Please check system parts and help me make changes

[seymourman]

I didnt put in the links, I figure most of you know exactly what these are. Looking for some ways to save some money without really hurting performance. I am not an overclocker.
This system will be a typical Home computer. I have a 17y/o son who games but doesnt play a lot of FPS. I wanto order Thursday.

1. Lian Li 7b black aluminum case.
a. Is there a better case for less?
b. I have considered CoolerMaster Centurion or Cavalier.

2 Fortron 550W Dual rail or Sparkle 550W single rail.
a. Dual or Single Rail?
b. Do I need this much power? Is 400-450W enough?

3. AMD 3700+ San Diego CPU.

4. Corsair Value Ram 2x1gb. Ram is cheap but maybe I dont need this much.

5 Seagate 250gb HD Sata (I might add second HD later).
a. Is this to big? Would a 120GB or so be better and add a second one?

6. NEC 3550 DVD burner.

7. EVGA 7800GT (516 model) video card.
a. Really thought about 6800GS at first since i will upgrade this in less than a
year. If the 7800GT was way over $300 probably go with 6800gs but at
$299 for the 7800GT it is too tempting.

8. Sound card??? I am only using a 2.1 system so I dont want to spend a lot.
a. Do I even need one?
b. Is the Soundblaster Live 24 bit good enough or do I need an Audigy?

Now what I am really struggling with is picking a Motherboard. I am looking for a rock solid stable, good parts on board, excellent build quality. I would like firewire, but I do have a firewire card I could use. I have thought about the ASUS A8N-E, Epox Ultra, even the new Asus A8R-MVP. I dont plan to SLI, but if i need to get an SLI board to get the build quality I will.

So if you folks would check my list for any change suggestions and help me pick a Motherboard I will greatly appreciate it.

 

[Meuge]

Eh... Drop the SD and get an X2 3800. Unless you're going to go DC, there is no sense gettiing anything above a venice 3200.
Don't worry about the sound card. If you get an EPoX 9NPA+ Ultra, you get pretty decent sound, with digital in/out.

I like Samsung hard drives for the fact that they're cheap and quiet.

Consider the Antec P180 for the case.

 

[seymourman]

So you would recommend the EPoX 9NPA+ Ultra board for my need?
Can I get by with a slightly less power supply. I still want a quality unit but if it will
save some cash I might consider it.

 

[Meuge]

Yes, I'd recommend the Epox. As far as power goes, an Antec TruePower 2.0 dual-rail one... 500W is a bit under $100.

 

[seymourman]

The X2 3800 is out of my budget for now. I have thought about a 3200 venice now and then swap out to a Dual Core next year when they drop in price. But I wasnt sure why kind of a performance drop I would get.

Thanks for the Epox recommendation.

 

[Mogadon]

Seasonic make great PSU's. This 430W will do you fine, although if you feel like you need/want a little more this 500W is great, though a little more expensive.

Antec TPII's are good as well though ...

I think those two PSU's will have issues with cable length in the P180 case, check out the Lian-Li case too, they're pretty neat.

 

[fire400]

i would go for a seasonic, that way you don't have to listen to your whining PSU

if you're not going to be running that much, I doubt you would notice the difference between 1gig vs 2gigs of ram. you could find a 7800 card for 350 bucks.