Total noob building the box

[godra]

Planning to buy the following parts, probably today:
Lian Li PC-60APLUSII W, 2x80mm + 2x120mm, $156 shipped, or
Gigabyte GZ-XA1CA-STS Poseidon, 2x120mm, $90 shipped

Corsair HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe
ASRock 775Dual-VSTA LGA 775 VIA PT880 PRO
ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT2
WD Raptor 74GB, 16MB SATA
SAMSUNG 18X SATA DVD Burner

The remaining components from my old computer are:
ATI X800XL AGP
CORSAIR XMS SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) 1.5GB

1. Lian Li has better cooling, but Poseidon is almost silent, etc... Any opinions on the case selection?
2. Any obstruction among PC-60APLUSII W, CNPS9500 and ASRock 775Dual-VSTA?

Any recommendation would be highly appreciated!

 

[engiNURD]

In general, I like the quality of Lian-Li over most other brands. Though, the PC-7APlus has two 120mm fans (intake/exhaust) which would be more quiet than a 120mm intake, 80mm rear exhaust, 120mm side fan, and 80mm top fan (the 80mm fans will make it louder than the PC7).

I don't know if there will be any problems with that board/psu/hsf combo, but I think you'll be fine.

One question though, why such an expensive PSU? The 520W model is more than enough for a system such as the one you listed. I'd even suggest goin with the XClio 500W Goodpower instead. The Sunbeam NUUO 550W is also a nice choice for its price tag. Though, the 500W Ultra FAR from Fry's would even suffice. It looks like you're planning for a mobo/vidcard upgrade "soon," but I'm not sure. What are your plans with this machine?

For $700+, you could probably get better combination of parts. FYI, the E4300 would be easier to OC with that board, since it only reaches 300Mhz FSB; 9 * 300 = 2.7Ghz. While the 8x multi of the E6400 will only give you 8 * 300 = 2.4Ghz... if you plan on OC'ing at all. And since these chips have so much headroom, I just assumed you would OC.

 

[godra]

Enginurd,
Thanks for your prompt reply and sound advice. Yesterday I had to deal with unexpected family situation, so it was no net for me.

This new build is supposed to be a rejuvenated all-around home machine, where all of us would do our 'chores' like web browsing, CD/DVD ripping, Creative Zen:M interface, Cable TV connect (Theatre 550), video editing, limited gaming, even C/C++ coding, etc. My 4 years old Shuttle SS51 PS is easily overloaded right now, so we use a large room cooling fan when needed.

Overclocking this new build? Not to the extreme with this card but limited, like 2.4GHz with E6400 would be more then enough. Heat and noise are my concern so I plan to find a way to manually control the speed of Lian Li's 2x80mmm fans in order to silence the box, while still having some air flow by 2x80mm. If too much work, then I will go with either PC-7APlus, as you suggested, or Poseidon.

Modular cabling would help when dealing with somewhat cramped space within middle tower. 620W Corsair cost is $127 shipped and would take care of G80 and 680i MB down the road. Also, I was given a still functional SCSI 29160N controller and 2 SCSI drives (10,000RPM), external DVD R/W, external HD backup, etc. Might need all the power I can get once this mess with 680i platform is sorted out.

I might PM you in a days ahead when in trouble. Once again, thanks.

Godra

 

[thrawn86]

I've read of people having mixed results trying to OC the 775dual, but for what it is, its entirely functional.

Seconding the rec for the sunbeam nuvo, they're neat little psus for the price. I'm not sure what you'd be doing with an G80 and a 680i for compiling and dvd burning :/ ??

Also, 80mm fans and rheobuses are soo last gen. Everybody has 120mm yate-loons now, don't ya know?

fake edit: I'm confused, the pc 7A doesn't even have 80mm mounts...

 

[engiNURD]

Modular cabling would help when dealing with somewhat cramped space within middle tower. 620W Corsair cost is $127 shipped and would take care of G80 and 680i MB down the road. Also, I was given a still functional SCSI 29160N controller and 2 SCSI drives (10,000RPM), external DVD R/W, external HD backup, etc. Might need all the power I can get once this mess with 680i platform is sorted out.

I might PM you in a days ahead when in trouble. Once again, thanks.

If you're OK with the price, then go for it. Like I said, though, it is a bit overkill, even for a G80 + 680i, 2 scsi drives, etc. If your external drives have their own power, then theres no need to factor them into the PSU calculations. Even if they dont, you could keep them unplugged until the system is booted into windows, or use a powered USB hub instead. But like I said, if you're OK with the price, then its still a great choice. Feel free to PM me anytime.

fake edit: I'm confused, the pc 7A doesn't even have 80mm mounts...

I mentioned the PC7APlus... his original question was for the PC-60APLUSII, which has 2x 80mm fans in addition to a 120mm intake and 120mm sidefan.