I'm in the process of putting together a computer for my girlfriend. It's to be situated in our bedroom and will have recording tv, showing tv, playing dvd's and other media files as its primary functions. We have analogous cabel tv (from norway) and an lcd tv that supports 720p, so it should be able to scale dvd's to that resolution.

Important aspects are price and quietness, it can't get much more expensive than this example.
(PS. the prices are converted from norwegian kroners so might be a bit off)

Case: Arctic Cooling Silentium T3 110$
Motherboard: Asus K8N4-E/Deluxe 105$
Chipset Cooler: Zalman NB47J rib 6$
CPU: AMD Sempron 2800+ Bulk 82$
CPU-Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 28$
Volt controller: Zalman Fan Mate 2 5$
Memory: TwinMos Speed Premium PC3200 512MB 83$
Video Card: Asus GeForce 6600 128MB Silencer 140$
Tv-Card: Hauppage WinTV PVR500MCE 185$
DVD-Burner: Nex ND-3540A 56$
HD: Samsung Spinpoint P120 200GB S-ATA 118$

I'm very unsure as to what remote and what keyboard/mouse I should get, and would love some input on that...

Welcome to SPCR!

The setup looks fairly good, but I have few concerns, the RAM, CPU cooler and the case. The Silentium series has intersting airflow, there's an SPCR review of the T2 here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article216-page1.html . In the review, they mentioned that the PSU fans are somewhat noisy. What other options to you have for case and PSU in your area? There might be some cheaper, quieter solutions.

For the CPU cooler, I don't understand why you're getting a Freezer 64. Its fan attachment seems flimsy, and its large cooling capacity is completely unnecessary for just a sempron 2800+. I would recommend a Arctic Cooling Silencer 64 TC. It should save you some money and will be quieter (according to Arctic Cooling) when the system is not under heavy load.

With that extra cash I would recommend you get at least 1GB of RAM. 512MB of system memory is too low even for a low-end system, especially if you want to do some video encoding and such. I am also worried about the brand. TwinMos isn't a brand that I recognize and may have stability issues. I usually stick with major brands like Corsair, PNY, Mushkin, and OCZ. 1GB (2x 512MB) Corsair Value Series PC3200 RAM is priced at about $80-85 (USD) at newegg.com.

You also might want to reconsider the motherboard. The northbridge chipset seems very close to the graphics card slot. If you're going to put a Zalman cooler there, you might not be able to fit the card, especially that ASUS graphics card with the large heatsink. Are you stuck on skt754 and PCIe graphics? You'll have more options if you went skt754 and AGP or skt939 and PCIe.

Thank you for the reply, very quick response compared to other boards I've tried my luck on

I've looked around a lot but I have trouble finding better case options at that low a price... Also, another review seems to suggest the case is very silent. But of course, there the PSU fans never ramped up... I also read that some people have modded the PSU fans to make them less noisy, would you consider this an easy mod? (if you're familiar with it that is). Do you have any suggestions for budget cases/PSU? (don't mind me being in norway, we have most cases if I find the right shop)

for some reason, the shops mostly don't have the Silencer 64 TC (it's this one you mean, right?)
I also thought the freezer was a better and more silent cooler. Maybe it could cool the system without a fan as well? If not, any other budget coolers you could recomend?
edit: also, the freezer had a sideways air flow, something that was recommended on the review of the silentium, but if the case is changed...

512MB might be too low, yes... just me trying to keep the prices down. Twinmos is a quite ok brand, but with corsair value being lower in price at the 1GB mark I might go for that.

About the motherboard. Seems like the zalman cooler was something left from a different motherboard, doesn't seem to be any active cooling on the MB. So the space shouldn't be a problem.

wish I could link to the cases the shops have, but a bit hard to navigate the pages which are in norwegian

a few possibilities:
a bit expensive but still.
way too expensive unless you know a REALLY cheap but good PSU
no idea if this is a good case of psu, but cheap
again, need a pretty cheap psu, and don't know how good it is...
same as above...
no idea what this case can do, but ok price...

I'm basically just listing cases that I think look ok and that are in an ok price range, fishing for a positive response

I don't love windows, but it has an ok price..
this is talked about a lot here, but I don't know if it's better than the silentium. text explaining psu is in english
Actually, you can just look at the entire list for this webshop. The prices might be a bit cryptic, but the Silentium is at 720kr for comparison, and 1 USD is about 6,5kr... (list)

I know this was a lot of info, but hope you can take a look thanx in advance

Sorry, I meant the Silencer 64 Ultra TC. Its on AC's site: http://www.arctic-cooling.com/cpu2.php?idx=31&disc= . As far as case goes, I would recommend an Antec 3000B with a Enermax Noisetaker 320W or 370W PSU. Other good inexpensive PSU options include Fortron Blue Storm 350W and Seasonic S12 330W. The SPCR recommended case list is here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page2.html .

