Advice wanted on choosing system

[xHazard]

Hi.

I'm getting ready to build myself a gaming rig as my current system is woefully under-powered for any game released in the last 5 years or so. ( To give you an idea, Half Life stutters at 800x600)

I was planning on getting a small form factor barebones system by Shuttle, the SN45G info here (http://www.us.shuttle.com/specs2.asp?pro_id=279) and dropping a 2500+ in it.

However, while browsing around Newegg I saw this, the FIC IC-VL67 "Ice Cube'. info here (http://www.fica.com/site/html/products/pc/detail.asp?cat_id=240000183&C_ID=240000816) And I thought it looked really familiar. Then I realized that that was what Falcon Northwest used for their Fragbox.

Now I'm torn. I've read some reviews on the Shuttle and it seems to be a fairly solid performer, plus since it's an AMD system it would be some what cheaper. But I must say, I like FIC's case a lot more than the Shuttle's, and although the Intel will be more expensive it would be a new experience as I've never built an Intel system before. I haven't found that many reveiws of the FIC, but I have a lot of respect for Falcon, and if they choose it for their Fragbox I imagine it must have some good points.

So what I'm looking for now is some advice. I've got the rest of the system picked out,

ATI 9600 Pro ( or a 9700 Pro if I can find a good one)
2x 512 Geil Golden Dragon PC3200
Sony DRU510At DVD burner
Seagate Barricuda 7200rpm 120gb


so now it's down to the Shuttle and a Barton 2500+ or the FIC and a 2.4c. If I get it all through Newegg (which I probably will) the price difference is around $100 bucks.

If anyone has anything to add about any of the parts I've picked: i.e . better recommendations I'm all ears.

Thanks for reading.

[Mr. $T$]

Ok I have a Intel system and a AMD system I would say unless you find that $100 a bit to much then the AMD will kick fine, the Intel system will be faster in preformence becuase of the 800Bus, and HT, as well as the stronger chipset, also your memory bandwidth will be greater. Both are great just a matter of choice and your wallet. ;)

[Steve978]

Before you buy a small form factor PC just acouple of bad points
-Motherboards are sometimes a little lacking
-Cooling isn't that great
-They cost alot more than you would pay for a better system

Just a few words of warning, my brother got a shuttle and loves it however. Great idea to go with the DVD burner seeing as u only have the one 5 1/2" drive bay.
www.team-maia.com/steve/dave1.jpg
www.team-maia.com/steve/dave2.jpg
www.team-maia.com/steve/dave3.jpg
www.team-maia.com/steve/dave4.jpg

But damn they are sexy :D

[9mmCensor]

You could go with AMD, cheaper and then use that 100 for a better vid card to help you with some gaming longevity. And see what kind of OC you can get to even out the CPU preformance difference, but cooling might be tight or you could go intel and leave it stock and still preform equal or better than the amd. Personally I would go with the AMD and a OC because I think for gaming you will get more bang fot your buck with a better video card.

Or get a small case, and throw in a real mobo and have real fun with that and probably for less.

[shiyan]

if you had to choose either Intel + 9600 or AMD + 9700 (or 9800), definitely take the latter.

once you have decent CPU speed, the graphics card is the most important factor in gaming performance, so concentrate your efforts on getting a good video card if you can.

there's somewhere else where you can save some money. The Sony 510 is not the best, I'd say go with a Pioneer A06. The Pioneer has less issues (the Sony has very slow read performance for some cds and DVDs), and costs a bit less. It is also dual format like the Sony. You can get the OEM version of it, the 106, for around $131: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&manufactory=1167&catalog=5&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

as for the hard disk, Seagate is very reliable, but not the fastest. the fastest 7200rpm drive is the Hitachi/IBM 7K250. here's a comparison of the top 7200rpm drives from the manufacturers you mentioned:
http://www.storagereview.com/php/benchmark/compare_rtg_2001.php?typeID=10&testbedID=3&osID=4&raidconfigID=1&numDrives=1&devID_0=251&devID_1=250&devID_2=245&devID_3=252&devID_4=242&devCnt=5

[xHazard]

Thanks for all the advice. A couple points,

-this isn't intended to be my main max o/c rig (that comes next:) ) I'm just building one of these sff boxes for fun, because the are dead sexy;), and to take with me to some friends house so we can LAN. (I'd take it to LAN parties if the ever happened here in the middle of nowhere)

- No matter which way I finally decide to go I'm getting a nice video card. I was originally planning a 9700pro but now that I look around more I think I can swing a 9800pro. Newegg's got a Sapphire for $305, and if I save an extra week I can just afford it.

-shiyan, thanks for showing me those drives. The Pioneer looks like a better choice and it's cheaper, so that's a go. As for hard drive, I just noticed the FIC has SATA support so if I go that way I could get a pair of raptors in a Raid 0. (Luckily the FIC has 2 3.5" bays, and honestly, who needs a floppy nowdays anyway:D ) The old style aren't too pricy, and I'll be using headphones the whole time I'm playing so the noise isn't a factor.