sff build

[compnut]

Hi Guys,

I have a Ultra Micro Fly case on hand and want to build a core duo system.
My case will take a full size power supply, but only a mATX board. Iwant to use it for web surffing, e-mail, home office/small buisness use, some media center stuff, and medium gaming. For now I will use only onboar graphics, than upgrade later. What MoBo would you suggest for such a system? What size PSU do I need?

Thanks for your help,

Compnut

 

[jeff_2087]

Apparently (according to a Tom's review, anyway) the Foxconn's G9657MA is the best mATX Core 2 board, as of last November anyway. They're all bad in terms of overclocking, but if that's not an issue any of the Foxconn, Asus, Gugabyte or MSI mATX boards should be fine. Saying integrated graphics on the 965 leaves a lot to be desired is giving it a great compliment, but hey, it'll do the job.

Oh, and as for the PSU, you don't need much. 350W would be sufficient for the system and a future graphics card. The 7600gt, for example, needs 18A on the 12V.

 

[compnut]

Ok Jeff,

Thanks. What do you think about Intel boards? I see that Falcon Northwest runs them in their FragBox systems. This comp will have to last a good long time ( I can't afford to upgrade very often and new builds are few and far between) so I only want to build once and than add the video card and maybee better sound.
Also I may get into high end gaming. What video card would I need? What memory would be good? And are you sure 350watts is enough?

Compnut

PS: I'm currently running XP pro. I may get Vista latter.

 

[compnut]

Why no help?
I want to build!

 

[predaking]

i've always been an asus fan.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=Property&Subcategory=280&Description=&Type=&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&PropertyCodeValue=706%3A28157&PropertyCodeValue=706%3A22729&PropertyCodeValue=706%3A26616&PropertyCodeValue=706%3A25638&PropertyCodeValue=706%3A22728&PropertyCodeValue=706%3A22731&PropertyCodeValue=757%3A7619

here is a list of 47 uATX motherboards that take a core2 proc.

$40-$130 seems to be the price range.

Ram sizes seem to be from 2-8gig depending on what you want.

graphics card, well what ever you want.

heck shuttle has a 7950 included with some of their cases
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16856101016R


I'd say graphics card would be determined by what can fit inside your case.

I would recommend a dual wide that vents the air outside of the case.

a passively cooled card may make the temps too hot inside.

 

[compnut]

Thanks Predaking,

I like to play first person shooter games like ghost recon so I think I want at least a 256meg card. Also how much power do I need? What is a dual wide card?

compnut

 

[jeff_2087]

Intel boards are generally solid and reliable but offer limited overclocking. Seeing as all the others are poor overclockers too, that's not really an issue. So sure, I don't know of Intel's mATX Core 2 board, but it's probably pretty decent.

Video cards, you should get something like:
(~$110) 7600GT or
(~$160) EVGA 7900GS KO/Radeon x1950PRO 256mb

You could go bigger and faster, but I'd start to worry about space and heat in a Microfly. Still, if you google them and find out that they'd fit, a Radeon x1950XT or Nvidia 8800GTS 320 would offer more performance for around $220 and $300 respectively.

For memory, 2 gigs of DDR2 533 is good. And about the power supply, anything above 350 or 400W is fine as long as it has enough amps on the 12v rail. 18A for the 7600GT, 20 for the 7900GS (I think) and 28 for the x1950PRO.

 

[compnut]

Intel boards are generally solid and reliable but offer limited overclocking. Seeing as all the others are poor overclockers too, that's not really an issue. So sure, I don't know of Intel's mATX Core 2 board, but it's probably pretty decent.

Video cards, you should get something like:
(~$110) 7600GT or
(~$160) EVGA 7900GS KO/Radeon x1950PRO 256mb

You could go bigger and faster, but I'd start to worry about space and heat in a Microfly. Still, if you google them and find out that they'd fit, a Radeon x1950XT or Nvidia 8800GTS 320 would offer more performance for around $220 and $300 respectively.

For memory, 2 gigs of DDR2 533 is good. And about the power supply, anything above 350 or 400W is fine as long as it has enough amps on the 12v rail. 18A for the 7600GT, 20 for the 7900GS (I think) and 28 for the x1950PRO.

OK Jeff,

Cool. What about the dual rail PSU. How much should be on each rail? I already have a 64meg ATI Radeon in the case. Are any of the video cards you mentioned relative in size? I'm not going to run two cards so I won't need Sli. Also I don't overclock.

Thanks,

Compnut

 

[predaking]

see the vents are pointing outside the case.

that way the hot air gets vented outside

 

[compnut]

Thanks Predaking,

I got it.

Compnut

 

[predaking]

i would also get a single 12V psu.

get one with 30-40 amps on it.

that can allow you to run the 8800 series card(gtx requires 36 i think).

alot of the higher psu makes only have single volt rails.

 

[compnut]

Thanks Again Predaking

 

[TUB]

Hi Guys,

I have a Ultra Micro Fly case on hand and want to build a core duo system.
My case will take a full size power supply, but only a mATX board. Iwant to use it for web surffing, e-mail, home office/small buisness use, some media center stuff, and medium gaming. For now I will use only onboar graphics, than upgrade later. What MoBo would you suggest for such a system? What size PSU do I need?

Thanks for your help,

Compnut

Here's a good mobo I recommend. I've built 5 of these ASUS mobo for my clients and also a proud owner of one. Its been running very stable 20-30 hrs/week for over 8 months without any problem. Has alot of good features with some OC capable. I like especially the 1xeSATA port (for external SATA) which is hard to find on microATX mobo. Otherwise, any Gigabyte mobo is good too.

1) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131043
2) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128024

As for the PSU get at least a 550watt with 26-36amps if you plan on adding a video later.
1) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1273353&CatId=1079
2) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817121014
3) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817159058

Good luck!
================================================
System:
* Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (No OC)
* Tt Orb II Blue Cooler
* ATI Radeon X1900XTX 512MB DDR3
* ASUS P5B-VM with Tt LANBox microATX case
* 2x1GB, PC2-4300, CL=3-3-3-8, Geil Ultra Low Latency
* Ultra 550W ATX (Ultra X2 550-Watt with UV & SLI ready
* Lite-On 20x DVD/CD Writer with LightScribe
* TrackIR 4 Pro
* Cougar HOTAS
* Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP LCD
============================================
"One Can Never Have Enough"

Cheers! 8)

 

[compnut]

Thanks Tub,

Looks good.

compnut