I’m now in the final stages of choosing the parts for my quiet system. Any further comments would be really helpful.
The computer will be used for mainly design work, and some video stuff later on, office applications, music, films and occasionally games. Also it will be used in Tokyo where it is hot and humid in the summer. It will be in a room without aircon so ambient temps in summer will be 30+ degrees C.
Its likely that I will experiment a little with overclocking in the future. This is my first system. These are my choices/options:
Case: Antec P150
Proc: Core 2 Duo E6600
Motherboard: P5B-E Plus or P5B Deluxe
Memory: PQI DDR2-800
GPU: Asus EN8600GT Silent (fanless), EN8600GT (with fan), Asus EN7900GS, Sapphire Radeon X1950 PRO, Galaxy GF P79GS-SP/256D3 (7900GS) with coolermaster fan (not been able to find the version with the Zalman fan)
HDD: Samsung HD321KJ
DVD: Asus DRW-1814BLT
HSF: Scythe Ninja Plus Rev.B, Scythe Arctic Freezer 7 Pro, or SI-120
The P5B-E Plus will be my most likely choice as this seems to fit my needs quite well, but I haven’t ruled out the P5B Deluxe completely, although it is about $50 more expensive. The cooling seems better on the deluxe, which is an important issue here in summer.
In terms of video cards I've read a lot about the 8600GT and most of it has been bad, hence the 7900GS options. What I dont know about is the quietness of the 7900GS cards. I've heard for example that the sapphire is a little noisy. All the cards are in the same ball park in terms of price so advice and experiences would really help me out.
The Ninja seems very highly regarded but I get the impression it may not be so easy to fit hence the alternative of the freezer 7 Pro which I’ve read is relatively easy to fit, quiet and effective.
Thanks in advance.
new quiet system - final choices and a couple of questions
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First thing that comes to mind is that that Scythe Ninja Rev. B does not fit p5b without using a dremel to chop up some of the mounting gear. The reason it does not fit is that the motherboard power caps get in the way of the mounting gear, meaning that the cooler cannot be mounted with proper pressure. The result: poor cooling performance!
As for vid card, it depends really. If you want the best performance out of the ones you described, you cannot look past the x1950, it is one powerful card. Loud and hot are its shortcomings.
Between 7900GS and 8600gt, the 7900gs will blow the 8600gt out of the water performance wise, but the 8600gt will be silent from the factory and is direct x 10 and hdcp (high definition compliant) ready. So if performance is the way you want to go, the 7900gs is your option (if you don't go for the x1950, the x1950 is the most powerful of your choices). If you want maximum future compatibility, the 8600gt is your option.
So I would say if your not playing powerful games that need crazy amounts of hardware, go for the 8600gt. It is already silent, and should be cheaper than the 7900gs and x1950. IF you are playing powerful games, go for the x1950 and throw on some aftermarket cooling.
As for mobo, if cooling is the concern, your better of with the p5b-e and throwing on aftermarket cooling. You could use thermalright's hr-05 for the northbridge chipset and ramsinks for the mosfets. This would provide superior cooling to the p5b e.
As for vid card, it depends really. If you want the best performance out of the ones you described, you cannot look past the x1950, it is one powerful card. Loud and hot are its shortcomings.
Between 7900GS and 8600gt, the 7900gs will blow the 8600gt out of the water performance wise, but the 8600gt will be silent from the factory and is direct x 10 and hdcp (high definition compliant) ready. So if performance is the way you want to go, the 7900gs is your option (if you don't go for the x1950, the x1950 is the most powerful of your choices). If you want maximum future compatibility, the 8600gt is your option.
So I would say if your not playing powerful games that need crazy amounts of hardware, go for the 8600gt. It is already silent, and should be cheaper than the 7900gs and x1950. IF you are playing powerful games, go for the x1950 and throw on some aftermarket cooling.
As for mobo, if cooling is the concern, your better of with the p5b-e and throwing on aftermarket cooling. You could use thermalright's hr-05 for the northbridge chipset and ramsinks for the mosfets. This would provide superior cooling to the p5b e.
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First off, where do u plan on purchasing your parts?
is there a specific reason for choosing PQI DDR2-800?
you could look into some G-Skill RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6820231114
Im not so sure about the previous poster saying 7900GS killing the 8600GT, depend on what resolution u plan on play games,
the 8600GT does better than the 7900GS in lower resolutions (1280 x 1024) but not so well in the higher resolutions due to the limited memory bit.
the 8600GT also comes with passive cooler from asus
but i do not think there are passive version of the 7900 GS or x1950pro
sapphire does offer an x1950 pro with Zalman's vf900
known as x1950 pro ultimate.
is there a specific reason for choosing PQI DDR2-800?
you could look into some G-Skill RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6820231114
Im not so sure about the previous poster saying 7900GS killing the 8600GT, depend on what resolution u plan on play games,
the 8600GT does better than the 7900GS in lower resolutions (1280 x 1024) but not so well in the higher resolutions due to the limited memory bit.
the 8600GT also comes with passive cooler from asus
but i do not think there are passive version of the 7900 GS or x1950pro
sapphire does offer an x1950 pro with Zalman's vf900
known as x1950 pro ultimate.
i personally own a p5b-e and was considering upgrading the stock HSF to the Scythe Ninja, will it fit, which P5B are u refering to specifically? according to Scythe's website the Ninja is suppose to fit P5B Deluxe.derekchinese wrote:First thing that comes to mind is that that Scythe Ninja Rev. B does not fit p5b without using a dremel to chop up some of the mounting gear. The reason it does not fit is that the motherboard power caps get in the way of the mounting gear, meaning that the cooler cannot be mounted with proper pressure. The result: poor cooling performance!
