This is my first PC build and this is what I have on paper so far:

Antec NSK3480 microATX case
Gigabyte Motherboard GA-MA78GPM-DS2H
AMD4850e Processor
Kingston KVR800D2N5/1G memory (x2)
Seagate Momentus 5400.5 160GB HDD
LG BluRay/HD-DVD Player
Scythe Ninja Plus Rev B with no fan
Windows Vista Home Premium
Samsung 25.5" 1920x1200 Monitor

I want something that will play BDs and 5.1 dts. I don't play games, and the system must be quiet, quiet, quiet. I've listened to my Gateway howl for far too long. I really like the Anitec SilenT3 system, but they don't sell to US customers, and I can't build it as cheap as they do.

I think this system will do what I want, but is the heatsink the best? I noticed with surprise and amazement that the SilenT3 system uses a Scythe Shuriken with a fan, and it's incredibly quiet. Should I use that setup for this board that has a hot-running northbridge?

Thanks for your comments.

the PSU in that case won't be the quietest available.

the scythe is good to go fanless on that chip, it's how I have it.

think a <800rpm fan in the case blowing out will be airflow enough for both the ninja and the NB, paired with the psu.

But, it's probably great for this low power application as the fan won't be spinning up. SPCR testing

Build looks good. You may need to swap out the tri-cool fan with a quieter fan like a low rpm Scythe..You can always build as is and do a fan swap or fan add after you've done your own testing.

You can also opt for a smaller heatsink like the mini-ninja given the low tdp of the cpu.

Thanks for your suggestions. If I did get the Ninja Mini, would I need to use the 80mm fan that comes with it? If I get the bigger Ninja Plus, could I use the 120mm 1200rpm fan as a case fan instead of the stock tri-cool?

Another question I have is about undervolting/underclocking: should I undervolt and underclock, or enable cool n quiet and let that take care power management? Or both?

Have you actually located a AMD4850e in stock?

I've been looking for the same (or event the 5050e follow-on) all over with zero success!

Let me know if you have, please.

Of course they have to be willing to ship to NZ

http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/vi ... 675#447675

I had similar concerns and needs - no games, just home theater on a quiet system.

pcrosley, 4850e's are cheap and plentiful at newegg.com. They ship internationally.

I finally finished my build. I substituted some parts from the original plan. Here's the final parts list:

Antec NSK3480 case
Gigabyte motherboard GA-MA78GPM-DS2H
AMD4850e Processor
Scythe Ninja 2
Scythe S-Flex 120mm Case Fan SFF21E
Nexus 80mm Real Silent Case Fan
Nexus 92mm Real Silent Case Fan
LiteOn iHES206 Blu-Ray Combo Drive
Western Digital Scorpio Black WD1600BEKT 7200rpm drive
Lenovo L2440x LED backlight monitor

I substituted the Scythe S-Flex fan for the stock Antec Tri-Cool because I'd heard so many good things about the S-Flex--and all well deserved. It's a very well balanced, low-vibration, low-noise fan.

When I first powered-on the system it didn't take more than a few seconds for me to decide that the 80mm fan in the PSU that comes with the case had to go. It dominates all other sounds and makes a very tonal whooshing noise that I can easily hear all the way across the room. I thought at first that the fan must be running on 12V to be that loud, but it only had 4.2V applied by the PWM header! The culprit is an 80mm Adda AD0812HS-A70GL, a 3,000rpm screamer. I opened the PSU and unplugged the fan, and boy did my computer sound great without that awful fan! I discovered that, after more than 15 minutes without the fan, none of the heatsinks in the PSU measured warmer than 40degC, so the fan is way overkill in my low-power build. I was very tempted to just leave the fan out entirely but settled for the Nexus 80mm fan instead which is 1500rpm max. The Nexus doesn't even start most of the time in my application. It will start and run very quietly if I play a Blu-Ray for ~30 minutes. Problem solved.

The second problem is northbridge temps on this motherboard. In the first place, the board doesn't report the temps accurately. I have a temperature probe and an infra-red probe, so I can measure the heatsink temps with good accuracy. The temps I measure at the heatsink are much higher than the ones reported in BIOS, or that Speedfan reports. The NB heatsink doesn't need a lot of air flow to stay cool, but it's not getting that flow with my setup.

After quite a bit of experimenting, I'm convinced that this board needs a top-down heatsink like the Scythe Shuriken, so I have quite a bit of heatsink remorse for buying an East-West style cooler like the Ninja 2. I could have bought the Shuriken much cheaper and the downwash from the Shuriken's 100mm fan probably would have been enough to keep the NB cool. Also it would help cool the MOSFETs. Instead, I spent even more money and bought a 92mm Nexus for the bottom front case inlet hoping that this would blow enough air over the NB heatsink. That didn't work. Powered by the PWM system header, the NB temps were still too hot for my liking and the fan noise resonated with the front plastic cover of the case, so the solution didn't cool well and was noisy besides.

I ended up just sticking the 92mm Nexus on the bottom of the case and pointing it directly at the NB. That worked. Powered by the system PWM header, the fan runs at about 900rpm and NB heatsink temps never climb into the 40s under any circumstances that I encounter. The fan could run even slower and still keep the NB cool. I stuck the fan down with this sticky plasticene type clay--like claybar--and put a layer of PVC foam between the layers of clay to isolate the fan from the very resonant bottom of the case.

I'm not completely satisfied with the mounting of the fan, but it cools great, it's quiet, and I'm through spending money for now. Maybe I'll get a Scythe Shuriken if I see one cheap.