Can't decide SFF or Midtower, but need help either way

Ok I still have about a month or so to decide on what type of setup I want to run. I was thinking either SFF or just reusing my Antec Sonata III case that I am currently using and just upgrading the stuff inside of it to resell the old stuff i no longer need (or give it to my parents like I normally do to keep their computer up to date as much as possible).


Pretty much with either build I am torn on what motherboard I would like to run. Now if I go the SFF route (mATX) I will definitely NOT be overclocking, but if I decide to stick with my Sonata III I will most likely go with a very mild OC. Probably if I get the 2.8ghz I7 I would look to OC it to about 3.2ghz~ish.


The CPU I am going to be using regardless will be an i7 860 Lynnfield 2.8ghz.

I don't necessarily have a price range but at the same time I don't want to waste money on a high end model, if I can use a lower version of the same model because I won't be using all the features.

The PC will mainly be for gaming, but also I will be using it as an HTPC on my 46" 1080p LCD TV. So maybe an HDMI output would be pretty cool to have, and optical audio would be good too!

Thanks!

If its mainly for gaming, then why bother with a i7? Go with an i5 on the 1156 mATX. I have a Gigabyte P55-UD4 and it runs quite cool even overclocked to 3.6. It turbo boosts to 4.2 which is more than enough power. Like your Intel 5300 on the P5kPL, I have the AM board which is a garbage OCer in a slimline case for a bedroom computer. The i5 will stomp that processor. The i7 is really going to be overkill for your needs and you could save almost 200 dollars by going with the i5 750.

As for the Quad, I use it and a GTX 260 for my 1080p 42" TV. That is going to be the only setback if you consider a slimline case. Additionally, even though my mATX supports SLI and Xfire, the limited amount of slots would only allow me to SLI if I took the Covers and Converted the fans? The Cards are too thick to put next to eachother.

As for audio, the P55-UD4 has Digital Optical Toslink Out Onboard.

I hope that covers all of your questions.

why wouldn't you oc on a mATX? im using matx!

I agree though that an i7 is overkill for gaming.. though the socket is good for "futureproofing".. i5 will be cheaper by a good margin which gives you extra cash for a better gfx card..if you save the 200ish from the i7 to i5 that gives you more than 1/2 the price of a 5870 card, which will smoke alot of cards out there for gaming and for htpc.. runs cooler too.. just make sure you have a good psu for it all and you're golden.. corsair 650tx is more than you'd need, but again its useable for crossfirex too!

The reason I wanted i7 was mainly for the longevity factor. This system is going to need to last me about 2 years while still keeping up with the games that will be released over that time. It might be a little overkill today, but next year around this time it will probably be about average.

I might OC some, but it won't be anything major. Probably about 200mhz or so depending on what type of cooling I decide on. I just don't feel like dealing with the constant tinkering of settings and such lol. I haven't really OC'd in about 2 years and find that I enjoy computers much more this way