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help me build my own sff

Dorkenstein

Dorkenstein

Diamond Member
Never built an sff before. Is it possible to make an inexpensive sff gaming box?

Right now I am running on a Socket 754 A64 3700+ with 2gb of valueram and an ATI GTO2. Anything faster than that is gravy. Thanks.
 
You may want to consider going with a mATX cube case. It is a little larger, but more flexible and could be cheaper than going with a Shuttle or other SFF system.
 
Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
Hmm, is there much of a difference in size?
Click to expand...

It has a slightly larger footprint, but mATX cube cases can use full size, ATX PSUs, optical drives; mATX boards also come with more PCI slots, making expansion a little easier.
 
Cool. I notice that there aren't many good matx motherboards though. I really want to get an Intel motherboard but I don't see any really good ones that are matx. Am I missing them?
 
Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
Is it possible to make an inexpensive sff gaming box?
Click to expand...

Yes.

$1000 budget a bit different now than writeup, now using a 4000+ CPU, 320W Enermax PSU and a 7900GTX (picked up used for $240 or so). The original system was closer to an $800 budget.

click on individual pics This one was closer to $1400-1500 but didn't have to be that much if I dropped RAID and SLI, and went with a non-SLI PSU. Without those it would be closer to $1000-1100.
 
Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
Never built an sff before. Is it possible to make an inexpensive sff gaming box?

Right now I am running on a Socket 754 A64 3700+ with 2gb of valueram and an ATI GTO2. Anything faster than that is gravy. Thanks.
Click to expand...

if you ever decide to sell your current CPU please let me know.
 
A C2D is likely the way to go. For that kind of money, you can get a 7900GTX, though the 8800's might drop down to your price range soon.

I'd reccomend going with an Asus board over an Intel board. Usually better quality.
 
Originally posted by: Cheesehead
A C2D is likely the way to go. For that kind of money, you can get a 7900GTX, though the 8800's might drop down to your price range soon.

I'd reccomend going with an Asus board over an Intel board. Usually better quality.
Click to expand...

Asus boards have more features, but the Intel boards are rock solid for stability.

As for graphics, you may want to just pick up a mid-range DirectX 9 card and then change it out later in the year when more DX10 cards are available or when the 2nd generation cards are released.
 
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