Last Minute Advice

[chunkylover53]

The list is complete (per much of the advice from this group), the parts are in and I'm about ready to get going on this rig:

Already had:
Dell 24in. UltraSharp 2407WFP-HC (1920 x 1200) Monitor
Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mini Tower ATX Case
2x 1GB, Ballistix 240-pin DIMM, DDR2 PC2-6400 Memory
Windows XP Home

Per everyone's recommendations:
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W PSU
ASUS P5KC LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor
ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler
WD Caviar SE16 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
LG Super Multi 18x SATA GSA-H62NK DVD Burner
EVGA GeForce 8600GT 512MB 512-P2-N757-TR GPU (I'm not a gamer)

Two last minute questions:
1) I'm starting to second guess is the CPU cooler. I know you said the cooler that comes with the Q6600 would be fine, but I went a little crazy at the last minute and bought one (with a tube of Artic Silver). Should I go ahead and use it, or return it?

2) The Sonata III came with a rear fan, but the front fan is optional. Am I going to need one?

Anything else before I dive in? :confused:

[FunGus]

Hello.

I recently completed my first build and I used the same CPU. At first, I installed the CPU cooler that came with the chip but after I had formatted the hard drive and I was about to load Windows XP, the computer completely shut down. I was afraid that it was a heat issue so I went ahead and installed a ZALMAN CNPS9500 that I had purchased as a "back up". I never confirmed if my problem was heat related but everything is working fine and it has never shut down again.

My only regret is not installing the ZALMAN from the very beginning. I wound up having to remove almost everything due to the mounting mechanism.

[RickyTick]

You've got it right there. It's paid for. If you have room for it, and it doesn't interfere with your cable management, I say go ahead and use it. You might want to do a little overclocking somewhere down the road, and you'll be ready.