Compatability check and opinions on new build please.

[Adams551]

Hi, this is my first post here. Long time lurker though. My old PC finally blew up and I think I'm ready to take the dive into building my own. My main desires for this new build are:

-Gaming
-Upgradability
-Longevity
-Quiet (not necessarily silent)

Newegg wish list (https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/WishDetail.asp?position=HISTORY&ID=1678050&WishListTitle=Sept%2E+%2705)

I will be using my old monitor, keyboard and speakers. My budget is ~$1000. Any costsaving suggestions or bang-for-the-buck ideas much appreciated.

I have specific concerns over my choice of Case, OS, HDD, and PSU as I don't know a lot about the differences between brands and features.

Thanks in advance,
Brent

[jfk]

Uh, nothing there man. You need to enable viewing of the wish list to allow people to see it.

[Adams551]

Not sure why that wouldn't link, I have sharing enabled. Anyway, here is my parts list.

Hi, this is my first post here. Long time lurker though. My old PC finally blew up and I think I'm ready to take the dive into building my own. My main desires for this new build are:

-Gaming
-Upgradability
-Longevity
-Quiet (not necessarily silent)

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119068)
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131517)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 1GHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103533)
eVGA 256-P2-N376-AX Geforce 6800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130215)
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply 100Vac to 240Vac +/- 10% TUV, UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103937)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145505)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148065)
NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827152047)
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16832102311)

I will be using my old monitor, keyboard and speakers. My budget is ~$1000. Any costsaving suggestions or bang-for-the-buck ideas much appreciated.

I have specific concerns over my choice of Case, OS, HDD, and PSU as I don't know a lot about the differences between brands and features.

Thanks in advance,
Brent

[Freakitchen]

Some excellent choices there dude! To answer your concerns...

Your case is personal preference. The choice should be down to whether you like how it looks, and whether it will provide adequate cooling. It has a 120mm fan on the rear, so looks good on the latter score. You might want to add an intake fan on the front, too.

OS: I'm not entirely sure about your choice of Media Center. This is largely used for media applications like recording TV, for example. Consider regular XP Home if you're going to be gaming/surfing more often than for media only use.

HD: Great choice. Seagates are quality drives and boast a 5 year warrenty.

PSU: Although a quality unit, it's not SLI Certified. If you're going to be adding a second graphics card in the future, it would make sense to purchase one now. Try the Antec Truepower II 550w for size. The full list is available at www.slizone.com

Looks like a super system otherwise!

Freakitchen

[Adams551]

Thanks Freakitchen, I'm gonna take your advice on the OS and PSU.

How's the onboard sound on that motherboard. Anyone with this mb not using a sound card?

[Freakitchen]

Onboard sound in all top quality motherboards these days is fine for the majority of people - most offering 7.1 surround built in.

I'd suggest seeing how you go with it; if you're not happy, or want to start sound recording, for example, then consider an upgrade.

Freakitchen