New PC possibility, Is this worth it? Options

[Bargod]

OK, is this worth it or not?

AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor
3 gb ddr2 mem
500 gb SATA II hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE
18x DVD r/rw supermulti drive featuring labelflash
vista home premium
8-channel high def audio
high performance 15-1 digital media card reader

Total-
$549.99


Possible drawback....

It's a Gateway

What do you guys think?

[Old Man Mike]

Bar,

I've been watching as you consider and select your components. I think that process is one of the most enjoyable parts of building your own computer. You won't believe how satisfying it is to see it boot up for the first time. Anyway, take your time and enjoy it. Look at how your selections have evolved during the last week. When you just can't see a better value trade for any component, pull that trigger.

Old Man Mike

[)--S@B0T-->]

Bar,

I've been watching as you consider and select your components. I think that process is one of the most enjoyable parts of building your own computer. You won't believe how satisfying it is to see it boot up for the first time. Anyway, take your time and enjoy it. Look at how your selections have evolved during the last week. When you just can't see a better value trade for any component, pull that trigger.

Old Man Mike

Hi BG!

Mike's advice here is right on. You have come from considerations of purchasing manufactured rigs that you would have been very disappointed with, to researching each piece and part of a custom built machine. Great Job!

I'm glad to hear you have a friend that has some knowledge, as well as, parts and pieces to help you. That's good to know.

Mule brings up a good point that once you receive all your parts and start assembling, if you have ANY questions or don't feel something is going as you believe it should don't hesitate to bring it up. For the most part building a machine is a pretty straight forward process, however, there are times when the instructions are very vague and a little advice can help a lot.

Some things to remember before you start:

Make sure you have discharged ALL static electricity from your body before touching any components! I usually unpack the case first and always touch it before handling any parts. You can get a grounding strap at radio shack for a coupla bucks that hooks to your wrist and clips to the case, etc. Most likely you will be fine just be sure you touch the case before starting. Winter time is especially bad for static electricity build up, as we all know, and you can FRY a video card or a motherboard component just by touching it, so be careful.

Have a work area that affords good lighting and room to work. (kitchen table, garage work bench, etc.) Have a flashlight handy, small phillips screwdriver, small pair of pliers, etc.

When building don't get distracted. Trying to cook dinner, or watch a young one and build at the same time is asking for trouble. Try to build it when you can focus all your attentions on the task at hand. OH, and from experience here....wait to start drinking until AFTER you have windows loaded. LOL.

If you happen to be out and about you might pick up some thermal grease or "heatsink compound". Your fan/heatsink comes with heatsink compound installed, but sometimes you might find yourself having to remove the fan/heatsink assembly for one reason or another. In that case, you will have to clean the old compound off completely and add some new. You can find this compound at Radio Shack or I even saw some at Office Depot. It's very inexpensive ( I think it was about $4.00 for a tube) and a little bit goes a long way. Just make sure to cover the entire top of the processor with a thin layer before re-installing the heatsink. As Mule mentioned, the Intel fan/heatsink is a bit of a pain to get installed the first time so having some of this stuff around won't hurt.

Now, if you haven't already, get those parts on the way!! I am soo excited for you! Congratulations on making it this far! I look forward to hearing about your build as you go and if I can help you at anytime don't hesitate to holler! Best of luck to you, Chris.