Advice Needed for my first SFF build.

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Ride2kmax

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 26, 2008
Messages
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Alright guys i want to build a sff within the next month but i never done one before so i need some help again but now with a Sff.

I want if posible something better than my current computer which has

Cpu Q6600
Ram 4 gig gskill
OS Vista 64
MB Msi p6n sli
VC Pny 8800gt
Psu 500w antec
Cheapo case

The only thing i know is that i like the sg02 as the case to choose but not sure.
So i need advice with everything else.

My budget would be 600 but could add more if is worth it.


Thanks everyone for the help in advance.
 
Couldn't you just salvage everything in your current rig except the motherboard?

Then pick up a new mobo, cooler, and maybe a modular PSU?
 
If you are wanting to reuse parts and/or keep it cheap I would say find a mobo that'll let you OC that Q6600 up to 3GHz or possibly more. The P5E-VM HDMI should do the trick. Its stable and reliable as they come and not too expensive. The case choice is a little harder to nail down because you'll need to have excellent cooling capability for the overclocking. Maybe a different PSU. I dont care for Antec personally so a Corsair 520w or one of Silverstone's short cable modular models in the 500w range will do nicely if you feel that Antec isnt good enough. Keep the RAM and O/S for now if you can. Could even keep the GPU but depends on what res monitor you are using. Being that the i7 systems are looking attractive its best to wait and keep things cheap until you can make the leap.

Now if you are wanting to jump to the next gen systems then wait a bit and see what these upcoming X58 mATX version mobos will do for you. A i7 920 quad would probably be the cheaper way to go as far as quads go. They overclock extremely well from what I hear but the unknown part is the mobos. I expect they'll perform very good. Its a little early yet though. We should know soon.
 
I dont want to replace my current system i want a second system in Sff.
I'm not going to reuse any parts at all.
This one should be a complete new build.
 
so are you going i7 or 775?

DFI has one mATX board at the moment and well its a performer, asus also has a new board coming out soon, probably by the end of the month and its expected to be good as well.

if 775 is what you are going for and you'd like to OC id also suggest the p5e-vm.

EDIT: just noticed you have a budget of 600, and you are not reusing parts, guess i7 is out of the question...:rolleyes:
 
Ok, please answer these questions so that we can help you better (Slight modification of the questionnaire from the General Hardware subforum:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
3) Where do you live?
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.

6) Will you be overclocking?
7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
 
) What will you be doing with this PC? Regular internet,movies,pictures and some Gaming and yes it would have Photoshop in it I dont use much but i'll be there.
2) What's your budget? I stated my budget NO tax and shipping in not included. I wrote my current system as to try and get something better and not to answer this question again.

3) Where do you live? Kansas
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? Everything needed for a build.

6) Will you be overclocking?Some
7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have? Currently have a 19" i'm upgrading to a 26" maybe the asus.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Read first post. Within a month.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? Im not usre RAID? NO Firewire? NO Crossfire or SLI support? Dont know.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Yes
__________________
 
Base build:
Silverstone SUGO SG02B-F Black mATX Case - $80
Kingston KVR800D2K2/4GR 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $41
MSI R4830-T2D512 OC Radeon HD 4830 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $95
Western Digital WD6401AALS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $80
Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner - $25
Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU - $50
----
$371 plus tax and shipping

Still have about $229 leftover for the CPU and mobo. Thats about enough money for a $120 E7400 or $120 AMD X3 710 CPU plust ~$100 motherboard.
 
Danny Bui said:
Base build:
Silverstone SUGO SG02B-F Black mATX Case - $80
Kingston KVR800D2K2/4GR 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $41
MSI R4830-T2D512 OC Radeon HD 4830 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $95
Western Digital WD6401AALS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $80
Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner - $25
Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU - $50
----
$371 plus tax and shipping

Still have about $229 leftover for the CPU and mobo. Thats about enough money for a $120 E7400 or $120 AMD X3 710 CPU plust ~$100 motherboard.
Click to expand...

That's pretty good effort and it's hard to beat. Maybe you can save a few bucks by going with the AAKS and picking an Elite 341 instead of the Sugo, so you can get a 4850 instead (as the 4830 is about the same as the 8800GT he's already got). E7400 is a good choice, coupled with a P5E-VM HDMI and a Freezer 7 Pro. I have lost track of the budget now but we should be pretty close now, no?
 
Danny Bui said:
Base build:
Silverstone SUGO SG02B-F Black mATX Case - $80
Kingston KVR800D2K2/4GR 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $41
MSI R4830-T2D512 OC Radeon HD 4830 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $95
Western Digital WD6401AALS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $80
Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner - $25
Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU - $50
----
$371 plus tax and shipping

Still have about $229 leftover for the CPU and mobo. Thats about enough money for a $120 E7400 or $120 AMD X3 710 CPU plust ~$100 motherboard.
Click to expand...

Thank Danny Bui.

I kind of wanted to put the 4570 or which vc is right below 260. I kind like nvidia so i dont know, nothing is for sure yet.
like i said i can put an extra 100-200 if is going to make a significant difference.
 
Ride2kmax said:
Thank Danny Bui.

I kind of wanted to put the 4570 or which vc is right below 260. But nothing is for sure yet.
like i said i can put an extra 100-200 if is going to make a significant difference.
Click to expand...

The HD4850 is right below the GTX260/HD4870 1GB card and it will cost another $50:
Sapphire 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $145

I would also recommend a modular PSU in order to make cable management a whole lot easier in the Silverstone SG02 case as well as other SFF cases:
BFG MX-550 550W Modular PSU - $92
 
+1 on the modular PSU - I have a modular PSU in my lanbox lite and its still kind of a pain to manage cables...
 
Yea pretty much. 4870 is cheaper but runs hotter, gtx260 is usually a better performer.
 
Ride2kmax said:
Are this 2 cards the same GTX260/HD4870 ?
Click to expand...

Yup. Pretty much a wash between the two cards depending on the game.

As far which PSU to go with, all three of the modular PSUs are roughly the same quality. NOw it's just a matter of which company you trust more, price, warranty, etc.
 
Ride2kmax said:
Of the modular psu's mention above which one is the best to choose?.
Click to expand...

If you pick the Sugo case, then you should pick the Silverstone ST60F or maybe the Corsair 520HX.

I don't know but it seems that we can now pretty much forget about the budget...
 
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