Athlon 64 FX-53 Machine

inxil · Post by **inxil** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 8:01 pm

Firstly, I'd like to say thanks for all the help I've been given on these forums, as well as thanks for all the extremely helpful information on this site. I'll be sure to order many of my parts through SPCR's sponsors.

After a few revisions, I've come up with the following components. A few things are left out (I already own a monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, et cetera). These are the guts of the machine, though. Any feedback is appreciated. I hope someone will find this information useful.

My primary focus is power, but low noise takes a very close second. Price is not much of an issue, so certain decisions were made without taking price into consideration (the excessive RAM, namely). Here it is:

ANTEC SLK3700AMB Case (which I already own)
Nexus 120 mm Real Silent Case Fan (x2)
Seasonic Super Silencer 400 (SS-400AGX)
Asus A8V-Deluxe Via K8T800Pro Athlon 64(FX) Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard
AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 FX-53, 1MB L2 Cache, Windows Compatible 64-bit Processor
Zalman CNPS7000-Cu CPU Cooler
Arctic Silver 5
Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, 184 Pin 2GB(1GB x 2) DDR PC-3200PT (x2)
High Tech ATI RADEON 9800PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "EXCALIBUR R9800PRO ICEQ"
SAMSUNG 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model SP1614C (x2)
Plextor 12X DVD+/-RW Drive, Model PX-712A Black
Mitsumi USB Digital Card Reader/Writer W/FD (Black)INTERNAL, Model FA404A/404M
Creative Labs Audigy II ZS Platinum Pro
Zonet V.92 56K PCI Data/Fax Modem, Model ZFM5620-CF
CyberPower 8 Outlet Surge Protector, Model "880"
Plantronics .Audio 90 Stereo Headset with In-Line Volume and Mute Control
AcoustiPack™ Pre-Cut Kit for AcoustiCase™ C6607 (AP C6607) - for SLK3700AMB

For those who are interested, the final price comes to:

TOTAL (with 4GB RAM): $3417.66
TOTAL (with 2GB RAM): $2808.66

I do still have two questions, though:

Do I need 2 120mm case fans, or can I get away with just one?
Do I need the AcoustiPack foam? The SLK3700AMB is already pretty heavy. I don't mind it if it'll make a real difference, but if it'd add significant weight and won't help much, it might not make sense. When I'm back up at school, I will be sleeping next to my computer, so the quieter the better, but I also have to transport it back and forth, so the lighter the better

Thanks again for all the help!

Chris

Elixer · Post by **Elixer** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 8:52 pm

You can probably get away with just one fan. The main point of a 2nd fan would be to help hard drive cooling, which if you're only running 2 7200rpm hard drives shouldn't be a problem in that case. Something I would recommend is getting some kind of fan controler(s) for your fan(s). Personally, I really like Zalman fanmates (fit all fans that have 3 pin connector). That way you can slow your fan(s) for the best cooling/noise ratio. If I were you I would go for two fans, but throttle the front one way down to keep the noise low, leaving the back one at a higher speed. If the front fan is for some reason too noisy, you can always take it out.

Also, a couple of things you might consider are a 2nd monitor for a dual monitor workstation (great for multitasking), and UPS to protect your computer.

And one final thing, that memory is registered right? I believe Athlon 64 FXs require registered memory to work (someone double check me on that)

TomLevy · Post by **TomLevy** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:16 pm

Elixer wrote:And one final thing, that memory is registered right? I believe Athlon 64 FXs require registered memory to work (someone double check me on that)

Only the 940-pin ones do. The 939s take regular memory.

tempeteduson · Post by **tempeteduson** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:44 pm

Fine choices, inxil, but have you considered Sennheiser's PC 155 headset as an alternative to the Plantronics .Audio 90 (which is in itself a great headset)? The Sennheiser can accept 3.5mm or USB input.

Michael_qrt · Post by **Michael_qrt** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:56 pm

Nice hardware!

The only additional question/suggestion I have is why "only" a 9800 pro. If yoou're spending that ammount of money why not go with 2gb ram and gat a X800XT or 6800 ultra? I mean you might as well go the whole hog if you plan to do any gaming or just want bragging rights. I believe HIS and Sapphire are coming out with X800 series cards that have the next gen vga silencer on them as stock. Also the X800 series has the same HS mounting holes as the 9800 series so you could mount a VGA silencer on one of these too remembering that the X800pro dissipates less heat than the 9800XT and the X800XT only a little more.

