I am custom building my own computer. I do have somewhat of a budget about maybe $1000 but I am willing to go over. I open to any opinions, recommendations, and ideas. If I leave something out or if these parts aren't compatiable let me know. Also I have read many books on building and a few sites I would be open for you to share some books and sites for me to look at. Thanks
Case: RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WB Black SECC STEEL ATX Mid Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811156063
motherboard: ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition Socket AM2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131011 I would like wireless because this compter will be a second computer and I would like it on my network.
processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103751
hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822144701
dvd burner: SAMSUNG Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner With LightScribe Technology http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827151136
graphics card: eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130017
Ram: CORSAIR XMS2 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145153
psu: Thermaltake ToughPower W0117 750 Watt ATX Power Supply http://www.compusa.com/products/product ... wer_Supply
monitor: I have a dell trinitron from my old computer but would like to get a 19 inch http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824001088
Tell me what do you think? Oh and btw I do a lot of things with my compters like gaming, internet surfing, photos, watch movies, and for school and might be using it as a business down the road. I also want it to be easy to upgrade down the road. Thanks for looking.
captnhoney
This will be my first build
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Welcome to SPCR!
Three main problems I see with your system in terms of noise: PSU, Case, and graphics card.
1) Your system will not use more than about 200W maximum, maybe 325W if you're running two 7600GT cards in SLI. That's the max, which probably will NEVER happen. Save yourself some money and get a better quality, lower wattage PSU. Here's a few that are recommended often in these forums:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151022
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817103938
2) Your proposed case only has an 80mm exhaust fan. You should get one with at least a 120mm exhaust for quiet, efficient cooling. Something like an Antec SOLO would do nicely. If you really want a window on your case, you could look at the Chenbro Gaming Bomb, but I'm not sure how good it really is. Its the only case with a window on SPCR's recommended list.
3)You can easily find a 7600GT graphics card with passive cooling (i.e. no whinny little fan). Here's a few on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814125025
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150213
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121016
The other option is to buy the eVGA card and swap out the heatsink.
Zalman VF700 and VF900 GPU heatinks are usually much quieter than the stock cooling.
Three main problems I see with your system in terms of noise: PSU, Case, and graphics card.
1) Your system will not use more than about 200W maximum, maybe 325W if you're running two 7600GT cards in SLI. That's the max, which probably will NEVER happen. Save yourself some money and get a better quality, lower wattage PSU. Here's a few that are recommended often in these forums:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151022
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817103938
2) Your proposed case only has an 80mm exhaust fan. You should get one with at least a 120mm exhaust for quiet, efficient cooling. Something like an Antec SOLO would do nicely. If you really want a window on your case, you could look at the Chenbro Gaming Bomb, but I'm not sure how good it really is. Its the only case with a window on SPCR's recommended list.
3)You can easily find a 7600GT graphics card with passive cooling (i.e. no whinny little fan). Here's a few on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814125025
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150213
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121016
The other option is to buy the eVGA card and swap out the heatsink.
Zalman VF700 and VF900 GPU heatinks are usually much quieter than the stock cooling.
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angelkiller
- Posts: 871
- Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 11:37 am
- Location: North Carolina
I completely agree with stromgald about the noise problems, let me add my opinion about performance:
First off, how much/serious do you plan on gaming? You currently have alot of your budget in a high-end motherboard. From your selection of a 7600GT, I will assume that gaming is not the largest priority. I think a mobo with a single PEG slot will suffice. Something similar to these
If you game casually, I would stay with the passive 7600GT. If you want solid performance, (high settings at medium resolutions), I would recommend a X1950PRO, which is about $200. (of course with a VF900 or Accelero X2 on it)
I also think that you could better spend your money by taking the Intel route. An E6300 will offer slightly less or similar performance than the X2 4600+. I see Intel's future to be brighter then AMD's, so I would give up that fraction of performance for future upgrades. (You could easily make up the difference by slightly OC'ing the E6300) I also missed your CPU cooler. Most people here at SPCR would recommend a Scythe Ninja.
As for your case, may I suggest an Antec Sonata? Or maybe a NSK 4400?
First off, how much/serious do you plan on gaming? You currently have alot of your budget in a high-end motherboard. From your selection of a 7600GT, I will assume that gaming is not the largest priority. I think a mobo with a single PEG slot will suffice. Something similar to these
If you game casually, I would stay with the passive 7600GT. If you want solid performance, (high settings at medium resolutions), I would recommend a X1950PRO, which is about $200. (of course with a VF900 or Accelero X2 on it)
I also think that you could better spend your money by taking the Intel route. An E6300 will offer slightly less or similar performance than the X2 4600+. I see Intel's future to be brighter then AMD's, so I would give up that fraction of performance for future upgrades. (You could easily make up the difference by slightly OC'ing the E6300) I also missed your CPU cooler. Most people here at SPCR would recommend a Scythe Ninja.
As for your case, may I suggest an Antec Sonata? Or maybe a NSK 4400?
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speedlever
- Posts: 128
- Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 1:39 pm
- Location: NC, USA