New Build - SFF/mATX (Thermaltake LANBOX)

[ben72227]

Hey guys, I'm going to get a new computer this week. I already have some things I'll just from my previous computer - Gateway 19" LCD (1440x900) and Klipsch Pro-Media 2.1 Speakers.

Anyway, I'm upgrading from a P4/Radeon 9600XT setup, so this is a pretty big upgrade for me

Here's a preliminary parts list from Newegg. I definitely think a modular power supply is good for a mATX setup - this case is pretty small and as far as mATX, I guess that Intel G33 is the big mobo chipset right now - Gigabyte is as good as any I would think. I probably won't do any overclocking (this case will be hot already, and I doubt I could even fit a good CPU cooler in there as small as it is). Quadcore is probably good for me because I play games and do some photoshopping and scientific number crunching that would utilize the extra cores. I definitely want a good DX10 graphics card (this needs to last me at least a year or two) and so an 8800 is what I'm looking at (a HD3870 would be alright maybe - but I really need a 'Crysis card' I think)

As for price - I can not exceed $1500, and really if I could get it down towards $1000-1200 that would be REALLY good (so if you guys see anything I could maybe replace with something cheaper).

SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black PATA Model SH-S202G - OEM
$27.99

Thermaltake VF1000BWS Black Aluminum Front Panel/ SECC Chassis MicroATX Desktop Computer Case - Retail
$129.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KSRTL 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail
$84.99

EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$359.99

AeroCool ZERODBA ZERODBA-S620 EPS 12V & ATX 12V 2.02 compliant with Powerful Dual +12V Rails 620W Power Supply - Retail
$124.99

LITE-ON SK-1788/BS 2-Tone PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard - Retail
$6.99

Logitech G3 931691-0403 2-Tone 5 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Laser Mouse - Retail
$44.99

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
$5.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
$46.99

GIGABYTE GA-G33M-DS2R LGA 775 Intel G33 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$129.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
$279.99

Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
$109.99

SUBTOTAL: $1,352.88

Thanks in advance for any helpful posts!

 

[roadrunner197069]

You could do it for waaaaaaaay less. But thats pretty good if you likke to spend that much.

 

[ben72227]

Well, like I said, cheaper is better.

Granted, I don't want to get **** parts (i.e. no Rosewill PSU for me) and working with mATX will bring it's limitations....

but if you think I can do it for 'waaaaaaaay less', please - post some specifics!

 

[ben72227]

^bump

 

[Onus]

Look at the specs of my rig. I'm using that mobo in an Apevia X-QPACK2. I only have a mild o/c to 2.8 (to get 1:1 on my RAM), but everything is running nice and cool. This case has front and rear fans. I agree about getting a modular PSU; my Mushkin lives on Tier-T of the list at http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon. Aerocool is on Tier-4; I think I saw a review of it at JonnyGuru that was decent though, but don't remember.
You won't need the AS5 with the stock cooler.
Choose a Retail (rather than OEM) optical drive in order to get all the software to use it, including a decoder for movies.