Advice on specs for a replacement quiet computer?

[oston]

The earlier thread was deleted during the upgrade so I'm reposting this request for comments or advice in an updated spec list.
Thanks VERY much to everyone for the earlier helpful suggestions.

Background:
No gaming, but heavy Photoshop CS5 64 bit and Capture NX2 (currently only 32 bit ) use with large files sometimes over 500 MB.
Need a very quiet computer because it's used in our living room.
Changes from earlier spec:
I'm thinking of starting with onboard graphics (hence AMD MB) to avoid graphics card fan. If performance is an issue, I can add a graphics card later.
NB: I use two monitors, one large (Adobe RGB) for images and one for program palettes so DVI + VGA outputs would work.
I changed SDD scratch disk to Sata3 HDD, but I'm having problems determining which is a good choice for a fast AND quiet small HDD
I might wait to see the reviews of motherboards based on the new Intel "Sandy Bridge" processors.

Spec V2 for quiet computer:
CASE: Antec P183 ATX Tower Case Black 11 Drive Bay 4X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB & Sound
But if I went with the Fortress F02, would I need to get the Noctua NF-p12 fan?
FAN: Noctua NF-P12-1300 120MM Ultra Quiet Cooling Fan 1100-1300RPM 63-92M3/H 12.6-19.8DBA Molex
PS: Seasonic X-400FL ATX 12V 24PIN 400W Active PFC 80PLUS Gold Fanless Power Supply
MB: Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H 890GX AM3 ATX DDR3 2PCI-E 2PCI SATA3 USB3.0 HDMI GBLAN CrossFireX Motherboard
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Quad Core Processor AM3 3.4GHZ 8MB Cache 125W 45NM Retail Box
CPU Fan: Noctua NH-D14 LGA775/1156/1366/AM3 I7/I5/PHENOM Heatpipe Cooler W/ NF-P14 140MM & NF-P12 120MM Fan
RAM: 8 GB Corsair XMS CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 2X4GB DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit
(NB: might go with 16 MB)
SSD (OS): Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive
HDD Data: Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB SATA2 7200RPM 32MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM
HDD Scratch: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM
DVD: Sony AD-7241S 24X DVD Writer Lightscribe SATA Black OEM
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM

All comments and opinions are warmly welcomed
Thanks
Jim
jhsw.ca

[HappyJack96]

I read your earlier post and replied before it was lost. That was regarding your choice of Patriot SSD, which seem to have VERY POOR reliability. Good to see you've changed that!

Unless you're building a system to last for YEARS (5+) you might consider a less expensive CPU and Board for the short term. Reasoning is waiting for the architecture changes from both AMD & Intel, before spending excessive money. DDR4 RAM is also upcoming, but I've read it may be closer to 2015.

It appears that PCIe 3.0 will be backward compatible with 2.0. So you could spend more generously today for a discrete graphics card if needed, then use it with an upgraded Board in the future.

For myself, I'd go cheap(er) on the CPU and Board. Then I've spent the least amount of money if I replace both in a couple of years. Reusing DDR3 RAM if possible, with AMD Bulldozer or Intel Sandy Bridge, would be a bonus. Hope this helps!

Russell

[oston]

I read your earlier post and replied before it was lost. That was regarding your choice of Patriot SSD, which seem to have VERY POOR reliability. Good to see you've changed that!

Unless you're building a system to last for YEARS (5+) you might consider a less expensive CPU and Board for the short term. Reasoning is waiting for the architecture changes from both AMD & Intel, before spending excessive money. DDR4 RAM is also upcoming, but I've read it may be closer to 2015.

It appears that PCIe 3.0 will be backward compatible with 2.0. So you could spend more generously today for a discrete graphics card if needed, then use it with an upgraded Board in the future.

For myself, I'd go cheap(er) on the CPU and Board. Then I've spent the least amount of money if I replace both in a couple of years. Reusing DDR3 RAM if possible, with AMD Bulldozer or Intel Sandy Bridge, would be a bonus. Hope this helps!

Russell

Many thanks, Russell. I'be quite happy with my current computer, actually, but our daughter really does need a more modern computer than her year 2000 model. So my plan is to give her mine and build a replacement so I won't be able to use anything from that computer. But I don't expect to upgrade again for several years, if ever (I'm in my mid 70's!!) That's why I might wait for the Bulldozer/Sandy Bridge boards.

Thanks again

Jim

[HappyJack96]

I've thought about your situation and you should be very well served by the CPU and Board you've chosen. I'm waiting on architecture change from AMD myself (6 months+ away?) but I can live with my Intel Core 2 Duo & DDR2-800 for years.

Smart choice on the RAM (though I only use Kingston personally) since 1333MHz speed is as fast as the GA-890GPA-UD3H can go without overclocking. Also ideal to max out two slots (2x 4GB) leaving other two empty for expanding in the future.

I'll guess the X4 processor is also a smart buy. I have read that Photoshop may not benefit from more than a quad-core, however it does like a lot of RAM. So if budget permits now, consider maximum for your Board (16GB!) and be done with it; or wait until the price drops on another 8GB kit.

The only change I'd make (for me) would be downsizing the Board, but I'll likely never have one discrete graphics card, much less two. Probably good to have the option for adding one (two?!) later, if you need it. I've got my eye on the Seasonic X-400 Fanless also, so I agree with that choice. Cases get personal, but many will say Antec SOLO is one of the best. Voted with my dollars on that one & it's sitting right next to me.

