New Atom 330 build

[madmax808]

I'm considering building my dad a new computer for Father's Day, since it's coming up and his old Compaq desktop is quite unreliable. Real estate on his work desk is a priority, so I was considering building a new system with this guy, but I'm new to the Atom scene. Any reason I shouldn't go this route? The only thing the computer is used for is basic web surfing/email/Quicken/etc. No big tasks whatsoever, so I figured this was the way to go as far as usage, price, and size.

Input is appreciated!

 

[Proximon]

I would at least do a mini-ATX build with a low power AMD CPU such as
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103298
With a 740G MB.

Or, I would just buy a prebuilt with a good warranty:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220006

 

[xthekidx]

Ya i think the Atom is a waste in a desktop to be honest. I second proximon's suggestion. Athalon 5050e build would be good I think.

Stick it in a box like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163112

Ram: You probably don't need 4gb now, but in a couple years it will help him out and the price on ddr2 is slowly rising, so I would just buy it now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

MB: This isn't much more than the 740g and has a better video chipset.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157153

PSU: Something basic is all you need, like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151059

HDD: This is a quiet and fast drive, and probably plenty big:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074&Tpk=wd3200aaks

Optical:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151187

 

[madmax808]

Thanks for the replies, guys. It makes more sense to go the mini-atx route. I think I was tempted to use an Atom just because it's new tech. The regular CPU will give be better upgrade options in the future, too.

@xthekidx

Those parts are almost identical to the HTPC I built a few months back. =P


Thanks again for the input.

 

[AKM880]

+2, I wouldn't go for Atom either, Proximon's CPU doesn't use that much power anyways.

 

[xthekidx]

The Atom processor is pretty slow, like slower than Pentium 4 speeds. It's not something I would want in a new PC. If you are really excited about low power consumption and hug trees all day then I guess you can go for it, but IMO its too slow.

 

[AKM880]

^ Agreed, If I ever would buy a Atom CPU, its probably a netbook :lol: