Building a New SFF PC

[Skoodog]

I apologize if this thread is loaded:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for: Gaming, storing my movies/games/MP3s, room HTPC (TV hookup may not be possible as our provider is DirecTV from my limited research - additional thoughts on this are very much wanted)

2. What YOUR budget is: I want to stay between $750-$800

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from: US - additionally, would LIKE to have parts from outside CA (to save on sales tax)

4. Brand preference: Nominal preference for nVidia and Seagate - no prefs as to AMD or Intel. I also want to use a SFF cube - i'm looking mainly at Shuttle cases but i'm open to others as long as it's affordable.

5. Current parts: Logitech KB/Mouse, 5.1 Speakers (old Logitech ones but they all work), legal copies of XP and XP Media Center

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads: No thread research but have put together a spec budget (all newegg products/prices) and want to know where I can cut:

Spec Budget:

Monitor - <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824112011"> SCEPTRE X24WG-1080P
</a> - $339.99

Looking for a solid 24" monitor - liked that this one was generally attractive plus a high native res.

Case/Mobo - Shuttle SN68SG2 AMD Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 7025 2 x 240Pin GeForce 7 Series glamor small form factor Black XPC Barebone - $199.99
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - $87
GPU - ASUS EN8800GT/G/HTDP/512M GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - $134.99 AR

<<<(really need advice as too if this GPU will fit in the case - I've heard they are big)

RAM - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - $48
Tuner Card - Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 1101WB NSTC/ATSC/QAM/FM Tuner (White Box) PCI Interface - $79.99
HD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - 64.99

Grand Total (after tax/shipping) - $1101.91 ($300 over budget)

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds: Depends on temperatures.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it: ASAP - in the month of June

Thanks for your help!

EDIT: Added links and formatting.

 

[Skoodog]

Bump

 

[Skoodog]

how do i get people to post to my questions?

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Skoodog
how do i get people to post to my questions?

By being patient. When you first posted and first replied, most people were either in school or at work. Also, not everyone visits here even daily.

As for answering your questions, here are a couple...

I don't think you'd be able to do a decent complete system with a 24" monitor for $800, as the monitor will eat up a good 1/3 of that budget. If you drop to a 22" monitor you can easily knock $100 off, and more if you find one on sale.

If you're going to be storing movies/games/MP3s, then you'll want a hard drive bigger than 250GB. You can get a Seagate 500GB for around $80, $15 more for 2x the capacity. Seagate 750GB occasionally goes for around $110-120.

You can get by with cheaper RAM if you need to shave a couple bucks off.

Another way to shave a couple bucks off is to give up on the Shuttle mini system and get a micro ATX mini tower plus a separate motherboard. This can save $50 or more.

Depending on what games you play, you may be able to get by with a cheaper card like a 9600GT or 8800GS, which will save you a few bucks. You can even find 8800GTS 320MB cards for cheap. Last week a vendor (check Hot Deals) was selling them for $80 plus shipping.

You can also go with used parts, especially on the video card. Lots of people have been getting rid of older 320MB and 640MB 8800GTS cards. Just look for a good deal on those and you may get lucky.

If you really, really can't get yourself to cut back on your monitor size or the Shuttle mini system, then you'll just have to save up some more money.

 

[Skoodog]

Awesome! Thanks - this was exactly what I was looking for!

And sorry about being fussy - I'm used to people trolling forums all day from some of the other forums I visit.

EDIT: Also real quick - I asked in my OP whether you think that the vid card i linked to will fit in a Shuttle case - temps don't look like they'd be a problem but the size looks like it could conflict with the CPU fan.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Skoodog
the vid card i linked to will fit in a Shuttle case

The video card you choose will NOT fit in the case you choose. The only Shuttle systems that can handle cards like that are the ones that use the "P2" chassis. On Newegg I only see the SX38P2-Pro at $430 and the SP35P2V2 at $370. Also, when using a card like that in the P2 chassis, you won't be able to use the PCI slot for a TV tuner.

The alternative of course is to get a card that uses a single slot cooler. However, you will definately want to crank up the fan to keep it cool enough.

Alternately, you can mod the case to allow for the fan (or more air to come in) like this or like this.

 

[Skoodog]

XFX GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - Alpha Dog Edition
Would something like that be a better fit or will i still need to get the P2 chassis for this?

Thanks again for your help!

EDIT: Also want to squeeze this bluray/HDDVD combo drive into it, if I have the budget.