The mATX Miracle
Thursday, May 1st, 2008 - 2:21pm
So, I build computers. Its like the best set of legos ever.
Some of my friends have asked me if I could build for them this summer as I'll have 1 class and no job. Of course I said yes.
Now, I asked one of these guys what type of computer he wanted, and he said "Go nuts. I trust your knowledge and as long as you keep it under 850 and make it not a beast or gaudy I'm cool." Now boogle just has to challenge himself.
This will be my first mATX build. I'll definitely borrow a lot of parts from Legion's 750 PC, but I want to give my bud 4gb of ram and above 500gb in hard drive. This is just the box and a monitor, no need for kb and mouse. [i]I'll get my build up tonight and [i]I hate this italics thing.
shihonage wrote:
Could use more effort.PSN: BoogleGWJ
This is the case I went with on my mATX build.
It's a little larger than I'd like, but you can use standard power supplies.
I ordered a Qpack originally, but the cables were too short for my asus board, I got scratched pretty badly by a panel, and can't use a standard power supply. So I sent it back. The thermaltake linked above is great-looking at quiet. I suggest it highly.
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I have to do a micro ATX build article. That's such a great idea. I've never built one either, but I'll change that next time I have an excuse to build a PC.
Gaming / PC Tech Blog: www.blastprocessing.net
Xbox Live: Legion SB / PSN: Legion_SB / Steam: legion028 / Twitter: legion
If I'm going to be an ass, I might as well be a hot female sportscaster's ass.
No need for 4 Gigs. Either you will curse your friend with 64 bit Vista to utilize it, or get a moderate increase in usable RAM.
But micro ATX is pretty sweet. Be nice if folks at Dell and HP offered them as serious options over 20 pound, 3,000 dollar laptops for "desktop replacement." Not to mention laptops are horrible for your neck and back when using them at a desk. I try to spread the mini-PC word as much as possible.
Show us what you come up with. I am looking for parts for a new PC, I would like to go micro ATX, but I am reticent given that I can only find rather wimpy Power Supplies made for such cases. You need a peek of around 600 Watts if you want to make a gaming rig these days with any idea of an upgrade in the future. But also, power reliability. I have not seen micro ATX power supplies from folks like OCZ.
Case cooling has proven to be another stumbling block. I am having difficulty finding a reasonably priced case with more than 1 small fan inside. Or at least space for a lot more fans than 1, at any rate. I like power with reasonable ambient sound, that means several large, slower moving, fans. Of course I could always try my hand at water cooling, but many of them have noisy condensers.
RAM is so cheap that there's basically no reason NOT to get 4GB, even if only 3-3.5GB will be usable in 32-bit XP. My system sees 3.5GB and it's definitely been a welcome upgrade over 2GB.
Gaming / PC Tech Blog: www.blastprocessing.net
Xbox Live: Legion SB / PSN: Legion_SB / Steam: legion028 / Twitter: legion
If I'm going to be an ass, I might as well be a hot female sportscaster's ass.
So Quicksilver's Vaio W20 died (bad caps) and I want to replace it with a silent mATX box. The only thing it needs to run is Office (or equivalent) apps and browsers so on-board graphics are fine. Does anyone care to step up with a recommended build for something similar to a PC version of the Mac mini? Low cost is top priority right after reliability.
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I'm curious why you say this? I just built my gaming rig with a 430W power supply. Sure, I won't ever do SLI but I don't believe I am the only person who believes that a great gaming rig can be built without SLI. 430W is more than enough for a fast dual core processor and the video card of your choice. While I generally build a new computer every few years, I've also read nothing to suggest that should I go the upgrade path on this one, my power supply wouldn't be sufficient for newer CPU's or GPU's.
Looking forward to seeing how your build progresses Boogle. I've never built a mATX system but have considered it.
When you look at the peak power consumption of a lot of mid-high end parts. You are talking peak draws close to 500W in many cases with just memory, processor, and video. That is before you get into thoughts of adding more cooling, overclocking, multiple drives, expansion cards like a Wireless adapter, sound card, etc.
One of my favorite micro-atx cases is the Antec P180 mini
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129041
It is almost literally a mini version of the awesome P180 case. For a cheap case the Aspire XQpack is pretty decent. I also like the NZXT Rogue.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146043
Most of their cases are a bit over the top for my taste but I think the Rogue looks quite nice.
The hardest part of building a matx computer is finding a micro atx motherboard that overclocks well. Most matx motherboards are pretty poor overclockers.
Getting killed, though? In a way that you don't like? Suck it up, Gertrude.
That mini P180 looks tight, as does the LANbox light.
shihonage wrote:
PSN: BoogleGWJ