SPCR

I just finished working up the specs on a Dothan Based Silent PC setup and would like sugestions about any hardware changes to make before I order things.

Since the link didn't work: Here's the specs

Killed Broadway Com Corp 204SGA Beige Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: 204SGA

DFI 855GME-MGF Socket 479 Intel 855GME Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: 855GME-MGF

Killed Apollo Geforce2 MX400 64MB DDR AGP 2X/4X Video Card - Retail
Model #: pn-3201789


intel Pentium M 765 Dothan 400MHz FSB Socket 478 Processor Model BXM80536GC2100F - Retail
Model #: BXM80536GC2100F

Rosewill 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 333 (PC 2700) Unbuffered System Memory Model RW333/1024 - Retail
Model #: RW333/1024


Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3120026A 120GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3120026A

LITE-ON SOHW-1673S Beige IDE DVD Burner - OEM
Model #: SOHW-1673S BGE OEM

Everything's from Newegg.

The wish list doesn't want to show up. Can you post specs here?

What I have decided on to start with:

under Volt/Clock to reduce heat output
Passive HS on CPU for fanless cooling
Remove Fan Grills from PSU/Case and replace with mesh

Only if needed:
Upgrade Fan in PSU
Isolation Mount Hard Drive

I would seriously consider going with the integrated Intel 855GME graphics instead of the Geforce2 MX 4000, unless the Geforce2 MX has some feature that you just absolutely need. The MX 4000 is a bit long in the tooth, and the 855GME may surprise you. It is not like either one is a speed demon, but at least the 855GME has a newer architecture.

Using the integrated graphics will give you one less power draw and source of heat to worry about. As it is designed for laptops with Centrino technology, the 855GME also has the ability to ramp down its graphics clock frequency, if you are really into ramping down power usage.

http://support.intel.com/products/chips ... /index.htm

That case is garbage, I wouldn't waste my time/money on it. I've used this InWin for several systems, I recommend it. The PSU is a Forton so it's of good quality but not quiet, so you'll want to either swap the fan or replace it with a Seasonic or something similar.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811108330

I also suggest you skip the MX and use the Intel graphics. While your at it ditch the Rosewill RAM and get something with a name behind it, Corsair, Crucial, Geil, to name a few.

operandi wrote:That case is garbage, I wouldn't waste my time/money on it. I've used this InWin for several systems, I recommend it. The PSU is a Forton so it's of good quality but not quiet, so you'll want to either swap the fan or replace it with a Seasonic or something similar.

I just got done looking at that case and have to agree as it doesn't suit my needs. The other problem I'm seeing is that I need a Smaller PSU, in the range of 200 watts in order to keep PSU happy. I'm currently projecting a Maximum load of 117 watts with dropping the Geforce Card so I may need to go with a 150 watt unit for stability.

I'm not concerned about brand name brand ram, just good reliability for underclocking. I also don't see the reason to spend the extra money for name brand when I've been running generic for over 3 years w/o problems.

Those are good points and thanks for the link: alglove.

I hadn't even considered using the onboard but after a quick google it looks as though support in Linux is pretty robust now. So far the only way I seem to be able to get sound working is a dedicated sound card. Don't need an expensive one, just something cheap with good linux support. To bad, I was hoping to use the onboard sound and may still be able to do so using the driver from realtek but it's pretty old (2.2.14 kernel)

Have you thought about getting the AOpen 915 motherboard instead review linky?

This has better graphics than the DFI motherboard and seems a bit cheaper here in the UK.

fastturtle wrote:I just finished working up the specs on a Dothan Based Silent PC setup and would like sugestions about any hardware changes to make before I order things.


intel Pentium M 765 Dothan 400MHz FSB Socket 478 Processor Model BXM80536GC2100F - Retail
Model #: BXM80536GC2100F

As a Pentium M user (and a long time system builder), there's no way in hell I'd use that $650 top-of-the-line 2.1GHz CPU. For $200 less you can get the 755, which is 2.0Ghz, or choose the 1.8GHz 755 for $350 less that the 2.1GHz version.

Unless you've won the lottery, or inherited money, it's never a good idea to pick the to speed Intel processor. It'll cost you 30+% more than the next closest one, and give you around a 5-10% speed increase, which you'll never notice unless you sit around and run benches all day.

fastturtle wrote:Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3120026A 120GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3120026A

Meh. I'd probably go with an SP Samsung.

fastturtle wrote:LITE-ON SOHW-1673S Beige IDE DVD Burner - OEM
Model #: SOHW-1673S BGE OEM

Ick. Loud and cheap. I'd go with one of the quiet ones that are mentioned in the Storage Forum.


*and if you're stuck on using a separate vidcard, I'd go with one of the passively cooled ATi 9200 or 9250's or maybe a passive 9600.

Mariner wrote:Have you thought about getting the AOpen 915 motherboard instead review linky?

This has better graphics than the DFI motherboard and seems a bit cheaper here in the UK.

