Light gaming and HD movies, $600 budget.

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bradkb
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:40 pm
Location: California

Light gaming and HD movies, $600 budget.

Post by bradkb » Mon Dec 22, 2008 3:50 pm

Like the title says, I am looking to build a computer for about $600. I play games now and then such as CS:Source, World of Warcraft and the newer games when I can get my hands on them. I want this baby to be quiet for when watching movies, surfing the web, and working.

I've been reading reviews on newegg and posts here at SPCR for the past month or so while thinking about this build. This is what i have so far:

*UPDATED* Total=$562.94 (I am getting dangerously close to my budget limit.)

When I can afford it, I plan on taking these components and upgrading fans/heatsinks/whatever else to make it more quiet-friendly. This will just be my starting point.

I need advice on a motherboard badly, I had an ASUS in my shopping cart until yesterday when it went out of stock :( I also have another question that I need answered badly as I have not built a computer in nearly a decade; I have a 200gb 7200rpm HD in the computer I am on currently, I was wondering if I could just drop it in my new PC as the boot device and delete/install new drivers once booted to windows?I am hoping this will save me from buying a new OS (currently XP Media Center Edition 2005) for the time being. The computer I am currently using is an E-Machines from about 3-4 years ago.

When I do finally upgrade OS, I was thinking about a 64 bit version of Vista, any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/critiques. Off to work now, will check back in tomorrow!
Last edited by bradkb on Thu Dec 25, 2008 12:12 am, edited 3 times in total.
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RedRiviera
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Post by RedRiviera » Mon Dec 22, 2008 8:47 pm

Looks like a good setup, although shop around for a lower price on the Solo, Fry's has had that case for $50-$70 lately. You might also consider the P180, P182, or Mini-P180, they're equally silent cases and often on sale for under $100.
Also, AMD will be coming out with AM2+ and AM3 socket processors and motherboards soon. If you can wait another month, you'll start to see them and may even be able to snag a tri-core processor for the same price as that dual-core. Also, going off Newegg prices, you can probably get 4gb of DDR2 1066 for the same $40 if you're patient.
Also, don't forget your power supply, there's none listed.....
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bradkb
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Location: California

Post by bradkb » Tue Dec 23, 2008 3:44 am

Thanks for the feedback.

I forgot to mention in my first post that I currently have an Antec Earthwatts 500 which I think is reasonably quiet and should be plenty powerful for my new system (let me know if I am wrong).

I'll try and wait for the new releases, but the reason I got this new build in my head is that my current hard drive is FULL! I picked that cpu for the low price as well as the low watt useage. And I'm looking at getting a mobo that is upgradeable, ie I can upgrade to a x4 processor in the future.

I was reading somewhere that 1066 memory modules aren't supported by x2 processors is that correct?

As far as mobos are concerned, I've been looking at the ASUS M3N78-EM. It is a micro-ATX board, are there any downsides I should pay attention to with these smaller boards. Do they run hotter? Is there sufficient room for everything and possible upgrades in the future?

Sorry for the long posts (and noobery), but thank you for taking the time to read them and leave responses!
Last edited by bradkb on Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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bradkb
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Location: California

Post by bradkb » Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:18 am

Just saw the ASUS M3A78 Pro and though it might be a good solution as a ATX form mobo.

Does anyone think either of these motherboards' integrated graphics could play World of Warcraft with medium-high settings? If so, that would save me quite a bit of money not getting the HD4850. I'm guessing that would also lower my watt usage as well as lower the case temperature.
Last edited by bradkb on Tue Dec 23, 2008 12:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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CA_Steve
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Post by CA_Steve » Tue Dec 23, 2008 7:09 am

If your HD is full, get a new HD, use a program like Acronis to mirror your other drive, and then use it for the boot drive :D

Then you can relax and build the system you want to build when the prices match your expectations.

WoW and integrated graphics: I'd expect maybe 20-30fps in uncrowded areas with detailed dialed down to low, multisampling set to 1x and resolution at 1280x1024. WotLK will be slower, Dalaran will be very slow. The upside is that WoW really doesn't require a pricey video card to get near 60 fps, but you will need a card if you want a fun play experience at a higher resolution. The 4850 will certainly do well.

So, if you need a video card, you might opt to get a mobo w/o integrated grpahics to save a bit of power.

Just to stir up the pot,here's an interesting article comparing the Intel 5200 vs an assortment of AMD CPUs.
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Nick Geraedts
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Post by Nick Geraedts » Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:21 am

For what it's worth, my 4850 gets me about 35-40fps @ 1920x1200 with maxed settings in Dalaran in Windowed mode. Setting it to non-windowed increases this to about 55fps. The 4850 is plenty beefy for WoW. :)

I would not recommend playing WoW without a dedicated graphics card. My friend's system is built on an 8800GTS (the previous generation "high-end" card) and it chokes in Dalaran, even with the settings floored.

I'd stick with the G.Skill DDR2-800 RAM. There's little to no benefit from running DDR2-1066, and G.Skill's support and service are top notch.
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bradkb
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Location: California

Post by bradkb » Tue Dec 23, 2008 1:48 pm

The motherboard I was looking at is now back in stock! Here is an updated list of what my build will contain:
Total=$562.94

What do you guys think of that motherboard? I was also thinking about using my old eVGA 7800GT until video card prices drop a bit. But that is by far the loudest piece of equipment in my current build.

Is there a IDE -> SATA connector? I had some trouble finding one on newegg. If I were to buy a new HD, it would definitely be SATA, but my computer right now doesn't support SATA.
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CA_Steve
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Post by CA_Steve » Tue Dec 23, 2008 3:52 pm

Looks like a nice build. The mobo is fine - my only concern would be the Via audio chip. I don't have a feel for how well they support the audio drivers. This mobo supports 2 IDE drives.

