ST20G5 or SN25P

[Vulcanus]

I'm torn between the two. My plan is to build up in steps with the vid card being last (since they become outdated quicker than all other components) But I don't want to not be able to play any video games for 2-3 months. My other option is to just get a SN95G5, being that the only real difference between the nforce 3 board in that and the nforce 4 in the SN25P is PCI-E 16x, PCI-E 1x, and 8ch sound instead of 6ch, which is pointless to me as I'm getting a sound card.




ST20G5
+ Appearance
+ Onboard graphics (so I can wait till next gen PCI-E gfx cards before spending $400)
+ Has a PCI slot so I can use current sound cards

- Onboard graphics (supposedly) perform similar/worse to 9600/X300SE, have a reputation for being extremely shitty.
- Only 2 available rear USB ports
- First ATI based chipset (performance, stability, drivers, etc. may suffer)
- G5 case gets quite warm
- Not yet available


SN25P
+ 4 rear USB ports
+ Runs cooler
+ May have better performance/stability
+ Additional 3.5" bay
+ Available now

- Will HAVE to buy a PCI-E 16x card
- Uglier/larger than G5 chassis
- PCI-E 1x only, sound card options limited (if any exist at all?)