I needed to upgrade as my 9800pro died. No thanks to ATi in RMA anyways. So looking at the prices of current and last gen videocards, it is apparent that current gen 7800GT is the best bang for the buck (Mid 300s). Here is the problem, I need an PCI-E motherboard. I didn’t really want to dismentle the whole system just to replace a motherboard, so I thought I’ll just build a complete new system. Haven’t done that in awhile. Since the Antec I had is a full tower and has pretty much everything, so I wanted to build a more compact machine. Looked at SFF, but settled on a Micro ATX.

So here is the specs:
Aspire X-Qpack case (copper colored w/ 3 windows)
AMD64 3700+ San Diego core
Biostar T-Force 6100-939
eVGA 7800GT CO. 470/1100mhz stock.
NEC DVD burner
Maxtor Diamondmax 10, 250gig SATA.
Salvaged from old computer:
SB Audigy2, Seagate 200gig SATA.

I put an old SBlive back in the main machine. It’ll live rest of its useful life as an HTPC. At least it isn’t condemned to the garage as spare parts
Here is some random thoughts/comments about the build. The aspire M-ATX case ROCKS. Removable motherboard tray makes it easy to install components and comes with a PS with enough juice to power all that stuff for 85 dollars. the 120mm fan is a little loud, but not as loud as the mainmachine The Biostar mobo has enough features for a desktop, and has ok overclocking features. Probably support more stuff than i can squeeze into a micro atx case. Online review seems favorable too. 7800GT with copper heatsince is hefty. The CPU idles @ 30C and 43c under full load for an hour with factory cooler. I may upgrade to a Zalman 7000CU. Cooler is better right?

Here it is with the lights out: