$1500 Build Advice

[Richard1]

I hope it's okay to start a new thread, even though I'm still on the subject of building a computer, since the title of my old thread '$1300 Build' no longer applies.

After more research, advice from this forum and elsewhere, and a decision to increase my budget I have made the following changes. In answer to questions, I chose a case and assume I will go SLI later. I heeded suggestions to add cooling and that a 3500+ CPU was more bang-for-buck than 3200+. I'd really appreciate any input.

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 512K 90nm Rev. E Venice
DFI Lan Party NForce4 SLI-DR Motherboard
MSI GeForce 6600GT 128 MB Video Card
Haven't decided on 2x512 Ram. Please help.
Seagate (ST3200826AS) 200 GB/7200rpm/8mb
Thermaltake VA3000BWA Tsunami Dream Case
Antec True550 PSU
Pioneer DVR-109BK Dual-Layer DVD
Thermaltake A1772 Heat Sink Fan
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition w/SP2

1. Anyone disagree with any changes?
2. Is everything still compatible?
3. I understand ram isn't critical unless you overclock. I have never done this, but will certainly at least try it, and may decide it's my nirvana. Assuming moderate overclocking, what OCZ, Corsair, or Patriot ram do you suggest?
4. Would I be okay with the Thermaltake A1838 fan, which doesn't cool as much, but is quieter?
5. It appeared all the GeForce 6600GT cards were about the same. MSI was among the lower prices. Anyone have a reason to suggest another?
6. Any thoughts on the change from the NEC3520a burner to Pioneer? Anything better without being much more expensive?

THANKS VERY MUCH FOR HELPING WITH THIS IMPORTANT DECISION!

 

[jac006]

1. no, looks good to me.
2. yes, all should be compatible.
3. no, i would totally get the 1 gb. it puts ahead of all of the usual speed predictions and gains, etc. ull thank me, trust me. get a gig. ocz and corsair are really good. or geil. kingston is alright. but ocz is no.1 for me.
4. well, considering u dont have an fx and a 6800 ultra, ur fine. quiet is nice.
5. no, the 6600 is a good choice.
6. poineer is good. im glad u made the choice. stick with it. lol, yeha.

 

[TRDCorolla1]

MSI 6600GT are pretty popular. The techs where I work were impressed by the video cards performance. As far as memory goes, get the Corsair XMS and not the Value one.

Good choice on CPU. Intel apparently is out. Blah, old news. They are losing the dual core war and people have just lost interest with Intel. Thermal isssues and just too darn expensive. AMD has value and performance all rolled into one.