New Build for Vista - Thoughts?

[mplutodh1]

I've had a copy of Vista Ultimate and Office 2007 Ultimate sitting on my desk for a few weeks now waiting for me to upgrade my box. Yes I know, Core2 Duo is probably better - but almost double the price. Don't need it...

My PC is primarily just for home use, no gaming, no OC'ing, I do some development on it, but all in all I'm not as hard on my box as I used to be. Looking for an affordable box that will be capable of running Vista Ultimate for a few years. I typically try and keep stuff for 2-3 years. On a budget - trying to reuse most of my existing components.

A BIG issue for me is noise, I can't stand the noise. I hate fans! And I'm not going to deal with fan controllers, etc - my box now is very quiet and I'm hoping I can continue that with new hardware.

Here is what I'm thinking. Any thoughts? Something look incompatible, unstable? Most of the new stuff will be ordered from Newegg with a few items (PSU) picked up at Frys.


NEW COMPONENTS
DFI INFINITY NF ULTRAII-M2
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+(65W) Windsor 2.0GHz ADO3800CUBOX
XFX PVT73PYDJ3 GeForce 7600GS ** OR ** MSI NX7600GS-T2D256EH GeForce 7600GS
Antec NeoHE 550W Power Supply Frys - $79
Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2 4200 KVR533D2N4K2/2G - Retail

EXISTING PARTS:
Antec SLK3700-BQE Case
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 SATA 16mb Cache (x2 RAID1) 300.0 GB
Seagate Barracuda Plus 200G 7200RMPS
Dell 1907FP DVI
ViewSonic VX900 DVI
NEC DVD RW - IDE
Sony DVD Rom - IDE

UNSURE:
Heatsink/Fan - Quiet/Affordable


Total Hardware Upgrade Cost minus Heatsink, SHI and Sales Tax = $528.46

 

[jpeyton]

I don't know much about the DFI motherboard, but DFI has been a solid brand for AMD users.

The X2 3600+ is also low power and is a 65nm chip. I would strongly consider that over the X2 3800+, especially if you plan on overclocking.

The NeoHE PSUs are quality; made by Seasonic. That said, I would see if you can muster an additional $20 and spring for a Corsair 520HX; it's also Seasonic made, but quieter and built to a higher standard.

For a cheap and quiet heatsink fan, look at Arctic Cooling's lineup (either the Alpine64 or the Freezer 64 Pro). Both are under $20 if you shop around.

 

[mplutodh1]

Looking at some of the specs online this board might take DDR667?

Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 667 KVR667D2N5K2/2G

Although Newegg's site doesn't state that.


As for the PSU - I originally had the Corsair in my cart at Newegg but it's considerably more (seeing as the Neo is on sale at Frys)

HSF - I could spend a little more than $20

I actually have a Silent Boost K8 for AMD Opteron/Athlon 64 sitting on my bookshelf - would this work? I have it's partner in my box right now and like it. P/N A1838 - doesnt look like it.

I won't be overclocking either - what is the benefit of going to the 3600 65nm over the 3800 if I don't plan on OC'ing.