refer to MHz - it refers to "the relative application performance among the various AMD Athlon XP processors, [and] communicate the architectural superiority over existing AMD Athlon processors." (quote from AMD website). The Athlon XP 1800+ actually has a clock speed of 1.53GHz, so your motherboard should be able to cope suitably - no need to flash the BIOS!!
 
3) Settings in the BIOS - the 133MHz refers to the FSB (front-side bus) speed, which is a rating of how fast the processor communicates with memory, and is not related to the speed of the processor itself. If you don't change this setting, your processor should still work, it just means that it would be working slower than it's designed to. The thing to do is put your PC together, see that it works (at least that it gets through the POST test without any errors) and then go and change settings in the BIOS.
 
4) Basically USB 2.0 is a faster version of USB 1.1 - it makes USB transfer speeds comparable with FireWire - but you needn't worry because
(a) USB 2.0 is downwardly compatible with USB 1.1
and ( there aren't very many USB 2 devices available yet
5) I can't think of any "how to put a PC together" websites - you may want to check the websites of some PC magazines to see if they have any archived articles relating to this topic. My main pieces of advice for you are:
(a) Be prepared to spend a day or two putting it together
( Be prepared to take everything apart at least once!
Always wear a wrist-strap!
 
 
As for cases, well the world's your oyster - keep an eye on the NTC front page - you'll quite often see links to case reviews. You could spend anything from $50 to $500 for a case, it all depends on what you're looking for. Personally, I'm thinking of buying one of the flash looking aluminium cases - soooo much better than boring beige! Also make sure that the PSU is suitable for AMD - has to be at least 300W, and has to say "suitable for AMD" - not all 300W PSUs can be used for AMD processors.
 
 
That's all I can think of for the moment - if you have anything else you need to know, just ask - we're really quite friendly you know.
 
 
Best of luck!
AndyF

Thanks Andy!
 
I had posted my questions at another message board, so I got some help from them too, but thank you for your time!
 
For (2), the UPDATED version of the BIOS (v1.5 or whatever) has to be installed to allow the use of 1.5~1.7 ghz processors - which is the category I fall into at 1.533. I'm not sure if you misread that or not. Anyway, it shouldn't be that big of a deal even if I have to - just one more thing to screw up!
 
You mention wearing a wrist strap. I have heard of this before, but what exactly is it and where would I get one? It "grounds" you so the static doesn't hurt the components, right?
 
Thanks again!
 
Brad

I don't wear an anti-static wrist strap, but I tend to work on the basement floor where my room is--which is concrete. I do keep myself in contact with the case though.
 
If you'll excuse the grainy pics (really crummy, and why I use manufacturers pix), I do have a how-to build a PC on my website.
Read it here.
If you can use a screw driver, you can put together a PC. I like to use a magnetic head Philips to save myself from using more obscenities than needed. If you don't want to use it, don't. Either way, have a pair of tweezers nearby for jumpers.
 
AOpen cases are good, not flashy, but they work fine. Super Case works well, I have both rigs in SC full-towers (and thus do not want to haul either one to LAN parties). Antec makes some nice ones too.
Lian Li's are good from what people say, but they are expensive.
 
Here's a general list of things to keep in mind:
Install the CPU, CPU fan, and RAM in the motherboard before mounting in case.
Make sure to use the standoffs and DO NOT mount the m/b to the chassis. Also, make sure the standoffs line up with the holes before you screw down the m/b--you will short the board out. Not necessarily fatal (my friend did it, m/b works), but you won't power up at the least.
 
Before you start assembling your rig, read the m/b manual and familiarize yourself with the board and any jumpers--especially the ol' clear CMOS jumper;)--dipswitches, and BIOS settings.
 
If you run into trouble, check the manual first to see if you missed something, and check your connections. Often times, you'll just have a connection mixed up or not fully plugged in.
 
Oh, and do make sure the fan is plugged in to the CPU fan header b4 you power up! I'm sure you know what will happen if you don't:(

Awesome, thanks Brian! I appreciate the information.
 
Brad

Wrist straps are not essential if you've got a concrete or wooden floor, but if you've got any kind of carpeting in your house I would recommend them.
Like Brian says, it is possible to get by without them as long as you keep touching the metal parts of the case, but personally I prefer not to have to think about doing that!
 
Yes, I misunderstood the question about the BIOS - but upgrading your BIOS is easy, as long as you make sure nothing can happen to your PC while the upgrade is taking place. If you lose power while upgrading, you can irretrievably hose the BIOS - so when you do it, make sure all power leads are safely plugged in, no trailing leads for the cat/sister/wife to trip over and pull out, and don't upgrade in the middle of a thunderstorm!
 
 
Rgds
AndyF

Hey guys,
 
Got an easy question for you.
 
I have a DVD drive and a CD-RW drive. Does it matter what slots I put them in? If I have 4 slots where should I put them? Side by side?
 
It probably doesn't even matter...
 
Brad

Side by Side? What kind of case do you have?!
I would put the CD-RW on top, simply because they tend to run hotter than most CD/DVD ROM drives.
 
AndyF

Don't forget the most important item of all: the FLOPPY DRIVE

Don't need one, or use a floppy drive: all recent CDs are bootable, and you can boot into the recovery console from the Win2k or WinXP CDs in case of emergency.
 
I haven't had a floppy in my PC for a while now, and have to say that I haven't noticed its absence - if I have to transfer files from one PC to another, I use CD-Rs; they're cheap, and most of the files I transfer wouldn't fit on a floppy anyway.
 
Rgds
AndyF

I have a normal case. Just wondering if I should put them next to each other in the case...know what I mean?
 
blank
blank
cd-rw
dvd
 
OR
 
blank
dvd
blank
cd-rw
 
For example.
 
Brad

I do put a space between 'em if I can, and with full towers it's easy.
You don't have to, but if you've got the room, it doesn't hurt.