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help me put together a *cheap* gaming SFF system

M

mulebennett

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
Messages
392
wanting to keep it really cheap. real cheap. i've got the video card -- 9800xt 256mb, will that fit in a SFF system? wanting something that will handle HL2, BF1942, and other newer games. 512 megs of RAM, not gonna need a ton of storage.... lemme know if you need any other specs, but this will be primarily a gaming PC. also, i don't need a monitor or a mouse. just help me configure the tower and the components. thanks a bunch
 
Well first off that is a bad videocard for a cheap system. Not really the best bang for the buck.


Either get a 9800pro or spend the extra for a 6800GT.
 
agentzero9 said:
Well first off that is a bad videocard for a cheap system. Not really the best bang for the buck.


Either get a 9800pro or spend the extra for a 6800GT.
Click to expand...

well, the only thing is... i already have the 9800XT. :( i guess i could trade down...
 
by the way, i noticed in your sig you have an XP-M processor. what's the difference between XP-M and XP+ in terms of desktops?
 
mulebennett said:
by the way, i noticed in your sig you have an XP-M processor. what's the difference between XP-M and XP+ in terms of desktops?
Click to expand...

the mobiles are unlocked. while the xp+ are. i think thats about it. not sure though.
 
The 9800XT will work in the shuttle, people have gotten GTs to work in those things... Just get a cheap SFF with an AGP slot, like the Jetway MiniQ 760S. Of course, you'll only be able to use PC2700 in it since most onboard video, even when disabled, is finicky about anything over PC2700. Just get 2x256mb of the stuff. Get a mobile XP so that the heat's less in the system. The rest you can fill in...
 
The XP-M's use less power and generate less heat (which should allow you to overclock higher). If you are looking to oc, the XP-M 2500+ is the way to go. The only thing you lose with going mobile, is that the FSB on the cpus are at 266 (for all of the XP-M line I believe). As far as SFF's go, Shuttle is a pretty popular brand (and supposedly handles the heat situation better). If you're looking for more performance, you might consider running a RAID setup and going up to 1GB of RAM.
 
Barebone Systems

Jetway Silver MiniQ Barebone System for Socket A at 266/333MHz FSB AMD CPU, Model MiniQ-760S -OEM
$189.00
------------------------------
CD/DVD Burners (RW Drives)

NEC 8X Silver DVD+RW/-RW Drive, Model ND-2500A, OEM Bulk
$66.99
--------------------------
Hard Drives

Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB, OEM Drive Only
$59.00
------------------------
Memory (System Memory)

(2) Kingmax SuperRAM Series 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-2700 - OEM
$84.00
------------------------
Processors

AMD 45 Watt Mobile Athlon XP 2600+, 266 MHz FSB, 512K L2 Cache Processor - OEM
$95.00

Total (Before tax): $ 493.99
 
Pac-Man said:
The XP-M's use less power and generate less heat (which should allow you to overclock higher). If you are looking to oc, the XP-M 2500+ is the way to go. The only thing you lose with going mobile, is that the FSB on the cpus are at 266 (for all of the XP-M line I believe). As far as SFF's go, Shuttle is a pretty popular brand (and supposedly handles the heat situation better). If you're looking for more performance, you might consider running a RAID setup and going up to 1GB of RAM.
Click to expand...

Actually 35W 2400+ is the best mobile processor to go with.

Also the FSB is not 266, you set the FSB in the bios to whatever you want.
 
how does my set-up look? i might trade down for a 9800 pro and bring the price of that down 200 bucks. ideas?
 
buy pc 3200... it costs $3 more.. do it... muskin pc3200 is $81 right now...
don't worry about dual channel... and don't get kingmax... kingston, crucial, corsair, mushkin.

get a computer that supports 400fsb.. it will make your computer faster to have the fsb higher..

look at spending a bit more on a shuttle sn41 or sn45..

here is my reccomendation

shuttle sn41gv2
muskin pc3200 512mb
35 watt 2400+
whatever HD you want
whatever optical you want
the vid card you already have
 
What does a DFI Ultra INfinity have to do with SFF? Too many people smoking stuff they shouldnt these days :p
 
trader869 said:
What does a DFI Ultra INfinity have to do with SFF? Too many people smoking stuff they shouldnt these days :p
Click to expand...

Apologies. You could always cut it down to size :)
 
I am in almost the same situation as you, I am trying to put together a cheap shuttle gaming system.

So far the best deal I am thinking of getting is

Shuttle sn45 refurbished from Shuttle for $180
45watt 2400 Barton Mobile
2 x 512mb Kingston Ram
any size hard drive you want
 
Looks like a winner and it doesn't have the cooling problems Soltek is so well known for...

You'll want to check and make sure you're getting a v2.x SN45G, though. I think New Egg's got 'em, too.
 
I am building an sff for the same purpose- any suggestions on this setup?

Shuttle SN85G4v2
AMD 64 2800+
512M DDR 400
ATI Radeon 9800se (should be able to softmod)
Western Digital WD800JB 80Gb HD w/ 8m buffer. (IDE)

How well does the 2800+ overclock?
Also, is the VIA K8M800 chipset any better than the nForce3?
 
roc said:
Looks like a winner and it doesn't have the cooling problems Soltek is so well known for...

You'll want to check and make sure you're getting a v2.x SN45G, though. I think New Egg's got 'em, too.
Click to expand...

Rev1 FN45 boards are still the best... unlike the others, you can change VDIMM without getting a paperweight out of the whole thing. However, you'd be very lucky if you actually got one seeing as how they don't make rev1's anymore.
 
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