Looking at the links you posted, I saw a few good ones. The Sonata II is an ok case. Not considered the best, which is the P180 (the one you said was way too expensive). The Chenbro Gaming bomb got a decent review on this site, but you might not like its looks. The CoolerMaster Centurion 5 is also inexpensive and is on the recommended list. However, it might have noisy fans and PSU supplied with it. But at its cost, you should be able to replace those. I think that's your best option from the sites you posted. For the fan, I used the search bar (looks the same in any language ) and found this for fans: http://www.pcutstyr.no/main.php3?PI=info&PNO=148185 http://www.pcutstyr.no/main.php3?PI=info&PNO=153504
I also found some Fortron PSUs with the same method (http://www.pcutstyr.no/main.php3?PI=info&PNO=151800), but they're not the blue storm so I can't vouch for their quietness. They should be good power supplies. Be sure to get one with a 12cm fan if you do get one of them.

You might want to get these later after you build the system. It might be quiet enough already. It might be just that SPCR just got a bad fan or CPU with their sample. Plus quietness is all relative.

I thought there might be a conflict with the northbridge chipset and garphics card from looking at this: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1787 I'm not sure if that's the exact motherboard you were talking about.

I believe the Fortron/Source PSU found on my webpage is the same as your blue storm, at least the product code seems to match. Does this look like the psu you mean?

The cpu fan seems to be pretty hard to come by, only found it in one webshop and that shop is not nearly as cheap as the others... Seems the next cheapest one is the freezer, unless that's not a very good cooler...
(other coolers)(is this one better?)

about the case. Would you say that a Centurion 5 with the Fortron PSU is a better choice than the Silentium? This of course means me getting some fans too and they're pretty expensive (at least the good ones).
And if I could get a SLK3000B at the same price as the Centurion 5, would that be even better? (I assume so as you recommended it )

about the fans. The nexus fan lists a sound level of 22,8 dB, is this quiet enough?

The reason I went for a PCIe card is that I can't find any passively cooled cards under AGP cards in the web shops I use. Also, if I want to upgrade later, I guess a PCIe card would be better...
The reason for going socket 754 is simply a question of price, it's cheaper than going 939 with a venice processor.

edit: oh, btw. this is the motherboard in question (link).
Strange thing is it doesn't seem to have any cooling on the northbridge at all, so I am a bit suspicious about it...

also, do you think 300W would be enough for this PC? the 300W Fortron/Source is A LOT cheaper than the 350W... Almost as low as half the price..

Well, the product code is slightly different. For the Blue storms, its THN-R. The ones on that site are THN-P. I'm not sure what's the difference. Other than the color and mesh wrap on the wires on my Blue Storm, it looks very similar.

What other major PSU manufacturers are there at those stores? I haven't been able to find the link to get a list of the PSUs, I just did searches on quiet PSUs I knew of and didn't come up with any Seasonics, Enermaxes, or Antecs. The next best choice IMO is Fortron, which has fairly quiet, high quality PSUs.

The Zalman 7000AlCu used to be a SPCR reference heatsink because of its quietness, but since then some better heatsinks have come out. However, the 7000AlCu is still very good, especially since you won't be putting in a high-end processor. The Freezer 64 would be better in cooling, but it puts more strain on the motherboard because of its size and weight. I wouldn't recommend it over the 7000AlCu unless you're using a 3800+ dual core Athlon64 or something like that.

I can't say if the Silentium will be quieter than a Centurion 5 with a Fortron, but it looks cheaper and is another option. The Silentium might have a noisy PSU and fans which you'll have to replace anyways. You might as well buy just the case and get fans and PSU that you know should be quiet. I would recommend the 3000B, but the Centurion is only ranked slightly lower than the 3000. Read the SPCR reviews on both if you want more information: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page2.html

Don't put too much trust in manufacturer numbers for the sound level. They all measure at different distances and with different methods. The general consensus on this site is that Nexus fans are the quieter than any other fan at 12V, but they don't move much air. Papst, Panaflo, and Yate Loon move more air, but are somewhat noisy at 12V (still quieter than most other fans) and can be quiet when turned down to 5-7V. I like these because they give you the ability for more cooling if necessary.

