Quote from NudeRaider
I think you consciously decided against it, but I will mention it just in case: You got no SSD therefore desktop performance will suffer.
I saw your replies after I updated the build, but reading about it makes it seem pretty flaky, with the benefit from the SSD really depending on the manufacturer and model. I saw some with reviews that put them at being barely faster than an HDD, and other which had significant failure rates. I asked about what specific models they know to be good, but no one could recommend any. I also know the recipient has no experience with an SSD, and I don't either, and the prospect of the drive failing and resulting in complete and unrecoverable data loss is a bit intimidating.
I think I'll be more comfortable with them after they've been around longer and have undergone more improvements, and which ones are superior are well-known and well-tested, but at the moment it doesn't seem that the risk and cost is worth the benefit, at least not to a casual user.
Quote from Roy
I don't think you need an aftermarket cooler unless you're planning to overclock the CPU. If you're gonna get the CM Hyper, you'll need some thermal paste to put it on the CPU, because it doesn't come with paste.
Looks like you're getting 16GB of RAM, which is overkill for this build. You should save the $40 and only get 8GB; you can always easily upgrade RAM later (and possibly find an amazing deal on it given enough time), but chances are you won't even need to do that with what this computer is going to be used for.
I'm not sure on XFX for the PSU, but if Ex is fine with suggesting it, it's most likely fine (he knows more than I do).
Looks like you're getting 16GB of RAM, which is overkill for this build. You should save the $40 and only get 8GB; you can always easily upgrade RAM later (and possibly find an amazing deal on it given enough time), but chances are you won't even need to do that with what this computer is going to be used for.
I'm not sure on XFX for the PSU, but if Ex is fine with suggesting it, it's most likely fine (he knows more than I do).
Alright, I dropped 8GB of RAM and the cooler. I figured more is better but I'll take your word for it that it won't make a difference The reviews on that processor seem to indicate it runs very cool, even overclocked (which it won't be), so I guess that shouldn't be an issue.
By the way, will these parts come with all the screws/cables necessary to install them?