Media PC / Which small box should i go with?

[Matthoulb]

I am going to build a Media PC / Server / Experimentation box soon as my current server is WAY WAY WAY to loud and big

Now here is what i would ideally like:
- Small as possible
- No to expensive!
- Takes normal HDD's and Drives (not laptop stuff...)
- Can take an AGP graphics card (unless onboard has good TV out)
- Can take 2 PCI cards (i have an M-Audio 7.1 Revo to go in, and the other would be for a TV card)
- Can take FULL height cards, not half height
- QUIET
- No P4/Intel - Has to be AMD, or something with a built in CPU

So any ideas? Shuttles seem a good price, and are small enough, but are there any decent one's with 2x PCI?


All ideas are greatly appreicated

Thanks


-> DON'T EVEN SAY AN XBOX

[Bindibadgi]

So really you're after micro atx if you want 2 pci cards and an agp AND full height cards.

[Matthoulb]

Unless the sound on Shuttles is decent enough and i can use a digital out from it to my surround amp. Though this would only be acceptable if it could output DD and DTS for DVDs.

Or if i ignore the TV Card for now which Shuttle would be best to go for?

[Theo]

mATX does sound like it's what you're after chap.. although they have 3xpci and 1xagp iirc

Kustompcs have a couple of Yeong Yang jobs - they're small but a little ugly imo.

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/product.php?view=1415

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/product.php?view=1417

Aria do this case in Black, Silver+Black and Beige. I haven't seen one of these other than the pics on the website, but they don't look half bad for that price.

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=8790

CCL computers have the Casetek CK-1007-2B, which is, in my opinion, a cracking case. It may need a little modding to increase airflow, (in terms of quietness = a couple of 80mm rather than the stock 60mm slots).

I have one of these, and it runs my Asus A7N266VMSE rather well.
http://www.cclcomputers.biz/specs/ca.../1007/spec.htm
http://www.cclcomputers.biz/acatalog/case_tow.htm

[Theo]

Oh... you want a barebones.. doh, sorry.

[5lab]

why not get one of these -> http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/product.php?view=1207

not too small but its apparently got some soundproofing in (iirc) and im guessing that if you want it for htpc you might already have some hifi separates it could match??

alternitivly i think you could get a p4 shuttle with 2 pci slots. or alternitively get an amd shuttle, stick a radeon AIW into the agp slot and drop yer soundcard into the other slot - aiw will do excellent tv out and provide all the tv functions you could want

[Matthoulb]

I'm really after something as small as possible and for a sensible price.

A Shuttle currently looks to be the best idea i think, or maybe the Asus Pundit?

It needs to be small and look vaguly decent as it will sit by a TV or with my HiFi so ideally it would be silver as well.

[Bindibadgi]

That *is* as small as possible with your requirements. Unless you go for an AIW ATi card and have the TV on the AGP card then you can go flex atx shuttle.

[Matthoulb]

ok

Unless there is a decent looking (maybe aluminium?) silver mATX case that is no more than 350mm deep then i think it will have to be a Shuttle. The depth restriction is because it can't be much deeper than my hifi seperates.

[luke313]

You could go for one of the nvidia shuttles (SN41G2/SN45G) and get an ATi 9800SE AIW (Onboard TV tuner, possible soft-mod to 9800pro). That way you would have yourself a good-looking Shuttle with tv-out

[5lab]

doubt he'd need that much power tbh, you can get slower aiw's a LOT cheaper

[Rexticle]

SN41G2 V2 with official support for 400MHz FSB, TV-out, sound storm, 1 pci, 1 AGP, and damn sexy,

[Matthoulb]

Hmmm thinking about this a bit more i feel that mATX is probably going to be easier as then i can use my current TV-Card(s) and sound card...

Which mATX bored is best (that can take an 1800XP/or 1gig AXIA, and PC2100 RAM/or PC133 SDRAM), it just needs onboard LAN really, don't need onboard graphics/sound.

Thanks