Can somebody help me with building a cheap and small comp?

[Fox5]

I have an extra cpu(with heatsink and fan), an AMD Athlon 2000+ Socket A. I also have a PNY Verto Geforce 3 TI 200. I figure those are probably the most expensive parts of a computer, so what's a good motherboard(with integrated sound and ethernet, and whatever else I may need integrated) that can take those? Also, what would be a good case for it?

A hard drive will be no problem, since I have a 20 GB in my computer that I'm not using, plenty of spare cd/cdrw drives around, and I guess I'll have to pick up a 512 MB stick of DDR266. I'd also like it to be as small as possible, though based on a quick glance, the optimal motherboard for me seems to be Asus's KT333, which is basically the motherboard I have in my current computer(might be the KT333A). However, that's not a very small motherboard.

 

[BRiT]

Have a look at a nice nForce2 chipset based motherboard. It has built in NIC, Sound, FireWire, USB2. Some can be had for under $90 that include the SoundStorm audio. If you're using the optical connection, it sounds damn impressive. If you want smallest possible, have a look into the mTX formfactor.

 

[Tim Murray]

I would go with the Abit NF7-S 2.0 myself. Sure, it's $100, but you get goodies (like an IDE to SATA converter), plus it's a great overclocker (if you want to do that eventually) and generally a very easy board to work with.

Then again, if you want as small as possible, what about one of the SFF boxes?

 

[Althornin]

I'd get an nforce2 ultra mobo.
That will mean getting 2 256MB sticks of ram - dual channel memory - for the best performance.

 

[Fox5]

Well, I don't need most of that stuff. I was thinking a motherboard for under $50, though for a super small one I might pay more.
I wouldn't be worried about performance or sound, this thing would be used as either a secondary computer for when people come over, or to bring to LAN parties if I can get it small and light enough. Actually, the only thing I really need is an integrated NIC(I have a sound blaster 128 too), and even then I don't really need it since I could pick up a card really cheap.
Besides, I don't wanna buy a mobo that's better than the one in my current computer! My only objective is to get it working, performance and extra accesories are a distant afterthought.

 

[BRiT]

So why not upgrade your main system and use the old parts in the second system?

 

[Fox5]

Because I wanna keep costs real low, plus if I did go for a mini computer, then the new motherboard couldn't fit all the stuff I currently have.

 

[Sxotty]

Well the thing is people have a hard time suggesting you guy stuff they see as a waste of money. Considering how cheap nforce2's are I would never spend my money knowingly on a crappy MB, and you don't need 2 stickes of ram btw either. That is only for a tiny improvement in most areas.
Cheap Boards
NF2 lowest cost currently $50.90 shipped
http://www.compu-terra.com./spec.cgi?MB-FIC-AU11+pw
$52
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/details.asp?PRDCODE=MB_CTC_7NJL3&REFID=PW

NF2 Ultra lowest cost $60.88 shipped
http://www.partspc.com/store/product2199.html

Small Boards

Micro ATX $62.33 shipped
http://www.axiontech.com/prdt.php?src=PW&item=35233
SFF NF2 IGP $83.97 shipped
http://www.partspc.com/store/product3589.html

And to be honest I would reccomend getting one with soundstorm as well, simply b/c then you are set for audio and dont have to bother with anything.
Full Featured
The full featured leadtek board is $81 shipped
Leadtek WinFast K7NCR18D-Pro
http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info.php?cPath=181_287&products_id=1185

 

[Fox5]

Ok, now $50 sounds a lot better than $100.

Now how about cases? I guess just as long as the motherboard fits it and it has an adequate powersupply.

 

[Fox5]

Micro ATX $62.33 shipped
http://www.axiontech.com/prdt.php?src=PW&item=35233

This one isn't micro atx, it's improperly labeled.

BTW, are there any micro atx boards that don't come with integrated graphics? All the nforce ones do, and that drives up the price a bit.

 

[Fox5]

Ok, I figure I'll go with a full sized nforce2 board(I don't want to pay $30 extra for the integrated graphics) and I'll upgrade my current pc's mobo, and my secondary pc will get the A7V333.
If I had the soundstorm, is that a seperate sound card or does it work in conjunction with an already existing one? I currently have a creative sound blaster audigy 2, so if they can't somehow work together then I don't need the soundstorm.
Ok, since I don't need the soundstorm or the integrated graphics, would you say http://www.partspc.com/store/product2199.html this is the best deal?
And as for the dual channel memory, will that work with any 2 sticks of ddr ram, or does it have to be a special kind? And will it only work in pairs?(for instance, if I had 3 sticks of ram in, would that slow it down?)

 

[{Sniping}Waste]

There are other micro ATX boards out there with out video like ones based off the SIS 735/745/746/748 chipsets with onboard lan. I think Chaintech has a sis 735 micro ATX and a nforce2 micro ATX with lan and no onboard video at newegg for $59.

 

[Fox5]

Well, the SiS chipsets are inferior to the nForce2 chipsets, and I believe ones from VIA as well.
Never saw any nforce2 microATXes without onboard video(though I did see a few in the $50-$60 range with it), but anyhow, I got a motherboard.
I got the shuttle an35n motherboard(nforce2 ultra). It is atx, and cost around $60.