Advice on building a SFF PC

mrblack71 · 5 Jun 2007 at 10:56

Hi,

Could you please help me with choosing a configuration build for a Small Form Factor PC around the 400/500 GBP mark?

I was thinking about the E4300 or the E6420 processor, what's best?

I mostly need it for running applications and not for gaming, but need HDMI and DVI output on the VGA.

Thanks
Al

semi-pro waster · 5 Jun 2007 at 11:08

About half-way into your budget but I think this should do everything you require, the motherboard has onboard graphics that support HDMI. However it only supports D-Sub.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £94.99
(£111.61) £94.99
(£111.61)
Crucial 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C5 Dual Channel Kit (CT2KIT12864AA667) £41.99
(£49.34) £41.99
(£49.34)
Akasa Ultra Quiet 400W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.2 PSU - Black Nickel £34.99
(£41.11) £34.99
(£41.11)
Lian-Li PC-V300 Aluminum Micro ATX Mini Tower Case - Black £67.99
(£79.89) £67.99
(£79.89)
Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£19.96) £16.99
(£19.96)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 3200AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £48.99
(£57.56) £48.99
(£57.56)
Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD ATI Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £61.99
(£72.84) £61.99
(£72.84)
Sub Total : £367.93
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £66.13
Total : £444.01

mrblack71 · 5 Jun 2007 at 11:42

Thanks!

will I be able to overclock the CPU with this config?

mrblack71 · 5 Jun 2007 at 11:51

your opnion

how about this config:

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Belkin F5D7000UK 802.11g Wireless PCI Adapter £15.99
(£18.79) £15.99
(£18.79)
Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£19.96) £16.99
(£19.96)
OcUK GeForce 8500 GT 256MB DDR2 HDTV/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £41.99
(£49.34) £41.99
(£49.34)
Samsung SpinPoint T HD501LJ 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £58.99
(£69.31) £58.99
(£69.31)
Crucial 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C5 Dual Channel Kit (CT2KIT12864AA667) £41.99
(£49.34) £41.99
(£49.34)
Asrock Conroe945G-DVI (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £41.99
(£49.34) £41.99
(£49.34)
Antec NSK1300 ATX Cube Case - 300W PSU £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail £66.99
(£78.71) £66.99
(£78.71)
Sub Total : £334.92
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £60.35
Total : £405.22

semi-pro waster · 5 Jun 2007 at 12:05

That will all work together fine, I assume the 8500GT has the connections you require? The Western Digital AAKS series of drives are faster than the Samsungs but this might not be too important to you.

Finally as for overclocking the Abit does have a fairly good reputation for overclocking considering what it is as many mATX motherboards don't have a lot of options but the ASRock should at least have some options.

mrblack71 · 5 Jun 2007 at 13:53

I heard that with the mobo Asrock Conroe945G-DVI you cannot overclock the CPU to 3 ghz? I don't understand why...

sithlord · 5 Jun 2007 at 16:52

Take a look at the Mini-ITX stuff coming out real soon.

http://www.albatron.com.tw/English/news/news_detail.asp?new=default&news_id=255

mrblack71 · 6 Jun 2007 at 10:13

overclocking E4300

How can I overclock an E4300 to 3Ghz? do I need anything special for it?

Al

mrblack71 · 6 Jun 2007 at 14:24

advice on a configuration

Would this configuration work?

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Belkin F5D7000UK 802.11g Wireless PCI Adapter £15.99
(£18.79) £15.99
(£18.79)
Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£19.96) £16.99
(£19.96)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 5000AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £63.99
(£75.19) £63.99
(£75.19)
Antec NSK1300 ATX Cube Case - 300W PSU £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail £66.99
(£78.71) £66.99
(£78.71)
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC) £61.99
(£72.84) £61.99
(£72.84)
Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD ATI Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £61.99
(£72.84) £61.99
(£72.84)
Akasa AK-ICR-01 Internal Card Reader £9.99
(£11.74) £9.99
(£11.74)
Sub Total : £347.92
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £62.63
Total : £420.50

semi-pro waster · 6 Jun 2007 at 18:27

This should also work fine, be aware however that as I highlighted before the Abit has HDMI but not DVI.

mrblack71 · 7 Jun 2007 at 09:43

but it's also got a HDMI 2 DVI converter adaptor with it

I was thinking to buy a different case, one of these mini-desktop ones, which one is best in your opinion?

slinxy · 7 Jun 2007 at 10:06

how about a mac mini? if its just media center - use front row its get...

please ignore - wrong post.... sorry