Comment on the rig

[avik735]

P35 platinum, E8400, Kingston 2gb ddr2 800, Western Digital 500gb sata2, Western Digital 160gb sata2, MSI R4850 512mb, LG DVD-RAM, LG DVD-ROM, SONY FDD, Antec Sonata III Cabinet with EA500 PSU.

X38/48 boards r nt available here, P45 is very costly.Is there any other less expensive (bt enough) cabinet+psu than the one mentioned here (~$175)?I wud later add more ram,though xfire is nt in my plans. I might add a pci tv tuner card & a pci-e audio card later.

 

[Pyrokinetic]

Well, I am not an expert but do have some experience. Rig looks fine, that Antec PSU should suffice but I would go no cheaper. Antec is OK, but not great in regards to the quality of its PSUs and I have owned two (a Truepower II 550 and a Trio 430). The 550 was alright but the Trio had the loudest fan I have ever heard in any PSU I have owned -- I cracked the thing open and soldered in a resistor for the fan to make it bearable.

Your rig may well pull over 300W at load, more perhaps if you overclock. Like I said, the 500 watt PSU will be OK with that, but I would recommend a higher quality unit from Corsair or PC Power & Cooling or other recommended brands (I currently run a Corsair 750TX). Don't skimp on your PSU -- I have replaced several "cheapo" units over the years that died and ended up spending more money than just getting a quality unit to begin with.

Also *IMPORTANT* -- get a battery back up surge suppressor and line conditioner. "Dirty" and unstable outlet power can shorten the lifespan of a PSU. I have an APC Back-UPS RS 800; APC is a highly recommended brand and I have used no other.

Just my thoughts, you have selected a nice rig -- enjoy it and protect it.