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Help: Building PC; small in size; < $1000

L

liquidsense

Member
Newb here.

Over the weekend, I decided that I wanted to build a computer. I've built a computer once before, but only after my cousin purchased all of the parts. The building, of course, was much easier than the selection of components.

Long story short, I thought I could figure out what I needed for my new venture. But after 5+ hours of reading guides, perusing forums, and attempting to select components, I feel like I'm out of my league. I've come here looking for help.

Here is my relevant info:

1) Use: primarily surfing the web, watching videos, playing very basic games (i.e., web games); moderate video and audio editing (i.e., Nero-like programs), moderate Photoshop use; connecting through citrix to attend to work related matters; using Microsoft Office; ripping CDs; outputting to a Samsung 2333sw monitor; need wireless internet capability.

2) Budget: $1000.00 give or take.

3) Country: am open to purchasing parts from anywhere. I am located in the US.

4) Brand preference: I really don't have any preference (mostly because I don't know enough about the various brands).

5) Current parts: none.

6) Prior searches: Yes, I have run prior searches, but I feel like my lack of knowledge is hindering my ability to distill the information. One fundamental missing piece is can I get what I need into a small case?

7) Overclocking: no plans on overclocking.

8) Build timeframe: whenever soon.

*) My primary goal is to build a computer that fits into a small case. I live in a cramped space, and I need a small case. Smaller the better (so long as I am not compromising heat dissipation, loudness, etc.) Can I fit this into a Micro-sized case? Can I fit it into a Mini-sized case?

I'd like to run Vista 64-bit (I'm not really sure why). Currently, I have a Macbook Pro connected to my Samsung 2223w monitor. It's fine, but, frankly, I don't like the mac (first mac), it does not jibe with work related matters, I can't stand Microsoft word on it, and I'm annoyingly lazy about disconnecting it when I want to move the computer around.

Is this achievable? If someone could just help me get the ball rolling with maybe a mobo and pcu recommendation, I'd be forever grateful.

 
you can't find some place to stow a small full size case like, say, this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...129042&Tpk=antec%20300

for your budget i would for a full atx board since you'll get more features, more upgrability, and also decent integrated video. you can buy a discrete card if you want, but unless you're gaming you only need to spend $50 or so on something that will accelerate HD video and maybe provide output options (though most integrated cards have vga, dvi, and hdmi now).

you basically have a decision as far as the basis for your system- you can go i7, stick with an lga775 proc, or go quad core amd. the i7 920 is within your price range, but you may be satisfied with a cheaper c2d/c2q or phenom.

assuming you go i7-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.193607
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820148246

add in a 500w psu, case, and inexpensive GPU (no x58's with onboard), an optical drive and big HDD, and you could actually be under 1000 by a good bit.
 
Here is a build that I recently posted. It's under your budget, but definately is no slouch. It is only a C2D, but you can easily add a Quad core CPU if you want to spend the $.

$140!! e5200 (2.5 ghz easily OC'able to +3 ghz) and Gigabyte UD3L p45 mobo!!
e5200/Gigabyte UD3L p45 mobo
or
$270 - $15 MIR = $255!! Core 2 Quad 8200 w/Gigabyte UD3R mobo combo!!
Q8200 w/Gigabyte UD3R mobo

$55 for 800mHz DDR2 CAS4 RAM at stock voltage!!
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

$115 - $15 MIR = $100 + Free HDMI Cable too!! One of the better 4850's you can get for the $. Has HDMI/DVI/D-sub outputs on the back, what more do you need?? Is a bit overkill for your needs, but will last you longer than just the stock onboard GPU.
SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

$95!! Antec 300 case w/Antec Earthwatts 430w PSU combo!! PSU comes w/30A on the 12v rails combined (which is good in the price range).
Antec 300/Antec Earthwatts 430w PSU

$70 shipped!! WD 640gb AAKS HD, which is one of the faster HD's at this price!!
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

$26 DVD Burner w/Retail software included!!
LITE-ON Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with Smart Erase - Retail

Total e5200 setup w/shipping ~$517 - $15 MIR = $502!!! Total w/q8200 w/shipping = ~$644 - $30 MIR = $614!! Now I don't know if you have your OS for this build, but add $100 for Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit and your at $602 for the e5200 setup and at $714 for the q8200 setup. It's up to you, but either will work out just fine and they don't break the bank either. If you want more power than I'd go with the Antec Sonata Case/PSU combo. It's hard to beat at $110 shipped!! It'll also leave a bit more room for upgrades down the road, if you end up adding more things to the build.

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
It's only about $15 more than the combo I have above, so you can decide if you need/want to spend more for it.
 
