Advice Needed for Home/Office Build

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jackylman
Posts: 784
Joined: Sun May 22, 2005 8:13 am
Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Advice Needed for Home/Office Build

Post by jackylman » Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:38 pm

I'm packing up my essential possessions and moving soon, so I wanted to build a micro ATX rig to give me a little more room in my car. I used to be a frequent poster on these forums, but I've been really into Debian/Ubuntu/GNU Linux lately, so I have not had the time to read up on my silencing components. I could use some good advice.

I use my computer for home/office productivity, internet, C/C++ software development (and some other languages like Python or bash scripting), watching some DVD's, and I have a large audio FLAC/mp3 collection. I don't play 3D games or use desktop effects.

I need help with the case, CPU cooler, hard disk, and maybe the mobo.

Case: I'm clueless. I loved my Antec SLK3000B and my Solo, but I was disappointed with the Antec 4400 mini ATX tower I got for my mom. Any good micro ATX cases other than the recommended Antec NSK2400/Fusion? A mini ATX tower would work too if there are any good ones.

CPU cooler: I currently have a Thermalright UE-120. Does this fit in the NSK2400 case? The CPU I have lined up is the X2 5000 Black Edition (2.6GHz, Brisbane core). It has an unlocked multiplier, so I'll probably be pushing it to 3 or 3.2GHz. I believe I still have enough AS5 for a few more applications.

Hard disk: I currently have a very quiet Samsung 321KJ and some other assorted SATA laptop disks. I'll probably keep that, but I'm wondering about the Caviar GP 320. I read the review a while back and was left bewildered at the different revisions/firmware. Has this been sorted out yet?

Mobo: I currently have a BIOSTAR TFORCE TA780G spec'd out. It has onboard graphics, but I plan on adding my old passively-cooled Gigabyte X1300 in because video acceleration is well-supported for R5xx GPU's under the open-source radeonhd driver and I don't want the onboard video using my RAM.
My mobo requirements are fairly modest: PS/2 Mouse Keyboard, 4 SATA ports, 4 USB ports, passive NB/SB cooling, and plenty of clearance around the CPU socket. Good CPU fan control would be nice, but all other fans (Yate Loon 120mm) will be run off 5V'd Molex connectors. Undervolting down to .8V is a must. IIRC, Biostar Tforce boards are usually good with this, correct?

Thank you in advance.

EDIT: I should also mention that I will not buy/support Intel, nVidia, or VIA products.

Modo
Posts: 486
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:32 am
Location: Poland

Re: Advice Needed for Home/Office Build

Post by Modo » Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:14 pm

jackylman wrote:Any good micro ATX cases other than the recommended Antec NSK2400/Fusion?
If the form factor suits you, you need look no further. Swap the fans, and the cooling of all components will be both quiet, and efficient.
jackylman wrote: CPU cooler: I currently have a Thermalright UE-120. Does this fit in the NSK2400 case?
Unfortunately, no. The heatsink height can't exceed roughly 120mm in this case. A Ninja Mini is the perfect fit here—both its size and fin layout are very good for this particular layout.

Can't help you with the mobo. My last AMD buy was an Athlon XP. :)

jackylman
Posts: 784
Joined: Sun May 22, 2005 8:13 am
Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Post by jackylman » Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:51 pm

Modo, thanks for the confirmation on the Thermalright UE120, and yes, I remember the Socket A glory days.

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