Computer!

[desh]

Component	brand	details	site	price	after rebate
Barebones	Shuttle	sn85g4 (small form factor)	newegg	$250	$250
Processor	AMD	Athlon 64 3000+	newegg	$146	$146
Memory	Kingmax	2x512 DDR 3200	newegg	$107	$107
Video card	AOpen	NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT	newegg	$194	$194
Video Card	ATI	9600 All In Wonder w/ Remote	newegg	$172	$172
HD	Hitachi	Deskstar 160GB ATA (not SATA)	CompUSA	$120	$60
CD	Rosewill	DVD+-R dual layer, CD-R, etc	newegg	$50	$50
Monitor	none			$0	$0
Total				$845	$785

So what do y'all think? That's without a monitor, and without XP Pro and Office, which yes, I do want legit copies of. But it seems like a total of about $1100 for an awesome small-form-factor monitorless PC. Thoughts? Suggestions? Quickly, please. My money is burning a hole in my pocket, and if I'm not lucky, something is also burning a hole in my hard drive right now. It sounds that way, at least.

edit: Apparently the power supply maybe can't handle the video card? Crap. Now looking for good 240W video card options... edit again: Yay, All In Wonder! Should work, right?

Comments

[myq.livejournal.com]

www.apple.com

[desh]

So much more expensive, and I wouldn't be able to play minesweeper anymore. (Even if there's a software clone out there, there aren't enough mouse buttons.) Thought about it; ruled it out. Thanks for playing, though!

[jdcohen.livejournal.com]

You DO know you can plug any PC USB mouse into a Mac and it will work, right? It's the whole point to the Mac Mini - just take your PC's monitor, keyboard, and mouse and they will work with the Mini right out of the box.

But if you want some help (i.e. bargains, bargains, bargains!) with WinXP and MSOffice, talk to Mike Brunswick, man. He can get you a good deal, you know, working at Microsoft as he does. If you don't have his info, just email me.

--Jeff

[desh]

Oh, man, yes! His info, please! I didn't even think of that. It'll be an awkward conversation (hey, congrats on getting married over half a year ago! Can I have some free stuff?) but it'll be worth it. To catch up with him, I mean.

[flyinbutrs.livejournal.com]

that PSU is plenty for the 6600. Only the 6800 has insane power requirements. There is no better card on the market. (unless you want to spend $180 more)

[desh]

Dov convinced me that the 6600 was another symptom of you trying to build a computer for you, not me. So thanks for your help, but I think I'm going with the All In Wonder instead. I'm more likely to want to watch TV on my computer than I am to want to play Doom 6 at 180fps.

[flyinbutrs.livejournal.com]

a) Dov was very drunk.
b) He's probably right.
c) Buy the 6600 GT anyway.
d) Throw your old TV card into your new computer.

[conana.livejournal.com]

MythTV. Mutter, mutter. Except you are obviously running windows, so you don't care that the AiW is not compatable. :)

[desh]

Actually, I might dual-boot. Tell me more?

[conana.livejournal.com]

Well, in principle if you are doing this you want to be able to credibly claim that you had a working DVR before July. I'm not really clear on the deal with ReplayTV; I seem to recall reading that TiVo had some weird software update provisions that made people not confident that it would continue to Do the Right Thing. I read that the all-in-wonder had insuperable driver issues (which usually means "proprietary and no one has reverse engineered it") but now I cannot confirm that. There seems to be an extensive hardware database which I am not going to browse now. The only card that anyone I know has been recomending is some expensive HDTV deal that the local ubergeeks seem to be buying. And for myself, I can't really justify a MythTV box when I do not watch television.

[desh]

Oh, you're talking about that broadcast flag stuff? Stupid government. Though I heard good news a week or two ago about judges not liking it, or something...

Anyway, yeah, I just think TV in is nice. I don't think I'll be doing MythTV anyway. But if I were, I probably wouldn't do HDTV. And if I did want to, then I'm sure I can get the cards somewhere. Either they won't be illegalized, there's 3rd-party stuff, or there's probably Canadian-manufactured imported stuff.

[desh]

Though keep in mind thatI already have a real, commercial ReplayTV with a lifetime subscription. So I have no immediate need for DVR-type capabilities. But it might be nice in the future...

[t3chnomag3.livejournal.com]

It's the epitome of excess. Happy browsing!

[desh]

I'll browse right by you!

(Honestly, I have a P3 450 desktop right now, and an even crappier laptop. Do you really think I don't need to upgrade?)

[t3chnomag3.livejournal.com]

I agree you should upgrade. I just can't imagine you using $1000 worth of computer (and we're talking only what's *inside* the box!!) to its fullest. Perhaps my imagination needs work.

[desh]

No, you're probably right about that. It's mainly (1) obsolescence protection, and (2) the fact that I can actually afford it, so why go low-end?

[pkzimmer.livejournal.com]

I'm running something along those lines right now, but on an nVidia motherboard with 512 DDR 3200 and a SATA 120GB HD (plus my old 20GB IDE). The Athlon 64 3000+ is the shit. Basically, the reason I love desktops is that you can save anything you have from your old machine that's still good for your purposes (like my CD burner, DVD burner, ATI Rage video card, and the old HD). Hence, you don't spend way way too much money.

[desh]

Awesome. Yeah, I don't think there's much worth saving from my old computer, except maybe the bigger of the two hard drives. Which sort of makes me want to get my new drive as SATA, so I don't have 3 ATA things and have to share buses, but eh, I'll live.

[rarcke.livejournal.com]

Market Pro Computer Show March 6th @ the Valley Forge Convetion Center, look it up. Thought you might be interested. I'll be there with a frined helping her pick up a new mother board.


-Robin

[desh]

That's just this weekend, eh? Tempting. Though also tempting to buy online RIGHT NOW. So we'll see.

[zorkian]

I have the SB75G2, pretty much the equivalent of the SN85G4, just for Intel. 250W power supply, no built in graphics, etc.

I currently am running 1GB of dual-channel fast memory, with a pissy little 2.4GHz processor (meaning to upgrade that eventually). I have a 100GB hard drive and a Sony "burn anything (DVD/CD)" drive. For video, it has a GeForce 3 Ti200 (really want to upgrade it, heh). I also have an ATI TV Wonder Capture Card.

I have run into the limits of power, though. I have a second hard drive in there, but if I plug it in... zooop the machine won't boot. I honestly don't know what would happen if I put in a bigger, better, more power hungry video card. It probably wouldn't like it very much. :/

I think the ATI 9600 is a reasonable card, though. It doesn't have 45 fans on it. I would stay away from stuff like the overclocked GeForce cards. Past that, though, it'll probably all work.

Getting the shuttle case was one of the raddest computer decisions ever. It takes up so little room, it's so easy to haul around, and the damn thing is just cute. I have it sitting on top of my X-Box, next to the PS2, and they all just kinda fit there. It's great.

I don't think you'll find any Shuttles with more than a 250W power supply, though. You may be able to replace it by buying a 1U server power supply (they seem to be nearly the same size... I've been meaning to test if they're interchangeable though), but I'm not entirely sure yet.

[desh]

Thanks for the advice! And let me know if you find out about the rackmount power supply thing.

Yeah, I really want a Shuttle. They got one at my old job right before I left, to use as a controller computer for their new 4-drive robotic-arm-controlled DVD duplicator and printer (talk about your fun gadgets...), and I fell in love.