Last post before purchase

[charwoods3]

Here is my list. LMK if I missed anything or need anything extra besides basic tools (screwdriver, etc.). Also, if everything should work nicely together or anything I could replace to save money. Thanks!

1. XION II XON-103 Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811208008

2. LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/LightScribe and 5X DVD-RAM Write Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SHM-165H6S - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827106015

3. G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820231098

4. GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128012

5. Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136062

6. Hanns·G HX-191DPB Black 19" 5ms DVI LCD Monitor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16824254013

7. Microsoft Windows XP Home Sp2b 1pk w/Upgrade Coupon for Vista - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16832116169

8. ENERMAX EG465P-VE FMA 2.2 ATX12V 460W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817194011

9. Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115005

10. eVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130071

 

[cwiz]

u can prob find a cheaper case, one w/o a psu or a better case for that kind of money. i prefer a case w/ a blow hole (fan on top) it just makes sense cuz hot air rises.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144102
this is the case i'm using... my side fan is actually located over my video card, but i also like the design w/ a duct to the cpu (as this one is layed out)
the side fan on the case u picked out is just kind of out in the middle (over the ram i think), not very helpful.

i also getting some artic silver 5, it conducts heat at least 2x better than normal thermal paste

 

[charwoods3]

What exactly is the thermal paste used for and is it included or do I need to buy some. I don't plan on oc'ing it, but if I change my mind, it won't be that much. I'll check out the case as well.

Thanks

 

[cwiz]

well, when you buy your cpu and gpu (graphics processing unit or graphix card), there are heatsinks (big pieces of metal) that conduct the heat away from your chip. the paste makes sure there is a good seal between the chip and the heatsink (air is a horrible conductor of heat). the heat sink will already be attached to your gpu, but the one for your cpu will be separate from the chip and already have thermal paste on the bottom of it (it refering to the heatsink).

if you want lower temps, or if you plan on overclocking, it is advisable to remove the thermal paste from the bottom of your cpu heat sink w/ rubbing alcohol and a paper towel and put a dab of artic silver 5 and spread it around w/ a straight piece of thin plastic where the old paste was after the alcohol drys. you dont actually need to spread it around, but i like to

the gpu is alil tricker but not by much, u just gotta unscrew the heatsink/fan from the board and remove the stock paste from the chip and heat sink. again, put a dab of paste on the heat sink and spread it around or just leave the dab in the middle of where the old paste was. then carefully reinstall the heatsink/fan by trying to put it back on w/ a minimal amount of shifting to keep all the paste over the chip.

by dab i mean bb size amount of paste.

u'll can expect about 2-5*C lower temperatures just by doing this simple procedure as your installing your heat sink. if you order it along with the rest of your computer, there probably wont be any shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007

one of the little tubes should last for like 12-15 applications (specs say 15-25 applications). i've done 6 applications and still have at least half a tube left

 

[charwoods3]

hey, thanks for the instructions. I ordered the processor and it states the heatsink and fan is already attached. I assume that I will be ok with using the stock setup rather than taking it apart and applying the paste. I don't believe I will be doing serious enough oc'ing to permit needing the better paste. As for the rest of the setup, I will assume that it is good to go as no one has chimed in with any serious concerns. Thanks fo your help.