Advice for building a new machine?

[QuintusFabius]

I'm going to be building a new system this winter as a replacement for my dell laptop-turned-desktop which has a twice broken screen, slowly dying HDD, and slowly dying USB. This'll be my first time building a computer...

My goal:
...is to build a new, and better, system on a reasonable budget. I'm hoping I can get most components at lower prices and aim for mid-range performance - perhaps splurging a bit on the CPU . Also, my current computer has the intel media accelerator 950... and I absolutely hate it. I'm not much of a gamer, but I think it has been causing the performance of special effects in gnome and of my virtual machines to suffer. I'd expect to use this system for software development, virtual machine usage, insane multi-tasking, and perhaps some video editing or gaming in the future.

What I already have:
...includes a 19" (1680x1050) screen, a usb mouse, a usb keyboard, and an external HD.

Parts I'm contemplating for the new machine:
Intel Core i5 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215)
LGA 1156 mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128405)
GeForce 9600 GT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500111)
DVD - (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827131061)
Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104953)
HDD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136098 )
Wifi (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16839121008)
4GB of DDR3 at 1333Mhz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148262)
Case (?)

Probably also some cheap external speakers. I am pretty clueless about cases and would be a little concerned about getting a case that won't fit these components or where the motherboard won't line up with the gaps in the case.

What I'd really like to know from you:
> What do I need to know about cases? Will any "micro-ATX" case work?
> Are there any compatability problems with the parts above? I tried to be sure that the CPU would work with the motherboard and that the motherboard had the slots needed for the other components...
> Is everything compatible with ubuntu? I'd like to do an XP/Karmic dual-boot. It looked like the GPU had drivers for linux upon my brief research...
> Will the Power Supply I've selected be enough? The GPU recommended 400W, but could other components put it over? The PS also said 400W "max", so perhaps 400W consistantly would overtax it...
> Is there any other good advice to be given? My inexperience in this area could use your illumination!

Thanks!

[-jay-]

depends on what your budget is also for a tower look under any of these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e&Order=RATING

[QuintusFabius]

depends on what your budget is also for a tower look under any of these

The tower is not something i'd like to invest much in - definitely something under $50 - but I don't want something poorly built or lacking either. I just don't need any bells and whistles.

So will any micro-ATX case work for me? What about the differences in the ports available from the case?

[cascade9]

Pretty much any Micro-ATX case should be fine. Ports vary, some cases have front mounted audio, USB, firewire, some of them dont have any front ports. I find micro-atx cases a little tight to work on, and tend to have heat buildup problems faster than a full ATX, and some of them have very odd layouts. If I really wanted a micro-ATX case I'd probably go for something like this-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-088-_-Product

BTW, to see what I mean by odd layouts, check the difference between these two cases-

http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=27
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6056

BTW, why an IDE DVD drive? I'd go SATA, probably this one-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118031

[QuintusFabius]

Okay. I was looking at that exact case based on the link provided by jay. Unless you think I will have serious trouble fitting those components into the microATX, the smaller form factor seems like it would be more manageable once it's assembled. I don't plan to make many changes; once i'm done, I'll be done for a while. Are there any advantages to the larger cases outside of more working room and increased heat dispersion? Any specific case you'd recommend?

What are your thoughts on the Power Supply I picked out? I have no idea how to gauge the wattage I'll need when it's all combined and I've heard a few stories about cheap or insufficient power supplies causing strange anomalies down the road that were a pain to track down. I want to be sure I get the right PS from the start.

Edit: Oh, I didn't notice the IDE vs SATA distinction there I guess. I'll definitely purchase the SATA drive.

[cascade9]

Apart from heat issues, and being slightly more difficult to work with, the micro-ATX cases are fine. Well, you wont fit a huge video card in there there, but with your chosen video card thats not a problem.

