Good luck. I have put together a system from scratch several times and there isn't really a better way to get the exact system you want without nagging little compromises.
As a side note, it's almost always a little cheaper to get a system from Dell or HP or whoever than to build your own. There really is almost no way to beat them on price alone for the same essential system, assuming they offer it. But, you get lots more leeway in terms of components and customization when you build your own. I recently (last month) bought a Dell desktop system (they are on sale every other week, but the particular combination of sales was going to save me about $350, so I jumped on it) and ended up making several decisions along the lines of "they don't offer the graphics card I want, so I'll get the cheap one and replace it on my own" or "I'll try out the 'Dell' keyboard that seems like the one I want, even though I would prefer one where I can check out the reviews before I buy it."
