Hey everyone!! I'm building a system specifically for gaming and media PC for my plasma TV. I dont plan to overclock and will be running WinXP Pro I've narrowed it down to a couple options but wanted to get some more opinions before I bought the stuff. I'm pretty sure it'll be a microATX system. Here is a few questions

1. Is uATX and mATX the same thing? Never really heard of uATX but the mobo I'm looking says thats its form. The case I'm looking at is mATX
2. I'm debating on the 8600GTS or X1950 video cards. The X1950 seems to have better performance but is only DirectX 9 and the 8600GTS is DirectX 10.. Which should I go with? If this helps, opitmal resolution for my plasma is 1024x768 but it'll do 1360x768
3. Will most video cards fit into MicroATX cases?
4. More than likely it'll be Intel but any reason (other than slightly I cheaper) I should go with AMD?
5. Should I buy everything locally and spend more money but have the ability to return stuff easily if it doesnt work right? Or should I find the cheapest prices from various distributors and buy online?

I've done research from various distributors online and found the cheapest prices with shipping. Here is what I've built:

AMD
----
Graphics Card - MSI NX8600GTS (or maybe X1950 based on suggestions I get here)
Hard Drive - Western Digital 320GB 7200 16MB CACHE
Motherboard - Biostar K8M800MAM
Processor - AMD 64 X2 5600+
Memory - Hynix 2GB DDR2 667MHz PC5400
Case - Ultra Micro Fly mATX Case ULT33116
CD/DVD - Memorex 1650S
**Price Online thru Various Distributors (w/shipping): $556.91
**Price Locally After Rebates for comparable (w/tax): $648.16

Intel
----
Graphics Card - MSI NX8600GTS (or maybe X1950 based on suggestions I get here)
Hard Drive - Western Digital 320GB 7200 16MB CACHE
Motherboard - ASRock CONROE 1333mhz FSB
Processor - E6550 Core 2 Duo
Memory - PC6400 800MHz DDR2
Case - Ultra Micro Fly mATX Case ULT33116
CD/DVD - Memorex 1650S
**Price Online thru Various Distributors (w/shipping): $585.83
**Price Locally After Rebates for comparable (w/tax): $722.96

Having a big problem finding a mATX motherboard locally that'll support the 1333mhz FSB of the E6550 so the price locally is for a regular ATX mobo.

I really dont want to spend anymore money than whats listed but if you have suggestions where I might be able to save a buck or two, let me know.

The only thing I can suggest is a different OS. For the media purposes, you're better off with XP MCE or Vista Home Premium.

I'm going to use MediaPortal (freeware mediacenter software)..

Did you have any suggestions on the video card situation?

Bueller?

Ok, I've narrowed it down to this:

Graphics Card MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC
Hard Drive WD3200AAKS
Motherboard ASRock CONROE1333
Processor E6550
Memory PC6400 800MHz DDR2
Case Ultra ULT33114 MicroFly mATX w/ 400w PS
CD/DVD Memorex 1650S
$591.14

Can someone give that the once-over to make sure its all cool before I order it?

I've read good/bad about Ultra PSU's, so not sure if that will be good enough or not. Are you building this yourself, or is someone doing it for you? Pretty good price. If you get everything at Zipzoomfly.com except for this mobo:
GIGABYTE GA-G33M-S2 LGA 775 Intel G33 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128060

Your total would be ~$698 - $50 MIR's = $648. So your getting a $50 cheaper mobo on your build. I'm not sure the above mobo has your options, but it is much better. It has the latest chipset (aside from x38 of coarse) and also has 4 DDR2 slots, which will allow you up to 8gig's of DDR2. The Conroe mobo only allows 2 DDR2 chips and up to 4 gig's max. So you can decide if that works or not, but I would probably buy the Ultra case w/o PSU and spend my $ on this PSU. It's well known QUALITY PSU and has 30A's combined on the 2 12v rails! The Ultra only has 20 amps and would be pushing the limits of the PSU. So you can decide what you want, but that is what I'd suggest. BTW I like the general layout of the Ultra case, especially the 120mm fan at the back and the 80mm fan at the front.

Linkage for 380w PSU:
8800gtx on 380w PSU!
http://www.overclockers.com/articles1452/

PSU - $49 shipped! Can power 8800gtx and an OC’d e6600! See link above for proof!
Antec Earthwatt 380W P/Satx 12V v.2.2 80MM P/S2 Fan 80-Plus Certified - EA380
http://www.buy.com/prod/antec-eart [...] 77214.html

The above PSU sells for $78 on newegg.com! Much more that that link above!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371006

Thanks for the info!! I'll be building it myself. The price I got was from about 3-4 different distributors online by checking out pricewatch.com...

