your input is appreciated

so, as i previously mentioned, i'm obsessed with the projects on www.mini-itx.com and wanted to make a custom box. then through a series of questionable decisions, purchased a computer's worth of components.

so now i have (or will have.. the first shipment comes tomorrow) a full computer worth of parts sans case.

cause i'm building a custom case... a description you ask? yeah.. don't have that. i have a few ideas floating around in my head but no real plans or concrete decisions made.

and what will i do with said new computer of undecided design? um.. yeah.. i need ideas for that too. The ideas thus far: digital multitrack recording and classic game emulation.

Details i am pretty positive abotu: It'll be another Ubuntu box.. initially edgy and then i'll probably wipe and rebuild when feisty is released... i'll make my first attempt at overclocking a processor (and detail it here).. i figure if i toast it, hey, it's only a 30 buck processor.. also, i'd like to get the audigy xfi platinum for easy audio inputs.. but um.. that's the extent of it.

so yeah.. give me ideas.. what should it i do with the case? what purposes should it fulfill? what else should i put in it?

help!

another project.

so, i've been enamored with the projects i have been seeing on www.mini-itx.com, but i'm not about to spend $300 on a 800Mhz motherboard/processor combo from VIA. Expandability? yeah.. one PCI slot at best and you are stuck with onboard graphics and sound.
So i decided not to go ahead with creating another pc that was less powerful than anything else in my house (including my work laptop and the PVR i created almost two years ago!)

Good job m, way not to spend money on something you don't need.


Well, i don't know exactly how it happened but i learned of the BTX form factor. 10.5" square... slightly larger than the 6.7" square mITX but really not that huge (when you aren't using a standard case). the same day, i saw a deal on www.newegg.com for an intel (brand!) 945 BTX mobo for $40.. this will take any P4 HT or Pentium D chip (65nm Dual core.. not core duo).. how could i pass it up?

and what good is a mobo if you don't have a chip? enter the $35 2.66 Pent D Celeron.. well i need a harddrive.. ah, here's a 80gig for $40.. or for a few bux more the 160.. let's get that.. and so forth and so on.. see the bottom of the post for the details.. (one quick note.. i got a deal with the processor and heatsink only to later find out that the BTX mobo doesnt have the same type of heatsink as an ATX so i had to go to tigerdirect to get a special btx cooler.. the BTX cooler is pretty cool mechanically tho.. look it up)

Anyway. um.. i'll write another post to tell why i'm doing this project and that's where i'll ask for input.

What i got from newegg:
CPU INTEL|CD 331 2.66G 775 256K R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$36.00)
CPU FAN ROSEWILL|RCX-Z2 RTL - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$24.99)
PSU ROSEWILL|RV300 300W RETAIL - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$12.99)
MEM 512M|TRANS DII667 JM367Q643A-6 - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$29.99)
MB INTEL BOXD945GBOLKR 945G 775 - OEM (Qty=1, Price=$39.99)
DVD BURN LITEON|SHM-165H6S RAM BK % - OEM (Qty=1, Price=$30.99)
HD 160G|WD 7K 8M SATA2 WD1600JS % - OEM (Qty=1, Price=$52.99)
DISCOUNT FOR COMBO #31758 (Qty=1, Price=$-8.00)