Preparing to rebuild my gaming computer

[DocAtWork]

It’s past time to rebuild my gaming computer, so I’ve been lurking here the past few days. This will be my third build. The two previous were AMD builds but I’ll be going Intel with this one. Alaron posted a list the other day that is pretty close to what I’ve been considering:

Here is a list to start with:
Asus P5B motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
2GB DDR2-667 Corsair RAM
eVGA 8800GTS 320MB Video Card
Seagate 320GB 7200.10 SATA Hard drive.
LiteOn SATA DVD Burner - Retail
Any case you like
Corsair 520HX Power supply.

I usually just use onboard sound since I use a headset most of the time. I also like to use as much of my existing hardware as possible. My questions relate to the use of existing hardware with the new build.

I have two Western Digital Caviar SE 80 GB SATA Hard Drives that I am going to keep for extra storage.

Is there any issue with having two different brands of hard drive in the same computer?

I saw a mention somewhere in the “stickies” for a kit to convert an internal IDE HDD to an external (USB 2.0 if I recall correctly).

Is there a similar kit for converting an internal IDE DVD RW to an external?

Power Supply
My current power supply is an Antec NEOPOWER 480 ATX12V v2.0 480W Power Supply. http://www.antec.com/ec/productDetails.php?ProdID=05480

Does this PSU provide enough margin for this build?

Cooling
Are the stock heatsink and fan sufficient to cool the E6600 (retail version)?

I’m planning to use my existing case, which is an Enlight case from 4 or 5 years ago. It has 2 80mm case fans. I set the one in front to pull air in and the one in back to blow air out.

Is this enough air management for this build?

[LeftyAce]

Is there any issue with having two different brands of hard drive in the same computer?

No.

Is there a similar kit for converting an internal IDE DVD RW to an external?

My friend's doing it using the same IDE cable converter that's meant for Harddrives (without an enclosure). I've never put an optical drive into an external enclosure, so I don't know what brands of enclosure are good. Here's a listing: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...07130&name=IDE

Does this PSU provide enough margin for this build?

No. With an 8800 video card, you should get at least 500W. The Corsair 520HX powersupply is a good choice.

Are the stock heatsink and fan sufficient to cool the E6600 (retail version)?

Yes, and using anything else will void the 3 year warrenty on the CPU.

Is this enough air management for this build?

Yes.

[durant0s]

It sounds good I just got done building a system very similar to yours, cept I'm still using a old dvd rom and old seagate non SATA harddrive (will be updating soon enough). Just one thing, if your going with the 8800, make sure you have enough room in your case its HUGE! I had to move a few things around and I have a very large case.