For the motherboard - It looks like they just took off the stock cooler. I expected a larger chip/more chip surface than that, but then again, I've never taken off the chipset cooler on an nVidia chipset.

300W should be enough but you'll be cutting it close. As long as you won't be adding 3 or more hard drives/optical drives or many PCI cards, I think you should be fine at 300W.

I've been looking around a bit more for PSU's as that seems to be the achilles heel so far... I posted a question about the fortron PSU in the PSU recommendation thread, and was told by MikeC that Fortron has never made a fan cooled PSU that was good enough for him

I came across another webshop though, that had both the Nexus NX-4090 and an Antec Smartpower (sp 400PEC) PSU. And as these are both on the recommended list I take it they are better... A bit more expensive though, but still... Any personal opinions on which is better?

For what you are running in this system, a Seasonic S12-330 should be more than sufficient. I've got a Sempron 3300+ system running Media Center 2005 that uses it and it is quiet, stable, and cools the system well.

Good luck!

-Derek

(Edited to clarify my email)

Thank you, but which power supply did you have? the Fortron/Source or one of those I mentioned in the last post? And are you a quiet pc fanatic too, so quiet means really quiet

Yea, I seem to be the only real big fan of Fortron Blue Storms here at SPCR. Apparently from the reviews, they ramp up quickly, but I haven't heard mines ramp up ever. Its only slightly louder than my 7000B-AlCu at 5V, so its quiet enough for me. I have to get within about 1.5 ft to hear it at all. Maybe I got a broken one that doesn't ramp up, or my components don't consume enough power (unlikely since I've had 2 optical drives and 3 HDDs in it while gaming on a 6800 NU graphcis card). Either way I'm very happy with mines

400W+ is overkill for your system. I would aim for 300-350W PSUs, but if you want quietness, both the Nexus and Antec are good IMO. A 325W Enermax Noisetaker would be optimal (low noise, low cost), but seem hard to find in your area.

heh, hate this part of the purchase. You've gathered all the info you can, but people partly disagree and you have to take a leap of faith... I'll go with the 300W Fortron then and hope it's good. It saves me almost 100$ compared to the juggling I have to do to get the Nexus 400W instead

After glancing at your system components, I think the Nexus 4090 is the better choice. If you can keep the case well cooled enough, the Nexus PSU fan won't ramp up. At min speed, that Nexus is very very quiet.

Don't hold me responsible if it's louder than you like! (Or if you start noticing of every little sound that comes from your PC, your fridge, floors, gf's breathing... )

BTW, one exhaust fan is necessary, but not an intake. Unless your HDD gets real hot -- which I doubt.

Guess I'll just have to do the math and see if it's worth it to go for the Nexus then... The difference in cost between it and the Fortron/Source might get a bit high...

But just to get your opinion on that as well, MikeC. Is the SLK3000B with a quiet PSU a better choice than the Arctic Cooling Silentium? I had the Silentium first as it was quite a bit cheaper.

I have a fortron at home, in my desk PC. Wasn't quiet enough for me, so I modded the fan on the thing.

I was pleased with the thing until this weekend.

My brother just bought the Nexus Breeze case, and it has the nexus PSU referred to in the above posts.

Even before closing the case, that PSU is so damn quiet. It really shouts (or whispers) out quality. My Fortron just doesn't seem so good, even after the mod.

I'm going to mod it further with new fan, or an inline resistor. But it just isn't the same.

justblair, what model Fortron was that? If its really noisy, Shanizar would know what to avoid if he takes the cheaper route.

Shanizar, I think either the Antec 3000B or the CoolerMaster Centurion 5 with a Nexus PSU would be quieter than the Silentium. The Fortron PSU is cheaper, but you'd be taking a gamble on whether its quiet enough.

Yeah, I know... Hard Call...

with freight the Nexus puts me back 125$. The 300W F/S is 42$... the two cases cost me the same, so I might as well go for the Antec. Starting to hate Norway's collection of PSU's

Just found the Chill Innovation PSU's in the web shop I'm using at about 90$ for a 400W. Searching the web for tests. Found yours, but it was an older model... I'm considering this one as well...


options:
NorthQ Strømforsyning 4001AT 60$
MIST 430W 91$
NorthQ Strømforsyning 4775 ATX 400W Silent 88$
Nexus 4090 400W PSU 125$
Chill-Innovation - CP-400P2 77$
Chill-Innovation - CP-450A2 92$
F/S ATX 300W 120mm Vifte 42$
F/S ATX 350W 120mm 70$

IMO, the Chill is a total PoS. Soon after the review was posted, it blew up on me. One of the very few PSUs that sparked and almost burned on me. It reeked of poor quality. The newer ones might be better, but I see that the casing looks the same.

