New Build

Monolith · Post by **Monolith** » Fri May 09, 2008 5:13 pm

Alright, I think I've pulled together what I need for my new build. Most of my choices were influenced by the components that were recommended in the reviews, and from scanning the this forum. I've tried to check to make sure everything will work together, but let me know what you think. I'm also including prices because cost is an important factor to me. I've already been pushing my upper limit to make sure I'll have fairly decent components. If you notice something that seems like overkill or out of balance that I could just as easily get away with something cheaper, please let me know.

Motherboard: ABIT IP35 Pro ($180) - It's recommended here
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz ($135) - because I want a Core 2 Duo, and this one's 45nm
Memory: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) ($45)
Video Card: ASUS Radeon HD 3450 256MB ($35) - not planning on doing much in the way of gaming
Case: Antec Solo ($90) - recommended and reviewed, and I like the built-in drive suspension
Hard Drive: Western Digital 320GB - WD3200AAKS-00B3A0 ($77) - I noticed this was positively mentioned in some threads
Processor Heatsink: Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme ($56) - recommended (should fit)
Processor Fan: Scythe S-FLEX 120mm - 1200 RPM ($15) - seemed to be recommended and mentioned well here, although I wasn't sure I wanted to go down to the 800 RPM model
Rear Case Fan: Scythe S-FLEX 120mm - 1200 RPM ($15)
Front Case Fan: Scythe Kama 92mm ($8)

(Total: $656, plus about $91 for taxes and shipping)

And the power supply is a Thermaltake Purepower 600W that I already have. No idea how it'll do on the silent front, but I'll find out.

Plissken · Post by **Plissken** » Fri May 09, 2008 10:52 pm

Hi,
It looks pretty good. I don't know anything about the E7200 or 3450, but aside from those...
Unless you are heavy overclocking I would get the 800 RPM CPU fan and no front case fan. If you want to save even more money you could try the stock rear fan on low, and see if it's quiet enough for you before you replace it.
Your PSU fan will probably be the loudest thing in your system.

toki_c · Post by **toki_c** » Fri May 09, 2008 11:09 pm

Plissken wrote: Unless you are heavy overclocking I would get the 800 RPM CPU fan and no front case fan.

You have just take the words from my mouth...
He's totaly right! Check out the last massive fan review... be it cheaper Nexus' fans or Scythe ones... it doesn't matter. Just take one from those two brands the cheapest, but still real silent fans, 800rpm fans for case, cpu and...
I advice you to take only 120mm fans. You should mode a little to get the front installed. Or a better choice, get 2x120mm and work at negative pressure. In this way, you wil set the front fan to aim air flow to the gpu... @ 500rpm should be more than enough (that's what I did with a 8800Gt and it's really efficient!). But make sure to get rid of holes and holes... hole is a key here.

Then with only two 800rpm "real silent" fans, needless to say that at full speed (12V) you still have a pretty quiet rig not far away from silence one. But air flow turbulances and PSU's buzz and fan noises should be the remain noise sources...
Well, with 2x120mm, 800rpm, you won't need a IP35Pro anymore... you expected this right? You could save money from the mobo and I STRONGLY advice you to look at a 500GB WD GP drive if you aim for SILENCE. Otherwise you can still save money taking a cheaper board.

Plissken wrote:Your PSU fan will probably be the loudest thing in your system.

Once again... not only the fan's noises... he should get some unbearable buzz from PSU at low noise level. He should consider a fan swap...

Note: with your components pick up, working at negative pressure with a exhaust 120mm fan @600-700rpm should be more than enough to keep your rig cooler enough.
Note2: you need a cheaper heatsink for CPU...

Monolith · Post by **Monolith** » Sat May 10, 2008 5:07 pm

One thing I should mention is that I am concerned about is keeping everything sufficiently cool with a high ambient room temperature (up to ~32Â°C). And I'm planning on having this run 24/7, and it may go unmonitored for a long period of time, so I want to make sure there's plenty of room for temperature fluctuations. I have a feeling I could go with the 800 RPM fans though.

I will probably end up replacing the PSU eventually, once I see how it compares to everything else in the system.

Monolith · Post by **Monolith** » Sat May 10, 2008 7:59 pm

toki_c wrote:[...] and I STRONGLY advice you to look at a 500GB WD GP drive if you aim for SILENCE.

Could you tell me more about this? What makes this drive quieter?

walle · Post by **walle** » Sun May 11, 2008 2:14 am

Hi

They run at 5400rpm opposed to 7200rpm which decreases the air noise somewhat and also reduces heat.

Greg F. · Post by **Greg F.** » Sun May 11, 2008 8:46 am

I have something similar, in some respects. I would strongly advise going for this Asus fanless video card as I understand it will handle post processing better than the 3450. Not much more money. My system needs CoreAVC with some video files.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121243

My system idles both CPU and the GFX at about 37-38C with an ambient of 22C right now. With an increase in use or temp the CPU will increase to something like 44-48, but the GFX seldom reaches 40, even watching a 1080p and multiple things going on.
My old XFX7600GS passive would always run about 53-55. I am going away from integrated toward separates as I want the Intel processing power and the G45 won't be out for awhile, and might not be what I want anyway. More flexibility.
I also have a Gigabyte 690G. I do like it, but it seems flakey.

Abit KN9
AMD X2 Brisbane 3600+ @2.6G
Scythe Ninja Rev. B, Slipstream 800
Fortran 60GLN 300W
Team Elite DDR2800 512X2
Samsung SP1614N 160 GB ATA
BenQ 1650
Samsung DVD SATA SH203B
Solo
Asus 3450 video card
Sceptre X20WG Naga DVI WS
MAudio Transit USB
System Fan: Nexus 92mm (front)
Aux Fan: Yate Loon 120mm (1500rpm)

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sun May 11, 2008 2:22 pm

TRUE on E7200 without OC, that's waiste... If you don't plan to OC or like that, save couple of bucks and get regular Ultra 120 instead Ultra eXtreme. You save bit, get slightly lighter cooler and you won't notice difference really. Besides there have been mentions on TRUE's poor base finish, which is absent in regular Ultra 120. Due deman of TRUE, some TR's patches in TRUE are not quite the TR's quality. In regular ultra I have not heard such problem to exist.

Erssa · Post by **Erssa** » Mon May 12, 2008 11:46 pm

thejamppa wrote:TRUE on E7200 without OC, that's waiste...

I'm going to third this opinion first mentioned by toki_c. TR heatsinks are too expensive, and you still have to buy a fan.

Despite all the complaints about Ninja, I'd still go for it. It's much cheaper then TR heatsinks and new versions are shipped with Scythe Slip Stream M, the recently crowned SPCR fan champion. Good heatsink paired with the best fan on the market. It saves you 20$ on the heatsink and 15$ when you don't have to buy the s-flex for cpu. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

New Build

New Build

Similar