New Rig... cheap! cheap! Says the bird! :P

[yurimxpxman]

That's a really pretty case, and a heckuva deal! Strangely enough, I was unable to find it on NewEgg 0_o

I'm gonna look for a PSU to go with it. Thanks for the link! :D

What do you guys think of this PSU for my build? It doesn't have a lot of power, but it should be enough for now, right? And what do you guys generally think of Thermaltake PSUs? I've never used one before, though I understand Thermaltake is a good company in general.

Here's a compilation of all the parts changes now. (Switched case and PSU and Rich may be sending me a mobo to review)

DVD-RW: Lite-on Black 16x - $28.99

RAM: Corsair 1GB Value DDR2 667 - $101.40

GFX: eVGA 7300GT 256MB PCI-E x16 - $69.99

CPU: x2 3800+ - $157.99

Case: Enermax Black with window - $19.95

PSU: Thermaltake 350W - $32.99

Headset: Sennheiser w/ mic 9.8ft cable - $35.99

Total without motherboard:

• $447.30

Total with Gigabyte GA-M55SLI-S4 sAM2 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI motherboard:

• $530.29

[screwballl]

I am a newegg junkie myself but still keep an eye on a few other places for good deals. Typically newegg, zipzoomfly, weirdstuff and geeks.com.
The case is nice, I did have the mobo and parts in a cheap coolmax white case but I saw that Enermax one day and went ahead and ordered it, $35 after shipping. It is good for a cooler running system or easily modded to your liking. I have my Athlon64 3000+ system in there now and it is much easier to get around in that one (as it is about 2" longer than the standard cheapo cases). It has one rear 80mm fan port and I think there may be one in the front but I didn't look close enough or need a front fan for this cool running system.

[One4yu2c]

Thermaltake units are okay; their higher end units fare pretty decent, but in all honesty, I wouldn't touch that 350w PSU. It's only spec'd for 15A on the +12V rail, which can be doable for a budget system, but far from ideal. And any kind of upgrade path will likely require a power supply upgrade.

At that price point, you'd do well to check out some Antec, Enermax, and Fortron units. Fortron particulary has a few budget models with nice bang/buck ratios. Some examples:

Fortron 350w, 15A@+12V1, 15A@+12V2 - $37 shipped
Fortron 400w, 18A+12V1, 18A+12V2 - $44 shipped
Fortron 400w, 18A@+12V1, 16A+12V2, PCI-E Connector - $49 shipped

If it's an option, what I'd really recommend is increasing the budget a bit on the PSU and just pick up a downright solid unit.

[yurimxpxman]

It looks like it'd be perfect for me. I'm glad you saw that ;) What do you think of the PSU I chose?

<edit>

Paul, you really think the last 50w would make a huge difference?

</edit>

[screwballl]

I agree with One4 on the PSU issue, I would go for the $49 of those mentioned

[yurimxpxman]

hmm... The PCI-E connector is not something that crossed my mind before. I don't think I'll need it with this particular card though, would I? My x550 is probably comparable to this one, and it doesn't require extra voltage.

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by yurimxpxman

<edit>

Paul, you really think the last 50w would make a huge difference?

</edit>

Most likely not, but the major thing you want to focus on is addressing the +12V deficiency, which any of the above linked Fortrons accomplish.

[yurimxpxman]

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

Most likely not, but the major thing you want to focus on is addressing the +12V deficiency, which any of the above linked Fortrons accomplish.

So you think it'd be ok to go with the 350w Fortron then?

[screwballl]

looking at this image at newegg here
http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...130-052-03.jpg
it doesn't show the need for the PCI-E connector BUT you never know when it may be needed in the future.

[One4yu2c]

It *should* be, though if you have $7 to spare, it'd buy a bit of peace of mind.