Making the Purchase !!!!!

[neilt]

Ok, after 7 months of research, I am purchasing my new system! I would like to post the specs, for any last opinions before I click the 'checkout' button.

Processor: Pentium 4 640 - 3.2ghz, 2mb cache, 64 bit, HT support
Motherboard: Asus P5LD2 i945 chipset, DDR2, Raid, PCIex
RAM: 2 GB Corsair Value Select PC-4200, DDR2, 533mhz, 2x1 dual chan.
Hard Drives: 2 - 74GB Western Digital Raptors, Sata, 10,000 rpm (raid 0)
Video Card: EVGA E-Geforce 6800GS, 256MB DDR3, 256 bit, PCIex
Power Supply: Antec Truepower 2.0, 550W
Sound Card: M-Audio 2496 - 24 bit/96k, semi pro studio
Speakers: M-Audio Studiophile LX4 2.1 nearfield monitors
Case: Thermaltake Soprano -- Silver (or black)
Accessories: Arctic Silver Thermal Compound 3.5 grams
Logisys CLK12BL2 12" Dual Blue Cold Cathode Kit

Question: This power supply is on sale for $112. That seems cheap. Should I be looking at different one? I really am bugeted to the max.

For anyone who comments on the 2 raptor drives, I have intended this, as I will be using the system for audio recording (and some gaming), and hard drive read/write speed has always been my bottleneck, and SCSI is too expensive. I'll use my current IDE drive as a backup drive.

Thank-you!

Oh, I should add, I have already purchased:
Acer 1715 LCD monitor
LG DVD/RW dual layer burner
APC 500va ups (not quite enough va than I would like, but its better than none, I won't plug in my new baby without one!)

[Elwood]

I just built a system using some of your same componets and I am very happy with them. I can vouch for the CPU, MoBo & RAM. I did order a cooler to put on the CPU b/c it was running a little hot on me. But it could have been my install too b/c I didn't do a very good job the 1st time.

With my Zalman 9500, I have no concerns now.

good luck

[saphalline]

Ok, wow! Two 74GB Raptors in RAID 0, huh? You ever seen those suckers fly!? I've heard that WinXP installs in 10 minutes flat! :D While that would be overkill for me, I'll not deny you your peace of mind. ;)

The Arctic Silver, however, deserves some deliberation. It's handy to have around, but it shouldn't really be used for the stock HSF unit. That has a thermal pad on it, and you should use that. Less work. If, however, you would like to pick your own cooler, get the OEM version of that CPU, keep the AS 5, and pick out a different cooler. Zalman gets the nod around here as several members now swear by them. And of course I always recommend them.

With no SLI, and without tons of drives, you can safely drop down to a 500W power supply if you want. Maybe the SmartPower SP-500 or something. That will be plenty.

[neilt]

No, I've never seen the Raptor in operation, but a guy at work has 2 of the 36gb Raptors in Raid 0, and he had some amazing things to say. I'm quite excited about the whole thing. It's been 6 years since I've bought a new computer. Last time it was a Celery 500, and the unit cost me more than What I just purchased. Plus it didn't do what I needed it to do until I upgraded the cpu and HD.
I did order the AS 5, but am a little reluctant to use it, as I'm also concerned about voiding the warranty right away. I'll probably just put the stuff away for future use. I'll be paying close attention to the temps at start.
With the purchase of the CPU and Ram, I qualified for a Seagate Barracuda 80gb hard drive for $19.99. Awesome! So, that will be my backup/storage drive. Plus I know I've got plenty of power with the p/s, also for future upgrades.

Thank-you to Saphalline, Elwood, Classicsoftware and others to pitched in to answer my questions, and help me to decide on exactly what I want in a computer in my price range !!