My 1st attempt at building a (semiquiet) computer

KupoCool · Post by **KupoCool** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 7:14 pm

Hey folks. ^_^
I've been reading SPCR & these message boards on & off over the last several weeks, trying to gather up components for my first self-built system. I'm quite tired of this old Pentium 2 laptop constantly whining in my face, so I also wanted it to be relatively quiet (although perhaps not dead-silent as some of you desire). So maybe you can help me out here to see if there are any improvements that can be made?

Case: Evercase E4252
PSU: Seasonic Super Tornado 350W
HDD: Seagate 200GB Ultra ATA
Optical: Plextor 16x DL DVD+-RW PX-716A
Video: Powercolor Radeon 9800 256MB/128-bit
Sound: M-Audio Audiophile 24/96
RAM: Ultra 512MB PC3200 DDR (1 chip for now)
CPU: Athlon 64 3200+ Socket 939
Heatsink: Thermalright XP-90 w/Nexus 92mm
Fans: Nexus 120mm (x2)
Motherboard: Abit AV8

I may've been a bit too eager to purchase a 350W power supply for this system; would the 400W version be more adequate for its needs? Also, feel free to make other suggestions, especially with the motherboard.
Thanks for your help!
=)

sthayashi · Post by **sthayashi** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 8:12 pm

The 350 may work for you, the 400W almost definitely will. If you can return the 350 for store credit and get the 400W, then I'd recommend it. Otherwise, I'd recommend at least trying what you have first.

One major suggestion I would make is to get some aftermarket cooler for your video card. The Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer will work. The Zalman's may also.

Audiophiliac · Post by **Audiophiliac** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 9:36 pm

I built a similar system to your planned one. I used a A64 3200+, XP-90 heastsink/nexus 92mm fan, MSI K8N Neo4 board, Seagate 120GB HDD, Plextor 716SA. I went with Antec's Phantom 350 PSU and ahve had zero issues so far. It is in a Silverstone TJ04 case with Nexus 120mm fans on intake an exhaust and is SUPER quiet and SUPER cool. Good luck!

Chris`I · Post by **Chris`I** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 5:07 am

A good 350w PSU like that should have no problems what so ever with that system.

The Powercolour R9800 may be noisy depending on its cooling solution. If its not got a Zalman fanless cooler, that may be a good way to go. I remember my R9800 was noisy before I watercooled it

KupoCool · Post by **KupoCool** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 3:56 pm

I'm getting the idea that my video card will probably be the source of the most noise with the system as-is (and I don't doubt it). ^_^ If the included cooling is too noisy for me, I'll replace it after finding out, as I'd rather not buy a fancy cooling system if the noise doesn't perturb me. (Although I get the feeling it will!)

Also, the recommended C'n'Q motherboards article isn't too clear. Are there any socket 939 boards that also adjust fan speed based on temperature? And are there retail kits to sense temperature & adjust fan voltage accordingly if the motherboard isn't capable of this? Thirdly, are there any 939 boards that will fit the 120mm Thermalright heatsink (as opposed to the 92mm)?

So many questions... ^_^;
Thanks for all your responses!

KupoCool · Post by **KupoCool** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 9:04 pm

*bump*

I decided to purchase the Abit AV8 motherboard, which has some pretty good BIOS fan controls, and get a Thermalright XP-90 heatsink & Nexus 92mm Real Silent fan.

Should this, along with 2x Nexus 120mm fans, be enough to cool my system adequately?

natethegreat · Post by **natethegreat** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 9:27 pm

According to thermalright's website you can't use dimm slot #1 if you are planning on going with the XP-120. I have a somewhat similar setup (AXP 3200/thermalright SI-97 in and HP oem case) and temps are fine with only the psu and a 92mm fan as exhaust. Oh and by the way, just clink this link to check out the XP-120 supported boards. Just click on AMD Heatsink, then click XP-120, then click on the AMD part of the text that is on the bottom right corner of the heatsink picture

rtsai · Post by **rtsai** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:10 am

I don't want to make you feel bad about your choice (just saw this thread), but I didn't like the Abit AV8 motherboard, and actually sent it back.

The problem was that the PSU 20-pin connector is in an awkward location, right between the CPU and the rear I/O panel. This means that all your PSU cables will be severely blocking the case's rear exhaust fan.

FWIW, I like my Soltek SL-K8TPro-939 for layout. The PSU 20-pin connector is right at the front where the thick PSU cables can be shoved out of the way into a spare 5.25" bay. Some might not like it because it has no parallel port on the rear, and the internal parallel port and floppy connectors are kind of "out of the way", but since I have neither, it's actually a plus (it leaves room for the other more important stuff). Also, I haven't played too much with the BIOS, which might be important to you. There are also some bugs still to be ironed out with its CPU temperature reporting.

GameManK · Post by **GameManK** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 4:34 pm

as already mentioned, you will probably want an aftermarket cooler for that video card

also, un-quiet related, you want a 128MB, 256-bit card, not the other way around. or even better, an nvidia geforce 6600gt

KupoCool · Post by **KupoCool** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 5:46 pm

GameManK wrote:also, un-quiet related, you want a 128MB, 256-bit card, not the other way around.

It's a bit too late for that, since I already have the Powercolor card. Why is it better to have less memory & a larger memory controller, though?

rtsai wrote:The problem was that the PSU 20-pin connector is in an awkward location, right between the CPU and the rear I/O panel. This means that all your PSU cables will be severely blocking the case's rear exhaust fan.

That's not cool. =( None of the Abit's reviews I read mentioned that. I'll have to see how bad it is...

KupoCool · Post by **KupoCool** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 3:00 pm

So I have the Nexus case fans... but they didn't come with any screws, and the case didn't come with any screws that fit either. Where/how can I get screws specifically for this? Stores around here don't seem to carry any.

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:00 pm

No need for screws. Zipties are your friend. Check out alternative fan mounting methods thread. You don't want screws anyway as they transmit vibration into the case.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 11:27 am

rtsai wrote:FWIW, I like my Soltek SL-K8TPro-939 for layout. The PSU 20-pin connector is right at the front where the thick PSU cables can be shoved out of the way into a spare 5.25" bay. Some might not like it because it has no parallel port on the rear...

You can get a parallel port connection for the Soltek SL-K890PRO-939 motherboard here:
http://www.mycableshop.com/sku/PLATE9M25F.htm?x=23&y=16
or here
http://www.microcenter.com/single_p...duct_id=0170231
MicroCenter is cheaper and has cheaper shipping and they have several store locations around the country.

I purchased at the first location above (before I found the link at MicroCenter) and it works fine, but the cable is not long enough to reach to the PCI-E slots, and I had to use up a PCI slot on the case.