From Scratch.
I want a powerful machine that is as quiet as possible. Keeping in mind heat and things like that. The parts list so far that i have in mind is as follows....I would love any suggestions on things not listed or even changes to what I have listed. This PC is for recording and mixing.
Power Supply - So far I am going for the S12 Seasonic 430
Case - Antec P150
Case fans - nothing in mind?
Accoustifoam for case (I know P150 has foam on it but apparently adding foam will reduce further noise)
Motherboard - Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe - x16 SLI Motherboard
Cpu - AMD 64 X2 from 3800-4800+ depending on which is best value for money and performance and is overclockable.
Cpu fan or heatsink - ?
Ram -I heard something about 1ghz ram coming to fruition but dont know what is best ?
Ram heatsink - is this really needed?
Hard drive - Raptor 75gb or the new 147gb , for my system drive and need two identical drives for data as quiet as possible.
Video Card - nothing too fancy
Video card heatsink - is this necessary?
Now am I missing anything that could help with performance/noise/heat?
About to build new system....
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
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Bob_the_lost
- Posts: 136
- Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:52 pm
Well first thing is to think again about the case, the p150 is a lovely little thing, but i'd want a bit more room, like a p180. Also you won't have to dispose of the Neo High power PSU as well.
The CPU should be a 3800X2 if you're going to OC it, or better yet an opteron 165. Both are excellent value for money and OC beautifully. You will get more performance for the 4800 OC'd but do you want an extra 10-20% performnce increase for well over 2x the price?
RAM: You can't have 1Ghz RAM, if money is no problem then get some nice PC500 Muskin RAM, or some top of the line OCZ gold or Gkillz stuff, but the performance difference between top of the line (absolute top of the line) and the bottom (cheapest 3,4,4,8 PC3200) is only 10%. The A64 is very forgiving of crap/slow RAM.
Ignore the foam, it's a wase of energy ime, better to spend time isolating the mounts, especially with a p150 or p180, the difference will be minimal.
Go for the new raptor if speed is everything, storage review got thier hands on one and it's about 20% faster than the 74Gig model. Go for the enterprise version, it's cheaper and has identical tech specs.
Fans: Nexus are a good starting point, but you may well want more CFM than they offer, in which case the Akaska Ambers are supposed to be good, as are the yate loons i belive.
You didn't mention the VGA, what budget do you have to work in? And if you're not after anything fancy then why not go for the cheaper A8R-MVP without SLI?
For the CPU go for a SI-120, recognise now that this machine will not be silent, overclocking is an instant heat, and therefore noise, generator. However it can be built to be quiet.
The CPU should be a 3800X2 if you're going to OC it, or better yet an opteron 165. Both are excellent value for money and OC beautifully. You will get more performance for the 4800 OC'd but do you want an extra 10-20% performnce increase for well over 2x the price?
RAM: You can't have 1Ghz RAM, if money is no problem then get some nice PC500 Muskin RAM, or some top of the line OCZ gold or Gkillz stuff, but the performance difference between top of the line (absolute top of the line) and the bottom (cheapest 3,4,4,8 PC3200) is only 10%. The A64 is very forgiving of crap/slow RAM.
Ignore the foam, it's a wase of energy ime, better to spend time isolating the mounts, especially with a p150 or p180, the difference will be minimal.
Go for the new raptor if speed is everything, storage review got thier hands on one and it's about 20% faster than the 74Gig model. Go for the enterprise version, it's cheaper and has identical tech specs.
Fans: Nexus are a good starting point, but you may well want more CFM than they offer, in which case the Akaska Ambers are supposed to be good, as are the yate loons i belive.
You didn't mention the VGA, what budget do you have to work in? And if you're not after anything fancy then why not go for the cheaper A8R-MVP without SLI?
For the CPU go for a SI-120, recognise now that this machine will not be silent, overclocking is an instant heat, and therefore noise, generator. However it can be built to be quiet.
