I'm looking to put together a multimedia pc in the new antec aria sff case, but having trouble picking which mobo and cpu to get. I was looking at the intel d865glc but I'm not really sure.

any suggestions?

Quote: Originally Posted by csleee I'm looking to put together a multimedia pc in the new antec aria sff case, but having trouble picking which mobo and cpu to get. I was looking at the intel d865glc but I'm not really sure. any suggestions?

What is it going to be used for? just watching movies and music, or some gaming too?

Have you looked at the ASUS P4P800-VM ? it's 95$ at New Egg

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...131-460&depa=0

MSI, GIGABYTE and others make pretty good boards, are you set on using Intel?

The 3.0 is 214$ would be my choice, but may be overkill, the 2.4-2.8 would work just fine too

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...116-163&depa=0

I would use it for more than just "some" gaming, but basically I would be using it for music, movies(maybe TV), and gaming. Those mobos that you suggested are good for that? Anyone else have opinions?

and no im not set on using intel

I've heard many good things about THIS board.

If you don't stick with an Intel chip, I would suggest a Mobile XP 2500, unless you can find someone willing to give up an unlocked desktop CPU.

i have been looking at the CPUs and wondering what the differences are between

this one:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...116-171&depa=1

and this one:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...116-156&depa=1

trying to stick to these since they come with a heatsink and a fan.

Quote: Originally Posted by csleee i have been looking at the CPUs and wondering what the differences are between this one: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...116-171&depa=1 and this one: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...116-156&depa=1 trying to stick to these since they come with a heatsink and a fan.

The difference between those 2 chips is that the 3.0E has 1MB cache on it and the 3.0C only has 512k.

Be aware that if you do go the Intel motherboard route (which I recommend, I've got 500 on the floor here at work, and have only had to return 1 or 2 in the last 3 years) you cannot overclock them.

Quote: Originally Posted by csleee i have been looking at the CPUs and wondering what the differences are between this one: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...116-171&depa=1 and this one: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...116-156&depa=1 trying to stick to these since they come with a heatsink and a fan.

I would go with the older "C" Pentium 4 Northwood (512 cache) not the new "E" Prescott (1Mb) version.
Even though they are priced about the same, and performance is almost equal, the major reason is HEAT!

They run alot hotter, and with a small form factor pc, that will be a major issue!

If you are going to game with this, I would recomend going ASUS or some other major brand besides Intel.

You can overclock a Northwood P-4 quite a bit without increasing the voltage, and that will keep the heat reasonable in that tiny case, a 200-400 mhz increase is common with a stock HSF.

What video card are you going with? the 9800 Pro is around 200$ and the 5900XT is about 185$ and the new X800 Pro will run 400$. A good buy would also be a regular 6800 for 300$ if you want to have Pixel Sader 3 capabilities for a reasonable price.

The EPoX mATX nF2 motherboard & a 2500+M would be
much more cost effective performance for the money.
The 2500+M will run 3200+ speeds (11x200+) no sweat.

Plus, the 2500+M at stock voltage creates much less heat than a comparable P4,
which is a definite plus for SFF PC's, not to mention better performance. Go AMD.

Go with Mushkin or Corsair for memory, 2x256MB of DDR400 will be sufficent.
As for video, with 9800 Pro's only $199 now you should accept nothing lesser.

well i dont think that the epox motherboard is enough. it doesnt support SATA drives, but i do like the idea that the AMD processors are less heat. still debating on intel vs. amd.

as for the video card ill probably get the 9800 pro.

Quote: Originally Posted by csleee well i dont think that the epox motherboard is enough. it doesnt support SATA drives, but i do like the idea that the AMD processors are less heat. still debating on intel vs. amd. as for the video card ill probably get the 9800 pro.

I was going to suggest AMD also, but somehow I had a feeling your were not keen on the idea

Just one more thing to throw in the mix, the Athlon 64 is absolutly killing the P-4 when it comes to gaming, Iateronomly might even have a spare Athlon 64 SFF Motherboard. You can pick up a 3000+ for around 200$ wich is comparable to what a 3Ghz P-4 will cost. The price on motherboards is about the same.

Here is a good article about overclocking the Athlon 64 3000+

Here is how my "El Cheapo" 99$ Mobile 2500+ at 2.5Ghz using 1.8v stacks up against a 3Ghz P-4, and when I crank it up to 2.6Ghz and 1.9v, it completely destroys it on Sandra

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