Antec Aria Competitors

[Joerg]

Ok i knwo this has been posted but the topic i found was rather old and rather dead. Anyways I really like the concept of the XPCs and the Aria and many others but they are so darned expensive when you can pick up a micro atx board for only $40. You would think that with the small size of somethign like the aria that you could get one for atleast the low $50s.

Anyways i plan to do most everythign with the box HTPC, Gaming, Server, Second computer for other general stuff. I already have a nice rig now btu it is by far to large to bring to a lan. And im on a tight budget so the lcd takes up most of my money at about 230 leaving me about 100 to spend on a case and board. Any Ideas? Just want a nice small form factor box.

 

[RedWolf]

There really isn't a competitor to the Aria. You can go with a small desktop case. There are several of those. Otherwise, it is the Hornet or a true SFF barebones. For the money, the aria is a good pc and is very upgradeable. As a high performance gaming system, it is lacking. If you want it as a midrange gaming system or a cheap gaming system, you should be able to get the Aria working. The aria will work as a high end system if you can take some noise and are comfortable doing a little modding.

Anyway, there isn't a cube type case like the Aria for less. You might check newegg's refurbs. They sometimes have older (Athlon XP) SFF systems for about $130.

Personally, I'd go for something like the Antec Lanboy/Super Lanboy. Another option is the Antec 2600AMB or BQE. You can find the 2600's for sale for about $40 after rebate quite often. Fairly small case and easily portable.

 

[akira34]

I have to wonder what mobo for $40 you think you'll be able to game with... I've seen mATX Athlon64 boards for under $100 but none for as low as you say that are worth a damn (or the costs of shipping). The motherboard is NOT one of the items you want to cheap out on.

If you want small, expect to pay for it. The Aria is a good case for what it's billed as. It's pretty quiet too, depending on what you toss into it.

Generally speaking, for gaming, you DON'T want cheap/slow hardware. That is, unless you're playing games like Starcraft that are not demanding at all. If you want to be able to play new releases for the next year plus, and NOT have lag that will make you feel like you just put your nuts into a meat grinder, then you'll need to spend more and get better/faster hardware.

BTW, you shouldn't have any difficulty installing a 6800 series card into the Aria. Double check the card dimensions and what you have for clearance BEFORE you place the order. Also, to do a server up right, you really do need a server level OS. Typically, those are NOT intended/designed for playing games on. You can run games (or game servers) on them, but playing the game isn't recommended. Of course, if you have good enough hardware, you'll be able to do it, but you'll need even more system resources to power through it all.

Personally, I'd build up a dedicated server and dedicated game machine. NOT try to combine them into one box.

 

[Zepper]

There are cases like the Athenatech A100 series or the wonderful new Enermax Venus series - but that one is sort of encroaching on the Aria price category. OTOH the Venus does have one of the best microATX (SFX) form factor PSUs you can buy.
.bh.

 

[Joerg]

Thanks for the help. Oh and im not a newb to computer hardware. As for an A64 board i dont know where you got the idea i had to have one of those. Anyways im just looking for an Athlon XP board. I have an 80gig drive, 1700+ tbred, and a Ti4200 i want to put in it. Wont be a killer system by anymeans but it will do anything and everything i will be putting before it and maybe someday down the road i can throw in some new equipment. Mostly though i just dont like bringing my big full tower case anywhere and ive always wanted a nice small lcd and mini cube setup.

After checking out the venus i am pretty disapointed. Mostly in just the way it looks and the lack of features. I guess im going to just keep looking.

Oh and i love to mod so anything that requires alittle modding wouldnt be that big of a deal. In fact i might consider going all out and trying to built one myself.

 

[L00PY]

One of the nicest things about the Venus is that it has two 80mm rear exhaust fans. I've only seen one other case of similar dimensions (in particular less than 6" wide) that has two 80mm fans. mATX and cube systems tend to run hotter than normal, and 60mm fans in back just doesn't cut it if you're going for cool and silent.

 

[akira34]

Don't expect to play ANY new games in that rig... As for not being a 'killer system' at least you got that part right. When you mentioned games, I figured you'd want to play NEW releases for at least a year or so without needing to dump more money into it. I guess you're happy playing 5 year old games.

The hardware you're now calling out as looking to use would work decently as the core of a file server, or for office type applications, but not for newer games. I had a server with the Athlon XP1800+ in it for a while. With a full GB of memory, it did fairly well (and stable) in the Aria case. Would I have tried to game with it? HELL NO...