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Rocc Howse
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 6:54 pm
so your saying the opteron is better than the x2?
the 1ghz ram thing i read somewhere they just released it dunno what it was reffering to was not typo as was a press release but cannot find where i read it.
now as far as motherboards i read alot of good things about the deluxe thats why i have chosen that buit if the A8R-MVP without SLI cAn match it performance wise then i can shift. does it have the same heat pipe and things like that? video card is not important at all as long as it is dual head and pci express.
as far as overclocking is it possible to overclock a system only when requireD? because I am using this for recording so needs to be quiet then but when I am mixing it does not have to be as quiet. I was thinking maybe a silent box from www.silentbox.com
and as far as fans go i want the best quiet/performance too . money is not really a constraint but I just dont want to be silly.
the 1ghz ram thing i read somewhere they just released it dunno what it was reffering to was not typo as was a press release but cannot find where i read it.
now as far as motherboards i read alot of good things about the deluxe thats why i have chosen that buit if the A8R-MVP without SLI cAn match it performance wise then i can shift. does it have the same heat pipe and things like that? video card is not important at all as long as it is dual head and pci express.
as far as overclocking is it possible to overclock a system only when requireD? because I am using this for recording so needs to be quiet then but when I am mixing it does not have to be as quiet. I was thinking maybe a silent box from www.silentbox.com
and as far as fans go i want the best quiet/performance too . money is not really a constraint but I just dont want to be silly.
A8N-SLI Premium also has the passive heatpipe at 67% of the cost of the A8N32-SLI.
There is stuff in the asus mb manuals about NOS.. looks like overclocking on demand, haven't heard much about it though. But if you want overclocking plus quiet 'n' cool, you should at least check out a DFI Lanparty nforce4 motherboard. There is at least one of them that can do both at the same time (overclocking is set as a percentage so it doesn't interfere with CNQ).
There is stuff in the asus mb manuals about NOS.. looks like overclocking on demand, haven't heard much about it though. But if you want overclocking plus quiet 'n' cool, you should at least check out a DFI Lanparty nforce4 motherboard. There is at least one of them that can do both at the same time (overclocking is set as a percentage so it doesn't interfere with CNQ).
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Bob_the_lost
- Posts: 136
- Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:52 pm
The opterons are (essentially) the same chips as the 4400 X2 and 4800 X2, just running at a lower clock speed. Because they are designed for an enterprise use the quality control process is better and the silicone used is also top notch. This results in good overclockability, so since the 165 is the cheapest dual core AMD make it's the best value, not to mention the stupid levels of overclock some people can get with them.
Howver they are an absolute bitch to find, i gave up and bought a 4400 instead after the last two in the UK disapeared after i ordered them.
"Yes we have it in stock, it'll be there by friday"
Friday came, the chip didn't
The 1Ghz RAM will almost certainly be DDR2, or it's marketing bull (probably still marketing bull) that makes PC3200 look faster than it really is. If you want great overclocking RAM despite the cost then find the highest priced offerings from OCZ, Muskin, Crucial and Gskillz. Then just buy the one with the best warranty.
The A8N32 is a great board, but what do you really want from the board? The SLI looks to be a waste of time for you, and for overclocking the MVP is just about the same.
NOS is supposed to be the opposite of coolnquiet, when the load increases it upps the performance. Don't bother with it myself.
Howver they are an absolute bitch to find, i gave up and bought a 4400 instead after the last two in the UK disapeared after i ordered them.
"Yes we have it in stock, it'll be there by friday"
Friday came, the chip didn't
The 1Ghz RAM will almost certainly be DDR2, or it's marketing bull (probably still marketing bull) that makes PC3200 look faster than it really is. If you want great overclocking RAM despite the cost then find the highest priced offerings from OCZ, Muskin, Crucial and Gskillz. Then just buy the one with the best warranty.
The A8N32 is a great board, but what do you really want from the board? The SLI looks to be a waste of time for you, and for overclocking the MVP is just about the same.
NOS is supposed to be the opposite of coolnquiet, when the load increases it upps the performance. Don't bother with it myself.
CPU Fan - Either a Zalman 7000, the larger Zalman 7700, or the Scythe Ninja with a 120mm (I'm partial to Nexus 120mm Black & White ~ $18 + shipping).
CPU HSF - Depends on the video card. If it has a noisy fan then you'll need to replace it. There is the Zalman 700 GPU HSF it is compatible with many cards.
Hard Drives - The quiets drives are the Samsung Spinpoints. The largest capacity is 250GB and they are SATA.