Disclaimer: I just got one of these AOpen 915 boards in the mail yesterday, and haven't actually built a system with it yet, so I'm half talking out my ass, but:

I'd be real careful about choosing this board until you see some decent reviews. AOpen has mysteriously chosen to equip this wonderful board with a tiny, proprietary heatsink for the CPU. It "features" this crappy looking little 50mm fan, and short of mounting a large, quiet fan on a Zalman (or whatever) bracket above the stock heatsink, or trying to cobble up a Thermalright or Swiftech NB heatsink with a similarly "Zalman bracket-ed" quiet fan setup, you'll be stuck with that cheesy looking combo. Since I haven't heard the fan yet, or had a chance to see how efficient that tiny little heatsink is, I'm just guessing that it won't perform nearly as good as one of the AOpen 855 boards with the standard P4 heatsink retention mechanism.

**Note: this is just a preliminary observation, with is subject to change after I actually play with this board/HSF for a while**

At the risk of hijacking this thread slightly, what are the measurements between the holes heatsink mounting holes? (Basically, is a chipset heatsink likely to be easily doable? Or for that matter, would the Swiftech water block fit with a new hold-down plate).

Here's a more in-depth review of the board:

GamePC review

No real mention of the noise levels generated by the crappy little cooler. It would be a real pain in the arse if we were unable to substitute the bundled cooler with something more efficient. I wonder, will decent 3rd party coolers ever become available for these boards? Unfortunately, there probably isn't a big enough market for this at the moment.

|Romeo| wrote:At the risk of hijacking this thread slightly, what are the measurements between the holes heatsink mounting holes?

2.075" x 2.075"

-or-

52.7mm x 52.7mm

Thanks all for the feedback.

Ralf: Good Catch on the CPU price. As to ATI, that's a no-go. I'm a linux user and ATI support stinks. Better off with Nvidia. As to noisy burners, not a problem. No noise when not in use.

O'kay here's the revised specs

Aopen i915GMm
Pentium M 735 Dothan
Rosewill (2) 512 PC2100
Albatron Geforce PCx5300 w/128 megs Is it passive? Not sure but looks to be.
Seagate 7200.7 120 Gig Baracuda
Lite-on DVD burner

From the GamePC review:

AOpen will be releasing a full-sized Pentium-M desktop motherboard based on the Intel 915G (not 915GM) chipset in the coming months which will boost the amount of DDR2 slots and SATA ports available.

Interesting!

The distances between the holes are a bit strange, I wonder where they got that idea from. DFI's mobos follows the PM standard AFAIK, although that was a bit odd to. It's not very likely that they or someone else would use a notebook CPU cooler for it anyway. Cooler Master have made some heatsinks with 41x41 mm mounting holes though, page 30.

Ralf Hutter wrote:

|Romeo| wrote:At the risk of hijacking this thread slightly, what are the measurements between the holes heatsink mounting holes?

2.075" x 2.075"

-or-

52.7mm x 52.7mm

That's a 74.5 mm diagonal, which is the distance between the inner holes on my Zalman CNPS 7000A AlCu. Coincidence?
Anyway, if you can mount it, just forget adding a graphics card.

Mats wrote:

Ralf Hutter wrote:

|Romeo| wrote:At the risk of hijacking this thread slightly, what are the measurements between the holes heatsink mounting holes?

2.075" x 2.075"

-or-

52.7mm x 52.7mm

That's a 74.5 mm diagonal, which is the distance between the inner holes on my Zalman CNPS 7000A AlCu. Coincidence?

Probably a coincidence, because to actually use the Z7000 you'd have to make up a set of spacers to raise the Z7000 the correct amount (very roughly, 1/2") above the mobo.

Ralf Hutter wrote:Probably a coincidence, because to actually use the Z7000 you'd have to make up a set of spacers to raise the Z7000 the correct amount (very roughly, 1/2") above the mobo.

Yes, you're right. However, making a pair of spacers is quite easy compared to having the holes in positions that won't do any good for you, like some DFI mobos. If you're really lazy you can sacrifice a Zalman AXP bracket, cut it in three pieces and use those cylinder shaped pieces that should attach to an AXP mobo. Use bolts inserted from the back side of the PM mobo that goes through the cylinder. It will probably get too high, I guess AXP + socket is higher, but some measuring and a Dremel can do wonders.

Mats wrote:

Ralf Hutter wrote:

|Romeo| wrote:At the risk of hijacking this thread slightly, what are the measurements between the holes heatsink mounting holes?

2.075" x 2.075"

-or-

52.7mm x 52.7mm

That's a 74.5 mm diagonal, which is the distance between the inner holes on my Zalman CNPS 7000A AlCu. Coincidence?
Anyway, if you can mount it, just forget adding a graphics card.

I stuck a Z7000 on my 915 board and it won't fit w/o having to cut away a bunch of the fins in two different places. Some of the fins run into the VReg thingies and some nearby caps, the other fins are blocked by the pair of FSB jumpers.

Oh, and initial testing has revealed that the supplied heatsink is a POS as I thought it might be. A 20W Dothan (undervolted to 1.100V) idles at 55°C :Shock: with the whiny little fan running at a full 3000+ rpm 12V setting.