Just a suggestion, man I would love to have that hardware.

Sardaan · Post by **Sardaan** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 4:59 am

Michael_qrt wrote:Nice hardware!

The only additional question/suggestion I have is why "only" a 9800 pro. If yoou're spending that ammount of money why not go with 2gb ram and gat a X800XT or 6800 ultra?

I agree, upgrade that video card while you are spending the money.

inxil · Post by **inxil** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 7:06 am

The only thing is I don't want to compromise noise for power in the video card because I'll very rarely be doing anything with intense 3D graphics. Would there be a difference in noise between the 9800 Pro and HIS's Excalibur X800 XT IceQ II? And for that matter, in the above configuration, would I notice the difference between a fanless video card and one with the IceQ cooling system?

tragus · Post by **tragus** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 12:54 pm

If you're not going for 3D rendering, you might consider one of the upper-end Matrox cards (e.g., P650, P750). Passively cooled, superb text and 2-D graphics, native dual DVI output--quite a nice combination.

Be aware that many SPCR folks are noticing that a significant number of Samsung 160 MB drives come with a louder JVC motor. Be sure to ask/buy one with NIDEC motor.

If you *need* the DVD writer right now, go for it. Plextor is the best, with the price to match. However, if you can put up with a slower/smaller/non-writable for a little while, the dual-layer drvies that are coming on the market may have longer staying power for a high-end machine.

As someone else mentioned, having two fans doesn't mean you need them both on. During the winter, I turn my front fans off with relatively cool room air.

I, and some other readers, have experienced hum/resonance with the 3700AMB case and certain hard drives. Dampening the sides of the case and/or fully isolating/suspending the hard drvies takes care of the problem.

Krash · Post by **Krash** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 1:53 pm

If you are not doing 3d rendering why do you want so much ram

Michael_qrt · Post by **Michael_qrt** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 3:07 pm

inxil wrote:The only thing is I don't want to compromise noise for power in the video card because I'll very rarely be doing anything with intense 3D graphics. Would there be a difference in noise between the 9800 Pro and HIS's Excalibur X800 XT IceQ II? And for that matter, in the above configuration, would I notice the difference between a fanless video card and one with the IceQ cooling system?

Well I haven't heard any reports as to how loud the IceQ II system is but it would be resonable to expect it to be at least as good as the original. I mean the X800 pro puts out less heat than the 9800XT and the X800XT only a little more. They both put out considerably less heat than the 9800 series when at idle, so unless the performance of the IceQ II heatsink is worse than the original you should be able to run the fan as slowly and quietly.

Something to think about anyway.

hvengel · Post by **hvengel** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 12:12 pm

For a 2D only Windows only machine the Matrox cards are great particularly for a dual or triple (P750) monitor setup. But if you think you may want to give Linux a try the P650 and P750 Linux drivers are a real mess. The Matrox web site claims that these cards are supported under Linux but Linux users with these cards will dispute that claim in very strong terms. I have a Matrox 450 and the Linux drivers are excelent. Many Linux users that had run the 400s and 450s and really liked these cards "upgraded" to P650s and P750s and have been complaining about how bad the drivers are for over a year. See the Linux forum on the Matrox site for details.

The 3D cards with the best Linux support are the NVidia cards. ATI Linux drivers are improving but a little behind the NVidia drivers. The 64 bit NVidia drivers are out but not the ATI drivers and the 3D support is not as good.

(Off topic) Yes in Linux you can actualy run your new 64 bit machine as a full 64 bit machine (OS, applications and drivers) today. When will you be able to do that in Windows?

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 6:52 pm

Matrox Windows drivers aren't that great either. Been there, done that. I'd think twice before going with anything other than nVidia or ATI. If you don't plan to play games, then get one of the lower end models that produce less heat.

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 10:10 am

I would get the HIS X800 Pro. It will be much quieter than the stock cooler of any of the Radeons. At idle, heat ouput is less than the 9800 pro and 9800XT. Only under load does the heat output get higher than those two cards.

Also, don't buy 4GB of RAM because that is overkill. Wouldn't 1GB be enough?