Config me a budget MATX box

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thirdlegstump

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Feb 12, 2001
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Don't need much power but stability is ultra important. Celeron or Sempron is fine.

Requirements:

-The case must be beautiful and as small as possible but not MiniITX.

-I want IEEE 1396/Firewire.

-HDD must be Seagate.

-Relatively quiet.
 
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wisdomtooth

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Dec 21, 2004
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Originally posted by: deathkoba
-The case must be beautiful and as small as possible but not MiniITX.
Click to expand...

You mean something that looks like a home theatre rack component, i.e. no cube SFFs like Shuttles need apply?

 
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wisdomtooth

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Dec 21, 2004
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Originally posted by: deathkoba
those would be cool yea. either really.
Click to expand...

Well, in that case.. (heh, pun intended)

This case (SilentPC Review says it's pretty quiet)

The motherboard Ribbon mentioned plus an Athlon64 S939 CPU

Your choice of HD, Optical drive

Voila. All in a package 12 inches deep, 16 inches wide, about 5 inches tall. Has firewire, pretty quiet, very compact, same dimensions as most home theater rack components.

Or you can go even smaller with this case, but you need to buy a notebook slimline optical drive and is not quite as quiet. Here's a photo that gives you a good idea of how small those cases are.
 
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thirdlegstump

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Feb 12, 2001
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Those processors aren't exactly budget are they? I should mention that this thing will not be used for multimedia creation. Just basic word, excel stuff as well as basic music and video playback.
 
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wisdomtooth

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Dec 21, 2004
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Hmm...

This Intel i865 MicroATX board has Firewire: Foxconn 865M06-G-6EKS

i865 has been around for a long time and has been largely debugged. Very stable board (since you mentioned stability is ultra important).

Pair that up with a Northwood Celery and you are all set..
 
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Zepper

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May 1, 2001
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My god, Rib, he said budget! I'm sorry, but no 64-bit proc can yield a budget system - yet...

Enermax Venus case (~$100. shipped) OR Athenatech A100 series (~$56-64. shipped) to save money.
DFI KM400-MV mobo ($48. new, $35. refurb shipped)
512 MB 2700 or 3200 DDR of whatever good brand (Crucial/Corsair/Kingmax/Pure Samsung) is on sale this week.
Whichever Sock-A Sempron fits your budget - retail kit. I have a 2400+ and it's pretty nice.
Whichever 80GB 8MB SATA drive has the best AR deal this week.
AOpen CDRW/DVD-ROM Combo drive $31. shipped at Newegg this weekend!
I have no idea what you want in a monitor.
Ditto kbd/mse. But these last three will make the most difference the the end user's satisfaction so try not to skimp. Sometimes you can get a Samsung 17" CRT monitor for under $100. AR at the big box stores.
I recommend the Logi Marble Mouse trackball unless the user will be doing freehand art on the machine - then a normal mouse may be in order. Microsoft Internet Kbd is a place to start. Each is under $20.
. Also can't recommend speakers as they are such a personal choice too. But as a generality, anything with a true tweeter (1" diameter or less) and a proper crossover circuit for it will sound more musical with less coloration than one without.
.bh.
 
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thirdlegstump

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Feb 12, 2001
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Don't need monitor or keyboard/mouse but I don't want to go with 'cheap' brands either. I'd like to stick with Asus/Intel/Abit/Crucial/Kingston etc. but can compromise on the technology to reduce costs. I think the posts are very helpful though. Need a total price too.
 
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Zepper

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May 1, 2001
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Hey, ain't nobody here your momma.... ;) You have to do some of the work. I'll point out what I consider makes up a good system - total will likely be under $350. (maybe a lot under after rebates) Up to you to find the best prices. Ever hear of Pricewatch, Pricegrabber, Shopping.com, etc... ;)
. DFI is not a "cheap" brand. They have been making quality mobos and add-on cards longer than Abit for example (I think even before Asus) - since 1981. I consider its KM400 based mobo to be tops in the category. I'd also take a look at Asrock mobos (Asus' budget line). They are getting great reviews and have very high price/performance ratios. They have some mobos based on the KT-880 or KT-600 that are upgradable to 64-bit CPUs and allow you to start with Sock-As... But they are full ATX. IAC, be sure your mobo has the P4-12V connector to power the CPU. Mobos with that connector will run much better with the lower powered PSUs in mATX cases.

