Advice highly apreciated - ~$1200 gaming/internet build

[Pierdobek]

This is my 7th or so build in last 15 years. It will be AMD for the first time. I have abadoned an idea of SLI for the dual core CPU.

My friend asked me to build a system for him that he will generally use for internet and some gaming. 5-6 days a week it would be used by his wife, for internet, maybe some internet TV, DIVX watching, general surfing, some bookkeeping. 1-2 days a week (he drives a truck) he will spend his time playing games (I would guess FPS mainly).

What he needs is:

1. Having plasma TV, he would like to be able to play games and watch DIVX on it. Unluckily, it seems that he is limited to sVideo as his Pioneer PDP-4350SX supposidly doesn't have DVI or D-Sub.

2. He wants to be able to watch TV on his computer.

3. He would like to have a fancy case (side panel, some flashy LEDs).

4. Safe, silent and decent PSU and cooling.

5. He wants to run P2P software all the time.

6. He will probably want to be able to transfer stuff between his notebook (17" widescreen Toshiba) and PC. Notebook has IEEE but mobos for PC that support IEEE seem to be pricey. I guess he could stick to USB.

7. He and his wife might want to be able to use internet at the same time, which leads to wireless modem. They have Comcast cable.

8. It has to last at least few years. It's hard to say how long exactly and hard to predict too

9. Here is the build and remaining question - will it work together?
Or could it be built better for same $$?

All advice is welcome!

$56 - XION XION _ Solaris XON-406 Black with Blue LED Light Computer Case With Side Panel Window - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811208013

$83 - ENERMAX Noisetaker EG495P-VE SFMA 485W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103457

$82 - ASUS A8N5X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131569

$148 - pqi TURBO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820141227

$296 - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103562

$32 - Thermaltake RX Series CL-P0296 92mm CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835106073

$232 - Rosewill R912E Black 19" 8ms LCD Monitor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824021019

$175 - XFX Geforce 6800GS PVT42GUAD7 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150118

$88 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s 160GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148105

$40 - ASUS Black E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner With 5X DVD-RAM Write Model DRW1608P2SBLACK - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827135063

$28 - ASUS Black ATAPI DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616AG - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827135137

$15 - SONY Black Internal Floppy Drive Model MPF920 Black - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16821103116

$24 - Logitech Internet Pro Desktop Black Wired Keyboard - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16823126152

$22 - Zonet ZVC7300 WebCam - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16826508002

$46 - Leadtek TV2000XP/EXPERT TV/FM Tuner Card, REMOTE - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814122180

 

[gamerputer]

for silent cooling i'd say a Zalman 7000B or 7700 HSF. THermaltake is known for noise. You said flashing LEDs, so maybe the LED version of the zalman 7000, some cold cathode and UV reactive sleeving.

what kind of FPS does he play? if just CSS, BF2, COD2 then the 6800GS would be enough. If he wants anything mroe demanding, i'd say pay more for a AIW card that way you don't have to get a tuner separately.

you don't have to get all ASUS on the optical drives, see if you can find LIte-On's for cheaper and decide does he really need the DVD-RAM.

the rest of the system looks pretty good

 

[Pierdobek]

1. Wouldn't the stock heatsink be enough for noise and cooling?

2. No idea what he plays - probably some older FPSs. Not a hardcore gamer for sure - not too much time to do it (he drives a truck for living)

3. Asus drives were just given pretty good reviews and don't cost that much more over others. I had Lite-on in my previous build though and gal that uses it, likes it a lot.

Any idea on possible speed gain when using IEEE vs USB (PC - notebook)?

 

[unclehumjaba]

If his plasma screen is HDTV, then it's got component video in. They make s-video to component video adapters; in fact, that videocard comes with one. so dont worry about that

[img=http://images.googlee.com/images?q=tbn:7srJS56xJXmfSM:www.home-theater-accessories-resource.com/Images/Pictures/component-video-cable.jpg]

also, i'd suggest staying away from systems with lots of lights. they get really REALLY annoying if you're trying to watch a movie. aside from that, it looks good. might not be the quietest system, but if you've got a kickass sound system that wont matter.

 

[handym3000]

take a look at the ati all in wonder cards
i would also take a look at the zalman 7700 cu cooler it will be very quiet and be great for the processor

take a look at the western digital hard drives but that one you picked is great too

asus or any manufacturer will make great dirve but i like the lg drives it comes w/better software bundle w/ the drive

if your buying this plce has free shipping and i use them alot. www.zipzoomfly.com
they usually beat newegg on prices and have a lot of bundles you can buy from them to help on the cost