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SilentShoe wrote:First off, where do u plan on purchasing your parts?
is there a specific reason for choosing PQI DDR2-800?
I'll assume he's buying the parts in the Tokyo area, and other brands arn't readily available, or are very expensive.The OP wrote:Also it will be used in Tokyo where it is hot and humid in the summer
AFAIK a 7900GS is faster than a 8600GT.SilentShoe wrote:Im not so sure about the previous poster saying 7900GS killing the 8600GT, depend on what resolution u plan on play games,
the 8600GT does better than the 7900GS in lower resolutions (1280 x 1024) but not so well in the higher resolutions due to the limited memory bit.
the 8600GT also comes with passive cooler from asus
but i do not think there are passive version of the 7900 GS or x1950pro
I don't know of any passive 7900GS's but you could easiliy make one by getting a HR-03. However there are stock passive X1950Pro's. Linky
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Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated.
The rationale for the PQI was price, but I've recently read about some conflicts with the P5B Deluxe motherboard Bios. It's looking like i may have to choose something else. My options are as follows:
(all prices are a rough conversion from Yen)
OCZ OCZ2SE8002GK DDR2 PC2-6400 System Elite Edition 1GBx2 Dual Channel Kit US$220
Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 - US$180
A-Data DDR2/800/2GB (1GBx2) Dual KIT US$170
Transcend JM2GDDR2-8K JetRAM DDR2-800 US$120
PQI (for ref) QD2800 DDR2-800 (1GB x 2) US$80
As you can see the PQI is significantly cheaper. Now I would say that the main choices would be transcend and corsair. On Newegg the transend gets some pretty good reviews. It all seems to come down to overclocking - the transcend is good for no or slight overclock, Corsair better for more aggressive overclocking. I do plan to experiment a little with overclocking but only a little so the transcend may be ok. I think I would prefer the corsair but it will depend on final budget. Any thoughts?
One more change is that I am most likely not going to get the Arctic 7 Pro HSF. Reading the reviews on the recommended CPU fans section it seems the other options are better. The scythe ninja is only slightly more expensive price. I was just worried about fitting it - looks kinda completed. Again these are my options in terms of price:
(again prices are rough conversion from Yen)
Arctic 7 Pro - US$ 30
Scythe Ninja Plus Rev B US$40
Scythe Mini Ninja (has anyone come across this before?) US$40 see translation from japanese site below (google translation so not great I'm afraid!)
LGA775 Socket478/754/939/940/AM2 corresponding low-profile type CPU cooler. Size: 110×110× height 115mm (whole cooler) 80×80× thickness 25mm (on-board fan) weight: 580g
In addition to one for 80mm of standard attachment, the 92mm fan is installed, other way attachment the clip for the possible fan. When the 120mm fan is installed, option “12cm of the difference sale FAN CLIP (SCY-12FC)â€
The rationale for the PQI was price, but I've recently read about some conflicts with the P5B Deluxe motherboard Bios. It's looking like i may have to choose something else. My options are as follows:
(all prices are a rough conversion from Yen)
OCZ OCZ2SE8002GK DDR2 PC2-6400 System Elite Edition 1GBx2 Dual Channel Kit US$220
Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 - US$180
A-Data DDR2/800/2GB (1GBx2) Dual KIT US$170
Transcend JM2GDDR2-8K JetRAM DDR2-800 US$120
PQI (for ref) QD2800 DDR2-800 (1GB x 2) US$80
As you can see the PQI is significantly cheaper. Now I would say that the main choices would be transcend and corsair. On Newegg the transend gets some pretty good reviews. It all seems to come down to overclocking - the transcend is good for no or slight overclock, Corsair better for more aggressive overclocking. I do plan to experiment a little with overclocking but only a little so the transcend may be ok. I think I would prefer the corsair but it will depend on final budget. Any thoughts?
One more change is that I am most likely not going to get the Arctic 7 Pro HSF. Reading the reviews on the recommended CPU fans section it seems the other options are better. The scythe ninja is only slightly more expensive price. I was just worried about fitting it - looks kinda completed. Again these are my options in terms of price:
(again prices are rough conversion from Yen)
Arctic 7 Pro - US$ 30
Scythe Ninja Plus Rev B US$40
Scythe Mini Ninja (has anyone come across this before?) US$40 see translation from japanese site below (google translation so not great I'm afraid!)
LGA775 Socket478/754/939/940/AM2 corresponding low-profile type CPU cooler. Size: 110×110× height 115mm (whole cooler) 80×80× thickness 25mm (on-board fan) weight: 580g
In addition to one for 80mm of standard attachment, the 92mm fan is installed, other way attachment the clip for the possible fan. When the 120mm fan is installed, option “12cm of the difference sale FAN CLIP (SCY-12FC)â€