My sisters wants me to build a pc for her. I've built a pc for myself but she wants hers to be small. I have a CM690 case and she wants it to be smaller than that. So I'm thinking mini-atx case or go microatx but I don't know. I've never built anything on a Microatx form factor but are there any extra challenges that come with the form difference? She uses a lot of graphic programs photoshop illustrator and the like, so I want to be able to put in a q6600 and a nice mobo with good ram. Any thoughts or recommendations of cases and mobo's?
How small is small? Is something the size of the recently reviewed lancool case small enough, or does it need to be smaller than that?
no thats about the same size as the cm690 i have and she wants it to be smaller, easier to move, more compact
Yes, budget would be a big factor on what to recommend. Also, would all the parts for it be new or some recycled from another build? One thing I do know about working with smaller cases, power supplies with modular cables help a TON. There usually aren't as many good places to stuff extra cables and you don't want to adversely affect the airflow in the case.
budget is $1000 US the shuttle size is what she wants, something small like that, but it needs to perform on a professional graphic editing level. A shuttle barebone kit looks good to me but I don't really what to put in it.
shuttle sp35p2 - $400 4gb ddr2 - $100 q6600 - $250 8600gt - $80 ????? 500gb disk - $80 dvd writer - $30 ========== $940+tax, shipping.
ok so heres the plan so far, hope it all checks out, 1x shuttle sp35p2 2x Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 1x Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 1x Western Digital 500GB 7200 SATA Hard Drive OEM 1x LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model 1x EVGA GeForce 8600GT 512MB I racked it all up on newegg for $1011, close enough. Will the 8600GT fit?
Hmm, any particular reason you're wanting the tracer version of the ram? Might be better to get regular version and 4gb instead of the fancies if she's doing heavy graphics editing.
there wasn't a price difference between the two on newegg and i kinda rushed the selection, to tell the truth idk why, good point though and i am putting 4 1gb sticks in so there will be 4gb of ram
Do you have an OS? If you're going to use Windows on it, that'll not be cheap. And remember to get a 64-bit OS so you can get the full potential of the RAM and the CPU.
the g0 stepping on the q6600 is better for overclocking right? how do i make sure that the q6600 i get will be a g0 stepping?
CPU: Q6600/Q9300 RAM: 4GB of DDR2-800, (forget fanciness, these can be cheap) Case: Shuttle HDD: Who cares, 250gb, 320gb,... GPU: Whichever QuadroFX will fit in the rest of the budget OS: Check which software it uses, and if it will work with XP 64-bit or Vista 64-bit, whichever you prefer. (Go for XP) DVD: Cheapest DVD burner possible Sound: Throw in a spare if you have it, if not, who cares. ---------------------- $1000 hopefully?
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/12/29/shuttle_sp35p2_pro_xpc/1 It's an awesome bit of kit, really. Applying the general rule of Shuttles here: Get a Q9300 if possible - it'll be cooler. Don't aim to overclock too far, it's not particularly designed for it with very limited voltage increases in general. Use a single hard drive - less noise and heat SATA DVD burner - smaller cables, less hassle Don't bother with additional sound unless you make it USB, use the space to accommodate a dual slot graphics card which will shift the heat out the case. 8600 GT is a pile of crap, what's the budget for the above? you might be aiming for HD 3850 or 9600 GT but that'll vent all the heat back in the case again.
8600gt may be a pile of crap, but it's a $80 pile of crap. and for a photoshop computer nothing more is needed, really.
Sorry someone was recommending a Quadro and I thought she was doing serious illustrator work or something The Asus one has a nice large fan. Meh, might as well buy a 3650 then - probably quieter than the weeny fans on the 8600s. You can't use something passive though as it'll cook.
there's an 8600 GT that comes with 1 GB of ram for like 112 bucks on newegg, saw it a week ago, the more ram the better since photoshop involves rendering and whatnot. A quadro is probably overkill. 4 GB of ram is a must, along with a 64 bit os to support it (vista because xp 64 bit is not very good, or so i've heard)