As for the power supply, to be honest, I've never even heard of FSP. I'd probably spend a few extra shekels and get a silverstone ST400 or a corsair CPMSU-400. I _think_ they are the same supply, just corsair rebadges the silverstone PSU, but I dont have any real proof of that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817256032
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139008

I think 400watts should be fine for your system, but if you really worried, maybe a 430 or 500watt unit?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151057
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151080

Honestly, I would go for the 430watt version, they are great power supplies. (but only get it if your really worried, I dont think you need it, but better to spend a bit more than to worry IMO) BTW, neat review of he 430 here-

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article802-page1.html

[QuintusFabius]

Thanks for the advice and links! I'm not 100% sure between the 400W PSU with the rebate (if it works that is really a ton cheaper!) or the 430W. I liked that review of the 430W PSU and the fact that several reviewers seemed to have a similar power consumption profile. I'll keep pondering I suppose.

Is the price for memory above good these days? I recently bought 1 stick of 2GB (200-pin, DDR2, SODIMM) memory for my samsung NC10 netbook and it cost me only around $20-$25. I'm curious why the cheapest I can find 4GB was for $80; and most 6GB bundles I saw were more like $140. Is it the speed difference? I doubt my netbook's memory was 1333MHz. I should get memory at least as fast as the cpu's FSB for best performance... correct?

[QuintusFabius]

Also, will I need additional fan(s) for this case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119088)? It says it supports 3 additional fans, but is one or two enough? Are any additional fans really necessary? The PSU and CPU will each have their own local fans...

[mivo]

I'm not so fond of the 9600 GT. I haven't checked US prices, but if you can get a 8800 GTX or even GTS cheaper than the 9600 GT, I would go for one of those.

400W seems on the low side, I would definitely try for more here, especially if it is a cheaper PSU. I also prefer larger cases (just bought a Midgard chassis for a new box and loving it) for the better air circulation and the space for comfortable upgrades and changes. The latter is personal preference, though.

[cascade9]

Thanks for the advice and links! I'm not 100% sure between the 400W PSU with the rebate (if it works that is really a ton cheaper!) or the 430W. I liked that review of the 430W PSU and the fact that several reviewers seemed to have a similar power consumption profile. I'll keep pondering I suppose.

Is the price for memory above good these days? I recently bought 1 stick of 2GB (200-pin, DDR2, SODIMM) memory for my samsung NC10 netbook and it cost me only around $20-$25. I'm curious why the cheapest I can find 4GB was for $80; and most 6GB bundles I saw were more like $140. Is it the speed difference? I doubt my netbook's memory was 1333MHz. I should get memory at least as fast as the cpu's FSB for best performance... correct?

Hmm..the difference between those power supplies is this-

Silverstone ST-400- > 70 Efficiency, 1 year warranty.
Corsair CMPSU-400CX- 80+ Efficiency, 3 year warrany.
Seasonic M12 II- 80+ Efficiency, 5 year warranty, modular.

The 6GB kits are triple channel, i7 only. You can only run dual-channel with the i5. No idea on why you got the SO-DIMM so cheap, but sometimes you get lucky. Things work without being able to run 1:1 memory:FSB, but its always best to have RAM rated at least for your FSB.

For myself, I would probably get an extra case fan or two. Probably a slow 120mm (front) and 80mm (back). True, your CPU will have a fan, but since it doesnt exit the case the heat can go round and round, building up. The PSU fan works, but you get better flow from having a few slow fans. Besides that, the layout of that case is 'CPU bottom'. Normally the CPU is at the 'top' of the motherboard, close to the PSU, but since that case has the video card in between the CPU and the PSU it make the heat merry-go-round effect worse.

@ mivo- Ha, 8800s? Long gone. 9800s are still around,a nd might _just_ be in the price range of QuintusFabius, but if your not a big gamer....why bother? More heat, more power consumption, and no difference in desktop use. Besdies that, those are big cards, and I'm not even sure how well they will fit into that case (looks like they should but I havent checked).

BTW, people way over estimate power consumption. Have a look here-

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coo...m-wattage.html