Intel E8500 Gaming system build... First timer

First time home build computer.

Previous computer purchased 12/05 (almost 4 years); Dell XPS 600, Processor, 80547, PENTIUM D SMITHFIELD, Nvidia 7800 GTX, 2G Ram. Computer died; Motherboard failure.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: June 30, 2009

BUDGET RANGE: $1000 Max (lower price the better)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT – Typical Microsoft Office uses + games, Skype and occasional movies. The games are/will be;
Strategy games; such as Civilization IV (still my favorite game)
MMO; not playing any atm… Have played WAR, WoW, COH, etc…
RPGs; Might and Magic, Diablo 2, plan to play a ton of Diablo 3.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers,

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel, Nvidia, Corsair, Gigabyte

OVERCLOCKING: No plans

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No types of games I play do not use this ability

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Current Monitor Dell™ UltraSharp™ 2007FP 20.1-inch Flat Panel LCD 1600x1200 pixels 16 ms high contrast ratio of up to 800:1 1 x VGA cable ¦ 1 x DVI cable ¦ 1 x USB cable

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Quieter operation is better, no crazy lights coming from my computer please. Sound quality is of least importance.

OS – Plan is to use an OEM XP 32 bit or Vista 64 Bit OS.
All software from Office through to the games I play are XP based. Plan to upgrade to Windows 7 after the first Service Pack. Therefore computer hardware needs to be compatible with “XP Mode” Intel VT,
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10229125-56.html
http://news.cnet.com/some-intel-ch [...] 7-xp-mode/


The build
Motherboard: Area of most confusion for me. DDR2 all I need, No raid or Sli needed
$99.99 ($94.99 after rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128372

$134.99 ($119.99 after rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128358

$109.99 ($94.99 after rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128359

Memory: DDR2 800 all I need no OC (brand OCZ or corsair?)
2x2 GB 4 (upgradeable to 8GB latter)

Processor:
Intel
$189.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115036

CPU Fan/cooling (Combo deal with CPU)
Will the size be an issue? Is there a quieter or cheaper option?

$36.98 ($31.98 after rebate) ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186134


Graphics Card: IMPORTANT NOTE: no sli
260 is huge and needs 2 x 6pin PCI-E power plugs 500W min, is it overkill?
250 is 512MB which is not important unless using Sli which I wont

$194.99 ($169.99 after rebate)
EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130434

$129.99 ($119.99 after rebate)
EVGA 512-P3-1150-TR GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130468

Hard Drive
$59.99
Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136320

CD/DVD DRIVE:
$26.99
SAMSUNG SH-S223Q Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe – OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151173

Comment: No idea which will fit!
$69.99 ($59.99 with rebate)
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119077

$63.99 (made for extra fans)
GIGABYTE GZ-X8BPDX-400 Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811233050

$69.99 ($54.99 after rebate)
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042

$54.99 ($44.99 after rebate)
COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119106

PSU
Comment: Minimum of a 500 Watt power supply. (Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 36 Amp Amps.) Two available 6-pin Molex hard drive power dongles (with 260 GTX card)

$99.99 ($89.99 after rebate)
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139005

$109.99 ($89.99 after rebate) HX considered best PSU but not enough amps for 260?
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139001

Misc – does it matter which compound?
$4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] niq%20TX-2

$6.99
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835100007


Questions:
What am I missing? Any additional cables needed?

Well... This is where my ignorance could be dangerous

When I make the transition to Windows 7, some of the programs I use from games to utilities will be XP based. Rather than do without or hoping/waiting for “updates” I want to be able to continue to use these applications. I assume from my reading that this VT mode will allow for this.

Does this not make sense, or did I misunderstand XP VT mode?


Appreciate the advice on the PSU and CPU cooler. The 520 was on this list mainly from the excellent reviews on the HX vs the TX and VX Corsair ... but I maybe too much in the weeds for my use. The CPU cooler switch is at the advice of a friend who told me the Intel stock fan was very noisey and limited use.

Any advice on the right motherboard or case for my setup?

Thanks again

^ I agree with Shadow on the PSU.

I have looked at the 720BE or the 550 build option.

After a lot of study... I came to the conclusion if I am planning to OC they would be the better choice. Since however I am not planning to OC as system stability and reliability is very important to me the E8500 makes more sense. Am I correct in this?

Thanks for the information on the PSU's and SLi it is very helpful.

I do not plan on SLi as the types of games I play do not take advantage of SLi. The same reason I decided on Duo Core over Quad Core, faster processor speed is more important as I do very little with multi-application, Most I have open is Vent and my game I never alt-tab between apps and do not use multi monitor setups.

I will choose the 260, again just using one card. Which requires a special 2 power connector set up and a higher PSU requirement

Any mor advice?