Where to begin?

[Envie]

Hello
I am looking to build a SFF System, but I have no idea where to even begin. Well, I'll answer the questions and hopefully you guys can point me in the right direction.

1) I will be using it for medium-heavy gaming, mostly at LAN parties.
2) My budget is around 700 before shipping/tax.
3) I live in Southern Ontario, Canada.
4) I will need everything for the computer, with the exception of peripherals such as the keyboard/monitor.
5) This is my first build, so I have no parts to re-use.
6) I have no intention of over-clocking, never have and never will.
7) I use a 17" monitor.
8) I plan on ordering and building either around December 15th.
9) I don't know what I want from the mobo specifically, except SLI express capabilities
-I want it to fit the larger video-cards.

This is what I am looking at:
Case---------Thermaltake VF1000BWS ---------------------------------------------------------130
PSU----------SeaSonic M12II SS-500GM 500W ---------------------------------------------100
Mobo---------ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G Micro ATX--------------------85
CPU----------AMD Athalon 64 X2 5000+ 2.6GHz Socket AM2-------------------------65
CPU fan-----ZALMAN CNPS 7500-----------------------------------------------------------------55
Ram----------G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800------------75
Video---------MSI R4670-2D512 Radeon HD 4670 512MB --------------------------------100

Subtotal-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------610

Hard-drive and Wireless network will be picked up while on sale.

Any ideas on if this will work, or ideas on how to improve it?
Thanks guys

 

[mrmylanman]

I would suggest getting a 9800GTX+, they don't cost that much more than an 8800GTS, unless you were looking at the 8800GT. (I don't know the Canadian currency that well).

 

[tiraides]

Does your 17 inch monitor have a resolution of around 1280x1024? If so, consider either the GeForce 9800GT (the successor to the 8800GT) or the Radeon HD4670. Unless you're getting a 22 inch or larger monitor soon -- like, within the next 12 months -- you have no need for a better video card at this time. Nor do you need to worry about SLI or CrossFire; multi-card setups are really beneficial if you play games at high visual settings on a 1920x1200 or greater resolution.

Get DDR2 800 RAM. Unless you are using some excellent air cooling, it's generally not a good idea to overclock the processor in a microATX desktop case. (Having seen the CPU cooler you plan on using, I recommend sticking with the stock HSF that comes with the processor.)

You may want to look for a modular power supply, so you could minimize the amount of cables that you have inside your case. However, they tend to be more expensive than the non-modular types. Since you don't really need that much power for your system, you could get a modular power supply like the Seasonic M12II SS-500GM for around the same cost as the Real Power Pro PSU you were considering earlier.

Where were you getting everything at? Do you have an unused copy of Windows available?

 

[Envie]

I plan on sticking with a 17" and its not that high of a resolution.

Ok, I switched to 800mhz ram, switched to that PSU you reccomended, and that heatsink/fan for the CPU.

Is all this stuff compatible? I checked it out but cant find anything...
Will the changed Video-card fit? (Checked around but confused)

I was going to buy everything from Newegg.ca and TigerDirect.ca.

 

[tiraides]

You don't need anything special for a CPU cooler; just something that performs as well as the stock/retail HSF. You could get a low-profile CPU cooler that performs better than the stock HSF, like the Zalman CNPS 7000/7700/8000, but it's comparatively more expensive.

The advantages of modular power supplies are their removable cables, which enable you to keep only the cables that you need to power your computer with. For that luxury, they are more expensive. When dealing with the limited space that a SFF build (like yours) offers, that luxury tends to be more of a necessity.

 

[tiraides]

Now you've made me curious: Which hard drive and "wireless network" were you considering?

 

[Envie]

Whatever is on sale XD

I only need 150gb HD space
WiFi, well, probally a linksys card.

We shall see...

 

[tiraides]

Right now, from NewEgg.ca:

160GB SATA HDD - around $53
Linksys 802.11g PCI adapter - around $50
Cheap 802.11g PCI adapter - around $17 (but I can't verify how well it performs)

How long are you willing to wait on a sale?

 

[Envie]

Well, I can wait for a good deal untill I order everything else.
Hopefully around Dec 13ish.

I still have to find a way of making sure everything fits, I'm worried about the mobo/cpu hsf/ videocard, plan on doing more research tomorrow.

**Also - Open Box Sales on newegg.ca, how long do they last, and are they trustworthy?

 

[Dangman]

**Also - Open Box Sales on newegg.ca, how long do they last, and are they trustworthy?

They last as long as there's stock. As for trustworthiness, the problem is that you don't know what the previous owner did to that motherboard. Remember the ESD is a latent effect and does take a while to manifest itself. So basically, make sure that the Open box item does come with manufacturer warranty and you'll be fine.