Final questions before ordering

[macmd]

I appreciate everyone's advice previously as this is my very first attempt at building a pc. After giving it some thought, I don't think I will ever have the time to do any hardcore gaming that requires crossfire/sli capability.

Here is my "parts list". Is all compatible? Any suggestions to improve?

COOLER MASTER Centurion RC-534-KKR2 Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel, SECC chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply

ASUS P5B-E Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard

ASUS EAX1900XT/HTVDP/256M Radeon X1900XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 CrossFire Ready Video Card

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600

Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model KVR667D2N5K2/2G (see below)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (2 of these)

MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader with Floppy Drive

SONY 18X DVD±R DVD Burner Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model AW-Q170A-B2 (see below)

SONY Combo Drive Black IDE Model CRX320EE/B2S W/O SW


I would like DDR2 800 memory but Asus website for this mobo has limited options that are very expensive. Anyone with experience using non-QVL RAM with this board?

I choose the Sony optical drives based on name brand-are there any better ones?

I'm not married to this case but would favor one without a front door. Also don't need the side windows, neon lights, etc. Any suggestions?

Thanks for all suggestions, help, etc. So glad I found this place.

[Alaron]

Looks pretty solid. About the burners, I would switch to Lite-On drives. Higher quality and best of all they come with software.

I would upgrade the power supply a bit, the X1900XTs recommend a minimum 450w. The Antec 550w is solid: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103933

As for the case, anything is ok as long as the power supply is quality, such as the one I suggested. I like Antec cases.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by macmd COOLER MASTER Centurion RC-534-KKR2 Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel, SECC chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply

I would replace the power supply with something better. Cooler Master power supplies are so-so.

Originally Posted by macmd SONY 18X DVD±R DVD Burner Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model AW-Q170A-B2 (see below) SONY Combo Drive Black IDE Model CRX320EE/B2S W/O SW I choose the Sony optical drives based on name brand-are there any better ones?

I'd use a Lite-On for the DVD burner. The Sony Combo Drive is fine...but why a combo drive? Why not just get a regular DVD drive...the DVD burner also burns CDs.

Originally Posted by macmd I would like DDR2 800 memory but Asus website for this mobo has limited options that are very expensive. Anyone with experience using non-QVL RAM with this board?

I think a lot of people are using Corsair ValueSelect or XMS memory with the ASUS P5B motherboards.

Originally Posted by macmd I'm not married to this case but would favor one without a front door. Also don't need the side windows, neon lights, etc. Any suggestions?

How about something like this? Comes without a power supply so you can choose a good one like the 550 watt Antec Alaron linked to.

Cricket

[macmd]

Great case and PSU recommdations-thanks! Will look into LiteOn drives.

Any other thoughts on the RAM? Should I even be worried about the performance difference?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by macmd Any other thoughts on the RAM? Should I even be worried about the performance difference?

I think glc said you really don't need the 800 DDR2 unless you're going to overclock. If not, 667 DDR2 will be fine. For some reason you really don't see much performance difference between the two at stock speeds.

Cricket

[glc]

DDr2-667 is fine if you are under a real tight budget, but if you can afford the XMS2 DDR2-800, Corsair is working well in the P5B's.