Building a SFF

[W4NG]

I'll be heading off to college pretty soon and will be needing a nice, small computer to take with me. I don't need a top end setup, just something to do homework/internet stuff with and play games once in a while. I have a setup in mind, but I'm not sure of compatability/power issues. Any help would be....er, well...helpful.
Shuttle SS58G2 SiS Small Form Factor Socket 775
Intel Pentium 4 630 3.0GHz / 2MB Cache / 800FSB / Socket 775 / Hyper Threading
Seagate / 120GB / 7200 / 8MB / ATA-100
Viking 512MB PC3200 ECC Registered DDR2 400MHz
MSI Radeon 9550 / 128MB DDR / AGP 8X
I'd like to order all from one site just to make shipping easier.

 

[frostedflakes]

I'd definitely get a Socket 939 SFF, just because a 90nm Athlon64 should be easier to cool in a small, cramped environment than a Prescott. Everything else looks great.

EDIT: Or you may want to consider a Socket 754 SFF with a 90nm Sempron64. Cheaper than a Socket 939 SFF and Athlon64, but should still have plenty of performance for what you intend to do with it.

Also, if you're in the US there are better places to buy than TigerDirect. Try NewEgg or ZipZoomFly.

 

[IlllI]

Originally posted by: frostedflakes
I'd definitely get a Socket 939 SFF, just because a 90nm Athlon64 should be easier to cool in a small, cramped environment than a Prescott. Everything else looks great.

EDIT: Or you may want to consider a Socket 754 SFF with a 90nm Sempron64. Cheaper than a Socket 939 SFF and Athlon64, but should still have plenty of performance for what you intend to do with it.

Also, if you're in the US there are better places to buy than TigerDirect. Try NewEgg or ZipZoomFly.

i agree with this. also SiS chipsets aren't known to be the greatest.

 

[Treyshadow]

Hmm Maybe a Tforce board would be a better option. Whether it be socket 754 or 939. It is perfect for a small system to go into a dorm room

 

[W4NG]

Alright, I'll take your guys advice. The part I was most worried about was how much power the video card would need.

 

[frostedflakes]

The 9550 is actually an excellent choice. Xbit Labs measured the 9600Pro to pull only 9w idle 18w load from the AGP slot (Source). Considering the 9550 is basically an underclocked 9600Pro, it should use even less power.

Grab a 90nm AMD and you will have a very cool and quiet system.

Or you might want to consider a laptop as well. There are some pretty good Black Friday deals coming up. Walmart is going to have a 15" Sempron laptop for around $400 the day after Thanksgiving.

 

[W4NG]

Yeah, I've thought about getting a laptop, but I like other style better. I'll eventually need one for tuning my car, so I'll pick a cheap one up then.

 

[frostedflakes]

Sounds like you got everything pretty well figured out then. Good luck w/your new system.