Budget PC Build Suggestions

[sanguinepenguinx]

I'm building a new computer for my dad on a pretty tight budget, but wanted some suggestions on how also to make the system as quiet as possible. So far, I've narrowed it down to this components, but I'm open to any suggestions and comments.

Processor:
Athlon 64 3000+ (Venice): I thought the 90 nm process might help.

Motherboard:
Asus A8N-VM, MSI K8GM2-FID, or Biostar TFORCE
I have no idea what to get. Requirements are onboard graphics, LAN, and sound. I'm planning on running Linux so I'd prefer boards that have been known to work.
According to Newegg, onboard graphics for AMD processors are only on uATX boards. Is this correct?

Memory:
Corsair 1 GB stick

HDD:
Samsung SpinPoint P Series 160GB

Optical Drive:
I'll take a look around the articles again, but recommendations are welcome.

Enclosure:
Antec Minuet II: Not sure if I'll have enough power (220W included)
This is also totally open to suggestions because there are way too many to choose from. I think I need a uATX case (see above). The requirements are an included power supply (preference for quiet is implied here)

I think that's about all. Thanks in advance!

[Erssa]

I'm building a new computer for my dad on a pretty tight budget, but wanted some suggestions on how also to make the system as quiet as possible. So far, I've narrowed it down to this components, but I'm open to any suggestions and comments.

Processor:
Athlon 64 3000+ (Venice): I thought the 90 nm process might help.

Motherboard:
Asus A8N-VM, MSI K8GM2-FID, or Biostar TFORCE
I have no idea what to get. Requirements are onboard graphics, LAN, and sound. I'm planning on running Linux so I'd prefer boards that have been known to work.
According to Newegg, onboard graphics for AMD processors are only on uATX boards. Is this correct?

Memory:
Corsair 1 GB stick

HDD:
Samsung SpinPoint P Series 160GB

Optical Drive:
I'll take a look around the articles again, but recommendations are welcome.

Enclosure:
Antec Minuet II: Not sure if I'll have enough power (220W included)
This is also totally open to suggestions because there are way too many to choose from. I think I need a uATX case (see above). The requirements are an included power supply (preference for quiet is implied here)

I think that's about all. Thanks in advance!

220W will be enough. Good choise of components imo. Minuet is a slimline case, so the usual SPCR advice of Ninja is out of question for cpu cooling.

[sanguinepenguinx]

wow, the ninja is huge... i'm considering buying it for my own computer

thanks for the reply

[tempeteduson]

You might want to stick with NVIDIA chipsets for their good Linux support; ATI's is terrible AFAIK. One bit of evidence to support that: Maximum PC's recent $300 PC that featured an S754 MSI mobo with ATI's Xpress 200 integrated graphics wouldn't work on Linux with ATI drivers; they had to use the generic Linux driver.

I've had a not-so-good experience with a Biostar Socket A board; it has caused some instability and crashes and occasionally has a problem with ports not working. But the Biostar TForce series has gotten overall very good reviews, and the A8N-VM perhaps a bit low for ASUS. I think either is a good choice for the system you're building.

And, yes, 220 W is quite enough for an "integrated" system.

[Tibors]

For cheap and quiet CPU cooling: Arctic Cooling Silencer 64 Ultra $13.49 @ Newegg or $19.99 @ Newegg for the version with temp controlled fan.

The non-Tforce version of that Biostar mobo is $59.00 @ Newegg which saves you $10 over the Tforce version. It uses the same chips so it should be equally supported under Linux. And I second the ATI+Linux=

[Erssa]

You might want to stick with NVIDIA chipsets for their good Linux support; ATI's is terrible AFAIK. One bit of evidence to support that: Maximum PC's recent $300 PC that featured an S754 MSI mobo with ATI's Xpress 200 integrated graphics wouldn't work on Linux with ATI drivers; they had to use the generic Linux driver.

Just so you know Asus A8N-VM CSM and linux don't go hand in hand. Asus support is a joke. Linux people have continually emailed Asus starting from the release of the first bios, because there is a typo in the bios screwing up the ACPI. 2 moths and they haven't fixed this typo of 1 mark...

I've had a not-so-good experience with a Biostar Socket A board; it has caused some instability and crashes and occasionally has a problem with ports not working.

Not really relevant, as you admit later.

But the Biostar TForce series has gotten overall very good reviews, and the A8N-VM perhaps a bit low for ASUS. I think either is a good choice for the system you're building.

Agreed. MSI has a good board also. Much better manual etc then Asus and the feedback seems better too. Granted Asus was the first on market and sells in bigger quantities, so that might skewing the informatition, however it doesn't remove the fact that A8N-VM CSM is a poor mobo from a tier1 manufacturer. Worst manual in the business, clueless support, and forums seem to be down pretty often, not that the forums are of much use anyway.

