Micro-ATX Spec check please

mike gunnz

mike gunnz

mike gunnz

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My sister and brother in-law have asked me to build them a PC that will sit in their living room and not look out of place within their state of the art AV set-up. There main requirements are that it be as small as possible while possessing some 'kick', have a Blue Ray drive and be housed in a black case. She just wants to be able to browse the internet through the telly and download music while sitting on the sofa and he wants the option to game on a 42" plasma. They don't want a monitor.

I did suggest they just buy a good laptop but they've insisted on a PC.

Sooo,

This is what I've come up with so far:

Intel E8400 £137.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-192-IN

DFI Lan Party JR P45-T2RS £109.24
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-049-DF

OcUK GeForce 9800 GT 512MB £97.24
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-108-OK

Pioneer BDC-S02BK 5x BD-ROM + 12x12 DVD±RW Serial ATA Dual Layer ReWriter £86.24
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-048-PO

Lian-Li V350B Aluminium Mini-Tower £85.09
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-109-LL

Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 550W ATX2.2 Modular £68.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-020-BQ

Samsung SpinPoint F1 500GB £44.84
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-058-SA

Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400 £36.79
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-136-CS

Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit £87.39
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-037-MS

Total Price £754.30

Hows it look? Its their money but its a bit more than I'd like to let them spend, but its hard to see where I've 'overspecced' as it where.

Any tips gents?
 
PwnDirect said:
Think you have overspeced everywhere :P

What games do they intend to play?
Click to expand...

lol. Have I? :o

No idea what games. Probably FPS' knowing him. They did also mention they wanted something future-proof so but easily upgradeable for a novice so I thought this spec struck a good balance.

Advise away...:)
 
Well if its newever fps you might not have overspeced :P

I would change the gfx 4850 the 4850 offers better performance & an upgrade path via crossfire.
 
PwnDirect said:
Well if its newever fps you might not have overspeced :P

I would change the gfx 4850 the 4850 offers better performance & an upgrade path via crossfire.
Click to expand...

Now you've put the price up! lol

What about the PSU? Overkill?

Also what res is a plasma screen? I did initially have a 4850 in the basket but then I thought a 9800Gt would be adequate as I have a feeling a TV res is 1366x768 or something like that.

They wouldnt be interested in crossfire btw.
 
I would recommend getting an ATI card over an Nvidia card in this situation, just for having better HDMI output (assuming thats what your going to be using for connecting to your tv that is)
 
pingwing said:
I would recommend getting an ATI card over an Nvidia card in this situation, just for having better HDMI output (assuming thats what your going to be using for connecting to your tv that is)
Click to expand...

ATi it is then. What exactly do you need in terms of cables to connect a PC to a HDTV? I've no knowledge in this area.
 
HDMI cable and a dvi-hdmi adaptor (the adaptor comes with card). Note its worth checking if the tv has hdmi inputs... otherwise its to vga!
 
Ok, Ive redone my spec for a SFF gaming/media rig, budget £800. Absolutely all components and an operating system are required except a monitor as it will be connected to a HDTV. Have a look and tell me what you think.

Intel Pentium Dual-Core E7300
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-259-IN

Asus P5Q-EM
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Asus ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-168-AS

Samsung SpinPoint F1 500GB
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-058-SA

LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray Reader & HD-DVD ROM
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-074-LG

Zalman CNPS8000 CPU Cooler
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-022-ZA

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Sound Card
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...dio 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (PCI) (30SB079200000)

Lian-Li V350B Aluminium Mini-Tower
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-109-LL

Corsair 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLi
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...X2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK)

Logitech diNovo Edge
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=KB-093-LG

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-037-MS

I've only used OCUK links as obviously I can't link to competitors but if I shop around I can get all this for around £790.

One question I have is regarding audio. Is a soundcard necessary if the PC will be connected via VGA socket and HDMI to the TV? I believe the motherboard I have chosen has HDMI capability.

The keyboard and case are non-negotiable as my sis and her fella have fallen for them big time but other than that the choice of all other components are down to me.

Feedback welcome.
 
Last edited:
Check the graphics card will fit inside the case. It'll be the full width of the motherboard.

Soundcard shouldn't be needed unless you get a lot of hiss/static coming through the speakers. Even if you do just get the cheapest you can.
 
The Halk said:
Check the graphics card will fit inside the case. It'll be the full width of the motherboard.

Soundcard shouldn't be needed unless you get a lot of hiss/static coming through the speakers. Even if you do just get the cheapest you can.
Click to expand...

The GPU should be fine I reckon as someone on these forums crossfired 4870s and water cooled in this case iirc.
 
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