Sanity check / advice please

Phlebas · Post by **Phlebas** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:19 am

Hi, planning on building a new PC with quietness in mind. Lots of options, far too many really

, but the list below is what I'm currently considering. Would greatly appreciate it if someone could check I'm not about to make any major blunders!

The PC will mostly be used for office / web stuff with some programming & gaming. The spec below is probably a bit OTT but I would rather get something now that will hold its own for the next 3 or so years rather than need upgrading in another year (that said, I've gone for a relatively cheap graphics card in a vain attempt to keep the budget something like reasonable!). I'm planning on overclocking but nothing too radical and only to the extent which it can be done without compromising much on noise.

Antec SLK3000B
Seasonic S12 430W
Asus A8N-SLi Premium
Athlon 64 X2 3800+
Thermalright SI-120 with Nexus 120mm fan
G.Skill 2GB DDR ZX PC3200 (2x1GB) CAS2 Dual Channel Kit
Gigabyte GeForce 6600GT 256MB Silent Pipe II
200GB Samsung Spinpoint P120 SP2004C

I’ll also be adding a HDD (120GB Seagate 7200.7) and an AOpen DVDRW from my existing system.

I wanted a P150 but the PSU problems have put me off – that and reports of the HDD suspension elastic breaking already. I really like the out of the box features of the P150, pity they seem to have so dropped the ball in implementation

. Still, the SLK3000B seems a decent enough choice and coupled with the Seasonic PSU works out a bit cheaper. I don’t think it will be too hard to rig up a HDD suspension system based on the threads/articles I’ve seen here. I plan on buying an extra Nexus fan and depending on how things go will use it to either replace the stock Tricool fan or use it at the front of the case.

The A8N-SLi Premium is definitely overkill on features and expensive but I want a passively cooled chipset. Would have gone with the cheaper A8R-MVP if it weren’t for the significant problems that are being reported with it. Apart from the AR8, the non-nForce4 solutions look distinctly lacklustre – and I don’t really have the confidence to replace the crappy HSF on a standard nForce4 board. Any major options I've overlooked?

It was a toss up between the SI-120 and Ninja but I think the former should also offer decent cooling of the chipset heatpipe radiator. Right?

Anyone tried the Silent Pipe II version of the Gigabyte 6600GT yet? I don’t really fancy changing the stock HSF on an active cooled card so the 6600GT looks ideal. Just a bit worried that the temperature might still get a bit high and haven’t seen any real-world reports of the new version.

Many thanks in advance for any comments.

stupid · Post by **stupid** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:27 am

I don't see anything wrong with your setup. All the components looks decent or good. The only thing I would really change is the PSU; 430w is an overkill, and you can easily get by with the Seasonic S12 330 PSU which will probably save you about $40 to offset the price of the ASUS MB.

While the SI-120 and Nexus are fine, a Scythe Ninja is pretty good heatsink. You can run your X2 3800+ passively, some people have posted that they can run the X2 4400+ passively with the Ninja in a case with decent ventillation such as the SLK3000B. If you don't overclock past the speed of a X2 4400+ then you should be okay.

If you do go down the OC route with just the Ninja, then overclock slowly. First determine what the temp of the CPU is at stock speed, then do incremental speed bumps and check the idle/load temps until you push the CPU to the speed that you want, or until the CPU gets too hot for your liking.

Phlebas · Post by **Phlebas** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 8:19 am

Thanks for the comments. Fully agree with you re the PSU requirement, but the 430w model seems to be the lowest that any UK supplier stocks.

Overclocked 3800+ with a fanless Ninja? You're either brave or just damn good