Note the AOpen combo drive (Ricoh logic) on special this weekend at Newegg - $31. shipped AR. Three different color faceplates included (called the Chameleon). HOT! If it's listed in the Hot Deals section here they could be gone in a hurry.

.bh.

There's the :sun: !
 
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wisdomtooth

Golden Member
Dec 21, 2004
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Originally posted by: deathkoba
Don't need monitor or keyboard/mouse but I don't want to go with 'cheap' brands either. I'd like to stick with Asus/Intel/Abit/Crucial/Kingston etc. but can compromise on the technology to reduce costs. I think the posts are very helpful though. Need a total price too.
Click to expand...


Motherboard: Since stability is the most important and you want firewire, you can go Intel D865PERLL. It has firewire.

Video card: Something like a $30 ATI Radeon would do.

CPU: Get the cheapest Northwood P4 or Celeron. Anywhere from $70 to $200 at the Egg.

Case: Since you want something that looks good, has a reasonably powerful PSU AND runs quiet, go for the Silent PC Review'ed Silverstone LC04. $150 at PC Alchemy.

Memory: Corsair Value Select or similar, two 256MB sticks shouldn't run you more than $60 at the Egg.

Your preferred Seagate HD: Anywhere from 40GB to 250GB, $60 to $150.

Your choice of Optical Drive: just a plain reader costs about $30-40 at the Egg.

Total cheapest config: less than $500. Total most expensive config: $700 or more.
 
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airfoil

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Jan 17, 2001
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MATX Mobo: MSI "RS480M2-IL" ATI Radeon XPRESS 200
CPU: Athlon64 3000 retail
RAM: G.skill F1-3200PHU2-1GBZX
HDD: Seagate 7200.8 200GB 7200RPM SATA NCQ
DVD RW: NEC 3520A
MATX Case: Ahanix MCE301 link
KB/Mouse: Microsoft Bluetooth
Video: Onboard
OS: Micro$oft XP MCE 2005
 
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thirdlegstump

Banned
Feb 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: wisdomtooth
Originally posted by: deathkoba
Don't need monitor or keyboard/mouse but I don't want to go with 'cheap' brands either. I'd like to stick with Asus/Intel/Abit/Crucial/Kingston etc. but can compromise on the technology to reduce costs. I think the posts are very helpful though. Need a total price too.
Click to expand...


Motherboard: Since stability is the most important and you want firewire, you can go Intel D865PERLL. It has firewire.

Video card: Something like a $30 ATI Radeon would do.

CPU: Get the cheapest Northwood P4 or Celeron. Anywhere from $70 to $200 at the Egg.

Case: Since you want something that looks good, has a reasonably powerful PSU AND runs quiet, go for the Silent PC Review'ed Silverstone LC04. $150 at PC Alchemy.

Memory: Corsair Value Select or similar, two 256MB sticks shouldn't run you more than $60 at the Egg.

Your preferred Seagate HD: Anywhere from 40GB to 250GB, $60 to $150.

Your choice of Optical Drive: just a plain reader costs about $30-40 at the Egg.

Total cheapest config: less than $500. Total most expensive config: $700 or more.
Click to expand...

You get the I can't read award. It must be in mATX form.
 
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Zepper

Elite Member
May 1, 2001
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Oh, I missed FW... FW add-on card <$10.00 (at least that's what I paid for mine) - aren't going to find integrated FW in an inexpensive mATX mobo. My total still well under $350.

Seagate 120GB HD - $50. AR at Best Buy starting tomorrow.

.bh.
 
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wisdomtooth

Golden Member
Dec 21, 2004
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Originally posted by: deathkoba
You get the I can't read award. It must be in mATX form.
Click to expand...

You get the judge-a-book-by-its-cover award. :D

The case I linked to is 12" deep x 16" wide x 5" high.

The average microATX case is 16" deep x 14.2" wide x 5.9" high (like the Enermax Venus Zepper mentioned).

And the D865PERLL WILL fit in that case I mentioned (or any other mATX board for that matter).

It's MicroATX in all but name.
 
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