Looking for best slim case to create a system for playing mp3s/DVD/ and to use as entertainment system

[Psyber]

These are what I need in the system:
less than 4" tall (the thinner the better)
600mhz+ cpu (PIII/Ath/Duron/Celeron)
front USB
1 agp slot (another pci would be ok as well, but agp preferred)
1 pci slot
either integrated LAN or another slot

The cheaper the better. I've looked at the FIC Sabre, but too expensive. Debating MSI MS-6215 and MSI MS-6218(but they're pretty ugly). Looked at Directron cases, but didn't like any of them. I really wanted to try to get a black or silver case, but couldn't find any that had the specs I wanted. Trying to spend under $200 for case MB and NIC. Any suggestions? Anyone use the MSI boards I'm considering and had any experience painting them. Any help would be good.

Mucho Thanks!
Psyber

 

[goob2k]

I'd suggest the Shuttle SV24 barebone system, but it exceeds your price range a bit and lacks an AGP slot (has integrated AGP video). It was reviewed on AT a while back.

 

[Psyber]

Does it have a tv-out?

 

[Psyber]

Looking at the stats of the Shuttle SV24. Looks good and would be willing to pay the slightly higher price for it, but I wanted to put a decent vid card and 5.1 Sound Card into it and that single PCI slot won't allow that. Anyone know how the integrated vid card is? Is it decent? I have emulators that'll play on anything, but I was hoping to be able to do some Counterstrike on it.

Psyber

 

[Phunktion]

How bout this case..

Linky

Edit: Any mATX motherboard would fit it so you could even go P4.. it can have 3 pci's and an AGP so you could get the video and soundcard seperate.. and it's 200W PSU is about the highest you'll find in a case that small.. I was going to do an entertainment system as well and was going to use this case to do it..

Or if you're willing to go a little larger.. a small black Suntek case with a cute little handle.. friend of mine uses this one for LAN's and says it's fairly decent and tiny..

Link

 

[SinfulWeeper]

Just buy a 2U case and throw in whatever you want... except a AGP card, you would have to go PCI.

 

[Psyber]

Thanks for the suggestions, but they're a bit too big. I don't really want a tower, I wanted to be able to stack things on top of it, like VCRs and stuff.

 

[SinfulWeeper]

I just thought of something. While it won't be the best, it will certainly work out OK. In the 2U idea I had, bet a Asus A7N-266E motherboard. Built in dolby sound and GeForce graphics

 

[SinfulWeeper]

Well if 2U is too thick. Get a 1U case with that motherboard I recommended.

Here are a couple linkies.

1U
2U

opps, I did not see your spending limit. Good luck on your search.

 

[Psyber]

Hey Weeper,
Where can I get that motherboard for a decent price? Is it a micro? I'll probably be willing to pay more for a case if I already have all the stuff integrated into the Motherboard.
Thanks!

 

[Psyber]

Oh the MB you gave me uses DDR RAM, I'm trying to keep computing power at a minimum since all it's gonna be used for is emulators mostly and watching DVDs. I am almost definately getting a Soundblaster live for the system, but probably can go for an on-board video with TV-out and LAN.

 

[kzochert]

If you have a Fry's close to you you should check it out. I saw a large assortment of cases, they also had some pretty thin cases with the mobo already installed, just check it out, it might be worth you time.

 

[SinfulWeeper]

While the price is not right, I would highly recommend a 1U or 2U case. They are flat and thin. However since it is not in your budget, try this MicroATX case along with say a... Intel D815EFVLU. It has onboard AGP, LAN, Audio. Though the Audio on it is a lame AC97, it sounds like you are getting a 5.1 sound card anyway. It supports upto a 1GHz PIII.

Top it off with a AIW Radeon when you budget permits, and I think you will be happy .

All the motherboards with 5.1 onboard to my knowledge have either DDR or RAMBUS. SDRAM is on its last legs and about to turn into a thing of the past.

Ahh yes, that case I linked to can be found cheaper. I was just visiting the site. Also it would need to be painted a color of your choice.

 

[FenrisUlf]

I've built two of these in the past few weeks. What you're looking for is almost impossible. Cheap, compact, powerful. Pick any two.

The first one used this case. If you go this route, I HIGHLY recommend a motherboard with an AGP slot. It uses half-height AGP/PCI cards so you are very limited in what you can install. A Radeon 7000 is about the only half height, decently fast AGP card I know of, but I don't think it comes with TV-out. You won't be able to use a SB Live! because it is a full height card. You could try the NV7M NForce motherboard which would give you good video and the 5.1 Dolby sound out. If you do this, you could unlock an XP and underclock it to about 700 MHz in order to keep it from overheating in such a limited airflow case, but it will be more expensive because of the DDR. The only downside here is that you don't have TV-out. You would need to buy an external scan converter to display on your TV.

The second computer I built starting with an MSI 6215 barebones. I painted all the beige parts black and it matches my stereo equipment great. A very easy case to paint. I can e-mail you pictures if you want. Make sure you get a Tualatin CPU model - the Celeron version is just as fast as a traditional PIII and generates less heat. This barebones has composite and S-video out (on some models, check before ordering) and two FULL height PCI slots. Use one for the SB Live!. If you don't want to use the onboard graphics, a Radeon ALL-IN-WONDER or other PCI card with video out should suffice. I use a SB Live! and a card fan in the two slots, but I'm paranoid about heat and this thing has to live with the heat generated by the rest of my A/V gear.

One word of warning about these cases - because everything is crammed together so tightly, airflow is restricted and there isn't much room for additional fans. A low temperature CPU is a must.

 

[toshiba3020]

Build it out of plexyglass. That is what I am going to do for my mp3 computer. You can use almost any mobo you want then.

 

[jcmkk]

Yeah, just build it from scratch. Plexi, Aluminum, wood, or whatever you want.

 

[Mday]

is that the Psyber that I know, or some other Psyber?

 

[DieHardware]

How about the Aopen H340 series or H300A, dealsdirect(and others) sells them.