Building A SFF Computer

[TubeTote]

I am going to build a new SFF computer that will be my temporary gamer and eventual home office computer. Sort of a jack of all trades. Want some power...but in a small, quiet and cool running package. Will likely be running XP Pro, since my experiences with Vista have been so negative. Normally, I would first choose a motherboard and go from there...but in this case, there are so many great deals out there that I have picked out most of my components without first choosing a motherboard. Here is what I have so far:

Antec Aria Case w/ 300W PSU
Intel e5200 dual core @ 2.5GHz (intend to OC to 3GHz)
Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 1TB drive (only $80 @ Tiger)
Corsair TWINX 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz (only $25 @ Tiger...WOW)
Samsung DVD burner with LightScribe
ATI 4670 GPU

I am wondering if anyone has any advice on a good, solid motherboard. This will obviously need to be mATX. I am looking for reliability and compatibility over the newest tech, so a slightly older chipset is OK. Firewire is a big plus, but not required. I have been looking at some ASUS boards, but they all cost well over $100. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Gillbot]

http://www.overclock3d.net/rev...775_matx_motherboard/4
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Pro...ew.aspx?ProductID=2691

Or if you prefer ITX, Zotac has one as well with no OC options:
http://www.zotac.com/index.php...view&id=235&Itemid=322

The Zotac is ~$50 at newegg, the Gigabyte can be had cheap at Ebay, I'm not sure about the XFX.

 

[Zap]

If you're okay with never going over 4GB RAM (which you won't with 32-bit XP) you can look into the Gigabyte G31 chipset boards, runs around $55 and has full overclocking.

 

[Dadofamunky]

I noticed on Newegg that most of Gigabyte's curent microATX boards only have a 4X PCI-E slot for the video card! Go check it out, it's an easy search. Not sure how much of a difference that makes, but I wouldn't be willing to find out... I think Asus' offerings are much more balanced and competitive...

 

[TubeTote]

Hi all, thanks for the previous advice, but a few things have changed since my last post. I have ordered most of my parts, and here is an updated list of what I have:

Antec Aria Case w/ 300W PSU
http://www.antec.com/ec/productDetails.php?ProdID=08130
Intel e5200 dual core @ 2.5GHz (intend to OC to 3GHz)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819116072
MSI ATI R4670-2D512 HD4670 512M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127383
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136284
Corsair TWINX 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz
http://www.tigerdirect.com/app...pNo=3228139&CatId=3412
Samsung DVD burner with LightScribe
(have not yet ordered)

I have put the cart before the horse...I have yet to select a motherboard, but have decided that I would like to stick with an Intel G43 or G45. Also, I would like the Firewire port. I have narrowed my searching down to a couple of ASUS models, as I have had good luck with them in the past. The reviews on newegg are not the best, but when I looked at other similar boards from MSI and Gigabyte, the reviews were worse. These are what I am considering:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131336

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131332

I am wondering if anyone has any advice on which of these 2 would best suit my current hardware. Intend to use this as my temporary/occassional gamer and permanent business computer, running XP pro. If someone would like to suggest a different brand motherboard, I'm all ears, but please explain what makes it a better choice. Please note that newegg incorrectly states that these boards support 1066 and 1333 FSB...on the ASUS website, it supports these and 800 which is what I need with my processor. Any other constructive criticism or comments about my build would also be appreciated. It's only my 3rd build, so still a newbie here.

Thank you kindly in advance.

 

[Zap]

Both boards look pretty solid, spec-wise. Flip a coin!

 

[Dadofamunky]

Yeah, I think both Asus boards are good bets. I think that'll be a good well-balanced system with your choices, with room to grow if you want more CPU power eventually.

 

[TubeTote]

Thanks for your input, it has been very helpful. I have made my decision, and have just purchased the P5Q-EM board. It costs about $35 more, but has some extra features that may come in handy: on board 1394 (my Aria has a front connector); SPDIF port; and of course the G45 vs G43. Dadofamunky mentioned that there will be room to grow, and the G45 board allows for the most painless upgrading.

A little off topic, but I also purchased the Samsung TS-H653N DVD burner. I was looking at Plextor, but it says here in the forums that they are not what they used to be (not to mention they are very expensive). Quiet operation is important to me, and I saw a lot of people mentioning Samsung...but in the newegg customer reviews, there are those saying it is a noisy unit and those saying it is very quiet! UGH! How about a standard of measurement here? Chances are, this will be nicer than my old Sony drives that sounded like one of those vibrating motel beds.

For anyone interested, here's the link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827151179

Time to build ToasterTote 2.0. With any luck, I won't be posting any distress calls next week!

 

[Skott]

Just saw this thread and I have to warn you that the ASUS P5Q-EM has known video card problems so beware of that. Especially if you want to game with it using aftermarket video cards(nVidia & ATI). There have been some other issues with board stability too but the video card problem is the worse. I havent heard if ASUS has fixed this yet or not. This mobo isnt a good overclocker either ontop of that so many OCing enthusiasts wont want it. My advice is choose something else. Look at the P5K-VM or the newer P5E-VM HDMI.

Edit: Beware when picking mobos under $100. There are some good ones out there but there are a good many bad ones too and manufacturer brand alone isnt enough to ensure its quality. If you can find the P5K-VM it goes for about $100 (its getting hard to find now) and the P5E-VM HDMI goes for about $25 more but its one of the best mATX mobos ever made. Only the new DFI JR T2RS can match it and outperform it in certain functions.

 

[imported_harlanpepper]

I would also recommend the P5E-VM HDMI. It's a G35, but extremely stable. If you're using an add-in video card, I think it's the best mATX option out there and worth the extra cost. I built one for my brother with an E8400 and it's a monster.

 

[Dadofamunky]

Yep, that's my board too. but I think the OP made a good choice.

 

[TubeTote]

<GULP>

I wish I would have seen your posts sooner than now. I figured the responses had stopped coming in. I already purchased the P5Q-EM and the 4670. The build is nearly complete, and no problems so far...but I have not tried any gaming yet.

 

[TubeTote]

ToasterTote 2.0 is up and running, and I am VERY pleased with it. No graphics or video problems whatsoever...in fact I am stunned by the performance of the 4670. I just wanted to thank all those here at Anandtech for your help and advice...could not have done it without you. :thumbsup:

 

[Zap]

McNandtech
261354 served since 1998

 

[Dream Operator]

Originally posted by: TubeTote
ToasterTote 2.0 is up and running...

That's just ridiculous!!! :roll: