New System...inputs please

[Gypsy Baron]

Thanks for all those inputs, everyone. I'm currently
exploring all the options and points brought out here.
 
After incorporating the 1st round suggestions I was
still at or below the original price.

Furious, on that newegg pricing....did that include assembly & testing??
There is $80 in the MAVAE pricing for that.

SATA drives....I don't know alot about them, have been
an IDE kinda guy for years now  I'll have a look at that
option.

Hummm...your Sonata case comments and the "low noise"
input may have me back revamping the my case choice
again ( changed to another vendors 400W case )
SUPERCASE TU-150(7C523-150) BLACK MIDDLE TOWER W/400W

I changed the ram to Corsair TWINX low latency but I'll look
at the other suggestions now.

The MB choice is pretty firm as is the AIW 9600 Pro.
I need the TV tuner capability ( I have a Rage 128 AIW Pro now )
and the additional FM tuner will be a big plus. I spend
alot of time online now, in my retirement, and having that
TV window open or listening to music as I surf is a real
requirement.

I sure hope MWAVES server doesn't disconnect me before
all my final changes are made...

Once again, thanks for all the inputs!

[BB Gun]

Gypsy - the item I pointed you to was a TV/FM tuner card from LeadTek.  Not saying its better or worse, just saying if money is tight, its a viable option.  Standard 128MB  9600Pro+the leadtek Tuner is 195 bucks.  The AIW 9600Pro is 230 bucks.  Plus the advantage of, if/when you upgrade your graphics card again, you can get any one  you want, and retain the TV Tuner capability.

The TwinX bundle looks like a good choice.  The kingston bundle uses their 2 3 2 6 memory instead of the 2 2 2 6 of the single DIMM, and getting a pair of those costs the same as the 2 2 2 5 TwinX.

I'm not sure how much extra speed the SATA drives give you (its small, but measurable) but the big advantage is the small size of the cables which reduces clutter and increases internal airflow, without having to buy special rounded cables (though the Epox comes with its own set of rounded cables).

The Sonata case is nice, but if you get it, seriously consider adding a second 120 MM fan at the front to really get the air flowing freely through the case to keep your temps down. The vantec stealths work nice and are pretty dang quiet.

Oh, and thats one thing Mwave does that newegg doesn't - Assemble the systems for a fee.  Newegg is strictly a parts vendor.

BB

[qts]

Have you considered a Small Format case like a Shuttle or Biostar? NB The 9600AIW won't fit in the Shuttle, but will in the Biostar.

I've got a Shuttle and am very pleased with it.

Something else to consider is an AMD64 based system.