Cheap(ish) - but still quiet - system. Suggestions

JacobD · Post by **JacobD** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 7:43 am

Hi all,

After following the discussions for some time I've decided to build my own PC. Money is an issue and absolut silence is not required (I'm not going to be sleeping next to the PC), but it should still be quiet. Power is not a big issue either - a little gaming, editing my digital photos, ripping CDs (my own) and Internet surfing are the typical tasks. I'm not going to modding case/PSU/CPU cooler - at least not for now - so components have to be 'good enough' out of the box.

So far I've come up with the following components.

Case: Antec SLK3000B (cheap)
Power supply: SeaSonic S12-430 (not cheap - but quiet)
Motherboard: Abit AX8 (KT890 chipset - passively cooled, and fairly cheap)
CPU: AMD Athlon64 3000+ Venice (cheap)
Graphics: ASUS EN6600SILENCER/TD/128 (passively cooled as far as I can see - and not too expensive)
Disk: Samsung SpinPoint P120 SP2004C 200 GB (SATA II - is that a problem with the KT890 chipset ?)
CPU cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 (+ a fanmate to control voltage)

Some sort of optical (CD/DVD Writer) drive - but as I hardly ever use it that'll be the cheepest alternative I can find

I'm probably going to by a replacement fan - most likely a Nexus or a Pabst (they seem to be the available choices here in Denmark). The plan is to run one fan only - will that be a problem?

Are there any suggestions for other better and/or cheaper components ?

br
Jacob

qviri · Post by **qviri** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 7:49 am

I say go for an S12-330W instead. It'll still be way sufficient for your system, and you might be able to shave a few kronas.

JacobD · Post by **JacobD** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 7:52 am

So far I've been unable to find a local source for a S12-330 - but I guess I'll have to look at a EU source somewhere.

Thanks for tha advice.

BenW · Post by **BenW** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 4:08 am

Kustom PCs in the UK will probably be able to get you a 330W and ship it over (At extra expence of course)

scara · Post by **scara** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 7:02 am

The only S12 models officially available in Europe are the 430, 500 and 600. You might be able to find a retailer who has imported the lower range but that is very unlikely. You would be better going for an OEM version (the SS-301HT for example) as these are very cheap at around €40 and are readily available in Denmark.

You will experience problems with the SATA-II drive on the AX8. The problem is that the motherboard does not recognise the drive when its set at SATA-II. Don't worry though as you only have to move a jumper to fix this. For the Samsung it should be placed like this:

Details can be found here and here.

Other than that you have a very well balanced system that should be nice and quiet. Go for the single Nexus as exhaust and undervolt as necessary, you shouldn't have any problems with temperatures.

JacobD · Post by **JacobD** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 7:12 am

Thank you very much for the reply - I'll start looking for the OEM Seasonics. And my worry about the SATA/SATA II seems to have been unnessecary

JacobD · Post by **JacobD** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 9:55 am

Hmm - seems that there is no consensus that the SS-301 seasonics are related to the S12 series. According to other threads on this site they definitely are not identical. I did find one German supplier of S12-330's though, but as far as I can see they have no internationaln shipping - I'll dust of my german language skills and ask (otherwise I'll just end up using a S12-430 - extra cost will be ~20 euro which really isn't much considering the total build cost).

qviri · Post by **qviri** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:01 am

As for the rest of the system, it's looking pretty sweet. The 3000+ Venice seems to be the sweet spot, and the passive motherboard and graphics kill the whiny fans problem before it arises.

In fact, I can't see anything wrong with your system, except maybe for the fact I don't have one like that

ronrem · Post by **ronrem** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:48 pm

I think just NF4 is supporting SATA2 so far. The Non-ultras are less $,and a few have passive chipsets

Try a Coolmax CR psu,the one with the jumbo 140 mm fan-nice price and the fan is a 3 speed,real silent on low-way less money too. Generally-looks like a nice semi-budget rig.