Whatyathink? Shopping Cart under $500

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:42 pm

What do ya think overall? The video card is open box so... I dunno. And Im going to need some dampening materials ... but newegg doesnt seem to sell that? Any suggestions or improvements? My aim was to build a system under $500.

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:20 pm

If you seek quiet, the Silencer PSU and the stock heatsink/fan will probably need to be tackled... and maybe case fans. For overall compatibility, they seem fine.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:40 pm

MikeC wrote:If you seek quiet, the Silencer PSU and the stock heatsink/fan will probably need to be tackled... and maybe case fans. For overall compatibility, they seem fine.

What do you recommend replacing the stock CPU heatsink and fan with?

Also what could be done about the PSU? I had to get this one to keep it budget. Is it possible to replace the fan in the PSU with a quieter one?

As for case fans, yeah I will probably invest in quieter ones after I get the system together. Plus do some dampening. Maybe tackle a custom mod on the case... I am an artist after all... it would be a new medium... I been wanting to airbrush something on a case... maybe do a grungy used area 51 type deal...

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:18 pm

Im just gonna order this its the only thing I could put together for under $500 and I still need windows 7 and a monitor so.... ah well... this is good enough for now...

lol I went from a big old 1100 rig to a decently compared one for $490 not bad

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:52 pm

9600GSO? pretty fair choice.

You've got a good rig together there, room for improvement when it comes to fans and heatsinks, but a good start, you wont be disappointed by the performance.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 7:13 pm

Thanks bonestonne! Yeah your post with the link to a similar system helped me choose this setup along with others recommending open box or refurbished and i just happen to find a suitable card... i think it will be a nice build... with room for improvement in the future...

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 7:16 pm

Hey for that motherboard it lists "CPU Type Phenom II X4 / Phenom II X3"

But it will work with that AMD Athlon 2 quad core right?

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 7:50 pm

Oh sorry bonestonne that was Menthawls post linking to :http://techreport.com/articles.x/17787/2 and you recommended a better graphics card so based on that my system should be pretty good.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 6:43 am

What would you guys do to quiet this system down?

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:05 am

ThaArtist wrote:What would you guys do to quiet this system down?

Like someone else said before, put it together first and see what you think. Noise is so subjective... it might be perfectly quiet enough for you!

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:33 am

MikeC wrote:
ThaArtist wrote:What would you guys do to quiet this system down?
Like someone else said before, put it together first and see what you think. Noise is so subjective... it might be perfectly quiet enough for you!

hhaha... I dunno Im pretty picky but again beggers cant be choosers or else I would have got a nice quiet antec case... Yeah I'll see what happens when I get it. I found some cheap sound dampening material online at http://www.mnpctech.com/Acoustical_Foam_Sheets_PC.html so Ill probably go with that and replace the case fan with a quiet one from endpcnoise.com and get some rubber feet from mnpctech.com. That should help with vibrations on the floor to desk.

What do you think about the CPU cooling with this system? DO I really need something like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835186134) ?

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:45 am

ThaArtist wrote:hhaha... I dunno Im pretty picky but again beggers cant be choosers or else I would have got a nice quiet antec case... Yeah I'll see what happens when I get it. I found some cheap sound dampening material online at http://www.mnpctech.com/Acoustical_Foam_Sheets_PC.html so Ill probably go with that and replace the case fan with a quiet one from endpcnoise.com and get some rubber feet from mnpctech.com. That should help with vibrations on the floor to desk.

What do you think about the CPU cooling with this system? DO I really need something like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835186134) ?

Forget damping materials -- that's the last thing you do, after you've lowered the level of all the noises at their sources. That means swapping/slowing down the fans, reducing turbulence and vibration effects from the moving parts (esp the HDD).

Also, the Freezer is an OK cooler but its fan is only mediocre. The best bang for buck in good coolers that are quiet out of the box are probably Scythes. They all have good to excellent fans, and most are very good to excellent coolers -- check SPCR reviews.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:51 am

How would you reduce turbulence and vibration from moving parts? Lets take the HHD for example? Most cases theres just enough room to mount the hard drives so my first idea would be to use rubber grommets or similar material as a spacer between the metal and the vibrating element, but that won't work.

How is that accomplished? Also, yeah while my system ships Im going to be reading alot more on SPCR.

frenchie · Post by **frenchie** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:55 am

Good place to start would be the Storage section of this forum...
There is a thread with EXACTLY what you're asking

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:12 pm

K thanks...

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:57 am

Ok so that video card is huge. And it has a power connector on the back of it. Since its open box I dont have any of the stuff that came with it just the card. Do I need a power connector in order for it to work?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 814121320R

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:04 pm

I'm pretty sure my PSU has the 6 pin power connector on it but if it doesn't I guess I will need to get a 4pin to 6 pin adapter? I cant remember if my first 2 builds needed this. I think they did....

Monkeh16 · Post by **Monkeh16** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:19 pm

ThaArtist wrote:I'm pretty sure my PSU has the 6 pin power connector on it but if it doesn't I guess I will need to get a 4pin to 6 pin adapter? I cant remember if my first 2 builds needed this. I think they did....

Your PSU should, and the card comes with an adapter anyway.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:13 pm

My PSU is 80 cert. 370 watts. Now im thinking that that isnt enough for this system? Im trying to figure out what to do because I dont have an 8 pin molex connector for the cpu on the mobo so I would need to buy an adapter but if Im going to RMA it then I dont need an adapter I can just get one with a 8 pin connector. The PSU seems to be a good psu from all the reviews etc but I dont think its really up to date enough... most the 500 watt + psu's have the 8 pin and 6 pin molex connectors and of coutse the 20-24 molex connectors...

WHAT DO YOU THINK PPL? Please give me advice!

heres my psu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817703018

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:29 pm

ThaArtist wrote:WHAT DO YOU THINK PPL? Please give me advice!

heres my psu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817703018

If you already have all the parts, why not just assemble it and see how it is? The 4-pin 12v AUX plug is enough to get the system running -- I doubt 8-pin plug is mandatory, it's just another set of wires for the 12V current.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:34 pm

Well I got it all together... So should I just plug the 4 pin molex into the right side of the 8pin molex connector on the mobo?

Cause if that is the case I'd love it... but I read online that that doesn't work.

Reading here: http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnec ... ml#atx12v4 (scroll down a tad if your going here)

You can plug a 4 pin 12 volt power cable into an 8 pin EPS motherboard connector but there's no guarantee that it will work. If the motherboard expects only one 12 volt rail then a 4 pin 12 volt cable may work. If the motherboard expects two 12 volt rails (many dual CPU motherboards require one 12 volt rail per CPU) then it won't work. Even if the motherboard works with a 4 pin 12 volt cable, you are still only providing half of the current carrying capacity which would be provided by an 8 pin EPS cable. That can overheat both the motherboard connector and 4 pin cable. Scorched or melted connectors can be a result. A motherboard which has the 8 pin EPS connector expects a lot of current and you are taking a serious risk by plugging in a 4 pin cable. The 4 pin cable only fits at one end of the 8 pin EPS motherboard connector so you can't plug it in improperly. That is, it only fits into one end of the motherboard connector unless you force it. If the cable doesn't go into the socket easily then you're probably trying to plug it into the wrong end. But then again, it's not a good idea to try to run with a 4 pin cable in an 8 pin motherboard anyway.

What do you think? So should I try it the way I and the link described?

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:05 pm

Mikeeeee... people! what ya think?

colm · Post by **colm** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:52 pm

that s a good build.
the case at .5mm, wow, that is bad. the SECC good, the guage of it is ridiculous.
maybe paint the heck out of the outside, enamel type, even auto urethane. it is a long waiting game, but it is extremely noticable.
todays cpus need the old boxes. its a mixed up world.

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:05 pm

ThaArtist wrote:What do you think? So should I try it the way I and the link described?

I've done it w/o issue on other boards.

The writer you quote was talking about dual CPU boards. There's no guarantee that an 8-pin 12V connector goes to two 12V lines in the PSU anyway. The only guarantee is that there are 4 pairs of wires carrying the current to the VRMs for the CPU, not 2 pairs. In a single CPU board, I'm certain the 12V feed to the VRM is a single line. The only other special power attributes of this board are that it will handle a 140W CPU and has 8+2 phase VRM power for the CPU, both of which can be found on boards with a 4-pin 12V plug.

There should be only one way to get the 4-pin plug in. I think it's worth trying; I'd do it -- but I admit haven't paid for a motherboard in years. I haven't broken any doing this tho -- a few after using them as heatsink test beads or with a nasty BIOS flash, but not this.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 5:30 pm

I did it. I got win 7 64 bit all installed and its running good. Its not really loud but too loud for me. I think the biggest culprit is the stock cpu fan. From what I can tell the psu is pretty quiet. Im ordering a 120 mm scythe fan to replace the stock one and some rubber screws and silicon fan casing.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835185057

The fan is rated:

Bearing Type Sleeve
RPM 800 RPM
Air Flow 40.17CFM
Noise Level 10.70 dBA

The noise level is fairly quiet and the airflow is fairly high so it seems to be a good fan for the price of $8.99 right?

Other then that the videocard fan isnt too loud but theres nothing I can do about that right? And the machine seems to be staying cool just from feeling all the cold air around my legs but i probably should test it somehow.

So Im thinking I will add some dampening material to the sides of the case and i really am thinking about covering up the holes in the left side of the case... how needed can those really be if Im circulating air good?

What do ya think? I'll post some pictures soon maybe a video.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 1:12 pm

Ok so this has been a really good build so far. I bought some Thermaltank foam package from newegg for $9 and padded the top bottom and sides of the case. That helped the sound some. This is definitely the fastest PC Ive ever used personally. Lovin it. Im gonna make a blog site soon and post pictures etc.

Now I just need to see about the possibility of running the ram at faster speeds and tweaking some bios settings to make it run faster if possible. Ive read some things but have no idea exactly what thats all about.

I'll post pictures of the finished stuff cause im also making a little recording area with sound control etc. Will be pretty cool.

I dont think its possible to get rid of the heat/computer tech smell (I have a strong nose lol) without water cooling?

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 1:20 pm

THIS PROCESSOR IS DEFINITELY WORTH THE $100 (oops caps) I spent on it so far. Ive havent done anything super intese YET but Ive used premiere flash photoshop audition and fruity loops pretty good so far. premiere crashed once but that was do to a plugin issue with fruity loops that i think it worked out itself cause it hasnt crashed again.

Great value for the money. The only thing taht sucks now is i got everything installed on my disk HDD that if I get a SSD one I will have to reinstall everything including windows!

Although I havent read much people getting a huge improvement, thats weird?