Laptop, SFF or Mid-Tower Design ? Need some advice here

[Phoenix56]

1st, Thanks for looking at this post, 2nd, I am in need of some advice here.

Problem ! I am a hard-core gamer and love FRAGGING like everyone else here BUT I am also a Professional Driver for a Good Company that gives its drivers a little leyway in equiping our trucks.
Presently, I have a POS HP laptop and a 350 watt inverter, I know, not much for gaming is it . So, since I've built my own systems for Home use for a long time now, I came up with this idea.

I bought me a 5000 watt inverter and am thinking of building a Mid-tower computer for over the road use only, Heres my present list of parts that I have on hand now that I could build with :
AMD 64 3800+
2 gigs of ram
MSI Neo4 Platinum MOBO
2 Cd-Rom Drives
3 SATA HD's
1 SONY 17in LCD monitor

I have no case as of yet cause heres the problem, Is it much better to buy a Shuttle SFF like the SN25P and lose all the extra pci buses that I can use or find me a case that I can use ?

Before answering, I was also thinking , some time down the road I might go with a Dual CPU like the 4800+, so that leaves me with a difficult choise here.

Really, I dont think it's a problem but I am leaning towards a Full Mid-Tower design. What if any suggestions do you guys think ?

 

[PanicX]

If you're gonna be lugging this system around with you, I dont see how much benefit you'll get from extra PCI slots. I'm not sure how smooth your ride is, but I'm fairly certain I wouldnt want to run my PC around in a truck all day. To be honest if anything I'd be considering an Alienware laptop (alienware.com) as you can also get a PCMCIA cellular card for fraggin over the net, and have a lot less cable mess cluttering up your cab.

 

[Phoenix56]

@ PanicX, Thanks for replying Bro.

I didnt want my post to drag on and on but I also didnt think anyone would give 2 hoots about this post either. Thanks PanicX !

I have a Peterbilt 379 with a Cat 340E engine and 18 gears in it and I have a damping system already installed in it Bro, So thats a No-Brainer, right , LOL

I do have a PCMICA GPRS Card already for internet usage and all, slow but it gives me the internet, I was just thinking of all the extra parts I have around and was needing some advice vs Cost and Upgradability.

I know that you didnt know that PanicX, But I didnt want to drag this like I said. As for the pci buses, I have a Creative Labs sound card and an ATI X850 graphics card which I did not list also. Going with the Shuttle or the Alienware laptop is going to cost me some dough plus I have these extra's I have on hand now.

That HP POS laptop gets me buy for now but with its not upgradable 9200 ATI grahics, I am stuck in SLOW gear. LOL

 

[PanicX]

In that case, I'd definitely pass on the SFF as your motherboard won't work in it and they simply cant upgrade to the potential you're seeking. Going with a full ATX case you'll basically have to decide how you want to mount it. You can go with an ATC style desktop, however you'd probably be happier with a good tower. That way you'll have room to upgrade to a dual CPU setup if need be and also accomodate any PSU upgrades necessary.

 

[Phoenix56]

@ PanicX

Sounds good to me Bro, I just needed a Second Opinion and like always, Its good to hear from others such as yourself!

Anyways, Since you and I have some common ground here, I think it would be nice if I sent you some pics of my unit with the setup later on when I get it up, That is if you so desire. lol

Hey PanicX, Maybe You and I could get to chatting someday and see if we could come up with a Game Plan that will make us some dough, Between You and I , theres a big calling for Full Sized Computers on the road for truckers such as myself. Laptops are ok but they are RESRICTING in that they are not Upgradable unless you go with Aleinware's laptop system.

The only thing thats hampering me now is the Lack of speed when ones on the road, A GPRS celluar card is like 56k , its not for FRAGGING online with games like BF2 ! :evil: :evil:

 

[PanicX]

I'm sure more people than just me would like to see some pics of your finished setup, so be sure to keep the camera handy.

 

[tdeg]

Might be an idea for truck stops to install a wireless router out in the parking lot and let the guys know.

I imagine you would be more inclined to a place that would give your free broadband internet.