I'm not and expert on Ati with linux, but if claims of tempeteduson hold true, and you use linux, it's better to be safe then sorry.
However on windows platform I would choose Ati chipset just as easily as Nvidia, if the price and features are right. Almost every Ati Xpress 200 mobo with IGP has sb450 southbridge, which has poor USB2 speed, so if you use an external USB2 drive, don't pick the one with Ati chipset. However from my experience and from what I have read, I can tell you that nf430 mobos have had some usb-issues aswell, not with speed, but with disconnects, lagging etc...

Edit: I read the first post more carefully. As long as you are planning going with Linux, forget the Asus. MSI K8NGM2-FID is the clear winner here.

[qviri]

Enclosure:
Antec Minuet II: Not sure if I'll have enough power (220W included)
This is also totally open to suggestions because there are way too many to choose from. I think I need a uATX case (see above). The requirements are an included power supply (preference for quiet is implied here)

Just to clarify, you can put a micro-ATX board in a full-ATX case. (Not the other way around, though, of course.)

[sanguinepenguinx]

Thanks for the advice against ATI chipsets. I personally had tons of problems getting a 9800 Pro card working on my linux box and don't want to deal with that again.

The non-Tforce version of that Biostar mobo is $59.00 @ Newegg which saves you $10 over the Tforce version. It uses the same chips so it should be equally supported under Linux.

Tibors: Is there any difference between the two other than additional support for the FX and X2 Athlon chips?

I read the first post more carefully. As long as you are planning going with Linux, forget the Asus. MSI K8NGM2-FID is the clear winner here.

Erssa: Why does the MSI have an edge over the Biostar?

Just to clarify, you can put a micro-ATX board in a full-ATX case. (Not the other way around, though, of course.)

I didn't that, though it's obvious now that I think about it.

[Erssa]

Erssa: Why does the MSI have an edge over the Biostar?

It's plain feature advantage:
1) Gf6150 that MSI has, has HD support upto 1080i, gf6100 in biostart doesn't . Gf6150 is better overall.
2) MSI has DVI connector in addition to VGA, biostar has only VGA.
3) MSI has 1gb lan, biostar 10/100.
4) MSI has 8 channel HD audio, biostart has crappier 6-channel audio (not HD).
5) MSI has one firewire port in rear IO, biostar doesn't, however both of them have option for 1 extra firewire.
6) MSI has 4 sata connectors, biostart only 2 (hardly an issue).
7) Purely an opinion, but MSI has the best manual I have seen on nf430 mobos.

However Biostar is probably the best overclocker amongst the s939 mobos with IGP.

[sanguinepenguinx]

It's plain feature advantage:
1) Gf6150 that MSI has, has HD support upto 1080i, gf6100 in biostart doesn't . Gf6150 is better overall.
2) MSI has DVI connector in addition to VGA, biostar has only VGA.
3) MSI has 1gb lan, biostar 10/100.
4) MSI has 8 channel HD audio, biostart has crappier 6-channel audio (not HD).
5) MSI has one firewire port in rear IO, biostar doesn't, however both of them have option for 1 extra firewire.
6) MSI has 4 sata connectors, biostart only 2 (hardly an issue).
7) Purely an opinion, but MSI has the best manual I have seen on nf430 mobos.

Sounds good, I'll get the MSI.

I'm probably going to increase the RAM to 2GB, but the rest is pretty much settled. The system will cost around $550 which is quite decent IMO.

Thanks for all the great advice, everyone![/quote]

[Erssa]

Sounds good, I'll get the MSI.

I'm probably going to increase the RAM to 2GB, but the rest is pretty much settled. The system will cost around $550 which is quite decent IMO.

Thanks for all the great advice, everyone!

I hope it works out well.

[mattthemuppet]

might be worth a lookat the Sempron line - may save you a few bucks without loosing too much performance and a bit easier to cool quietly.

[Erssa]

might be worth a lookat the Sempron line - may save you a few bucks without loosing too much performance and a bit easier to cool quietly.

Maybe, not much performance lost, but a lot of features are lost.

[mattthemuppet]

you win some you lose some - just depends what a person's priorities (and pockets) are like

[Erssa]

you win some you lose some - just depends what a person's priorities (and pockets) are like

True, it all depends on what the user wants.

His father could very well be satisfied with This Asus Pundit barebone. Throw in a cheap and cool sempron and a 2.5" HDD and you are done. The barebone comes with igp, integrated audio, external psu (should be quiet) and I think it also includes a slim line CD-rw/DVD-player. It comes with fans for cooling. 178$ at newegg, throw in additional 71e for sempron and 66$ for SAMSUNG Spinpoint M MP0402H 40GB, ~35$ for 512mb memory and you have a complete computer without a display, mouse, keyboard, speaker and OS for less then 350$. Pretty good silent value.

[QuietOC]

It's plain feature advantage:
1) Gf6150 that MSI has, has HD support upto 1080i, gf6100 in biostart doesn't . Gf6150 is better overall.

The HD content I could find played fine on both IGPs. You probably also need to buy nVidia's Purevideo to really use the HD feature of the 6150, just like you need it for most of the video features on the other GeForce6 chips. Not a real difference IMHO.

