I have a friend who wants me to build him a Small formfactor PC. This would be easy enough except before he told me he was wanting to build a new PC, he had heard me talk about core 2 duo, so now thats what he wants in it. Aside from that, he wants to use it as a day-to-day PC, with a midrange videocard (~$200) for gaming. He also wants to be able to use the PC for sound recording. Hes a musician, and since he usually practices with different people at different locations all the time, the PC needs to be small and mobile so he can take it and a smaller LCD monitor with him. So I guess I have a few diffent questions:

1) Does anyone here think this makes sense to make? This is the idea he proposed to me and I'm not really sure if theres a better solution.
2) Audio Interfaces for sound recording: I know the X-fi and Audigy come with breakout boxes with inputs, but are the PCI audio interface cards any good? I'm looking for an internal solution here as opposed to a external box that connects with firewire/usb.
3) I've never built in a SFF case before. I know the space is tight, and heat is a problem, but the only brand I've ever seen recommended is the Monarch Hornet. Anyone have any recommendations for SFF cases?

I'm sure the guy isn't dead-set on this idea, so if theres a more effective way of doing this, I'd appreciate any input. I'm just not that excited about cramming a videocard, audio interface card, HD, and an optical drive into a case the size of a lunchbox.

9/21/2006 4:35:05 PM

I don't think they make a motherboard that supports a Core 2 Duo in anything other than full ATX at the moment.

You'd want to double check that though.

9/21/2006 11:22:23 PM

The Mac Mini does Core 2 Duo (not stock though...).

I'm sure you can find MiniATX or smaller with Core based mobos.

9/21/2006 11:30:39 PM

http://sys.us.shuttle.com/X100.aspx

there you go. this thing is core duo and ridiculously SFF. get an external firewire or usb2.0 soundcard.

edit: not core 2 duo, but still look at how sexy this thing is. instead, this one will do core 2 duo:

http://global.shuttle.com/Product/Barebone/SD37P2.asp

[Edited on September 22, 2006 at 12:03 AM. Reason : .]

9/22/2006 12:01:10 AM

Quote :

" know the X-fi and Audigy come with breakout boxes with inputs, but are the PCI audio interface cards any good?"

don't go with the audigy or X-fi
I'd suggest an M-Audio Audiophile, assuming he can get all his instruments bounced down to stereo with a hardware mixer.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Audiophile-2496-PCI-Digital-Audio-Card?sku=701341

Quote :

"I'm sure the guy isn't dead-set on this idea, so if theres a more effective way of doing this, I'd appreciate any input."

Id's say for him just to get a standard desktop, then just get a standalone multitracker. There are a lot of different multitrackers, pretty much all of which he can hook into his computer through USB or Firewire.

Korg D888 - $700
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Korg-D888-8Track-Digital-Recording-Studio?sku=702914

Tascam DP-01 - $300
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tascam-DP01-Digital-8Track-Portastudio?sku=241106

9/22/2006 11:50:47 AM

^ & ^^: Thanks a lot, I'm supposed to see the guy this weekend to buy the parts, so hopefully I can talk him into one of those 2 options. Plus this guy wants to do core 2 duo with lots of storage in a SFF for <$900... Hopefully I can get him to go standard ATX and save some money in the process. He's got a decent HW mixer, so the M-audio interface might be the way to go.

9/22/2006 1:08:01 PM

dont try to get him to go for standard atx. give him what he wants. get the SD37P2. the soundcard really depends on how many inputs he wants. if he's just going to do 1 xlr input and/or 1 1/4" input, the m-audio firewire solo would be perfect for him (i love mine). make sure if you get an external soundcard you get one that is firewire or usb2.0. if he wants a lot of inputs (a mixer) integrated into this big picture, just use an internal m-audio audiophile and hook it up to a standard mixer.

9/22/2006 2:38:59 PM

i'll sell you an M-audio Audiophile 2496 2x2analog IO, digital IO, MIDI interface for a deal

9/22/2006 5:58:59 PM

I just think it would be a pain to drag a computer, monitor, keyboard, and mouse out to record.

9/22/2006 7:59:32 PM