Done w/ new build - my experience

Hey ya'll! Just got down last night, and I am using my new rig to post this! Thanks for all the help everyone!

First off, here's my specs, total cost around $800;

CM 690 case
E2160 (stock for now)
w/ Freezer Pro 7 HSF
GA-P35-DS3L
4GB G.Skill DDR2800
MSI 8800GT
WD 320GB SATAII w/16MB cache
Corsair vx550w
Lite-On 20xDVD/RW SATA
Scythe 120mm for top of case (exhaust)

Really pleased with my choice first off, thanks everyone for all the advice!

Comments;

Case: Overall, the 690 is very nice quality, looks GREAT. Big HASSLE getting that front panel off, thing wouldn't budge, and I thought I was going to snap it into pieces by pulling hard as I did, but it finally came off. Don't like the choice of power/reset buttons either, don't feel right. I also wish there was room behind the motherboard panel to rout all the PSU cables. Lastly, the the side-panel fan is producing more noise then anything; I had the side off the first night to make sure all the fans were good, and I heard NOTHING. Put the side panel on, and I hear the usual side-panel-whine. Also, the front fan seems weak as hell, I might get another fan for the bottom for more intake. The fan is plugged into the PSU directly, so nothing is slowing the RPM down (bios wise).

Motherboard: The bad isn't all that bad, just wish it had a firewire and eSATA connection. The good is everything works GREAT, came with latest non-beta firmware, looks like it'll OC very well. Plus, the software worked good on the GA CD to help install all the necc. XP drivers. Had all the drivers installed in not too long.

CPU and memory: G.Skill is working great, CPU is nice and fast even at stock. Temps (according to speedfan) are hanging around 30 as I do normal stuff. I ran Prime95 for like 10 minutes before bed last night, think it hit mid 30's.

Freezer 7 Pro: Well, NewEgg unfortunately shipped me a used item here. It had no thermal paste, the copper HS looked all scratched up, and the heatsink was bent to hell. I was PISSED! I had some Arctic Silver, but clearly this HSF got RMA'd or sent back for some reason. Good news, NewEgg sent a new one out to me (2-day) free of charge.

**Also, about the CPU fan, I first booted the machine up to do a fan test, and the CPU fan didn't turn on! YIKES! After a few seconds, it fired up. Went into the BIOS, saw the RPM on it was only like 300. I found the setting for the BIOS fan speed control, it was on AUTO, so I changed to PWM (the Freezer Pro 7 supports it) and the RPM shot up on the fan, the temp stayed down on CPU, and fan fires up every time on bootup now.

PSU: Love it, great quality. Some of the cables weren't long enough for me though, cable management turned into a PAIN, and finally I ran out of patience at like 1am building this thing, and just put the cables where ever. But the quality of this thing looks unreal, came with little zip ties (do they all come with em?)... very pleased!

What else... oh, I couldn't use my little HD cooler attachment I bought because of the neat little HD brackets the 690 has. But, the drive is getting air near the front case fan.

So far, love this machine! Can't wait to start OC'ing, but I'm a wee bit nervous! There's a ton of settings in there!

Thanks for all the help with the part choices everyone!