Rating a build

[DiverDave]

I'm thinking about building a new system to replace my old T-bird .
I've been doing a fair bit of research and reading advice and am now looking at the following step up. This will be a general purpose computer, needs to be stable and long lasting (I expect 3-5 years out of my systems). I would love to see the price of memory drop before I buy but I'm not sure it will before next year. I am interested in the DX10 cards but I believe I can easily wait a year or more so I think a fairly good card is a better option. Finally I might do some mild O/C but nothing crazy so I am planning to not buy anything to add significant cooling. Oh budget is about $1500 but will need to include OS and probably I'll have to buy business software (word/excel at least). Am I missing anything? Any and all suggests are welcome.

Thanks

Update COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: CAC-T05-WW

Update GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-965P-DS3
Item #: N82E16813128012

Update SAPPHIRE 100189L Radeon X1900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 (RoHS) CrossFire Video Card - Retail
Model #: 100189L
Item #: N82E16814102022

OR

Update eVGA 256-P2-N615-TX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: 256-P2-N615-TX
Item #: N82E16814130062

Update ENERMAX Whisper II EG565P-VE FMA(24P) ATX12V 535W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: EG565P-VE FMA(24P)
Item #: N82E16817103512

Update Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6400
Item #: N82E16819115004

Update Patriot Signature Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model PSD22G667K - Retail
Model #: PSD22G667K
Item #: N82E16820220064

Update Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3320620AS
Item #: N82E16822148140

Update LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/LightScribe and 5X DVD-RAM Write Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SHM-165H6S - Retail
Model #: SHM-165H6S
Item #: N82E16827106015

 

[Boyo]

I like the update version better, although I would get a better video card.

 

[YoungGun21]

Go with that X1900GT over the 7600GT because it performs way better. Go for the X1900XT for like $240 if you can.

Everything looks good to me

 

[akshayt]

1900XT 512mb.

Asus P5B

Core 2 Duo E6400 is allendale.

 

[DiverDave]

I won't be running on a big screen (will probably keep my existing monitor 19" CRT) so I don't think 512M buys me much

If the E6400 is not a Conroe, tell Newegg. That is a cut and paste from their website

Is the 1900XT worth the extra $50?

 

[Skott]

Its an Allendale but everyone refers to them as Conroes. Just a naming game Intel likes to use. Allendales have 2mb cache and Conroes have 4Mb cache. thats the main difference. For all pratical purposes they are all Conroes. At least in my eyes. ::shrug::

 

[DiverDave]

Anyone got a good feel on whether or not RAM prices are likely to drop anytime in the near future?

 

[DiverDave]

I'm getting closer to deciding on this. Currently I have:

Update COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Update GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail


Update eVGA 512-P2-N573-AR Geforce 7900GTO 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail


Update ENERMAX Whisper II EG565P-VE FMA(24P) ATX12V 535W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: EG565P-VE FMA(24P)

Update Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail

Update pqi TURBO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PQI25400-2GDB - Retail

Update Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Update LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/LightScribe and 5X DVD-RAM Write Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SHM-165H6S - Retail

Any concerns over the memory? I couldn't find if it was compatible with the MB. Some additional questions.
1. I plan to go with stock cooling. How much O/C is doable with this?
2. Do I need Arctic Silver 5 or does the retail kit for the CPU come with something equivalent.
3. Are there any concerns with using my old HD with the existing OS still on it. I'm thinking of using it as a separate enclosure rather than mounting it internally. It is an IDE and I know this MB has only 1 IDE which the DVD goes too.
4. Originally I was going to go with the X1900GT but I heard it ran very hot and the 7900GTO is much cooler (plus its 512M). Can anyone confirm?