New computer build?

[Thermo.]

I am planning on building a new computer for my girlfriend, so if you're at all familiar with such details as what a computer needs, let me know how these sound for a from-the-ground-up system:

ASPIRE X-CRUISE -BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$64.00

ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
$110.00

XFX PVT42EUDE3 Geforce 6800 XTreme 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
$134.00

ASPIRE ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W Power Supply
$36.99

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX
$154.00

Kingston HyperX 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model KHX3200AK2/1G
$92.50

Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$51.00

ZIPPY EL-715 (SILVER) Silver USB Wired Slim luminescent Keyboard
$34.00

Tyris T701DB Black 17" 8ms (Tr: 2ms + Tf: 6ms) DVI LCD Monitor
$180.00

Sunbeam FireLine Optical Mouse MS-2011-BK-BL Black 3 Buttons 1x Wheel USB Optical Mouse w/Blue Light
$6.99

LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/ 5X DVD-RAM Write Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SHM-165P6S RTL
$39.99

Diamond XtremeSound XS71DDL 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
$57.00

LINKSYS EG1032 10/100/1000Mbps PCI Network Adapter
$23.99

Subtotal: $984.46

Mail-In Rebates total $140, so total will come to $844.46 once the rebates come in. I don't see this system becoming obsolete in the next 3-5 years or so. Look good for the price? The highest items are of course the ones you would expect to be up there, but I think for those level products, they are a steal for those prices. I have also looked into the reviews for the main components and they look to be solid enough to warrant a purchase; however, I'm always open to suggestions.

 

[NathanM]

Well, I'd suggest going up to the 7600GT for gaming: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130283

A larger HDD maybe? You can get a 250GB SATA HDD for only $90: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

Not sure if that's a good PSU or not. I'll let someone else deal with that.

Other than that, looks good for the price .

 

[Thermo.]

It's $60 more for the 7600GT alone, but with the combo with the processor I'm already planning on getting, it's another $10 off, so it's a total of $50 more for that one it seems. Is it worth the extra $50 investment, or will the 6800 suffice? I'm already slightly over-budget, so if the 6800 will do just as well, I'll stick with it.

Also, I've been reading up on Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound and I've seen a few spots where it claims to be permanent and will never be able to be removed. Is this accurate? I am asking because maybe down the line a new heatsink would be necessary (replacement or upgrade) and I would rather not have to purchase a new processor just to replace the heatsink.

 

[arctic388]

you could go with cheaper memory unless you OC.

by what i've read AMD doesnt need paste with stock heat sink. should have pad on it. not sure about aftermarket sinks. probably need the paste for them.

if you can get the 7600.

dont know of anyone on here that will tell you that PSU is good. there is a select few the people on here recommend. someone will surely chime in and tell you what those brands are.

 

[tajahem]

We can give you better advice if we know what the main uses of this computer will be? Gaming, internet, work, etc.

For the PSU I trust Antec and Thermaltake, but other people have their own trusted brands.

The motherboard has network and audio covered if you need to shave off the costs of the add-on cards.

Overall it looks like a fairly decent budget computer. I would put it closer to 2-3 years instead of 3-5, but there is still some upgrade potential that can be exploited later on to extend that.

Also, I've been reading up on Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound and I've seen a few spots where it claims to be permanent and will never be able to be removed.

You got me curious so I looked this up. According to the instructions on Arctic Silver's website that is partially correct. You won't be able to remove all of the Arctic Silver from the microscopic valleys of the heatsink with standard tools. However, this does not mean that you cannot replace the processor or heatsink. Just clean off as much of it as you can and then apply a fresh layer when installing.

 

[JonS]

The PSU is the weak link there. While I have a slightly more expensive Aspire 520W, I've read a review of the Aspire you are looking at. They were very underwhelmed about it!
Last week I bought this at the local Fry Electronics for $59, no rebate.
Even at the NewEgg price, its a deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937

 

[slick_tech15]

I personally wouldn't get the 6800, if you are willing spend the extra 30 bucks and get the 6800 gs or 7600 gt or go down 30 bucks and get the 6600 gt for around 100 bucks. Btw that memory doesn't look like the best deal to me.