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SFF Rig Question

A

acole1

Golden Member
I am stuck in trying to make up my mind between two setups to go with for my HTPC/LAN PC.

My spare parts are a skt775 P4 3.2, DVD-ROM, 2yr old antec blue 350W psu, a 7600GT (PCIe), and maybe Creative 4.1 Soundblaster(?) around somewhere.

My choices are:
my stuff + Shuttle SB86I Pre-Built + ~$100 RAM

or

my stuff + SILVERSTONE SST-SG01-S Case + ECS P4M890T-M2 (Possibly Abit for $3 more, but lose having both DDR & DDR2 slots) + ~100 RAM


Pre-Built solution comes to ~$265 with shipping.
Pros:
- already together (might be con)
- more features than the put together one (optical/coaxial audio, sd card slots, 1934)
- hides DVD drive
Cons:
- proprietary
- 275W PSU
- limits add on cards to 1xPCIe and 1xPCI


Self-Built system is ~$275 w/ shipping
Pros:
- custom parts/upgradeable mobo
- use my 350W PSU
- Silverstone case looks really nice
Cons:
- only 3 plug audio (how would I play videos with sound to the TV? :confused😉
- a bit larger (not a real big problem)

Probably down the line I will get a TV tuner card, but right now I was just wanting to play some videos on my PC/network on my HDTV and take it to light lan parties.

I don't know a whole lot about the SFF/HTPC market but I have been looking around at parts for a while. Any suggestions are welcome!

Thanks! 🙂
 
Get a Ultra Microfly if you want something small enough for a living room, but it also offers using any mATX mobo and standard PSU.
 
Sugo is by far a better looking case then the Microfly. The shuttle is also very nice.
The microfly and q-packs are better for LAN parties in theory, but the handles on these case just don't seems strong enough for a fully load case. I just too nerveous it will break so I never use it.

The sugo is the ony one one that standard PSU fits in well. If you have a short DVD drive (lite-on) then standard psu will fit.

Personally I have had the shuttles and the Xpack and I like the Sugo look the most and the shuttle wireing the most. Xpack just not a huge fan, but they are nicely priced.
 
I love the Silverstone Case's looks and fexibility.

Nice thing about going the self build route is that you can use a motherboard with Core 2 Duo compatability for the future. (And you get the great looking case)

As OrSin said the X-QPack is great .... for the price. I prefer the extra space of the Ultra MicroFly (again for the price).
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=382312

If I just wanted small and simple. I'd go with the Shuttle. If I want the best longterm ... I'd go with the Silverstone since it's standard mATX you can also use it later with another build a few years from now.
 
Thanks for the helpful input!

I was initially looking at the Microfly for its price, but it seems cheap in quality and looks too, but not bad for the price!
When I saw the Silverstone I really liked the looks of it, and yes, I probably will use it for quite a while with C2D or anything that might come down the road later. I think the motherboard I picked supports C2D so when I run out of power with my 3.2P4 I should be able to swap one in.

Another thing I remembered might be a potential problem is my PSU is a 20pin... I wouldn't think I would need the other 4 pins since I am not running dual core or a power hungry video card. Your thoughts?
 
While I think a good 350W should be ok ... I always hesitate to use a 20-pin power supply on motherboards that accept 24-pin power supplies. Then again I'm pretty paranoid about clean power.

Personally, I swear by Active PFC power supplies. Especially in systems that may be used at LANs with unpredictable power quality. (LANs aren't terribly keen on lettign you bring your own UPS. So for me active PFC is the only option.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...egory=58&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=
(be sure to get a standard size for the Silverstone).

 
Yeah if it was my main rig I would get a new PSU but it's just a throw together rig for some playing around and something that I can slowly improve.

The PSU I have on it right now is an Antec SmartBlue 350w PSU and that website shows its stats.... Kinda old but it works.

Most of the LAN parties I go to are at my friend house with just a few ppl so the power is alright. We have only blown a circuit once 😛
 
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