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Budget shuttle

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - Budget shuttle

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Hey guys I'm going to be building a shuttle or mini-pc, in a about a week i have $550 and this would be my second build. The primary use for this Small form factor pc is streaming movies, and downloading divx movies
This pc will be connected to my 42 inch LCD in my living room. I already have the OS I'm planning to use which is Windows 7, was wondering what u guys would suggest for my needs.

I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks

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Silverstone Sugo case w/ 300 watt PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811163149
Zotac m-Itx mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813500022
Core 2 duo E5200 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116072
Slot loading blu-ray or dvd drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106323
HD - however big you want, you shouldnt need that much storge as your only streaming - I believe the Sugo takes a notebook drive -
4 gigs of RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227269

Optional:
ATI 4650 video card - passive cooled if you want silence - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814131135
A small quiet aftermarket CPU cooler if you want, otherwise stick with the stock cooler

The Zotac board has built in graphics which may or may not be enough for your needs. Should be a cheap but capable machine for you, anything from watching movies to light gaming to web browsing. I didnt total the price, but I think youll get under that price.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Kaldor

Kaldor wrote :

Total with video card - roughly $450 - you could use a slightly more powerfull video card like a 4770 or 4850 in this machine if you really wanted more power if your a gamer.

Reply to Kaldor

Nice, thanks for suggestion. I do a bit of gaming awaiting the arrival of StarCraft 2 CANT WAIT!!! lol. anymore suggestions ?

Reply to julio87

Honestly, depending on what you playing the 4650 may be more than enough. The 300w PSU in the Silverstone case will run up like a Nvidia 250 or an ATI 4850. Those are pretty decent cards for such a small machine. However, Id go cheap now, maybe buy a fast dual core CPU like an E8400 so you have that nailed down, then update the videocard with ATI releases the 5XXX cards or Nvidia with 3XX cards.

Reply to Kaldor

Thanks for your help Kaldor, Anyone one else?

Reply to julio87

Would this CPU be a better choice? Intel Pentium E6300 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 2MB L2 Cache

Reply to julio87

Not really. Same amount of cache, 300 mhz faster doesnt make that big of a deal. 1066 vs 800 front side bus isnt going to net that much performance. I will say the E5200 is an overclocking monster with a 10x (iirc) multiplier if you ever wanna try that out. If you want to take a jump up in CPUs, jump to an E8400 (3ghz dual core) or a Q8400 (2.66ghz quad core) but you will pony up $100 more but you will see a noticeable performance increase there.

Reply to Kaldor

I see really not worth the extra money, I haven't thought about OCing it. 1. because I have no experience with OCing, 2 Worried since case is so small might overheat. What do u guys think?

Reply to julio87

True enough. If you lack overclocking experience, a m-itx board is not a good place to start.
Id buy a faster CPU and a slower GPU to start with, then update GPU as needed.

Reply to Kaldor

Even though i lack ocing experience, i would like to get it to 3.0ghz, so should i go for a cheaper board?

Reply to julio87

I am not sure of the overclocking features of the Zotac board, but I know it will probably get the E5200 to 3ghz. Thats only a 300mhz FSB, which is really low. The other concern is can the 300 watt PSU in the Silverstone case handle an OCed CPU?

If you really want to try for an overclock, you may want to look into a M-ATX board if your looking for a small PC. These generally overclock better and you can use a full sized PSU.

Reply to Kaldor

Ok thanks man

Reply to julio87

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Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - Budget shuttle