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Thread ID: 124878 2012-05-25 02:24:00 Small form factor PC for home - suggestions FAB (6923) Press F1
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1277294 2012-05-25 02:24:00 HI there all

Our home desktop PC is now eight years old and decided it is time to upgrade.
The thing is that I really want to go along something similar to the Shuttle range of PCs, so the box can sit on the desk.
I do want to add a graphics card so this shuttle from PB Tech www.pbwellington.co.nz seems like a good solution.

I'm open to other suggestions but I am struggling to find other SFF PCs like the Shuttle. Not interested in an Atom CPU (we need to game on this PC).

Cheers for any advice.
FAB (6923)
1277295 2012-05-25 02:33:00 What about mini-itx?? Most have onboard video, but not all of them come with the CPU Speedy Gonzales (78)
1277296 2012-05-25 03:12:00 Of course Via makes quite a few ITX systems

www.via.com.tw

If you change your mind on Intel Atom processors, you may want to look at Asus AT5IONTI deluxe, which is an ITX motherboard.

www.asus.com

Fully built with Windows 7, but no monitor was a little NZ $1,100.

The nice thing about it was built-in Bluetooth and WiFi.
kingdragonfly (309)
1277297 2012-05-25 03:50:00 Nothing against Atom processors, but for gaming?? FAB (6923)
1277298 2012-05-25 03:50:00 You can make you own in a mini itx cube style case, Silverstone Sugo SG06 www.pp.co.nz is one example.
I built one of these myself and was very pleased with the result. The only downside is it requires a laptop style optical drive which costs a little more.
It will fit 2 slot graphics cards up to about 9.5" long and can handle some decent hardware if you use a socket 1155 itx board like www.pp.co.nz I used an Asus P8H67 but that website is out of stock. Some case modders have shoehorned 10.5" cards in but it's not for the feint of heart.

It comes with a 80+ 300W PSU which is enough for a pretty decent machine up to maybe an i5 CPU with a HD7850, there is a 450W PSU available if you want a bit more grunt but it'll cost extra. Overseas sites list this case with the bigger PSU as an option so maybe you can find it locally as well.

I suggest something like that case and motherboard with an i5 and a 7770 graphics cards and a laptop optical drive and hard drive would make a great machine. I suggest the AMD 7 series cards for their low power consumption, but I had a GTX460 in mine and it ran fine. The case can fit 2x 2.5" drives and 1 3.5" but the 3.5" sits in front of the case fan and reduces airflow so I removed the drive cage (1 screw) and left it out. Check the length of graphics cards will fit in whatever case you decide on.

If you don't want to build one most shops will order the parts and assemble to your sepcification.
dugimodo (138)
1277299 2012-05-25 03:53:00 What about a motherboard like this (www.computerlounge.co.nz), an I5, couple of gigs of RAM, GPU of your choice and a case (www.computerlounge.co.nz)that uses a standard ATX PSU.

The problem with the shuttle you linked to is it only has a 250W PSU and generally shuttles don't take an ATX PSU if you wanted to upgrade it.
stormdragon (6013)
1277300 2012-05-25 04:16:00 Just as an example what about one of these (www.dicksmith.co.nz). mikebartnz (21)
1277301 2012-05-25 04:25:00 Just as an example what about one of these (www.dicksmith.co.nz).

I like that, nice and tidy. No potential to add a graphics card or play 3D games though so not much use to the OP
dugimodo (138)
1277302 2012-05-25 04:43:00 I like that, nice and tidy. No potential to add a graphics card or play 3D games though so not much use to the OP
Yes they look good but because of upgrading there is no way I would buy one but for the average user they would be alright.
mikebartnz (21)
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