About to buy... how's this look?

[pocketx]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Lots of gaming, movie watching and once in a long while, movie encoding.

2. What YOUR budget is.
$800-$850

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Canada, specifically NCIX

4. IF YOU have a brand preference.
None

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
19" LCD - 1280x1024
3xSata HDs
Keyboard
Mouse
Speakers
Vista

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Yes, lots for the past few months

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
I'd like to hit 4ghz on air. =D

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
I'd like to get it within the next few days, as there's currently a decent sale going on.

Coolermaster CM 690 - $72.98
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L - $92.99
Corsair HX520 - $104.98 (Before $20 MIR)
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 - $143.99
Samsung SH-S203B $24.99
G.SKILL F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ PC2-8000 2x2GB - $99.99
Kingwin RVT-12025 $31.99
Scythe Mini Kaze Ultra 40MM Silent Fan $4.99
Galaxy KFA2 GeForce 9600GT OC 670MHZ 512MB 2.0GHZ - $138.88 (Before $30 MIR)

Total price with shipping, etc.: $780.40
After price matching I might save about $10.

I was going to wait for the new video cards to come out but they're currently having a $5.99 ground shipping deal so I can barely resist the urge. Just a few specific questions:
Should I be getting the E8400 over the E7200?
With my 1280x1024 resolution in mind, will the 9600GT be sufficient for the next 2 years, or should I get the 8800GT? Or maybe even wait for the new cards?
Any other parts I should be switching out for something else?

 

[PurdueRy]

Only comment would be to screw the 40mm fan. It blows at the back of the mobo...which isn't gonna do much. It will add noise however at that small size...and if it truly is silent...it isn't going to move any air worth mentioning.

 

[pocketx]

I read somewhere that the northbridge gets really hot and that a small fan such as that one would alleviate the problem. Is getting that fan overdoing it? Or is it just completely useless?

 

[DarkRogue]

I would recommend an E8400 for gaming, but that's just me. If your budget can handle it, why not?
1280x1024 is a really low resolution nowadays (I am using this myself) and at such a resolution, your gaming will mostly be CPU-bound most of the time. What this means is your CPU is still handling most of the work, and the GPU will mostly be waiting for it to finish. A 9600GT will handle such a resolution very nicely. 8800GT is good only if you really need the added horsepower if you were going to upgrade to an LCD in the 1600's range.. Possibly 1920 range as well, but at that point it starts to get GPU bound and you need to begin turning down quality settings.

If you're going to do a lot of overclocking, definitely get a good heatsink and fans, you don't want to skimp on the cooling.
I'd recommend the Scythe Ninja for obvious reasons. Other popular choices seem to be the Xigmatek, Tuniq and TRUE. There's also the ACF7 but if you're planning on hitting 4GHz on air, I don't think it will be enough for you.

For fans, try to stick with 120mm fans if you can. They push more air and are quieter than 40mm ones generally. The Scythe S-FLEX, Scythe Slipstream, Nexus, Noctua and Yate Loons are good choices if you want quiet fans. For pure power, I don't know.. heard something about the Delta's if you don't mind going deaf in 2 weeks.

Edit:
Upon some quick Googling, it seems that the Kingwin RVT-12025 is essentially a clone of the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 with different packaging, so it should be fine.

 

[pocketx]

I'd have to pay $50 more for the E8400, does the cache make a huge difference? I'm also glad to hear that the 9600GT will suffice! Thanks for all the suggestions so far, keep em coming! =D

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: pocketx
I read somewhere that the northbridge gets really hot and that a small fan such as that one would alleviate the problem. Is getting that fan overdoing it? Or is it just completely useless?

If you are using that fan in the case, that fan aims at the back of the CPU, not the northbridge. If you planned on attaching it somehow to the northbridge, then it may have some purpose.

 

[DSF]

I wouldn't count on 4GHz on air with an E7200. If that is your goal you'll probably want to look at the E8400. If you're willing to settle for the 3.6-3.8GHz range though, I'd go with an E7200. It'll be fine for gaming for quite a while, especially overclocked.