Specs For A Friend's PC

[Goo]

I have a friend who wants me to build her a PC. Here is what we have so far:

-Intel D945GNTL Motherboard
-Intel Pentium 4 630 (3.0ghz)
-2GB of DDR2 PC2-5300 RAM (two 1024MB sticks)
-Samsung SpinPoint SP2004C SATA HDD
-Lite-On CD-RW
-Seasonic S12-380W Power Supply
-Zalman CNPS7700-CU HSF (w Artic Silver Ceramique thermal compound)
-Coolermaster Centurion RC-532

She doesn't need a dedicated video card, so we are going with a 945G motherboard that will allow for adding a card should we decide it needs one. She is aiming for quiet, not silent, so I think that this might fit the bill, although I probably would have gone with a SLK300B instead (she likes the RC-532).

Before I start ordering, does anyone see anything insanely wrong?

EDIT: Fixed RAM amount.

[qviri]

Any particular reason for going Intel? AMD chips are much easier to cool quietly.

[tjpark1111]

an s12-330 should serve that machine fine, and it can be had for cheap at case-mod.com, although you have to search for s12-330 in froogle and then follow the link for the cheaper price. 2x512mb=2gb? lol Yeah, intel ain't too smart unless you want better single core multitasking than an AMD. A ninja might help you run it passive for less noise, although a 7700 should be plenty quiet.

[Goo]

Oops. The should read 2x1024MB (I'll fix that).

As for AMD, I personally prefer Intel and I am more familiar with it, so that is what we are going with.

[MikeC]

You're here at SPCR, so welcome... and face the prevailaing winds.

As for AMD, I personally prefer Intel and I am more familiar with it, so that is what we are going with.

Personal preference is hard to argue with. Everyone is entitled to it.

Here's my opin:

1) Yours is not a good reason if you want to make an informed buying decision, especially for a quiet computer. It just sounds stubborn. Intel is soon going to abandon Prescott, and they're singing the praises of performance-per-watt right now -- even as they keep flogging the power hogs because they can't get the good stuff out to market quick enough.

2) AMD's A64 line is, for the most part, already excellent for performance-per-watt. Fact: The equivalent performance A64-3000+ draws half the power of a 3GHz Prescott. [/i]

[stupid]

I would go for an AMD Athlon 64 as well. The Pentium 4 630 is around $180. The S939 Athlon 64 3200+ can be had for about $168, and the 3500+ can be had for about $204. I would opt for the 3500+ which is more than capable of outpacing the Pentium 4 630. Runs cooler too.

The Centurion 532 is a well ventillated case, just remember that it only comes with 1 120mm in-take fan, so she needs to a 120mm exhaust fan. The typical recommendation would be the Nexus or a less expensive Yate Loon fan. Since the case is well ventilate the A64 3500+ can be passively cooled with a Scythe Ninja; it's cheaper than the Zalman 7700 IIRC.

As for the motherboard, I would get the MSI K8NGM2-FID. Theo nly bad thing about it is that it is a m-ATX motherboard which limits the PCI slots down to only 2. Then again most MB with integrated video are m-ATX. This board uses DDR1, not DDR2 RAM. Something inexpensive should be good enought like Corsair Value Select.

The PSU can be dropped down to a Seasonic S12 330, I'll be surprise if this seup uses more than 200w.

[Erssa]

As for the motherboard, I would get the MSI K8NGM2-FID. Theo nly bad thing about it is that it is a m-ATX motherboard which limits the PCI slots down to only 2. Then again most MB with integrated video are m-ATX. This board uses DDR1, not DDR2 RAM. Something inexpensive should be good enought like Corsair Value Select.

The PSU can be dropped down to a Seasonic S12 330, I'll be surprise if this seup uses more than 200w.

I don't see how only 2 pci-slots is a negative point, when everything essential is integrated nowadays. I think only very small amount of users these days need more then 2 pci slots.

Goo: What does your friend want/need from a computer anyway? What is she gonna mostly do with it? She obviously ins't gonna be doing any gaming? Maybe she would be perfectly happy with something like mac mini...or heaven forbid 1299$ iMac.

[StarfishChris]

2GB is a lot unless she does video or high-res image work. (Incidentally, Intel does well with video encoding, but an AMD can stay consistently quiet throughout the whole process!)

