SPCR

I am going to be purchasing an athlon 64 system that will be used mainly for gaming. My priorities for the system are:

1) Low power / low heat. It gets hot here in the summer and I don't want my computer acting as a space heater or making my electricity bill higher than it could be.

2) Quiet. Currently my computer is similar to a jet engine, so any improvement here would be better than what I have. For my setup a 40$ quiet fan probably isn't worth it, but 10-20$ may be.

So far the configuration I am looking at is:

Athlon64 3000+
MSI k8neo platnum
Antec Sonata w/ 380w psu
ATI 9800 pro 256mb
?? Case fan
?? CPU Fan

Reason I like the MSI motherboard is because it is the nf3 chipset and it supports cool n' quiet. Are there other motherboards that may support cool n quiet better (or have the ability to shut off the fan's completly) ?

Is the sonata with that psu a good one to get for cool n quiet or does it not matter?

What CPU fan should I purchase? Will any cpu fan work with cool n quiet so that when the CPU is running at reduced power the fan speed reduces?


Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

I don't know about what everyone else thinks, but that 380S PSU that comes with the sonata has a rather whiny fan. With the new Seasonic Super Silencer 400W Revision A3s coming out, which are VERY quiet(I have one, and can support this claim), as well as the Nexus 4090 (which I have, but have yet to use/test), I suggest you get one of these. As for a cooler, the Zalman 7000A-Cu is fine, may need a fan swap if you dont like the ticking noise it generates at low speeds.

how loud is the ticking noise? cause im gonna buy a zalman 7000alcu

It's not noticeable with the closed case, with it open, you can hear it. Can't tell you for sure, as the sonata has those holes along the sides.

I like the drive bays in the sonata (the drives sit perpendicular to the case rather than paralell) and the clips that make it easy to move drives around. Does anyone know of a place that will sell a sonata or other antec case with that style without psu (or perhaps with a different psu)?

Thanks for the suggestions!

The PSU definitely needs a fan swap.

As for the Zalman, that depends on how quiet the rest of your system is. If you use a quiet hard drive, decouple it from the case (not just the supplied grommets, I'm talking about suspention), fanswap your PSU, do something about the noisy 9800 fan, undervolt all your fans, then you'll find the Zalman on low noisy.

My Sonata PS is very quiet. Current build is:

Sonata case/fan/PS
Barton 2800 on Abit NF7S mobo.
arctic-cooling copper silent 2TC for processor and zalman NB heatsink
samsung 1614C HDD
old asus geforce 3 ti200 card

the only thing I hear is the vid card fan

I've used several of the Zalman 7000 AlCu heatsinks and I have never heard a clicking noise that was audible, with the case closed. The only way I can hear it is to put my ear less than 6 inches from the fan, with the case side off.

I heartily recommend the Zalman CNPS7000AlCu heatsink, and you can run it at even lower than 5V.

If you get the 9800, make sure you get the Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer. It works very well and keeps the card far cooler and quieter than stock solutions.

For some ideas of how to automatically lower your fan speed/noise, dependent on CPU temperature, check the link in my sig, for my Fan Voltage Controller Strip.