I've been doing research for the past couple weeks and have settled pretty much on those products that I've listed. I'm not too worried about the Ultra PSU. Its a 400w PSU and, as I calculated it, I'll only be drawing about 275w. So, I really wont be pushing it at all. Luckly, the PSU is about the cheapest component. So, if it takes a poop, I can replace it easily by buying one locally..

The mobo I found was a processor/mobo combo on pricewatch specifically for the E6550. I don't plan on running more than 2GB anytime soon. Any if it gets to the point that games are needed 2+GB, it'll probably be time to upgrade the mobo and processor.

I guess my question is, is there anything else I really need to order so once it gets here, it'll be plug and play?? Ive got the OS, keyboard, mouse. So, other than that, I can't really think of anything else I'd need.

If I'm not too late already, unless you plan on doing some heavy gaming, I recommend that you go with the silent 8600GTS, or even silent 8600GT, not because of its DX10 capabilities, but it's video output is noticably better than the last generation cards from both ATI and NVidia. I just saw the video quality of a 8600GT blow away my 7900GS. Not only that, but they make silent versions, and for any HTPC build, silence is golden.

Have a link to one??

Right now, I have the MSI 8600 GTS as part of my build which I thought was one of the better ones.

No doubt the that MSI is a good one, I just recommend going with a passively cooled card for any HTPC build. The problem with the passive ones, however, is they often take up alot of room, which can easily be problematic in a HT chassis, or any neighboring PCI cards. Gigabyte's silent pipe series has always been held in high regard, although I haven't personally used one yet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125063

MSI makes one, but the heatpipe can cause promblems with some low profile HTPC cases:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127287

What it really comes down to is what will fit, and what fits your wallet.

Hmm.. That MSI is actually cheaper than the one I was looking at after rebate.

Are the video cards (other than the silents) really louder than the 80mm and 120mm fans on a case? Id just hate to get a silent on and find out it doesnt fit..

Yes, they are louder. I recently replaced my stock evga 7800gt hsf with a zalman.. and what a difference that made. Also stay away from ultra psu's.. espically for a media center, its easily the loudest componet in my system, I can stop all the other fans via fan controller and i cant hear any difference in the sound, which i can hear from across the room.. kind of like a ceiling fan on medium speed. My advice would pick a quality PSU, so your not bashing your head into a wall later because of the annoying fan noise.

Yeah, I know what you mean.. Just trying to stay as cheap as possible..The case I'm looking at is basically $14 cheaper with out the PS.. So, I thought, heck, for the $14 I'll try out the PS.. If its ridiculously loud, I'll order something else and just be out $14.. But, if I do decide to go ahead and order separate, is this a good PS for what I'm using it for:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Prod [...] ode=360911

Also, since the price difference isn't huge with the video card, I may go ahead and get a silent 8600GTS.. Problem is size in the mATX case. Is this pretty much trial and error or is there a way to tell if it'll fit before I choose a card?

I'd like it as quite as possible but its not ESSENTIAL. My plasma TV i have is pretty loud as it is. Little did I know that Samsung Plasmas have a buzz to them. I thought something was wrong with it, but nope, thats just how it is.

I know your tempted to cheap out on certain things ( I was the same way.. thats why i have this crappy psu), but the PSU is the last thing you want to skimp on.

If your really trying hard to save money, look at AMD, currently they offer some of the best preformance/price parts.

This is one I would consider
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139003

Well, $600 (with shipping and taxes) and absolutely as high as I wanted to go..

What brands are good and which should I stay away from for PSUs for my application? BTW, I'm not planning on overclocking if that changes things at all.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=108088

A list of good/bad PSU's

I wouldn't recommend that PSU. If you get the one I linked above for $49 you'll never regret the $35 more that you would have to spend on it. If you looked at that link I also listed above, you would notice that the Antec 380w Earthwatts PSU is very efficient >80% and thus would keep it cooler than the one you are looking at. The biggest problem, is most people use a cheap PSU and end up replacing more than just the PSU when the PSU fails. There are numerous posts that have had a PSU die and take out CPU/mobo/GPU/memory all at one time. If you use a QUALITY PSU, it will shut itself off before any damage can be done, due to the advanced circuitry that they use. I'll try an find a link for quality PSU's, but just don't have the time right now, since I'm at work.

All right.. I'll check it out...

Just for information, I found a review of the Ultra V-Series 400w PS (which comes with that case). Here is the summary:

Pros:
- Great price
- Acceptable voltage regulation when not pushed
- Quiet operation
- Lifetime warranty

Cons:
- Unacceptable e