First Build - Please review

[rayban]

Hello,
I am gathering requirements for my first build and I have a few questions for the experts. My budget for this pc is $1000.00. I intend to use it for downloading and listening to music, graphics and page layout in photoshop and InDesign, and basic business tasks in MS Office. I'm not into overclocking and I'm not heavily into gaming but I want to have some capacity for light gaming now and then.

I want this pc to be as quiet as possible since I do a fair amount of listening to music and practicing the guitar at the computer. My current AMD 2800 in a Foxconn case is really loud. I'm willing to spend a little more to get a quiet system. Here's my list. Your feedback and suggestions are appreciated.

CPU Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115029
194.99

MB ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131184
134.99

Case Antec Sonata III w/500 psu
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811129024
129.95

RAM CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145098
69.99

HD Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148140
79.99

DVD LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-06 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827106072
37.99

Vid Card
EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130062
89.99

OS Vista Home Pre. for builders OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116202
111.99

Monitor not determined. approximately $200

Questions:
Is the Antec case adequate for my purposes or should I get a different case with it's own psu? I chose Antec because I've heard they are very quiet. Recommendations?

Is that Corsair RAM okay with this board?

Is that Vid card adequate for "light gaming?" Recommendations?

To save some $$$ I've thought about stepping down to the E4400 cpu. Would I see much difference in performance?

Will my Adobe Photoshop, InDesign programs work with Vista?

Thanks in advance.

[shadowpr]

looks like a solid build to me.

might want to check out adobe website to see if they will work with vista, if not, then no harm in getting xp.

the video card will work. if you want to upgrade it a bit, for about $30 more you can go with the 8600, but the one you picked sounds good for your use.


try this ram instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145590 cheaper after rebate

[maxnik]

that Antec Sonata III case is really good with a good quality PSU. For your set up it will work fine.
I second shadowpr idea about video card. 8600 series cards are very close to 7600 in perfrmance, but come with DX10 support, that will help with running Vista and newer DX10 games that will probably start showing up within a year or so... you can find an 8600 card for $100 after MIR.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by rayban Questions: Is the Antec case adequate for my purposes or should I get a different case with it's own psu? I chose Antec because I've heard they are very quiet. Recommendations?

The Sonata III is fine.

Originally Posted by rayban Is that Corsair RAM okay with this board?

Yes, but you might want to look at DDR2 800 since you've picked a 1333MHz FSB processor.

Originally Posted by rayban Is that Vid card adequate for "light gaming?" Recommendations?

Can't help you with this, I'm not a gamer.

Originally Posted by rayban To save some $$$ I've thought about stepping down to the E4400 cpu. Would I see much difference in performance?

Depends on what you're doing with the computer...and you're doing processor intensive things so yes, there's a big difference. The E4400 has less L2 cache and a slower FSB speed than the E6750...for what you'll be doing with the computer I'd highly suggest you get the E6750 over the E4400.

Originally Posted by rayban Will my Adobe Photoshop, InDesign programs work with Vista?

Can't help you with this, I'm still using WinXP (and will be for a long time to come).

Cricket

[rayban]

[QUOTE
might want to check out adobe website to see if they will work with vista, if not, then no harm in getting xp.

Good idea. I just checked the Adobe site and the older versions of their Creative Suite (like mine) are not recommended to run on Vista. I'm going to stay with XP.

[rayban]

Thank you all for your suggestions.