You need to choose a CPU cooler. Also, as you live in CA, both Fry's and Newegg run Solo specials...just wait and you'll see it for $50-80.

Video card: waiting for the price to drop. :-) prices have been in free fall for the last year. Cheapest 4850 out there is the ASUS TOP @ $120 after rebate.
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bradkb
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Post by bradkb » Tue Dec 23, 2008 11:20 pm

I figured I would use the stock heatsink + fan from AMD for the time being.

When I have more money I can buy a quieter combo. I'll check out Fry's when I am in the Bay Area for the holidays.

I was going for the HIS HD 4850 because I have been reading it was one of the quietest 4850's out there. Yes, it is a bit expensive, but I figured I could use this card for the next few years no problem.

edit: I do have a 7800GT (VERY NOISY). I could probably stand the noise for a month or two if prices will drop substantially or another reasonable upgrade will be released in the near future.
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bradkb
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Location: California

Post by bradkb » Wed Dec 24, 2008 12:49 pm

I didn't even notice the audio chipset until you mentioned it, I think I'll go with the ASUS M3A78 Pro instead. It has a Realtek ALC1200 audio chipset. Unfortunately it is $20 more :(


edit: I will edit my original post with the current list of items I'll be using.
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CA_Steve
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Post by CA_Steve » Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:30 pm

<nods>. Looks like the Asus card is a bit cheaper than you've listed. There's also the Gigabyte versions.
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bradkb
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Location: California

Up and running!

Post by bradkb » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:05 am

So I went ahead and ordered my parts on 1/5. Received everything by Friday 1/9. Here is what I am writing this post from: Total after tax and shipping ~$600


Everything went surprisingly smooth.

Not sure how I feel about the Mini P180, part of me is wishing I went with the Solo, due to the giant whole in the top of the case. On the other hand this will force this build into an on-going project where I need to work to silence it further (still much quieter than my old computer), which I like.

First upgrade will be a video card, I am pretty sure I will be going with the Powercolor PCS HD4850 1gb. It looks very promising after looking at this review from techPowerUp. From what I read I won't even need to upgrade the heatsink/fan to have it run very quiet.What do you guys think?

After that I will work on quieting the rest of my build. I was thinking about going with the Scythe "Mini Ninja".

I would also like to replace the rear exhaust fan, I believe it is 120mm. I was thinking about replacing it with the Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D 120mm Case Fan.

Will post pictures one I can get my camera on another computer, apparently the Pentax Optio S5i doesn't work on vista. Also for some reason Firefox will stop responding for a few seconds. Besides those two things I enjoy Vista 64 a lot!

Thanks for all the advice on this build everyone :)
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CA_Steve
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Post by CA_Steve » Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:10 pm

cool beans. Enjoy your build. :D
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Nick Geraedts
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Re: Up and running!

Post by Nick Geraedts » Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:12 am

bradkb wrote:Not sure how I feel about the Mini P180, part of me is wishing I went with the Solo, due to the giant whole in the top of the case. On the other hand this will force this build into an on-going project where I need to work to silence it further (still much quieter than my old computer), which I like.
If I were to get a new system built around an mATX board, I'd probably go with the P180 mini like you did. It's basically a shrunk version of the P180/P182, which I'm sure over 75% of the readers here can tell you is simply amazing.
bradkb wrote:First upgrade will be a video card, I am pretty sure I will be going with the Powercolor PCS HD4850 1gb. It looks very promising after looking at this review from techPowerUp. From what I read I won't even need to upgrade the heatsink/fan to have it run very quiet.What do you guys think?
Can't say anything about the Powercolor card, but the 4850 is a solid choice. I'd suggest getting an Accelero S1 and installing that instead of the stock cooler though (provided that the Powercolor card uses the reference design).
bradkb wrote:After that I will work on quieting the rest of my build. I was thinking about going with the Scythe "Mini Ninja".
The Minja is ok, and will probably be adequate for your CPU. I've got it on a 5200+ in my media center, that's being passively cooled by the two exhaust fans. Temperatures have never been a problem for me so far.
bradkb wrote:I would also like to replace the rear exhaust fan, I believe it is 120mm. I was thinking about replacing it with the Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D 120mm Case Fan.
I'd choose the Slipstream fans over the S-Flex. If you want to go nuts, change all the fans for Slipstream 800's, and you should be set. You can slow them down with Fanmates until they're "silent".
bradkb wrote:Will post pictures one I can get my camera on another computer, apparently the Pentax Optio S5i doesn't work on vista. Also for some reason Firefox will stop responding for a few seconds. Besides those two things I enjoy Vista 64 a lot!
I can't help you with your camera driver issues (maybe get a cheap card reader instead?), but Firefox runs on my system without any troubles. Perhaps a problem with an extension?
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bradkb
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:40 pm
Location: California

Post by bradkb » Wed Jan 14, 2009 2:11 am

The review on the Powercolor 4850 says it is basically silent at idle and very quiet at load. I do not believe it is reference design, if it is too loud am I SOL as far as upgrading so an S1 or similar?

Is the "Minja" not adequate for a quad-core CPU? I am trying to buy pieces that are somewhat future-proof in case I want to upgrade say my CPU at a later date. If the "Minja" is not sufficient what do you recommend that will fit in my Mini p180?

Are Slipstreams even quieter than the S-Flex? I thought I pulled the S-Flex right off the recommended fans list, maybe it is not up to date or I am mistaken.

Even after Firefox responds again my internet goes out sometimes, weird. It is not as bad anymore, we shall see though. Maybe I will try IE 32bit version and see if I get the same error as Firefox.
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