Building a SmallForm Factor... Help!

[cuserounder]

OK, I'm putting together a SmallForm Factor barebone as a Christmas present from my parents.. I'm aiming for $400-$500, but if it costs more, I can throw in some of my money or gift money from others...

I already have a 17" flat panel monitor, wireless mouse/keyboard, speakers, all that sorta stuff... Here's what I need the computer to handle:

6-8 tables, PokerTracker, GameTime+, Firefox, ITunes/Media Player, AIM, [censored]/[censored] all open at once..

At other times I'll be using audio editing software - but my guess is if it can handle my crazy multi-tabling/multi-tasking, it should be fine for audio editing.

Suggestions on whether to go with AMD or Intel and what speed and how much RAM are greatly appreciated. I'm looking at a Shuttle barebone smallform factor...

I asked a friend (who doesn't play poker so isn't familiar w/ multitabling and all) what he thought I'd need to have 10-15 applications running at once.. He suggested:

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 2.2GHz

2x1GB DDR RAM

Western Digital 320GB 7200RPM hard drive

Shuttle XPC SN21G5 AMD Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64 /Athlon 64 FX /Athlon 64 X2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Barebone

That comes to about $600.. Where can I cut back? Where do I need more? Anyone have any experience they can share with this type of a set up?

[goldtoes]

I, personally would get a Core 2 Duo processor from Intel.

the 2GB of RAM and video card looks good. you would obv have to change the mobo if you went intel, too.

hard drive is fine.

any specific reason you're going small form factor? in my experience they just create unwanted problems like overheating issues, etc.

btw, your parents play poker??? sweet!

[cuserounder]

Any reason you'd go Intel over AMD?

No good specific reason.. Just to save a little space and because they look cool. I hadn't heard of any negative issues like the overheating...

My parents don't play.. They know I do, but they don't really know I'm tailoring this machine around multi-tabling.

[goldtoes]

The Core 2 Duo, IMO, is the best chip out right now. I have used it with some extreme multitasking situations and it has just blown me away.

I have had a few friends who had decided to build Small Form Factor PC's for bringing to LAN parties, etc but ran into heat issues mainly because they are just sooo small. There is no room for enough fans for optimal air flow.

Another reason I don't like Small Form Factor is because a lot of video cards won't fit because they have to be low-profile.

I just hate how small they are and how hard it is just to get in there and do some small task. For instance, if you have to remove the hard drive, you have to remove like 3 other things just to get to it.

We won't tell your parents you're tailoring this to yourself [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] haha

[BiPolar_Nut]

I agree on the core 2 duo. Supposedly AMD is releasing another chip in the near future that will blow away the Duo's...but that's just life. Intel will counter, AMD will counter-counter, etc. Right now, tho, I'm partial to the Intels. If you really want to get a performance per dollar comparison on specific systems, go to http://www.spec.org and look at the benchmarks for different systems out there (you can compare motherboard chipset/processor/RAM combinations). When I was doing more building of systems, I'd be hitting spec.org pretty much monthly, importing the results into Excel, and sorting on performance numbers...then comparing to pricewatch or my supplier price lists for comparable systems to get the most bang for the buck, flat out baller, and cheapest usable machine specs, depending on the clients' needs. I haven't done that in a while tho, cause it was a lot of work and I haven't built many systems for random people lately.

[cuserounder]

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We won't tell your parents you're tailoring this to yourself [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] haha

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It's OK, I'm a junior in college 4 hours from home.. They know lol...