Case Fans - Replace all 120mm fans with the Nexus 120mm.
RAM Heatsink - Not really necessary unless you realy overclock the CPU.
CPU HSF - Depends on the video card. If it has a noisy fan then you'll need to replace it. There is the Zalman 700 GPU HSF it is compatible with many cards.
Hard Drives - The quiets drives are the Samsung Spinpoints. The largest capacity is 250GB and they are SATA.
Case Fans - Replace all 120mm fans with the Nexus 120mm.
RAM Heatsink - Not really necessary unless you realy overclock the CPU.
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Bob_the_lost
- Posts: 136
- Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:52 pm
I hope you realize that beyond a point,cool/quiet and cutting edge horsepower conflict. ALL X2s are a bit hotter than any Venice,which is a bit hotter than the Sempron palermos. Any Raptor,because it spins at 10,000,is louder than most 7,200 rpm drives. High end Vid Cards can put out as much heat as the cpu...and there is no quiet little 40mm fan. Overclocking will make a chip run hotter. Max OC's will run a LOT hotter.
Your basic list looks like it's tilted to power/speed and if that's the priority,fine. You can make it semi-quiet. All the HD suspension or cushioning tricks apply to a Raptor. You can stick a jumbo Ninja heatsink on an X2..or anything else...but will need a fan. If you want to overclock an X2,then you don't need to consider the very slowest fans,or undervolting fans as you may need 1300-1500 rpm. You DON'T need more,and a good monitoring unit that lets you read temps and adjust fans will help.
If you are not mainly looking to play demanding Vid games,skip the Raptor,get a 200 gb SATA2 Spinpoint and unless you do hardcore multi tasking,a single core Venice would be all the power you actually would use. Likewise any SLI board means more $ for a feature only important to a hardcore gamer. ABIT has an N Force 4 mobo,non SLI,with a nice heatpipe chipset cooler. NF4 mobos have a few features,a tad bit of speed over Via boards which tend to run a bit cooler and especially won't have a chipset fan you'd need to replace.
The "low end 939 Venice chips run cool. The new E6 chip,socket 754 Venice 3000 is even cooler. The Semprons above 3000 have AMD's cool + Quiet and do 64 bit,are cheap AND run cooler than the 939 Venice chips. People claim Stock cooler temps of 90F on Sempron Palermo's,or below...which means a big passive heatsink sits on the CPU and you may get by with your PSU fan,or that and 1 very slow 120mm fan. The Sempron/754 mobo combo is also VERY cheap. You can get a Semp 3100,Mobo,A Ninja heatsink and a 200 gb Spinpoint SATA2 for about the price of an X2 3800.
Your basic list looks like it's tilted to power/speed and if that's the priority,fine. You can make it semi-quiet. All the HD suspension or cushioning tricks apply to a Raptor. You can stick a jumbo Ninja heatsink on an X2..or anything else...but will need a fan. If you want to overclock an X2,then you don't need to consider the very slowest fans,or undervolting fans as you may need 1300-1500 rpm. You DON'T need more,and a good monitoring unit that lets you read temps and adjust fans will help.
If you are not mainly looking to play demanding Vid games,skip the Raptor,get a 200 gb SATA2 Spinpoint and unless you do hardcore multi tasking,a single core Venice would be all the power you actually would use. Likewise any SLI board means more $ for a feature only important to a hardcore gamer. ABIT has an N Force 4 mobo,non SLI,with a nice heatpipe chipset cooler. NF4 mobos have a few features,a tad bit of speed over Via boards which tend to run a bit cooler and especially won't have a chipset fan you'd need to replace.
The "low end 939 Venice chips run cool. The new E6 chip,socket 754 Venice 3000 is even cooler. The Semprons above 3000 have AMD's cool + Quiet and do 64 bit,are cheap AND run cooler than the 939 Venice chips. People claim Stock cooler temps of 90F on Sempron Palermo's,or below...which means a big passive heatsink sits on the CPU and you may get by with your PSU fan,or that and 1 very slow 120mm fan. The Sempron/754 mobo combo is also VERY cheap. You can get a Semp 3100,Mobo,A Ninja heatsink and a 200 gb Spinpoint SATA2 for about the price of an X2 3800.