best small form factor parts

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What are some of the best parts to use in a case like the Antec Aria?

 

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Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

<jbrandonbb@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:chl2lf$qib@odah37.prod.google.com...
> What are some of the best parts to use in a case like the Antec Aria?
>

Micro-ATX mainboard with 3 PCI slots, onboard LAN and onboard Sound. Oh,
and actually USE the onboard LAN and onboard Sound. You need to keep at
least 2 PCI slots open (that's why you should use onboard LAN and onboard
Sound). One "open" PCI slot will be crowded by any real video card with
good cooling. (and you need a video card with GOOD cooling) The second
open PCI slot needs a system cooler made to fit in a PCI slot. One of these
beasts is included with the Antec Aria, but they are cheap (five-ish bucks)
and readily available. That's really the only optional cooling in the Aria
unless you mod it. (and the aria really needs all the optional cooling it
can get) Other parts good for the aria would include a dual layer DVD
burner, as you only have room for ONE optical drive (so it better do
everything). The optical drive can be any color, as the aria will hide this
when the tray is closed, but get black if you want to match the case. Oh,
and it would be helpful if your mainboard has three or more USB headers (not
usb PORTS, I'm talking about the bare pin thingies). That way, you can use
the aria USB ports AND the built-in memory card reader at the same time.
Oh, and make sure your video card lists 300W (or lower) power supply as part
of the system requirements. Your CPU cooler needs to be very efficient
(read: preferably all copper, and NOT "silent"). It is HOT in the aria, so
you need maximum cooling for the CPU. Other parts would be a compact sized
USB keyboard and a NEC LCD1565 *portable* LCD monitor. With a case like the
aria, might as well keep the rest of the system as portable as possible.
-Dave