More pics will follow soon but I wanted to talk about the hardware a little bit. I will talk about software later. I'm not really going into depth here because you guys know more than me 🤣.
Audigy 2 SB0350 sound card
It is easy on drivers, sounds good, EAX, has front panel audio connector (if you have the right connector) and it doesn't crackle/pop like a PCI X-Fi does for a lot of people, including me.
I will do some tests later to make sure I'm not crazy but I believe the headphone out through the front panel connector has a separate audio amplifier and more reverb than the green jack on the back. This is when the green jack on the back IS set to headphones in control panel.
4GB Crucial DDR 3 RAM
Most 32-bit XP can handle and it is from a company I trust.
Intel i5 3570k CPU
Fastest 1155 quad core available that isn't an i7, the price difference on the used market right now is about the same for the i5 3570k, i5 3570s and the i5 3570 so it makes sense to get this one. Even the much slower i5's aren't really that much cheaper right now. I am not planning on overclocking but might later on.
ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM R2.0 1155 motherboard
Not my first choice in brands but it will do what I need, is cheap and most importantly is still sold brand new. Not an overclockers board but that isn't a concern for me. I believe I can still use it to overclock a little if needed.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 video card
Simple, fast, good drivers, good compatibility, good DirectX 9.0, doesn't draw tremendous amounts of power, inexpensive, Tesla based, quiet. (EDIT: corrected, NOT Fermi based!)
SeaSonic SSP-450RT 450W PSU
Not fancy, good quality, will really push 450-Watts (unlike those overrated pieces of junk), not expensive, had the right amount of connectors and not too much extra cabling for a small case.
ASUS 24X DVD Burner
Whatever black, SATA DVD burner that was cheap and had good reviews
Dell 4600 case
Stealth system, very good quality case, good (not awesome) airflow, easy to work with, front panel audio for Creative sound cards.
Western Digital Black 1TB hard drive
Fast, good quality, got locally at an ok price. It works tremendously well.
Gateway 2000 Case and 200-Watt PSU
Intel SE440BX-2 Motherboard
Intel Pentium III 450 CPU
Micron 384MB SDRAM (3x128)
Compaq Voodoo3 3500 TV Graphics Card
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz Sound Card
Western Digital 7200-RPM, 8MB-Cache, 160GB Hard Drive
Windows 98 SE