Don't be surprised if the one you're looking to build has poor (at best) game performance. That is, IF it can even run the newer games.

 

[Joerg]

Hey akira I am using that ti4200 in my current system and it meets my needs just fine. I plays HL2 decently 50 frames per second. And it can play doom3 although im not a big doom fan anyways. Also it will run far cry great other than that i dont play many other games and i dont mind running at lower settings. As for not playing newer games at all you really have something to learn becuase you have to have a freaking monster rig to play games at lower settings. If you had to have a 6800gt to play every new game then they wouldnt sell at all.

Im a college studen and its taken me along time to get enough nerve to spend this much on a lan box much less put $600 into a motherboard and graphics card.

Anyways i didnt start this thread asking for anyone to judge the system im putting in the case. Im only wanting suggestions for a good aria type case. If i could afford a great system then trust me i would buy one but i cant afford much more than this and i still have my main rig to look after wich doesnt have much better specs.

 

[akira34]

I don't play games at a low enough resolution to get that aged card to work. I run at 1280x1024 24/7. MAYBE if I was to degrade my resolution to 800x600 it MIGHT work 'ok' but I wouldn't bank on it. I also have the quality settings cranked up to 11 on my card/system and everything plays smooth as silk. Try to do that with what you're looking to build and let us know how many seconds it goes before the game either grinds to a halt or quits on you.

I wouldn't expect a 3+ generation old card to do much of anything with games when set even close to the same way as a current card. Hell, a 6600 card would do a hell of a lot better, and not hurt your dusty wallet that much.

 

[Joerg]

What is your problem. My dusty wallet? What are you just so wealthy you are swimming in money or something? Hmm? A 6600 would hurt my "dusty wallet" another $200.

Jeeze im sorry i cant affor the latest crap.

Oh and for your info i can play half life 2 at 1280x1024 however i dont choose to simply becuase it will slow down alittle in heavy combat. I run 1024x768 all day long for most FPS type games no problem. The thing is being a colege student studying architecture this computer will be used for alot more than just gaming it will be my main computer while my good rig is rendering and it will do that job just fine. And becuase i know how to tweak and overclock alittle i wont need the latest hardware.

Anyways if you dont have anythign to add about aria competitors please just leave. Im not here to pick a fight i just want some info.

 

[Mucker]

Originally posted by: Joerg
What is your problem. My dusty wallet? What are you just so wealthy you are swimming in money or something? Hmm? A 6600 would hurt my "dusty wallet" another $200.

Jeeze im sorry i cant affor the latest crap.

Oh and for your info i can play half life 2 at 1280x1024 however i dont choose to simply becuase it will slow down alittle in heavy combat. I run 1024x768 all day long for most FPS type games no problem. The thing is being a colege student studying architecture this computer will be used for alot more than just gaming it will be my main computer while my good rig is rendering and it will do that job just fine. And becuase i know how to tweak and overclock alittle i wont need the latest hardware.

Anyways if you dont have anythign to add about aria competitors please just leave. Im not here to pick a fight i just want some info.

:thumbsup:

 

[tracerbullet]

I made my HTPC out of all old spare parts and splurged on a new case for it. I got this one: http://www.pctoyland.com/prod_609.htm I got it from Newegg but looks like they don't have it any more. That's a random google search there, you may find a better price elsewhere.

ebay could be an option for the Aria or any other case?

I hear you on the money issue... However i will mention that in my opinion, of all the PC parts I have and ever will swap around, that if i like a case I keep it for a very long time and put numerous setups in it. I'd suggest that if you like the Aria a lot, just get it, and keep it for a long time. I think down the road you'll be glad you did.

 

[Joerg]

Thanks tracer that case looks pretty sharp and i agree that i would probably keep a case for along time. Im just alittle unsure about the aria becuase of its cooling issues. However im sure most small form factor cases have cooling issues much like the aria does.

Also ive tried a brief case computer once but i had to settle for an aluminum case with wood backing. I would love to attempt again with an all aluminum case if i could find one however its very hard to determine if they are all aluminum.

 

[sirspotti]

Good luck. Personally, I think that the Aria is cheesy looking. Got to see one the other day and it seems kind of flimsy. Still, it's a much better upgrade path than getting a Shuttle. If you are still thinking of building your own in a small box consider something like this or else an old metal ammo box. Good luck with your search!

 

[Zepper]

Joerg,
. Have you seen the new Aspire X-Qpack case? Now the Aria has some competition - but the PSU may not be so hot!

.bh.