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New SFF

H

huffman

n00b
Joined
Aug 5, 2005
Messages
16
Hey,

Over the past couple days I've been trying to put together a new computer to build and have decided on getting a
MSI RS480M2-IL, a AMD A64 3000+, and a stick of Crucial 1GB so far. I want to get an Aspire X-QPACK but I'm having a hard time finding any windowless versions that are in stock. I'm considering buying from here but I haven't been able to find much feedback on the site. Anyone ever bought from there? They also seem to be a B&M store, but I'm still wondering about their online service.

I'm going to be using this computer for school and for gaming, how do you think this will hold up? I don't plan on OC'ing so that is a non-issue. Tell me what you think.

Also, does anyone have a suggestion for a video card around the $200 range? Something that works well with BF2 would be the best. Thanks :).

Ryan

EDIT: I was also checking out the chenming equivalent of the case, but I'm not sure about the power supply. Will these cases hold a standard atx psu?
 
get a shuttle sn25p, be about $40 more than xpax, mobo, and powersupply combo, but well worth it. Im running my 3000+ right now at 2.7 ghz, stock voltage, idle 23'c load 36'c on mid fan setting. But i did a little modding that took about 20 min.
 
even the rails on the aspire PSU were too jumpy for me to consider it for front-line duty. Right now it's my backup; you're better off buying a new PSU regardless of which QPack model you get.

As for vid cards, a 6600GT is you're best bet if you are on a budget pci-express and aren't going to OC.

Otherwise, AGP still beats pci express in terms of price/performance ratio in the suv-200$ vid card price range. an AGP 6800np will go for ~170$ and slightly outperform the 6600GT in stock mode, and will absolutely smoke it if you ever decide to overclock. yes, you lose some expansion for the future, but by the time you need another update, socket 939 pci-express mobo's should be cheap enough that you don't lose any money by going the AGP route now.
 
40 bucks more? On newegg the sn25p alone would come out to around $430-$440 for me (With tax). An X-QPACK ($100ish) + MSI MOBO ($100) + $50 for the psu? That's still $150-$200 less. Am I missing something here? I was originally going to go the shuttle route, but I just don't see how it is anywhere near the same price. Nonetheless, thank you for the help, hopefully you can clear this up for me :).

Nakamori: What PSU would you suggest I buy? Do I need a smaller PSU for the X-Qpack? Thanks :)

I gotta get to bed, but I'll check back in the morning.

Ryan
 
i just got my qpack and it is up and running.

I am using the stock PSU right now and it seems somewhat ok. I also have the MSI board which works well but no OCing. I should receive my new PSU tomorrow though and that will replace this sucker.

Good case though...mine doesn't weigh over 15-18 lbs fully loaded.
 
I bought my SN25P from ZipZoomFly for 359 shipped.

I was looking at

$100 Mobo
$85 X-Qpack
$100 PSU

so it was 285 vs. 360. Yeah that is a bit more, but I got everything I wanted and I am oc'd to 2.6 now.
 
lol, too big? its not that much bigger than a shuttle...there are some pics to show this. It is in the "bigger" range of the sff though.
 
What PSU are you getting steve? Are there any specific psu's that I need to look at because this is a smaller case?
 
I am getting a Seasonic S12 500w....however, I was going to get an Ultra X-finity but they didn't come out in time (due out in a week I believe). either one will work...I will post pictures for you too. If you need any measurements let me know.
 
Also, what about the size of the x-qpack? I'm almost thinking I should just get a regular atx mobo instead, but the mobility and compactness would be nice. I'm going to be moving to a dorm in about a week so space will be kind of tight, and the ability to take the computer home with ease would also be nice. What do you think?
 
im in the same situation you are in,
starting college and need the mobility
if you want a atx mobo i think you should get a microatx system
you can get most of the features of a full atx mobo, 4 pci/agp/pcie slots and maybe less overclocking options
decide on exactly what you need in you system and if you can find a suitable microatx mobo then go for it
if you need more than what a microatx mobo can offer then stick with atx
dont spend money on something you dont really want
shuttle pcs only have 2 pci/agp/pcie slots so if you need more than 2 but less than 5 then stick with microatx
if you're stuck between atx and shuttle then go microatx, thats what i did, get a bit of everything, so if you want more then you can get it easily
what really made my decision is the fact that i want a ATX psu and a high end vid card with room for dual slot coolers if i am interested in one.
 
stick with the standard one then...it works fine...and if it blows then buy a new one :)

You don't need 500watts by the way. You could easily get away with 430
 
Are you guys going to be freshman in college? If so, good luck. Only advice, don't join a frat.
 
I went ahead and got the chenming case (I didn't want the windows and the aspires were out of stock) along with the msi mATX board, A64 3000+, 1gb Crucial value ram, lite-on cdrw/dvd drive, and a floppy :). Should work out good, I'll let you guys know how it turns out. I'll probably be buying a pci-e video card pretty soon too, but I wanted to do a little more research before I just went and bought something. Thanks for the help!

Ryan

EDIT: I'm going to be a freshman in college... What's so bad about frats? :)
 
I have the Jetway, AMD64 300+, eVGA 6600gt PCI-e, and 4x512mb ram, with DigiFire sound card....all running off a Tagan 480W. Solid rails and quiet.
 
Nice. I'm going to be using a 400w sparkle for now, but I might upgrade it when I get a video card, we'll see...

Ryan
 
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