Do you feel comfortable working within the confines of a mini-ITX case? If so, are you open to making some very basic modifications to optimize cooling/noise levels (i.e. drilling simple holes to mount a fan, etc)?

You can certainly put together a dual-core mini-ITX system that would suffice for your needs, and remain well under $1000- however, do keep in mind that you will sacrifice some flexibility with respect to adding expansion cards and hard drives.
 
Originally posted by: dawza
Do you feel comfortable working within the confines of a mini-ITX case? If so, are you open to making some very basic modifications to optimize cooling/noise levels (i.e. drilling simple holes to mount a fan, etc)?

You can certainly put together a dual-core mini-ITX system that would suffice for your needs, and remain well under $1000- however, do keep in mind that you will sacrifice some flexibility with respect to adding expansion cards and hard drives.
Click to expand...

Yes. I am absolutely open to making basic (or even moderate) modifications.

At the end of the day, I'd love to be able to pack as much punch into a mini-ITX case as possible. Since you metioned dual-core, I'm guessing that dual-core is the most I can pack into a mini-ITX because of physical constraints? Or is it also a function of my budget? Also, I do understand that with a smaller case, I will be sacrificing flexibility/upgradability -- which I am completely ok with.

Also, to the previous two posters, thank you very much for the advice. I will defintely consider using the small case you suggested, with the corresponding components. But, I will hold off until I can find out if I can build a mini!
 
Going dual-core in a mini-ITX system is largely, as you guessed, an issue of physical constraints- more specifically, it has to do with heat output vs. noise level. Can it be done? Absolutely. But from what you listed as your primary uses, quad seems to be major overkill.

I just put together an ITX system for my cousin, who will be living in a relatively small apartment for his college years. I feel the following offers a reasonable compromise between size/footprint, power draw/heat, noise, price, and performance/reliability:


Case: Morex T3500 60W. Obviously, 60W is not enough to power a C2D system; however, I learned the hard way that while the 150W version has enough juice, the power brick has an annoying fan that always spins away. So, I suggest you purchase the 60W case, remove the DC-DC board/connectors, and use a PicoPSU/fanless brick instead.

PSU: PicoPSU 150W. You will be fine with the 120W version as well, but the 150W has a P4 plug built-in, which eliminates the need for an adapter (every cable counts in an ITX case).

Power brick: 150W (12V 12.5A) fanless brick (FSP). You will also need the 4-pin miniDIN to 2-pin barrel adapter to use with the PicoPSU. Again, you would be OK with a 120W brick, but 12V 120W fanless bricks can be difficult to find, and would be about the same price.

Motherboard: Zotac 9300 ITX w/WiFi module. Best integrated graphics on the market with solid WiFi performance. The chipset gets blazing hot, but there is a simple mod you can do to the Morex T3500 to alleviate this issue.

CPU: E5200-E7400- take your pick, as they are all pretty close for heat output.

Memory: Just about any 2x2GB kit should do. Avoid anything that has tall, fancy heatspreaders- you want to keep things low-profile for clearance. I used plain-jane Crucial DDR2-800 value RAM.

ODD: I would suggest any slimline SATA-based drive. Slot-loading is sexier, but somewhat more expensive. Here is the one I used.

HDD: You will have to use a 2.5" drive for this case. I used a 7200RPM WD Scorpio Black 160GB drive, as seen here. Seeks are moderately audible, but it is silent when idle. Performance is acceptable. You may actually be able to fit a bare Velociraptor (i.e. minus the Icepack heatsink) in the case.

CPU Heatsink: The stock heatsink will suffice, although I suggest you purchase a bolt-through kit for ease of installation- if using the stock heatsink, remove the fan (more on this later). As an alternative, you can easily eBay a Dynatron P12G, which is a large chunk of copper that comes with its own backplate/screw-on mount.

Fan: Yate-loon 120x20mm low-speed fan. You will need a 20mm thick fan to properly clear the motherboard's chipset heatsink- a 25mm fan is just a bit too tall. Fortunately, this will be sufficient to cool your CPU heatsink, chipset, memory, and PicoPSU. You will probably want to drill four holes into the mesh top of the case to mount the fan securely.

Other modifications: The case comes standard with an input for a 4-pin DIN power brick, which you will have to remove if using the PicoPSU (2-pin barrel). You can always ghetto it up and have the PicoPSU DC jack hanging out the back of the case, but you probably want to make a simple panel to mount the jack properly.

You might also want to order some slim short-head SATA cables, as the Morex mounts the HDD in a somewhat tight, awkward position that makes attaching the power and SATA cable difficult. Here.

