Need advice rebuilding a HP

[lexluker]

I am upgrading a HP with some new hardware (for Battlefield 3) and could use some input.  I have upgraded a video card, RAM and hdd before but that is it. I am planning to buy everything from newegg and nearest computer store is an hour and a half away so I want to get this right the first time.

Here is my current system:
HP Pavilion Media Center a1430n
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=1843642&dlc=en&docname=c00607960
Athlon 64 X2 (T) 3800+ 2.0 GHz
Motherboard Name: A8N-LA
 http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00647121&dlc=en
Nvdia GT 220

Items I plan to buy:
DVD-Rom
OKGEAR 24" SATA 6 Gbps Cable, Straight to Straight W/ Metal Latch, Black, Backward Compatible 3 Gbps and 1.5 Gbps

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

Power Supply (ATX12V / EPS12V)
Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7,i5" Power Supply

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3 AM3+ AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Processor
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX

Video Card
GIGABYTE GV-N56GOC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Memory
Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PGD38G1600ELK

Fan
MASSCOOL FD08025S1M4 80mm Case Fan

I think I have everything picked out correctly for the upgrade, but I just wanted some feedback from people who have done this in the past before I make the purchase. The only thing I am not sure about is the current F_PANEL connection seems to have less pins than the new board. Is that a problem?

Should I switch out one part at a time and if so what order would you recommend? Also, I will be upgrading from windows vista 32 to windows 7 64, should I do that upgrade before or after installing the new motherboard?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

[Transfusion]

I'd say you are all set-the front panel having less pins will definitely not be a problem.

[lexluker]

Thanks for taking a look.

I did think of one more question though. My monitor only goes to 1360 x 768 so would the video card I picked be overkill. The Radeon HD 6770 is quite a bit less so would the improvement be worth the $100 difference at that resolution.

[patio]

Any reason for selecting a micro-ATX board ? ?

[lexluker]

Any reason for selecting a micro-ATX board ? ?

From what I have been reading a full size ATX will not fit in the case.

[patio]

HP did not show case specs on your link...

[lexluker]

My case can't fit more than 4 expansion slots so I am pretty sure it is micro. I am trying to keep the cost down as much as I can so I don't want to switch the case if I don't have to. Plus my wife is stingy on letting my buy new computers so this is a bit of a stealth upgrade.

[patio]

i find cases on tree lawns every Sunday nite...some are pretty nice and servicable...

[Computer_Commando]

...Plus my wife is stingy on letting my buy new computers so this is a bit of a stealth upgrade...

Wife will notice different case.

[patio]

Not if it comes from a tree lawn on garbage night...

[Transfusion]

i find cases on tree lawns every Sunday nite...some are pretty nice and servicable...

Where do you live?   I live on the 20th floor in an apartment-there is a large trash can outside in which I once found a Tl-WN322G+ WiFi card that I still use daily, an external Samsung USB HDD 320 GB that had a faulty enclosure. The drive worked (and still works) fine, and 2 GB of SO-DIMM DDR2 RAM that turned out fine with Memtest86+. Nothing even close to computer cases.


I managed to convince my mother that open-air computers have a smaller footprint and that open-air lengthens the lifespan of the computer due to lower temperatures.