The 61x0 is much better at 3D than the Xpress 200 at the lowest resolutions due to having a real vertex shader. At normal resolutions both are mainly unusable for 3D. And certainly don't buy Socket 939 to improve IGP 3D performance, buy a cheap slim video card first.

Want to save $100? Get a low-end Sempron 64 and a Socket 754 Geforce 61x0 motherboard.

One nice feature of the BIOSTAR TForce boards is that you can save several sets of BIOS settings and load them when desired. So, I have mine running passively at 1.6GHz @ 1.1V right now, but I can very quickly reboot to 2.4GHz @ 1.5V or whatever other combinations I want.

[sanguinepenguinx]

might be worth a lookat the Sempron line - may save you a few bucks without loosing too much performance and a bit easier to cool quietly.

Maybe, not much performance lost, but a lot of features are lost.

What kind of features do you lose in the Sempron? Is Cool N Quiet as important for the Sempron line?

I probably won't get the Asus Pundit because of its onboard video and limited upgrading.
Edit: if the integrated video is compatible with linux, i'd definitely consider this as a possibility

The suggestion to use the Sempron line instead sounds good (as long as I don't lose any critical features). I'm considering the MSI-K8NGM-V, Biostar Tforce 6100, and the Biostar Geforce 6100-M7 motherboards. They're pretty much tied spec wise, so I'm not sure which one would be best to pick.

One nice feature of the BIOSTAR TForce boards is that you can save several sets of BIOS settings and load them when desired. So, I have mine running passively at 1.6GHz @ 1.1V right now, but I can very quickly reboot to 2.4GHz @ 1.5V or whatever other combinations I want.

That sounds really useful. Unless the other boards I listed have useful features as well, I'll probably get the Tforce.

On a side note, how do you put a person's name when you're quoting?

[frankgehry]

I remember this post -

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... sc&start=0

Would make a good article.

[QuietOC]

[quote="sanguinepenguinx"]
What kind of features do you lose in the Sempron? Is Cool N Quiet as important for the Sempron line?
No Cool'n'Quiet in the under 3000+ Semprons. C'n'Q would be nice to have. My "old" 90nm Sempron 2800+ (non 64) is worth about $50 on eBay. I recently sold a 130nm Athlon 64 2800+ for $100. The latter had C'n'Q slightly more cache, but pretty much identical as far as performance and cooling. I can't justify selling my old chip and spending twice as much just to gain SSE3, x86-64, and C'n'Q.

[sanguinepenguinx]

No Cool'n'Quiet in the under 3000+ Semprons. C'n'Q would be nice to have

Sounds good. thanks

Here are the cumulative specs and pricing for the components:
Antec Minuet II (65.65)
Biostar Geforece6100 (64.98 ) <-- made a cool smiley without the space,
Sempron 64 3100+ (83.99)
Wintec 1GB Ram (61.77)
Samsung Spinpoint 160 GB (85.99)
Samsung DVD burner (36.99)

Prices are probably going to change but this currently puts this build at exactly $400 which would definitely make my dad happy. I might add in an Arctic Cooling fan too for $24.98, but heard about the new heatsink for AMD processors, so I might see how loud that is first.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed their opinions and ideas in this thread!

[MikeC]

My suggestion: Give the Antec Minuet II a pass. I built one system in a Minute & managed to make it quiet, but it took a huge amount of effort & tends to overheat. You can find better cases. Look for a little more space & better I/O for air. The PSU is not very quiet either, I had to do some major surgery to make that quiet.

[sanguinepenguinx]

My suggestion: Give the Antec Minuet II a pass. I built one system in a Minute & managed to make it quiet, but it took a huge amount of effort & tends to overheat. You can find better cases. Look for a little more space & better I/O for air. The PSU is not very quiet either, I had to do some major surgery to make that quiet.

Thanks for the warning. How does the Ever Case 4252 with the Seasonic S12-330 sound instead of the Minuet?

[MikeC]

My suggestion: Give the Antec Minuet II a pass. I built one system in a Minute & managed to make it quiet, but it took a huge amount of effort & tends to overheat. You can find better cases. Look for a little more space & better I/O for air. The PSU is not very quiet either, I had to do some major surgery to make that quiet.

Thanks for the warning. How does the Ever Case 4252 with the Seasonic S12-330 sound instead of the Minuet?

Perfect. Fantastic low cost cool/quiet combo.

[QuietOC]

My suggestion: Give the Antec Minuet II a pass. I built one system in a Minute & managed to make it quiet, but it took a huge amount of effort & tends to overheat. You can find better cases. Look for a little more space & better I/O for air. The PSU is not very quiet either, I had to do some major surgery to make that quiet.

Mike was it a Minuet or a Minuet II?

My Minuet II was plenty quiet. The hard drive and Zalman 7000Cu were the only annoying noises I heard, and neither is really the case's fault. I didn't do even do any mods and it ran quite cool. I did set the 80mm Tri-cool to the lowest setting, and I set my 19" CRT on top of it--maybe that helped.

It would be nice if it were smaller and/or have some means of running a full-height video card.