3.3 GHz ITX sandy bridge $390, 4GB/500GB

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alyarb

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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...83103420-L010A


Comparable prebuilts start around $450 and aren't nearly as compact. This acer at least gives you a handsome, compact chassis with PCIe x1 and x16 and a 5.25" bay. Plenty of opportunity for high-density, cost effective server. You could even squeeze in a Radeon 6670 or one of these depending on your purpose:

http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Ba.../dp/B004G8QERK



I'm sure this will get comments debating on the temperature of this deal. Warm or hot, I don't care. This is priced temporarily below market and is smaller and cheaper than you could build with a typical low-end ITX chassis.
 
Termie

Termie

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This is hot. I've been pricing out ITX components, and you'd be lucky to get this system together for $400 without an OS. Nice find.

Just by the numbers:
case w/ cheap PSU - $50 (and these almost always put the PSU right above the CPU cooler, which is plain stupid)
2120 processor with H61 MB combo - $175
DVD drive - $20
4GB RAM - $30
500GB hard drive - $70
Card reader - $20
Keyboard/mouse - $20
TOTAL w/o OS: $385
TOTAL w/ discounted W7HP OEM: $475
 
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DaveSimmons

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I've owned an i3-2100 version of this since last year and it's very nice. Quiet and fast, and the bloatware is easy to uninstall.

The only thing that's a little awkward is loading CDs/DVDs into the sideways slim drive with it sitting on the floor. It works, just requires a little more work than with a regular drive.

I've mostly used it as my music jukebox (I own over 1,000 CDs, and have them ripped to lossless FLAC format), and to play Torchlight when my gaming system's video card was RMA'd. I also played a bit of Half-Life 2 and it worked perfectly, the HD2000 graphics are decent for older 3D games.
 
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alyarb

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DaveSimmons said:
The only thing that's a little awkward is loading CDs/DVDs into the sideways slim drive with it sitting on the floor. It works, just requires a little more work than with a regular drive.
Click to expand...

yeah, they should not have printed the logo perpendicular to the drives if they expect you to use them. I wouldn't even use the dvd but I would still lay the case flat wherever I kept it, unless it was holed up in a cabinet or something.
 
Termie

Termie

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DaveSimmons said:
I've owned an i3-2100 version of this since last year and it's very nice. Quiet and fast, and the bloatware is easy to uninstall.

...
Click to expand...

alyarb said:
...

You could even squeeze in a Radeon 6670....
Click to expand...

I'd be curious to hear whether a card like this low-profile single-slot 6670 GDDR5, which is arguably the fastest card in its form-factor, could actually fit in this Acer without being starved of fresh air: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102958
 
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alyarb

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Most of them are half "height" cards with a dual slot heatsink.

I didn't check every 6670 on newegg... I really just made that up assuming someone was offering some sort of compact Turks device. Looking at the Acer motherboard, the x16 slot is below the x1 slot, so no, that card with its large heatsink will not fit.

but this one will
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131469

And it will probably load pretty hot but who cares

edit: nevermind, the case is perforated right above where the GPU fan would be located.
 
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DaveSimmons

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> edit: nevermind, the case is perforated right above where the GPU fan would be located.

Also the x16 is at the top, the x1 is the lower slot. Mine has a wifi card I've never used in the x1 slot.
 
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alyarb

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That's what I meant. A single-slot GPU fan should be right up against the mesh

The powercolor card is DDR3 though. Looking once more at the Sapphire I believe it'll fit, however snug. The edge-on photo suggests the heatsink isn't as tall as you might think.
 
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DaveSimmons

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Yes, a 2-slot won't fit, but the 1-slot Termie linked probably will.

I'm happy with the HD2000 video so I don't have any reason to try it though.
 
Termie

Termie

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alyarb said:
That's what I meant. A single-slot GPU fan should be right up against the mesh

The powercolor card is DDR3 though. Looking once more at the Sapphire I believe it'll fit, however snug. The edge-on photo suggests the heatsink isn't as tall as you might think.
Click to expand...

DaveSimmons said:
Yes, a 2-slot won't fit, but the 1-slot Termie linked probably will.

I'm happy with the HD2000 video so I don't have any reason to try it though.
Click to expand...

The Sapphire card seems to use the maximum width possible for a one-slot cooler. So it would probably be right up against the case top, and if the vent isn't lined up well, it could run hot.

Just thinking of how you could max out the gaming potential of this system, since the CPU is up to it.

By the way, is there a free SATA slot for adding an SSD?
 
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DaveSimmons

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^ no idea on that, I'd need to take it apart and remove the DVD drive to see what ports are underneath it. I'm too lazy to do that when I don't need any more drives for my use of it.

You could always replace the 500 GB with a 750 GB Momentus XT drive with the onboard Flash cache.
 
K

kmmatney

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Jun 19, 2000
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Termie said:
This is hot. I've been pricing out ITX components, and you'd be lucky to get this system together for $400 without an OS. Nice find.

Just by the numbers:
case w/ cheap PSU - $50 (and these almost always put the PSU right above the CPU cooler, which is plain stupid)
2120 processor with H61 MB combo - $175
DVD drive - $20
4GB RAM - $30
500GB hard drive - $70
Card reader - $20
Keyboard/mouse - $20
TOTAL w/o OS: $385
TOTAL w/ discounted W7HP OEM: $475
Click to expand...


This is a good deal - but I find it hard top justify versus getting a laptop for about the same price:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382829
 
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Roland00Address

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