[Jason Dunn]

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10163_7-5548628-1.html?tag=bnav

"Traditional tower PCs are fine if you have room to spare, but just try shoehorning one into your entertainment center. A small-form-factor (SFF) PC fits almost all the power and versatility of a full-blown desktop into a much smaller package. Here we show you how to construct a dazzling SFF PC that's compact and powerful yet living-room stylish. We started with a bare-bones setup, with the motherboard and the power supply already installed, and added a processor, a DVD burner, and a hard drive."

Decent article if you're just getting started, but Rick gave out some shockingly bad advice in step nine of this article: he said that in order to do an upgrade of XP you should install the old OS (Windows 98, etc.) first, then install Windows XP on top of that. This is a sure-fire way to get an unstable system - layering one OS on top of another is bad in every possible way. Instead, install XP, and during the installation process the XP upgrade will prompt you to insert the CD of the original OS - and once it has confirmed that you have a copy of the Windows 98 install CD, it will proceed with the full install of Windows XP - without installing any part of the old OS.

[Jason Dunn]

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10163_7-5548628-1.html?tag=bnav

"Traditional tower PCs are fine if you have room to spare, but just try shoehorning one into your entertainment center. A small-form-factor (SFF) PC fits almost all the power and versatility of a full-blown desktop into a much smaller package. Here we show you how to construct a dazzling SFF PC that's compact and powerful yet living-room stylish. We started with a bare-bones setup, with the motherboard and the power supply already installed, and added a processor, a DVD burner, and a hard drive."

Decent article if you're just getting started, but Rick gave out some shockingly bad advice in step nine of this article: he said that in order to do an upgrade of XP you should install the old OS (Windows 98, etc.) first, then install Windows XP on top of that. This is a sure-fire way to get an unstable system - layering one OS on top of another is bad in every possible way. Instead, install XP, and during the installation process the XP upgrade will prompt you to insert the CD of the original OS - and once it has confirmed that you have a copy of the Windows 98 install CD, it will proceed with the full install of Windows XP - without installing any part of the old OS.

[Pat Logsdon]

Ok article. His comment about rubber banding ribbon cables is a bit dumb, though - people should spent a few extra bucks and get round cables. Better airflow, lower temps, happy computer.