A 12V-->9V, or 7V, or 5V 3-pin fan adapter may be handy, so you don't have to run the Yate at full speed. It is a quiet fan even at 12V, but much more so at 5-7V. The motherboard's built-in fan control did not work for me. Cooling is more than adequate even when running at 5-7V.

Finally, you will need a slimline power adapter if using a SATA ODD. Here

Depending on your exact choices, you should be able to keep this well under $700.


Edit:

Link to gallery with images of build:

http://img20.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=p1010054l.jpg

Fair warning- I am thoroughly incompetent when it comes to photography.
 
Originally posted by: dawza
Going dual-core in a mini-ITX system is largely, as you guessed, an issue of physical constraints- more specifically, it has to do with heat output vs. noise level. Can it be done? Absolutely. But from what you listed as your primary uses, quad seems to be major overkill.

I just put together an ITX system for my cousin, who will be living in a relatively small apartment for his college years. I feel the following offers a reasonable compromise between size/footprint, power draw/heat, noise, price, and performance/reliability:


Case: Morex T3500 60W. Obviously, 60W is not enough to power a C2D system; however, I learned the hard way that while the 150W version has enough juice, the power brick has an annoying fan that always spins away. So, I suggest you purchase the 60W case, remove the DC-DC board/connectors, and use a PicoPSU/fanless brick instead.

PSU: PicoPSU 150W. You will be fine with the 120W version as well, but the 150W has a P4 plug built-in, which eliminates the need for an adapter (every cable counts in an ITX case).

Power brick: 150W (12V 12.5A) fanless brick (FSP). You will also need the 4-pin miniDIN to 2-pin barrel adapter to use with the PicoPSU. Again, you would be OK with a 120W brick, but 12V 120W fanless bricks can be difficult to find, and would be about the same price.

Motherboard: Zotac 9300 ITX w/WiFi module. Best integrated graphics on the market with solid WiFi performance. The chipset gets blazing hot, but there is a simple mod you can do to the Morex T3500 to alleviate this issue.

[snip]
Click to expand...

Honestly, he'd be better off with this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16856107049

and a AMD 45W cpu like the 5050e

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103298


The barebones already has the case, psu and power brick, mobo, and heatsink. I own a similar one with an ATI chipset and it works well. Only complaint is that it's a tad loud, but that can be fixed.

 
Photoshop CS4 and Nero Recode support CUDA, so you may benefit from a mid-range NVIDIA graphics card.

You can use the Zotac 9300 ITX case that dawza mentioned with the Silverstone SG05 mini ITX case. It also requires a slim optical drive (slot loading preferred) but can hold a normal graphics card up to a GTS 250 and comes with a decent 300W FSP power supply. It is basically around the size/shape of a Shuttle mini system but able to take normal SFX power supplies and dual-slot graphics cards.

Alternately build a semi-slim micro ATX system. Here are some case choices:

IN WIN IW-BK623.BN300BL

Athenatech A100SC.200

Athenatech A100BB.350

Note that the two Athenatech cases are actually exactly the same, just with different PSUs. The one with 350W is a decent PSU BUT... is very noisy. If noise is a concern, then do not get that one, otherwise it is cheaper to get that one for the better PSU (output-wise).

The alternative is to buy one of those for the case itself and use this power supply:

SeaSonic SS-350SFE 350W SFX12V power supply

The power supply is a Seasonic, so we all know it should be decent quality and reasonably quiet. I have one and it works well. It is 80+ efficient and puts out 26A combined on +12v rails, enough for just about any mid-range graphics card.

I don't have experience with the In Win case, but do have hands-on experience with the Athenatech cases. They need some quick/easy mods to lower noise and increase cooling. The two 60mm exhaust fans need to be undervolted (use whatever methods you prefer) and the fan grills cut out from the chassis. To do that you will have to remove the fan holder (a plastic piece holding both fans). Then just snip/dremel the fan grills out. Replace the plastic piece and you're done. No need for finger guards since the holes are so small. The front can take an 80mm fan. Don't know if one is included these days (mine did not have it included) so just add whatever you want as an intake. You may also want to mod the intake area for better ventilation. With this as an intake you are ready for any dual-slot graphics card that exhausts through the rear. The case dimensions are 5.8" x 13.5" x 14.5"(WxHxD). You can easily let it stand as a tower behind your LCD monitor.

Toss in a budget micro ATX overclockable motherboard with 8GB DDR2 and any socket 775 CPU you would want including Core 2 Quad and a GTS 250 graphics card. You will be ready for CUDA-accelerated video/photo stuff and Vista 64.

case $50
PSU $50
mobo $100
Core 2 Quad Q9550 $280
8GB RAM $80
GTS 250 $150
optical drive $25
1TB hard drive $100
Vista Home Premium 64-bit $100
= $935
 
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