Thoughts on a micro desktop for a friend

Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy KnobPflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
edited March 2009 in Hardware
I am looking at building a micro ATX desktop for a friend. The needs are as follows;
  • It needs to be aesthetically pleasing since it will be in a professional office.
  • It will be on the top of a desk and needs USB's readily available (4 will work).
  • It will be used for Word, Excel and Access.
  • The only games will be Solitare and Majong, That's it!
  • There will be some DVD's watched.
  • I wish to keep under $800 and I have an OS, monitor, KB and mouse.

I have picked the following and think it should work. Not sure about the MB and case for the most part. I have built several systems with the PSU I listed and they are all fine.

Total $639.92 not counting shipping


Please let me know how I may improve on this. Is the onboard video reliable on the board I selected? I personally have always used a graphics card and never been a fan of onboard video for even a simple machine.

Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    I would prefer a black case, but I don't see anything especially wrong with that build.
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Lets go even smaller:
    Total $575 plus shipping.

    The case has a 300W 80+ Certified PSU with it, and the onboard graphics should do what he needs. You can add in a normal graphics card if you want, but I don't think it'd be necessary.

    //edited. I linked and listed the wrong board.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Damn, Petey! Good suggestion. :D I totally forgot about that Zotac board. It's a real performer.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Thanks Pete!

    That looks better than anything I hoped to find. I knew I could count on this place! According to Silverstone I can use either a 2.5" or 3.5" HD in that case. I found some reviews on the board and the video will be quite adequate for the application and the wifi even works well. :) I guess she is going to have to settle on black.
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited March 2009
    Macmini $600 size of about 2 DVD cases, 5 usb ports and just install XP on it.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    But that takes the fun of building a machine away! It also makes the little computer a royal pain in the butt to upgrade in the future.
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited March 2009
    Leonardo wrote:
    But that takes the fun of building a machine away! It also makes the little computer a royal pain in the butt to upgrade in the future.

    What are you going to upgrade, really? It's going to run a browser, and office and other office where far into the future. Slap some more ram into it and a bigger harddrive and that's about all you'd ever need to do with it.

    As for fun. It's a business computer for his boss, this will score points.
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Yeah, Mac Mini is okay too. I think I'd rather have the Sugo 05, but at this point it comes down to a simple matter of preference.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    I will have to say the Mac Mini sure is cute!

    ...But it is a 2.0 CPU/ 1066 FSB with only 1 GB of RAM and a 120 GB HD. The system I want is a 3.0 CPU/ 1333 FSB with 4GB of RAM and a 250 GB HD. I will go for performance over looks to make it more versatile and future proof.

    Then there is the fun of a build and don't forget about those brownie points! ;)
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    What are you going to upgrade, really? It's going to run a browser, and office and other office where far into the future.
    My comments were mainly rhetorical. My obsession just makes it difficult to think in practical terms.
    I will go for performance over looks to make it more versatile and future proof.
    I would imagine the performance quotient will include near-silent operation?
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    I would imagine the performance quotient will include near-silent operation?
    Yes! I forgot to put that in my list of demands. ;)
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited March 2009
    Mt_Goat wrote:
    I will have to say the Mac Mini sure is cute!

    ...But it is a 2.0 CPU/ 1066 FSB with only 1 GB of RAM and a 120 GB HD. The system I want is a 3.0 CPU/ 1333 FSB with 4GB of RAM and a 250 GB HD. I will go for performance over looks to make it more versatile and future proof.

    Then there is the fun of a build and don't forget about those brownie points!

    • It needs to be aesthetically pleasing since it will be in a professional office.
    • It will be on the top of a desk and needs USB's readily available (4 will work).
    • It will be used for Word, Excel and Access.
    • The only games will be Solitare and Majong, That's it!
    • There will be some DVD's watched.;)

    In all seriousness your requirements would be covered on a P4 with 512ram. You won't have a speed or future proof issue with whatever you go with.

    Besides if you get a macmini in 3yrs or so if it's decided it's obsolete buy it off him and take it home for your entertainment system.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    But buying an appliance in a box at a store is just no fun at all! "Here, my friend, go online to this site, have your credit card ready, and buy this here toaster looking thing." (this is just a foreign concept to me - buying an off-the-shelf the computer, regardless of the quality) It's all the joy of purchasing a blender. Besides, if it's a friend, there's the satisifaction of knowing whenever they see that custom computer, one of a kind they'll think of the personal touch involved. There's nothing personal about a shiny plastic, mass produced box .
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Ordered the parts and went with what Buddy J posted except I swapped out the HD for the 3.5" version I listed and went with an LG Slim DVD burner. It all came to $545 and change. :) The Mini Mac would have come to about $800 with the HD and memory upgrades I wanted as a minimum. Otherwise the Mini looks like a nice machine. I'm sure I will leave some skin scraped off inside the case somewhere and that will leave a loving touch to make it even more special! ;)
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited March 2009
    Yeah if you are wanting the upgraded ram and HDD you don't buy those from apple. You buy the base then just go to your local store and buy the upgrades - way cheaper. Plus then you get to rip a mini apart to put them in. Not nearly as satisfying as upgrading the harddrive in an iMac. But still some joy.

    At any rate have fun with your new machine.
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