SFF: Help me Build One

[Oblivious]

Ok so I decided to trade in the bulky Dell tower for my self-built SFF because: 1.) Towers are huge and I like to LAN; 2.) During school, I could use the extra space in my dorm room; 3.)It's cool. So I looked around on Newegg and other places and NE seems to be the cheapest if I were to buy everything seperate. Here's what I'm looking at right now:

-Antec Aria Aluminum SFF Case w/ 300W PS $129
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-146&depa=0
-Chaintech nForce2 Ultra 400 Socket A $58
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-152-024&depa=0
-512 MB OCZ Performance Series PC3200 DDR RAM $107
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-833&depa=0
-WD 40GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive OEM $64.50
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-126&depa=0
-ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128MB $220
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10343929&loc=101&sp=1
-AMD Athlon XP 2600+ Barton 333MHz 512KB Cache
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-417&depa=0

All of this comes to just under $700 for a very decent system. I would be using this for some gaming as well as person use; that's the reason for the 9800 PRO. Only thing I'm worried about is overheating. I don't know the OCZ RAM very well and I've always been a Pentium guy. Please advise.

Oblivious

 

[Oblivious]

*bump* i'm a newb at building computers. help me out pls.

 

[Psychosylph]

Alrighty, here's an opinion, but I'll let you know ahead of time that I am biased toward Shuttles...

Anyway, that case looks like a big waste of space. It's a monster sized cube and does not seem to have space for many drives, especially for as big as it is. It's nice that it will take a micro-ATX board, but that seems to be it's only advantage. If I were you, I would go with an SN45G, by Shuttle. Smaller, but seems to have the same expansion options minus two PCI slots. Of course, the motherboards are proprietary... (never found that to be much more than an inconvenience) Oh, yeah, and the SN45G will have better sound than the Chaintech board.

The hard drive is too small. Not that 40GB is bad, it's just that if you look around you can find an 80GB for about the same price. 80GB or so is the sweet spot for price right now.

Do you need the PC3200 OCZ? Basically, you are buying a 333MHz FSB proc and, unless you are planning on overclocking, you won't use the full potential of PC3200 - buy PC2700 in that case. And I am no longer a fan of buying performance RAM - just not enough of a performance increase to justify the price. Maybe look for a cheaper, quality solution like Crucial.

As for the 9800 Pro, do you really need it? You could save yourself a few dollars by getting a 9600XT but, then again, on a price/performance scale that 9800 Pro is a pretty good deal right now...


If you're worried about overheating, know that I run a 2.4C@3GHz, 1GB PC3200, 9800Pro, 80GB HDD and 52X Combo drive in my Shuttle w/o a hitch.

 

[Oblivious]

i was under the impression that mini-itx (shuttle) are only p3 and less. i haven't found one that is better than that. also, shuttles are way expensive and you can't build it.

 

[Psychosylph]

Oh, you poor, deluded soul...

There are Shuttle XPCs that can run the latest P4s, Athlon XPs, and A64s. All of them are based on the latest and greatest chipsets, too, meaning you give up very little in performance. Hit http://us.shuttle.com - they have all the models listed there. I listed the SN45G as a good choice for your configuration because of price/performance, but you can check them all out. And remember: yes, you pay a bit of a premium for them, but you are getting a PSU, aluminum case, motherboard and cooling solution, and a pretty good number of I/O options, as well. 18000 3DMarks in a 7"X8"X11" box is just I have two of them where my one tower used to fit.

Like I said, I am biased, though, so you may want to check out the Biostar Ideq and other SFFs.

Oh, yeah, and I haven't found that the proprietary boards are that big a deal, as I can always find one to upgrade to in the forums or Ebay.

 

[Kaylya]

Check out Sudhian.com for lots of stuff on Small Form Factor systems.

Shuttle isn't mini-itx.

 

[par]

i agree that the 40gb drive is too small for the price/performance.. go with 80 at least

as far as dropping the 9800 for a 9600xt.. that's a Horrible idea

256bit bus(9800 pro) > 128 bit bus(9600 xt)

and yes you can grab a shuttle for amd.. i got mine from newegg for like 220 shipped.. just add ram/proc/hd/dvd-r/9800pro

 

[PlantATree]

I am in the process of either buying a desktop replacement notebook or a Shuttle SFF AMD64 setup. I had a question about the chip and the cooling. Do I buy the retail chip and just stick it in there or do I buy OEM and have to use the cooling system that comes with the Shuttle? Confused.

 

[Psychosylph]

Originally posted by: PlantATree
I am in the process of either buying a desktop replacement notebook or a Shuttle SFF AMD64 setup. I had a question about the chip and the cooling. Do I buy the retail chip and just stick it in there or do I buy OEM and have to use the cooling system that comes with the Shuttle? Confused.

You can buy either but will use the Shuttle ICE regardless of which you choose. So you would not use the HSF included with a retail version, but you would have the better warranty.

 

[Psychosylph]

Originally posted by: par

as far as dropping the 9800 for a 9600xt.. that's a Horrible idea

256bit bus(9800 pro) > 128 bit bus(9600 xt)

Depends on how hardcore you are. If you aren't that hardcore and want to save a few bucks, you can go with a 9600XT. If you are hardcore, yes, the 9800 is much better. But if you were really smart and didn't mind used, you might go with a 9700 series... an even better price/performance ratio...

So many ways to skin a cat, you just need to know what kind you are skinning...

 

[DrAtomic]

I like the Shuttle SN41G2, but my favorite is the Biostar IDEQ 200N. The kids play BF1942 on the Shuttle with the on-board graphics and it's rock solid. I use the 200N because I like it more than the Shuttle, but either one works great. The sound is pretty good too, so there's no reason for a separate card. Drop in an AMD 2800+, as much memory as you can afford, 80GB SATA drive (SATA on Biostar only, not available on Shuttle), and 9800 Pro and you've got a killer system that you can carry around in a bag. And it should come in under $700, unless you go crazy on the memory.

 

[ShellGuy]

Hey Doc check this out. It may be my next SFF but here is the def next step after my new lappy.


Will

 

[fragstar]

got to get a Shuttle. They are the only way.