Rebuilding quiet PC.

[ksmigrodzki]

Greetings from Poland!

Another usual story, my old PC gave up, unfortunately it was motherboard. I'm thinking about new build.

Things that remain from old PC:

• Antec P182 case.
• ATA DVD RW permanently stuck in that case.
• Corsair VX450 PSU
• Scythe Ninja Copper (old one with LGA775 mount only, so useless now a days).
• Nvidia 9600GT, passive.
• Two 24” 1920x1200 displays, that require DVI-D connectors.
• USB Keyboard and mouse.
• Programmable 4 fan controller.

My expectations and usage patterns:

• Linux only PC
• 720p video playback, hardware decoding acceleration available on Nvidia GPUs only, otherwise it must be processed by CPU
• Optical SPDIF on motherboard is a must.
• I'll use this PC for programming, and all-round Internet usage. Nowadays dual-core, 1,2GHz mobile Celeron is sufficient for me performance-wise, but single core Atom is not.
• PC should by very quiet. I hope to make it low power (and cool) enough to get away with using four S-Flex 800RPM 120mm fans in that case.
• No gaming, nor 3D design, I'm database programmer, I usually work on remote servers.

Current plans:

• Athlon X3 II 400e (low power X2 is out of stock in Poland)
• Motherboard built around 780G Chipset
• Scythe Ninja 3 heat sink.
• SSD for local data (and more network attached storage in basement).
• 8GB of RAM (and no swap).
• Reuse old GPU.

Compared to previous few posters:

• I already have decent case, and don't want to change it.
• I do not need quad core heater inside that case.
• I do not need lots of storage space, so there is no issue of vibration dampening.
• I need to drive two 24” displays, most IGP do not support two active digital outputs.
• I believe that computer should be fast enough to do whats needed and no hotter.
• I don't have loads of cash to build workstation around low power Xeon and Quadro NVS.

What do You think about this build, any suggestions? Maybe proposition of quiet Intel build?

[frenchie]

Well, if you don t need much power, why not stick with the LGA775 socket ?
Get a core 2 duo, a motherboard with the features you need, and you can reuse almost all of your existing hardware, no ? That would keep it dirt cheap.

I am not an expert at picking parts, but how about this :
ASUS P5G41T-M/CSM = $60
Intel core2Duo E5500 @2.8GHz = $70
OCZ Gold 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 = $75
Intel X25-M SSD 80GB = $172
total is $377
You will have to check the prices in Poland though

You can reuse your existing cooler, video card, case and psu. And you won t need many fans to keep it quiet, one exhaust might be enough...

[quest_for_silence]

• Athlon X3 II 400e (low power X2 is out of stock in Poland)

Until you got a very good deal (usually, eBay), avoid: they are heavily overpriced and too much slow.
IME you could do better undervolting a standard Athlon II than paying the full premium for a 45W one (I have two -e CPU).

• Motherboard built around 780G Chipset

Are you sure? It seems a bit outdated.

• Scythe Ninja 3 heat sink.

Give a reading to SPCR relevant test: given the great expectations, it just *sucks*, IMO.
The Mugen 2 Rev. B seems far better: but are you sure that no retention mechanism may save your old Ninja?

What do You think about this build, any suggestions? Maybe proposition of quiet Intel build?

Intel cannot go for cheap: but if in case, something as an Intel E5600 should outperform an X3 400e with similar temps and you may reuse your Ninja Copper. Clarkdales are also good at temps, and way faster than any -e AMD: P55 mobos aren't cheap, but with Sandy Bridge in town I hope you may find a good deal.

[ksmigrodzki]

I am not an expert at picking parts, but how about this :
ASUS P5G41T-M/CSM = $60
Intel core2Duo E5500 @2.8GHz = $70
OCZ Gold 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 = $75
Intel X25-M SSD 80GB = $172
total is $377
You will have to check the prices in Poland though

Maybe it is a good idea. Going further this way, a could reuse old memory (4x2GB DDR2). They were the first suspect in computer failure investigation, but a night with memtest on friend's computer cleared them out.

ASUS LGA775 motherboards are not aviable, but I found ASRock P43DE = $60,
Also E5500 are out of stock, the slowest aviable dual core is E6500 = $73,
And I think I'll go for SandForce based SSD. I have one in notebook and I'm happy with its performance. 120GB = $220

[quest_for_silence]

Also E5500 are out of stock, the slowest aviable dual core is E6500 = $73

Look also for E5700 or E5800.

[twitch]

I am upgrading my E6600 + evga 680i sli motherboard + 6gb ddr2 ram to a sandybridge system. Not sure how much shipping will cost to poland, but I was planning to put it on ebay. Let me know if you're interested. Also have retail cooler for the cpu and arctic cooler

[maalitehdas]

I think I should recommend my chimney-build, since you have a set of similar parts there. My system is still running, but nowadays this performance level can be reached with lower wattage. viewtopic.php?f=30&t=57619

[ksmigrodzki]

E6600 + evga 680i sli motherboard + 6gb ddr2 (...) how much shipping will cost to poland

Thanks, but no.

I'm under impression that nvidia sli chipsets are power hog.

I think I should recommend my chimney-build, (...), but nowadays this performance level can be reached with lower wattage.

I hoped that a I would be able to build low wattage machine. Unfortunately I couldn't find motherboard designed for mobile (low power) processor with decent footprint for cpu cooler.

[frenchie]

With that motherboard, an e6500 with a ninja, a low power passive video card, the PSU in a separate chamber and an SSD, you only need one exhasut fan at the back of the case and one fan next to the 9600GT too probably. And that's it !! you don't need any other fans in there !
The ninja copper can easily handle that e6500 passively (I had an overclocked e7200 with a passive mini ninja that never went over 60°C under full load for hours).
You might need to test different speeds for the fans, but 7V for both should be more than enough IMO.
Let us know how it turns out !