[Goo]

I'm going with 2GB because the built in Intel graphics will use up to 224MB of system memory for video purposes; this should ensure the system is never starved for memory.

Erssa: She doesn't want a Mac (I did ask, though).

Stupid: Can you post some pictures of your setup? I would love to see you build.

[roaf85]

The max the Intel card will use is 224 mb and to me that does not even sound right. Something like 64 mb sounds more reasonable, but since I am too lazy to look up specs I will go with the 224 mb.

Unless she is going to be doing any sort of gaming the Intel intergrated card will only use around 8-32 mb of system ram. If she is going to be doing sort or gaming etc I would still lower the overall ram down to 1 gb and get a passive 6600 or something along those lines.

[stupid]

I'm going with 2GB because the built in Intel graphics will use up to 224MB of system memory for video purposes; this should ensure the system is never starved for memory.

Erssa: She doesn't want a Mac (I did ask, though).

Stupid: Can you post some pictures of your setup? I would love to see you build.

I would love to post pictures of my system, but:

1. I don't have a camera.

2. I haven't built it yet. Apparently the amount of taxes I owe for 2005 exceeds the budget of my intended PC, as in the 4 digits range (excluding cents).

I currently only have a mobile Athlon XP @ 2.2GHz system so it's nothing impressive.

The parts I intend to purchase are as follows:

-Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (maybe the X2 4800)
-7800GT - Maybe the 7900GT by the time I save up the money.
-2GB of Corsair XMS
-Asus A8N SLI Premium
-2 Nexus 120mm Black & White Fans
-Either the Tuniq Tower 120mm HSF, or Scythe Ninja HSF
-Zalman VF700 or VF900 for the GPU to decrease fan noise

As you can see those are some pretty expensive parts.

I have money to buy some, but not all of the parts. The only parts that would be compatible with my current setup would be the RAM, Fan, and the VF700. The CPU, GPU, motherboard and HSF must be purchased all at once since they are all incompatible with my current setup.


The parts that I have purchased are as follows:

-Centurion 532 - Nice black case with good airflow, and the controls and ports are on top of the case instead of the front. The blue LED fan is not too bright and doesn't bother me since the case sits on the floor. This case is good enough for the X2 3800+ with just a Ninja heatsink to cool it. It may be possible to passively cool the X2 4200+.

The mesh design does allow some noise to escape from the case, the flip side is the airflow will allow for a lower RPM fan(s), and possibility of a passively cooled CPU. In addition, it allows me to use a passively cooled motherboard as well. Technically speaking, this should allow for a very quiet system.

-Seasonic S12 500 - Very quiet, stable and efficient PSU. I would hazard to guess that 50% of the posters at SPCR will recommend the Seasonic over any other PSU. The Antec Neo HE would be a close second if it were not for it's stability issues, which have been recently corrected. I also plan to replace the 120mm fan with a Nexus to further decrease noise.

-Saitek Eclipse Keyboard - The keyboard has a blue backlight. This matches my black Centurion 532 case, and my black Planar LCD screen.

-Logitech MX510 Mouse - Black & Blue.

-Carry over items are 3 hard drives, Audigy 2, and NEC 3550A DVD burner.

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Getting back to your build...

I can understand that you are more comfortable/familiar with Intel. But don't let that stop you from considering the AMD Athlon. This is coming from an Intel stockholder.

In the desktop single core arena:

-the Athlon 64 beats the Pentium 4 in games. The P4 beats the A64 for media encoding/processing and probably content creation.

-the A64 uses less power than the P4, therefore it is easier to cool and less fan noise will be created.


It's not that Intel has a bad product, it's that AMD's desktop solution is pretty good. Intel's strength lies in the mobile arena, and when I have the money I'll most likely upgrade my HTPC using the dual core Merom when it comes out.

Beyond the specs, the important question is what your friend intends to do with the PC. If she is doing content creation or media processing then by all means go for the Pentium 4. For anything else you can go for the Athlon 64.

Both platforms will do what she want for basically the same price. However, you are in a forum that strives to find a perfect balance between silence and performance with more emphasis placed on silence regardless of the cost for some people.