Micro ATX Build

[Captain A]

It has been a while since I have built any computers (about four years) and now I have reopened my "shop" to friends and family. I have someone who needs a computer and the physical size to performance ratio is crucial, so I was thinking about a micro ATX build. So far this is what I have:

LIAN LI PC-V351B Black Aluminum MicroATX
GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz
ADATA XPG Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB
ASUS SATA CD/DVD Burner
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W

It will be primarily used for office work, including some light Photoshop work, so I still need to find a graphics card that will do that and fit within my physical size limitations. It would be excellent if said card was $100 or less. Hopefully I'm not forgetting anything and provided enough information, I'm open to critiques on any aspect of this!

Thanks,

Captain A

[jdeb]

You should list your budget. I stuck with things close to the pricing.

That is a DDR2 motherboard.
You don't need DDR3 1600 memory unless your overclocking.
Stick with WD cavair black better warranty and faster
I would not go with that power supply

ASUS P5G41T-M/CSM (Corporate Stable)
Newegg.com - ASUS P5G41T-M/CSM LGA 775 Intel G41 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066
Newegg.com - Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1067

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

ASUS EAH6670/DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit
Newegg.com - ASUS EAH6670/DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W
Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

LIAN LI PC-V351B Black Aluminum MicroATX
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz
ASUS SATA CD/DVD Burner

[Captain A]

I don't really have one, just close to what I listed is fine. $500 or so if I must put a number on it. Thanks for the advice.

Just curious, why not go for the 1600 for the same price? Heat/power?

[jdeb]

The board does not support it. Even if it did, it would not run at the rated speed unless you overclocked. then you would have to adjust for stability. Not a very noticeable performance increase either.

[glc]

You can get away without a video card for that kind of work if you use Sandy Bridge.

Newegg.com - LIAN LI PC-V351B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Computer Case

Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - ASUS P8H67-M LX (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz 2 x 256KB L2 Cache 3MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I32100

Newegg.com - Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model KVR1333D3K2/4GR

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - CD / DVD Burners

You can add a video card later if you find you really need it.

[Captain A]

Originally Posted by jdeb The board does not support it. Even if it did, it would not run at the rated speed unless you overclocked. then you would have to adjust for stability. Not a very noticeable performance increase either.

Ahh I missed that! Hopefully I have knocked off all of the rust now...

Originally Posted by glc You can get away without a video card for that kind of work if you use Sandy Bridge. You can add a video card later if you find you really need it.

Thanks so much for the suggestions, I'll look them over.

[birddog_61]

I would go the sandy bridge rout myself, but if you decide to go the other way this GTS 450 is the same price as the 6670, and a little faster.

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1450-TR GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

[glc]

And for "light photoshop work" you don't need either one of those cards. A 128 bit Radeon 4650 or GeForce 210 is all you need.

I also wouldn't do a new socket 775 build, the upgrade path is too limited.