Russell

[oston]

Thanks, Russell. I currently have the Antec Solo case, so that is still an option, because I do like the case, it's really quiet.
This spec was put together without thinking too much about cost, so the final step will be to consider each item taking cost into consideration. Items such as the extra 8 GB RAM that can easily be deferred, will be. I expect that the iniital cost of "Sandy Bridge" boards will be more expensive than I would like
I also usually use Kingston, but I could not find A 2X4gb option in the NCIX configurator I was using. That could be an adjustment when I go through the item list to find the best prices.

Thanks again

Jim

[ilovejedd]

I expect that the iniital cost of "Sandy Bridge" boards will be more expensive than I would like

Hmm, don't really think that's going to be the case. Since we're getting "mainstream" Sandy Bridge parts, I think it quite likely that there will be boards available in the $100 range. I wonder if AMD will start releasing Bulldozer performance numbers in time with Sandy Bridge's release...

[HappyJack96]

Regarding specs, I was curious if you chose the GA-890GPA-UD3H specifically for the potential of using two graphics cards. Besides appearing to be an overall excellent board, especially for the price (received both Dam Good & Value awards from HardwareCanucks) it could be overkill with no discrete graphics. But it will fit in the Antec SOLO, opposed to smaller cases such as the NSK3480, a mATX favorite here at SPCR.

Good idea on the RAM; 8GB should be plenty to start out with and a second kit will go under $100 eventually. The main reason to have more in your situation, would be for memory hungry Photoshop. Even if you'd consider another 8GB RAM to avoid/decrease using a scratch disk, you might be better served with a SSD.

Currently at ~$150 you can have the Crucial RealSSD C300 with 64GB, compared to 8GB Corsair RAM for about the same price. Although RAM is faster, you'd have 7X more scratch space and it will outperform any single hard drive. Bonus is the Crucial C300 has newest 6Gb/s SATA interface, which the board you're considering supports.

Even for your system disk, the Crucial RealSSD 64GB is less $ than the X25-M 80GB, plus you'll avoid an Intel product in your AMD build In this scenario, you could simply partition a 1TB HDD for scratch & data, thus avoiding a 2nd HDD altogether; unless one is wanted for backup/redundancy. If the decision is made to upgrade your SSD in a couple years, the Crucial RealSSD could then be assigned to scratch duty for its remaining life.

Russell

[oston]

Thanks, Russell.
The MB wasn't chosen so much for the ability to add 2 graphics cards, so much as it has on board DVI and VGA for two monitors and it got good reviews.
I've revised the spec slightly to reduce costs - found a 128GB SSD for under $200 from Kingston, so eliminated a separate scratch drive.

Revised Spec V3; Cost is now $Can1357 + Tax and shipping.
CASE: Antec Solo Quiet Mini Tower Case ATX Silver Black 4X5.25 4X3.5INT No PS
FAN: Noctua NF-P12-1300 120MM Ultra Quiet Cooling Fan 1100-1300RPM 63-92M3/H 12.6-19.8DBA Molex
PS: Seasonic X-400FL ATX 12V 24PIN 400W Active PFC 80PLUS Gold Fanless Power Supply
MB: Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H 890GX AM3 ATX DDR3 2PCI-E 2PCI SATA3 USB3.0 HDMI GBLAN CrossFireX Motherboard
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 6 Core Processor 2.8GHZ Socket AM3 Retail Box
CPU Fan: Noctua NH-D14 LGA775/1156/1366/AM3 I7/I5/PHENOM Heatpipe Cooler W/ NF-P14 140MM & NF-P12 120MM Fan
RAM: 8 GB Corsair XMS CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 2X4GB DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit
SSD (OS): Kingston SSDNow V Series Gen II 128GB 2.5IN SATA2 Solid State Disk Flash Drive
HDD Data: Samsung Spinpoint F2 Ecogreen 1.5TB SATA2 8.9MS 32MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM
DVD: Sony AD-7241S 24X DVD Writer Lightscribe SATA Black OEM
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM

I've decided to wait until the new year before buying everything. That will allow some time to evaluate the new sandy bridge boards. I would like a MB with dual DVI output, but as far as I can see they don't exist. But I expect dual displayport outputs will be coming with the new MB.

Thanks again, everyone, for all the help.
Jim

[HappyJack96]

From everything I've read so far, more cores is just burning money for using Photoshop, at least today. Many even feel a dual-core processor is plenty and can save you MUCH $. Moving up, a faster 4-core will be better than a slower 6-core. Of course a future PS version will likely utilize ALL cores (it doesn't now) but by then you're upgrading the software & possibly needing some new hardware also.

You are correct, there is no dual DVI on desktop boards. Many are DVI+HDMI, but unfortunately both can't be used at once. If you can live with one monitor being Analog/VGA, then you'll be set with DVI+VGA. However, even an inexpensive, passively cooled PCIe graphics card will outperform integrated on any board, and you can have dual digital output; either DVI+DVI, or DVI+HDMI (2nd DVI with adapter cable).

With a discrete graphics option, now consider the GA-880GMA-UD2H, a mATX board similar to one you've chosen in important ways: Ultra Durable 3 copper layered PCB, all Solid Capacitors, [4] DDR3 DIMM sockets (16GB total), [2] USB 3.0, [5] 6Gb/s SATA, rear eSATA, PCIe x4 slot (think future PCIe card SSD) in addition to a PCIe x16 slot for graphics. Cost is ~$30 LESS then you're going to pay for the other board.

Russell

[oston]

The 6 core choice is because of a hoped for change to the way NX2 processes batch processes. It's single threaded at the moment, but there's a possibility that later releases might process 1 image per core.

Thanks for the MB suggestion. I'm going to wait for the "Sandy Bridge" board before making a decision. They seem to be going the displayport route which is fine.

Thanks again

Jim