need help with a new desktop

[basafa]

Need to replace an old desktop. I am new to this site. I have no experience in building a computer. I am not a gamer but, I want a setup that would last me for many years. This desktop would be used for office work, web surfing, multi media, video editing and multiple application running simultaneously. I have checked out dell, hp, polywell, ibuypower, cyberpc and mwave.
Following please find the list of the components that I picked from mwave.com.
If you have any suggestions regarding where to purchase or the part list please let me know. All advise and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

INTEL BOXD975XBX2KR INTEL
$189.00
INTEL CORE 2 DUO E6600
$310.00
MICROSOFT WINDOWS VISTA 64BIT HOME PREMIUM 1PK DVD
$115.90
ARCTIC ALUMINA PREMIUM CERAMIC NON-SILICONE
$3.00
ANTEC P180 MID TOWER NO POWER SUPPLY
$123.50
ANTEC NEOHE 550 NEO POWER EPS 12V VERSION 2.2
$105.80
WD 74GB WD740ADFD SATA150 10,000RPM 16MB (Bare drive)
$148.50
SEAGATE 500GB ST3500630NS SATA ES 7200RPM 16MB (Bare drive)
$219.00
EVGA 512-P2-N548-TX GEFORCE 7600GS 512MB GDDR2 PCI
$111.90
OCZ OCZ2G10002GK 2GB KIT (1GB x 2) PC2-8000 1066MHZ
$235.50
LITE ON LH-20A1H-186 20X LIGHTSCRIBE DUAL DVD REWRITABLE DRIVE (Retail)
$38.90
PIONEER DVR710B BLACK 16X DUAL DVD RW DRIVE DOUBLE LAYER 5X RAM W/SW (Retail)*
$39.90
MITSUMI FA-404 1.44 FLOPPY + 7 IN 1 CARD READER -(bare drive)
$20.90
HAUPPAUGE WINTV PVR-500 MCE 2 TUNER PCI (White Box)
$130.00
SABRENT SN-P8CH 8-CHANNEL 7.1 HIGH-PERFORMANCE SURROUND SOUND 3D PCI SOUND CARD
$18.75
STARTECH.COM 3-PORT USB 2.0 & 2-PORT 1394A FIREWIRE COMBO PCI CARD
$38.28
ASSEMBLY & TESTING
$79.99

Sub Total $1929.97

 

[jeff_2087]

Are you overclocking? If not, that RAM is way unnecessarily fast. All you need is DDR2-533. Also 512mb is way too much video memory for the 7600GS, it's silly. You may as well get a 7300 if you're not gaming, it's cheaper. Or get a board with integrated graphics.

Also, do you really need a TV tuner? And why not just use onboard sound? For $20 I doubt that sound card is going to be a whole lot better. And do you need the 3-port PCI card? And why two optical drives?

EDIT: oh yeah and the ceramic isn't needed, the stock cooler comes with thermal paste that's fine if youre not overclocking.

 

[rwpritchett]

Motherboard and RAM are overkill unless you plan on some extreme overclocking. Maybe check out the Gigabyte DS3; and DDR2-533 RAM would probably be sufficient.

The raptor hard drive is also overkill IMO, consider a 160-320GB Seagate 7200.10 or WD Caviar as your main drive or just partition that monster 500GB drive you have selected to keep data and OS separate. The performance difference is probably negligible in everyday use.

Unless you are gaming with the latest titles, you can go with jeff_2087's good advice on the video card. His advice on the soundcard is good as well.

Go with 32-bit instead of 64-bit Vista. I've tried both and find them identical... with the exception of the bugs that plague the 64-bit version. Besides, you need 64-bit apps to take advantage of 64-bit OS, and those just aren't the norm yet. I went back to 32-bit until my case filed with Microsoft about some 64-bit issues gets resolved.

 

[basafa]

Thank you, for your quick response. I realize that some of the components are slightly over the top for a non gamer. I just want to be sure it can handle new things down the pike. I have configured a dell xp410. Would you please check it out and give me your input? How does this one compare?

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (4MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,1066 FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs
500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Dual Drives: 48x Combo + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable
256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
ATI Theater 650 PRO Combo Analog/Digital TV Tuner with Remote Control
13 in 1 Media Card Reader and 3.5 in Floppy Drive
IEEE 1394 Adapter
1Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service

Subtotal: $1539.00

 

[alcattle]

The Dell XPS 410 is a nice system. Yours has some upgraded parts, the video card is better, and the power supply is better. The ad I saw said free 19" monitor, did you factor that in? Dell offers some support, and you never know how helpful the person will be. You get your answers but it could take 3-4 calls.

 

[Mondoman]

However, it is only running the 32-bit version of Vista.
Also, its MB and PS are less likely to be able to handle future Core2Duo processor upgrades.

 

[rwpritchett]

I'm sure if you've been on this site for any time at all you've been told that you can build a better system yourself cheaper than Dell, so I won't go there. About $1200 would make an equivalent (or better) system, plus you can avoid sales tax if you purchase parts online.

That being said, if you don't plan on upgrading the system in the future, the Dell system you have selected looks fine. As pointed out before, you may be limited in your upgrade options in the future because the power supply will be just enough to get you by with the current setup, and the motherboard chipset may or may not support future 1333MHz FSB CPU's coming out. Also, do you know if it comes with extra RAM slots for future memory upgrades? I know the Dimensions give you only 2 slots and they both come filled.