Planning new computer for my wife

[Crittias]

My wife is probably due for a new home computer. She gets a laptop provided to her from work, but she still wants a desktop for everyday use. She is not a gamer, but she does use some relatively CPU-intensive programs (Stata, SAS, some other analytical modeling tools I can't remember).

Here's what I'm thinking:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
Memory: mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996587 - Retail
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-73VM-S2 LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7050/nForce 610i Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEMx2
CD/DVD: SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM
Case: SILVERSTONE SST-SG01-B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Computer Case - OEM
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 Power Supply - Retail



Her current desktop has RAID 1, which saved some really critical data last fall. I'm going to go ahead and build another RAID 1 system this time. She's also requested a SFF so she can keep the computer on her desk rather than under it. I looked at barebone Shuttles, but their RAID solutions were exorbitantly expensive. The Silverstone seemed a good alternative solution.

Cost would be just around $800 before shipping.

Any and all thoughts/suggestions are welcome!

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Unless your planning on adding a gaming video card that PSU is overkill, if you stick with onboard graphics a quality 350-400w PSU is plenty. Antec has some nice matx case PS combo's. I built one for my wife using this Text and it's great, has the best cooling and layout of any matx I've worked on.

Or if your set on the cube style Text

And use these HDD's instead, they are larger, faster and cheaper. Newer tech single platter drives
Text

And if she has the latest versions of Stata-mp and SAS they are well multithread and would make use of a quad. Look at Q6600 for a few more bucks or a Q9XXX if you utilize the money saved by my first couple of suggestions

 

[Crittias]

I agree that the PSU is overkill, but I wanted a modular power supply for the small case. Any other modular PSUs you'd suggest? EDIT: Never mind, I see that the cases you recommend have their own PSUs.

I'll take a look at the HDDs and cases you suggested, for sure. As for a Quad, I didn't know her stats packages supported multi-threading. I'll definitely move her up to a Q9xxx. Thanks!