Check out quote for friend (mainly using Linux), recommend cheap gaming case

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PostmanPot

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Hi all

My friend is wanting a decent/reliable PC that he will use for varsity work in 64-bit Linux, and later upgrade the graphics card to play a few games in Windows (Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3).

Main concern is compatibility with Linux. I have pretty much the same PC (E4500, GA-G31M-S2, 2GB, 6600GT) and the only problem I encountered in Linux was setting up the onboard Gigabit LAN (was pretty easy to fix) - albeit I didn't play around in Linux too much.

Would you guys recommend a board with an Intel chipset for mainly Linux use? If not, what's similar that you would recommend? I'm really happy with my G31.

I also want to know what other cases you can recommend that have enough space for a decent graphics card. I feel the Gigabyte cases are slightly overpriced, but they are nice and clean. Got access to Antec, Asus and CoolerMaster.

His budget is around R6000.

R1205 Intel Core2Duo E4600 Dual Core 2.4GHz, Socket 775, 2MB, 800MHz FSB, 65nm, 64-bit ready
R615 Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L G31 chipset, 1 x PCI-E x16 slot, 2 x DDR2-800 slots, 8 x USB 2.0, onboard graphics/sound/LAN
R450 Transcend JetRam 2GB DDR-2 800 (upgrade with another stick in the future)
R565 Seagate Barracuda 250GB SATA 7200RPM, 8MB cache
R260 LiteOn DVD Super All-Write SATA
R350 Gigabyte 460watt PSU
R620 Gigabyte Setto 1000 case
R225 Microsoft PS2 keyboard and PS2/USB optical mouse
R1815 LG L192WS 19" wide 1440x900, 5ms, 700:1
R295 Creative SBS-A300 2.1, 21watt RMS, ported MDF wood subwoofer with 5" driver, adjustable bass level, black.

R6400
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These are the cases I can get that are cheaper than the Setto or just a bit more expensive:

Coolermaster RC-334 , Elite 334 , Windowed side panel , No psu , black : tools free ; 2 x front usb + audio in/out - 4x 5.25", 1x 3.5", 5x 3.5" hidden - 1 x 120mm fan support upto 2 - atx
Antec 300 (Three Hundred) , black , no psu , bottom placed PSU , front access to washable fan filters ; 2 x front usb+ audio in/out - 3 x 5.25", 6 x 3.5" hdd , 2 front loaded HDD cages - top-mounted 140mm tri-cool fan + 1 x rear 120mm tri-cool fan upto 5
antec var ii series sx1000ii full tower , beige - 4x 5.25", 2x 3.5", 4x 3.5" hidden - no PSU; with lockable side panel, 2 x 8cm fan upto 5, with front washable air filter, quick release drive bays with lever, snap-in fan mounts drive rails for 5.25" devices, removable 3.5" hdd cages + anti-dust front door (lockable) ; front usb+ieee1394
Antec solution series SLK2650BQE , Quiet Black , No psu , chassis air guide on side panel ; drive rails for 5.25” drives , 2 front usb + audio in/out , removable Drive Cages ; 4 x 5.25", 2x 3.5" , 2 x internal 3.5" with rubber grommets ; 1x120mm rear fan upto 3 , pci expansion slot protective cover
Antec solution series SLK3000B , Black , NO psu , chassis air guide on side panel , drive rails for 5.25” drives , 2 x front usb + audio in/out ; removable drive cages for 3.5” drives; 4x 5.25", 2x 3.5" , 5x internal 3.5" with rubber grommets ; 1x 120mm rear fan upto 3 , lockable front door with washable air filter
Antec New Solution series NSK6000 , No psu , black + silver , chassis air guide on side panel , 0.8mm cold-rolled steel construction , 2 front usb + audio in/out + ieee1394 ; 4x 5.25" ( with 1 x 5.25" to 3.5" bracket+front panel ) , 5x internal 3.5" ; 1 x Tricool 120mm rear fan upto 4 - 3 years warranty on PSU
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Any Intel chispet board should be fine, you can, for compatability sake check out the 965 chipset, sometimes the upmost latest chipset from Intel takes a little while to be fully supported. YMMV.

But you can always google for motherboard model + ubuntu for some ideas :)

The Intel X3100 (965) graphics controller is supported by Linux but I wouldn't really reccomend it, video palyback is not perfect and it's a little iffy sometimes. Might want to look at a lower/mid range Nvidia card for that.
 
n1hilist said:
Any Intel chispet board should be fine, you can, for compatability sake check out the 965 chipset, sometimes the upmost latest chipset from Intel takes a little while to be fully supported. YMMV.

But you can always google for motherboard model + ubuntu for some ideas :)

The Intel X3100 (965) graphics controller is supported by Linux but I wouldn't really reccomend it, video palyback is not perfect and it's a little iffy sometimes. Might want to look at a lower/mid range Nvidia card for that.
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Thanks for the tips.

He will definitely be upgrading to a decent graphics card soon. I don't think he's going to be doing any media etc. work in Linux, so should be okay. :)

Those Gigabyte Setto cases are really hot.
 
Hot as in sexy or hot as in heat? :)

You / he might want to disable Compiz on his Linux install, I personally found it a little buggy with the onboard intel graphics, especially with palyback on youtube/videos in general.

But again, YMMV :)
 
n1hilist said:
Hot as in sexy or hot as in heat? :)

You / he might want to disable Compiz on his Linux install, I personally found it a little buggy with the onboard intel graphics, especially with palyback on youtube/videos in general.

But again, YMMV :)
Click to expand...

Hot as in sexy. :)

He'll just have to run for a while without any effects. He doesn't mind. Told him not to expect much from onboard gfx. :p
 
Actually, the onboard X3100 is capable of running Quake3 on a 22" 1680x1050 screen, or WoW, but not much more than that. So it's a very good card for 99% of Office/basic 3D stuff .. it even runs Vista's Aero quite well.
 
That GA-G31M-S2L is a very nice mobo for the price. I have one as well and it's pretty easy to OC with. I would change the Liteon DVD writer though. The previous Liteon that i had was noisy, couldn't read half the DVD's i tried playing and had trouble writing at 8X even though it was an 8X writer. Pretty useless all-round. Rather go with an ASUS or Samsung writer for the same price.
 
OneEyedWelshman said:
That GA-G31M-S2L is a very nice mobo for the price. I have one as well and it's pretty easy to OC with. I would change the Liteon DVD writer though. The previous Liteon that i had was noisy, couldn't read half the DVD's i tried playing and had trouble writing at 8X even though it was an 8X writer. Pretty useless all-round. Rather go with an ASUS or Samsung writer for the same price.
Click to expand...

Yeah, great little board, have one myself.

Swapped the LiteOn for an LG (although I've never had problems with LiteOn myself).
 
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