Hey guys! Finally building a new comp... I'm on a 500 USD budget and am using newegg for all the pricing and parts. I can't figure out how to hyperlink easily... but I'll post what I got so far.

Parts from old comp:

1. Several 120mm and 80mm fans.

2. Excellent liteon CD/DVD R combo drive.

New Parts:

1. Rosewill R604TBLK-N 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Computer Case+450W Power Supply - Retail

This part is an INSANELY good deal. I was a bit worried about a PSU and case combo, but the PSU seems to be getting solid reviews. I do not plan to OC my system and have no plans for SLI in the future. Should the 450W PS in this combo be able to handle my new rig? (64.99).

2. SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

I indulged a wee bit for this 500GB HD. If any of you know a dependable, 400-500GB, HD that costs a good deal less, please tell me (89.99).

3. BIOSTAR TA770 A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Nice, solid, MB (79.99).

4. ASUS EN9600GT/HTDI/512M GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Great sale on ASUS cards this week. The 9600 is the best for my budget, I think... (129.99).

5. CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail

Quality RAM for the price. Tight timings at a tight price (34.99).

6. AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ 2.8GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO5400IAA5DO - OEM

A true steal. Another alternative would be the "black edition" of the 5300+ (2.6 GhZ). But for a few more bucks, this one seems better (82.99).

7. ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail

It looks like a fine HSF, but will it cause trouble with the dimensions of the case and MB? Reviews say it is big.

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TOTAL COST with SHIPPING: $565.12


Concerns:

1. I will be running this comp on a 32bit edition of Windows XP Prof. Will this bottleneck my system much? I plan to upgrade to vista, eventually...

2. Do I need to have some thermal paste for install the HSF?

3. Any compadability problems?

4. I'm a tiny bit worried about the PSU... but the case is SUCH a good deal.


Thanks for all the help guys! Much love.

1. Not at all. Saves you $90 on your build too.
2. No - The Freezer 64 Pro comes with a very good thermal compound pre-applied. The right amount - ready to go. Looks to be no problem with case or motherboard.
3. You didnt mention the size/resolution of your monitor to judge compatability with the GPU. All the rest of the parts should work great together.....
4. ..with the possible exception of the PSU. Rosewill PSU's come from many different OEMs. Some are good, some just OK and some arent so good.
There's no way I know of to make sure which you'll be getting. At least you have the NewEgg user reviews to go by.
It's sized right for your build to keep from having to get overstressed so you could make out OK.

In case you want a good separate psu, here's a list:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=108088