SPCR

I need help by regular SPCR forum members

The last pc I bought was in 1998, and now I am buying a new system. I am not going to overclock this thing, my main concern is to get this as quiet as possible. Could you please look over the components I have chosen to see if this is any good/compatible ? I have been lookinig into different threads in different forums and have come up with the following:

Lian Li PC-50
Enermax Noisetaker 370W
MSI K8N Neo Platinum
AMD Athlon 64 2800+
Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu
Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB
Samsung P80 160GB 8MB S-ATA
Sapphire Radeon 9600XT Ultimate Edition
Nec ND-3500 16x DVD±R
Asus spacelink Wireless PCI 54 Mbps

Admin: Moved to System Advice


I would seriously look at a different case.

The PC-50 has lots of "features" that are not in its favor:

1. It mounts the PSU AT-style over the top of the motherboard. The Z7000 may not even fit. And even if it does, it's going to make your airflow really congested up there.
2. It's really limited in terms of ventilation: 80mm intake, and an 80mm blowhole, which is not a nice thing for quiet PC's, it directs the sound out right towards you.
3. It's thin aluminum. Thin aluminum cases resonate, making an awful racket that hard to get rid of. Steel is generally preferred. (and ignore anyone who tries to tell you that Aluminum cases stay cooler, that's total BS)

For $80+, you can find much better options for cases.

Other than that, the list looks really good!

Ok, thank you for the input. What would you recommend yourself ? What I personally like about the pc-50 is its size, smaller than a normal midi-tower...

What I really want is a Fong Kai...but getting that case in Norway is impossible....

The Sonata is similar in terms of both size and price. There are probably others, but that's the first one that popped into my head. (give it a few hours, and they'll be more suggestions here, I can almost guarantee. )

Great !

Rusty075 wrote:The Sonata is similar in terms of both size and price. There are probably others, but that's the first one that popped into my head. (give it a few hours, and they'll be more suggestions here, I can almost guarantee. )

Should I then forget the Enermax PSU since most stores sell the Sonata with a the TruePower PSU ?

The PSU included in the Sonata is too loud. However, it's easy to mod it with a quiter fan. I did it with an acoustifan. And the fan-only outs are a great way to undervolt case fans for free

However, be warned that I've had issues with it powering my system (A64 3000, 2x120 Seagates, 1xDVDRW, Radeon 9700). With your load you probably won't have any problems but if, in the future, you pop in one or two more harddrives, optical drives and a higher powered graphics card, you may have problems. I think the problem comes from the PSUs rated power sagging under higher heat situation (due to the acoustifan mod).

Personally I don't consider the one 5.25 inch extra drive bay a big size difference. Therefore I'd go with a 3700AMB or BQE instead. Better than swearing at the cramped insides

Nice tips ! I'll order en extra fan for the PSU (cheaper than swopping the truepower).