new micro atx build

[shortround]

Hi all,

I'm doing my first build and fell in love with this micro case and put together some parts to hopefully fit.

Aspire X-Qpack2 (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3556612&csid=_21)

Intel DG35EC Motherboard (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3797456&sku=I69-2168)

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 Processor (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4089662&sku=CP1-DUO-Q8200)

Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2 Ram (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4631346&sku=C13-6084)

Seagate Barracuda 1TB Harddrive (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4131881&sku=TSD-1000AS2)

LG Blu-ray Disc Reader with DVD Writer (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4304040&CatId=3634)

EVGA GeForce 9400 GT Video Card (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4111744&sku=E145-9402)

So what do you all think? Are these parts even compatible? My uses for the PC would be mainly watching media, very light (if any) gaming, and music, nothing too resource-heavy that I can think of now. I'm also worried that the video card is too low-end, and also I haven't decided on a soundcard, would it be plain wrong to go with the built-in one? Cooling is also an issue, I'm not sure if I need a fan for the motherboard, or anything else. thanks for all the help!

[The Wise Monkey]

Everything looks great. :)

Onboard sound has impoved dramatically in recent years, so there is nothing wrong with going with the built-in stuff.

That graphics card should be great for what you are going to be doing, but you could upgrade to a ATI 4650 or 9500GT which would offer better performance in games.

[shortround]

thanks for the input! i've been using an on-board soundcard since 2002 (my current comp is 7 years old, haha) and have had no issues really.

what do you think of cooling, will i need a CPU or mobo fan do you think?

[The Wise Monkey]

Your CPU will come with a heatsink and fan and you should definitely use them. Your motherboard will have its own cooling built in i.e. a heatsink, so you don't need to worry about that either.

Just out of interest, what are you planning to do with your old PC?

[shortround]

the harddrive i'll take out and make into an external drive, i'll salvage the ram upgrade i put in a while back (a stick of ddr2 512mb), and the ethernet adapter i'll use in the new computer. other than those parts, the rest i guess just goes to the garbage or something. any other suggestions for it?

[The Wise Monkey]

Well, you could always sell it, or turn it into a home server of some kind, like a Network Attached Storage server for all your media. Just because it is 7 years old doesn't mean that it is useless. :)

If XP seems a bit much for it, try one of the various Linux distributions such as Ubuntu or openSUSE, as these usually have lower required specs than XP.

If you don't fancy doing any of that, then there are plenty of charities that take old computers and send them out to third world countries.

I'm not trying to force you to do anything, its just that there is always something that can be done with older PCs, and few people ever decide to go with it. :)

[shortround]

i didn't think of turning it into a storage server, and i was actually just gonna dump it, but the storage as well as charity options sound great, thanks for your help right from the start of this thread! i've also made a few changes to the build, and might make a few others, so i hope you keep your eye on this thread bumping up a few more times, hehe

[The Wise Monkey]

No worries, I'm always around and about. :)

Good luck with the build - let us know if you run into any problems.