The Fortron is a MUCH better PSU, imo. Get that and swap the fan if you like. My advice is to stay away from the CI.

heh, ok There seems to have happened a lot inside the case though, but I guess it's still a gamble.
(a bit down the page there's a view inside the PSU)

Is it true that the Nexus is basically just a Fortron with a Nexus fan? If so it's a lot cheaper to change it yourself.

In your opinion, would 300W be enough? Or does weaker PSU's like that ramp up faster? This computer will be used very little for gaming, so shouldn't draw much power usually...

Think mine is an older one. It has ATX600JSP written on it, but I cant find this on a google search... Probably discontinued. Or that may be a british marketed model. Claims 550 watts max, but on 120v power supplies that would be less.

Bought it in a local computer shop, and for not a bad price bout 30GBP

Cant complain about it really, but similar money (10GBP more)would get me the nexus psus35 over here. Its in the same superior casework, and same fan as the PSU my brothers breeze case came with.

Perhaps the prices vary more where you are.

Well, the hunt for a PSU continues Just dug up a german webshop that sells Seasonic PSU's, and I've gathered those should be good It would be either the new model of S12-330 (59$) or the much older SS-400FS APFC (41$).
Or this one which is super cheap (SS-301HT) (35$)

I take it they would be a better choice if the shipping costs aren't too high.

Yes, any of those Seasonics would be good choices, the 120mm fan ones being quieter & also having higher 12V capacity. The OEM one might in fact be the best deal -- it's not any different from the ST330, really -- just cable lengths and packaging.

Then I'll get that if the shipping isn't too bad. I thought seasonic PSU's were expensive, but I guess they aren't. So 300W should be ok for my system then, without it ramping up all the time. Could get the 350W, only about 15$ more expensive...

(As you realize, I haven't got much experience with quiet PSU's, my own computer has a noisy chieftech power supply.)

And While I'm posting here, it's high time to extend a thank you to all have helped me in this thread. The machine will probably be a lot quieter because of you.

The Silentium cases use a SEASONIC PSU which is great,they use 2 of the Artic 80mm TC fans blowing out via the PSU(with no fan in the PSU housing. Where the thermal sensors are placd in the seasonic will dictate rpm,with minimum a quiet 1000 rpm. The Silentium case,for the money,is nice and it's quieter than most. I'd probably pull the temp sensor outside the PSU for one of those PSU/exhaust fans so there is no ramp-up. The Silentium also includes a nifty Aluminum HD silencer/cooler.

Coolermaster makes a 120 that at stock 12v is 720rpm. Obviously should be as quiet as a Nexus-stock at over 1000 rpm. Generally a Nexus or Yate Loon gets undervolted,At lower volts and equal rpm the Nexus shines because the bearings tend to be slightly quieter. In Europe it's easier to find a Yate Loon than in the USA.

Another point on a Silentium case-NOTE the location of the INTAKE fans-top rear,nicely lined up for a big PASSIVE CPU cooler. The Silentium with the minor mod to the PSU fans is ideal for a Ninja or Scythe NCU 2005. Artic Coolings basic fan,the TC is good stuff,the Seasonic that comes in the package is good stuff,nice HD enclosure....

The only REAL trouble I have with a Silentium is I'd want to have 3-4 HDD's and this case is best with 2

Good Luck

shanizar: I recommend you choose another case than a Silentium, the flimsy removable side of the chassi resonates a lot. It is unsuitable for 24/7 use in a bedrom. I've got a T2 but they are essentially the same.

If you get that case anyway, there are som stuff you can do: under volt all fans either 7V (search web for '7V mod') or 6V ( put two fans in series). If your floor is hard you have to get rubber feet for the case or put the case on something soft, otherwise noise caused by the vibrations might drive your gf nuts. Also try using rubber fan mounts for the psu fans. I haven't tried that last tip yet myself. I've just ordered them, will try it as soon as they arrive. The other stuff I've done.

Don't be put off by my remarks If you really want that case... It's a good one; has hd suspension, nice psu, has good looks, it's keeps the all the stuff inside cool and are very affordable.

Good luck.