If it comes, I will build it....
Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2004 7:02 am
Finally, after months and months of agonizing torture, "the rest" of the components for my "high performance, with some attention paid to noise" PC are on order. Here's how things shaped up:
* Case/PSU/Fans: ARM Systems Stealth DIY Foundation Kit. (Black, 400W version) - The case and PSU featured in this review, with the exception of the front-panel I/O. ARM is providing me with a USB/Audio/Firewire panel instead of the standard USB only.
* Motherboard: Asus P4P800 Deluxe. I wanted a 865PE based motherboard, fanless, supporting Firewire plus 2 internal USB headers. You'd be surprised how few I had to choose from. Good thing the Asus is generally a highly rated motherboard. Two other models I was considering (From MSI and AOpen) were tossed out because they had 6 USB ports on the back panel, with only 1 USB internal header. Also, The CPU location on this Asus motherboard looks to match exactly that of the Intel 875 motherboard, which means it should line up perfectly with the Ram Air opening on the case, as the Intel MB is used by ARM Systems stock with this case.
* CPU P4 3.2c (Northwood.) I was waiting to buy all my internal components until after the Prescott was released, so I could evaluate Prescott price / performance. Turns out prescott is entirely uninteresting from a performance / heat perspective, so I was at least able to take advantage of Northwood price drops.
* CPU Cooler: Zalman 7000AlCu. Looks to be a "tight fit" in the Evercase, with my motherboard, but it should fit..perhaps at most with a bent fin or two.
* Memory: 1 GB Mushkin 3500 Level 1, 2-3-3 timings. Will give me a little room to overclock if I want. Didn't want to pay $100 premium for 2-2-2 timings.
* Hard Drives. Samsung Spinpoint 160 GB SATA for data storage / A/V. And....1 WD Raptor 74 GB for app / sytsem drive.
I know....I know....the Raptor.
I was torn between going with a second spinpoint for silence (and cost), or the raptor for performance. I chose performance in this case for a few reasons:
1) "Waiting around" while the hard drive thrashes is my single biggest pet peeve. Of all the components to comprimise performance for silence, the application hard drive is one I'd be willing to comprimise a bit on.
2) I've heard about reasonable success in quieting down the drives a bit with decoupling techniques.
3) The Stealth / Evercase case should be a great foundation for decoupling the drive. There's "space" underneath the main hard drive case suitable for the purpose, and there's already a 120mm intake fan than can be tweaked to hopefully provide a reasonable balance between noise and increased hard drive temps. Also, the Ram Air duct in the case should mean higher hard drive temps should have less of an impact on keeping the CPU cool.
I'm anticipating the standard EAR Grommet mounting system will be fine for the Spinpoint, but I anticipate trying several decoupling techniques with the Raptor to see what works best for me. I'll be sure to report on my findings.
If you're interested, the rest of the PC components (I'm already using these in my current system), and the "quickie reason" why I chose them:
Video: ATI Radeon 9800 non-pro, with VGA Silencer. I'll be playing games, and want more performance than a fanless 9600 can provide.
Keyboard: MS Multimedia Keyboard, (black-OEM.) Want volumn control on the keyboard, and this has a great feel and nice look.
Mouse: Logitech MX700. Wireless, high performance for games. Didn't like the "new" MS wireless mice....the scroll wheel doesn't "click" when scrolled, which is unacceptable to me for gaming purposes.
Monitor: Dell 2001FP. Finally, 1600x1200 flat panel with good response time.
Speakers: Creative Labs iTrigue L3500. Only need 2.1...chosen mostly for aesthetics.
Scanner: HP Scanjet 4670. How GREAT it is to reclaim the desk-space taken up by my old flat-bed!
Printer: HP Photosmart 7960...prints great Black and White photos using a "gray" color cartridge.
* Case/PSU/Fans: ARM Systems Stealth DIY Foundation Kit. (Black, 400W version) - The case and PSU featured in this review, with the exception of the front-panel I/O. ARM is providing me with a USB/Audio/Firewire panel instead of the standard USB only.
* Motherboard: Asus P4P800 Deluxe. I wanted a 865PE based motherboard, fanless, supporting Firewire plus 2 internal USB headers. You'd be surprised how few I had to choose from. Good thing the Asus is generally a highly rated motherboard. Two other models I was considering (From MSI and AOpen) were tossed out because they had 6 USB ports on the back panel, with only 1 USB internal header. Also, The CPU location on this Asus motherboard looks to match exactly that of the Intel 875 motherboard, which means it should line up perfectly with the Ram Air opening on the case, as the Intel MB is used by ARM Systems stock with this case.
* CPU P4 3.2c (Northwood.) I was waiting to buy all my internal components until after the Prescott was released, so I could evaluate Prescott price / performance. Turns out prescott is entirely uninteresting from a performance / heat perspective, so I was at least able to take advantage of Northwood price drops.
* CPU Cooler: Zalman 7000AlCu. Looks to be a "tight fit" in the Evercase, with my motherboard, but it should fit..perhaps at most with a bent fin or two.
* Memory: 1 GB Mushkin 3500 Level 1, 2-3-3 timings. Will give me a little room to overclock if I want. Didn't want to pay $100 premium for 2-2-2 timings.
* Hard Drives. Samsung Spinpoint 160 GB SATA for data storage / A/V. And....1 WD Raptor 74 GB for app / sytsem drive.
I know....I know....the Raptor.
I was torn between going with a second spinpoint for silence (and cost), or the raptor for performance. I chose performance in this case for a few reasons:
1) "Waiting around" while the hard drive thrashes is my single biggest pet peeve. Of all the components to comprimise performance for silence, the application hard drive is one I'd be willing to comprimise a bit on.
2) I've heard about reasonable success in quieting down the drives a bit with decoupling techniques.
3) The Stealth / Evercase case should be a great foundation for decoupling the drive. There's "space" underneath the main hard drive case suitable for the purpose, and there's already a 120mm intake fan than can be tweaked to hopefully provide a reasonable balance between noise and increased hard drive temps. Also, the Ram Air duct in the case should mean higher hard drive temps should have less of an impact on keeping the CPU cool.
I'm anticipating the standard EAR Grommet mounting system will be fine for the Spinpoint, but I anticipate trying several decoupling techniques with the Raptor to see what works best for me. I'll be sure to report on my findings.
If you're interested, the rest of the PC components (I'm already using these in my current system), and the "quickie reason" why I chose them:
Video: ATI Radeon 9800 non-pro, with VGA Silencer. I'll be playing games, and want more performance than a fanless 9600 can provide.
Keyboard: MS Multimedia Keyboard, (black-OEM.) Want volumn control on the keyboard, and this has a great feel and nice look.
Mouse: Logitech MX700. Wireless, high performance for games. Didn't like the "new" MS wireless mice....the scroll wheel doesn't "click" when scrolled, which is unacceptable to me for gaming purposes.
Monitor: Dell 2001FP. Finally, 1600x1200 flat panel with good response time.
Speakers: Creative Labs iTrigue L3500. Only need 2.1...chosen mostly for aesthetics.
Scanner: HP Scanjet 4670. How GREAT it is to reclaim the desk-space taken up by my old flat-bed!
Printer: HP Photosmart 7960...prints great Black and White photos using a "gray" color cartridge.