Spec me a £500 SFF PC

Destination · 9 Nov 2009 at 22:10

I am looking to put together a small box to replace my parents AOpen miniPC Duo which has recently died. It was small and quiet and sat on the table not frightening them, so something similar would be nice.

I'll likely install Windows7HP, and other software based around office and outlook as they are well versed in its use.

Mainly it'll be used for Internet browsing, Office work, Music and the occasional movie. Games will only be played on rare occasions, so i was thinking along the lines of a Zotac 9300 board, as the inbuilt GFX should be suitable for my needs.

What Case/PSU/Fans and SPu would people suggest i pair up with the Zotac Mobo?

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 10 Nov 2009 at 01:20

I would have a look at the Silverstone Sugo SG05 and SG06.

Hesky82 · 10 Nov 2009 at 01:53

The SG06 is a lovely case and its little PSU packs a punch if you plan to make a compact gaming machine or very capable HTPC. As its designed to take a full hight PCI/e card its overall size although small isn't as small as you parents old aopen MiniPC.

For your parents needs I would say go for a cheaper In-Win itx case and the Zotac 9300-itx board. It will be pretty silent, maybe not as silent as the aopen laptop core duo setup but with the knock-out on-board gfx and a fast but cheap e5200 pentium or even cheaper e3200 celeron it would be significantly more powerful.

There are seriously loads of cool tinny slim itx cases which are designed specifically for the sort of set-up you are looking for.

Check out these....

In-Win BM648
In-Win BM639
Noah 3988
Antec ISK 300-65

Destination · 10 Nov 2009 at 21:17

Thanks very much for the case suggestions.