1. #1
    RetiredRonin's Avatar Senior Community Manager
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    Need help building a MicroATX PC on a budget =^D

    Hey guys, I know that quite a few of you, especially you T2SE guys, are MUCH more knowledgeable in the area of PCs than I am. I haven't done much in the way of hardware other than seat my CPU in a RMA'd motherboard in the last few years.

    I have no real idea what hardware is any good, and I am on low budget, but it's time to rebuild my Frankensteined-system. Sadly, only the following parts are salvageable.

    Here's what I currently have (in my dying rig):
    [code:1ew2xwzp]AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
    Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
    Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
    Seagate Barracuda 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (probably dead)
    Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer[/code:1ew2xwzp]

    I would like to move this into this microATX case do understand that the PSU is probably underpowered).
    I would like to use this (or comparable/better) video card.

    So, I am really looking to you guys for recommendations on parts that will fit into that case using a socket AM3/+ motherboard. I would like to have 16gig of RAM, but with my budget (getting to that) I would be happy with 8gig (as long as the mobo allows for up to 16).

    I would like to game with it, and I need to stick to around $400 on the mobo, PSU, GPU, and RAM.

    PS: I do not expect miracles.
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  2. #2

    Re: Need help building a MicroATX PC on a budget =^D

    http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/143...ming-pc-guide/

    Doesn't have specific instructions for a MicroATX, but there are a few tech heads over there that will likely resolve any problems/answer any questions you may have.
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  3. #3

    Re: Need help building a MicroATX PC on a budget =^D

    Hi shifty,

    I thought id mention this just in case, Im not to sure if the Micro Atx case comes under the SFF catagory, but just in case it does u may want to make sure that the Graphics card will fit when everything else in installed.

    I own a SFF pc and found that i had a problem when installing the GCard as the one with a fan would not fit, so i opted to get one with a heat sink instead - http://www.itsco.de/computer/ibm/len..._i4_6666_0.htm

    If you do face that problem, this may help > http://www.techpowerup.com/114884/AT...actor-PCs.html , also the power supply will be able to handle it no probs

    Also as u say ure on a budget, have you thought about having a look on Ebay for some barebone setups, 90% of these are Ex-office setups and have never been pushed on performance, so the Hware is still in good nick & it save u $ on a new purchase allowing u to buy a more powerful setup

    saying the above have u asked any of the RL crew in Finland if theyve got any high-end pcs "spare"
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  4. #4
    RetiredRonin's Avatar Senior Community Manager
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    Re: Need help building a MicroATX PC on a budget =^D

    Even if they did, it would be far too costly to ship parts from Finland to NA.

    My work PC is pretty beast right now. I can easily run video capture software as well as AE & PS, outlook, FireFox, Office coms, and steam (FTL) all at once.

    That case is actually fairly deep, most PCIe 2(3) cards should fit with any regular microATX mobo.
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  5. #5

    Re: Need help building a MicroATX PC on a budget =^D

    Hmm i didnt think of the shipping costs ... whoops!

    Again tho on the graphics card its not the depth that could be a problem its the width, if i had stuck a normal Gcard in it would have been blowing direct heat onto the HD

    Also i`d recommend sticking a simular post here http://sharethefiles.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=9

    There is a wealth of tech knowlege there and peeps are always very willing to help!

    Good luck!
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