Advice for new core 2 duo pc would be much appreciated!

[jltk87]

Hi, im planning to build a very quiet pc based around an intel core 2 duo e6600.


so far the componants im thinking of getting are:

Intel core 2 duo e6600

antec phantom 500w

scythe ninja heatsink

antec p180 case

2x512mb of corsair ddr2 800mhz memory

3 or 2 22.8 dba nexus black and white case fans

creative audigy 2 sound card pulled from existing pc.


if you could give me your opinion on these componants that would be great.

also if anyone has any suggestions for a motherboard and hard drive that must be very silent but at the same time not skimp on performance (looking at sata 2 200-300g)

any sugestions for a graphics card would be great as well (hopeing to spend around £100) i dont play many games at the moment but i cant use my old agp card (ati 9600 pro) i would like to use 2 monitors at the same time.


this system has to last me through uni (4 years!) im upgradeing from an amd athlon 2600 system.

any advice would be great.

[stromgald]

Hi, im planning to build a very quiet pc based around an intel core 2 duo e6600.


so far the componants im thinking of getting are:

Intel core 2 duo e6600

antec phantom 500w

scythe ninja heatsink

antec p180 case

2x512mb of corsair ddr2 800mhz memory

3 or 2 22.8 dba nexus black and white case fans

creative audigy 2 sound card pulled from existing pc.


if you could give me your opinion on these componants that would be great.

also if anyone has any suggestions for a motherboard and hard drive that must be very silent but at the same time not skimp on performance (looking at sata 2 200-300g)

any sugestions for a graphics card would be great as well (hopeing to spend around £100) i dont play many games at the moment but i cant use my old agp card (ati 9600 pro) i would like to use 2 monitors at the same time.


this system has to last me through uni (4 years!) im upgradeing from an amd athlon 2600 system.

any advice would be great.

Welcome to SPCR!


Its kindof hard to argue against those parts you selected since they are all pretty good, but I think it may be a bit excessive. With a cooler processor and not very high demand in graphics, I'm not sure if a P180 is the cheapest/easiest solution. A P150 or SOLO might be better. Also, the 500W PSU is way more than your system will use, so something smaller might be better.

For the hard drive, I'd recommend looking at some of the new Western Digital hard drives. They're cool and quiet, and hopefully they kept their reliability from the older models. ASUS has some good passive motherboards for Core2Duo. You should check out anandtech.com since they recently had a review of several Core2Duo compatible motherboards.

For the graphics card, I'd suggest a passive 7600GT from Asus or Gigabyte. The 7600GT will give you good performance for some moderate gaming and should have enough performance to last at least 3 years (unless you become a hardcore gamer and need bleeding edge performance ).

[L3thal]

I'm building a similar syetem as we speak...just waitin on the processor.
Most components look good from here. There really aren't alot of motherboards to choose from right now, but the Asus P5B(Deluxe or non-Deluxe), and Abit AB9-Pro are decent non-SLI/Crossfire boards. I went with the Western Digital WD3200KS 320Gb drive. I picked up the OEM version for $95 USD.

[jltk87]

thanks for your sugestions.

i like the look of the antec solo particuly the hard drive mounting options but im a bit worried that the ninja wont fit.

i went with the antec phantom 500w as the 350w is basicly the same price but i suppose i wont even use more than 350w anyway.



let me nkow how the build goes and how quiet that hard drive is.

[Swifty]

I've just put a 9dB Scythe SFF21D (800rpm) onto the Scythe Ninja Plus heatsink on a E6700. Its inaudible.

I would also pick the Scythe's as case fans as they are just so perfectly quiet.

[jjwa]

What are you going to use this system for? Because if it's for gaming, you will really thank yourself later if you are now able to fit a 7900GT into the budget. It's not only very fast, but also has a great price/performance ratio and compared to other cards, doesn't run very hot (means it's possible to give it less cooling, which in turn means more silent).

Edit:
Okay, I now see I missed this part "dont play many games at the moment".

[jltk87]

The sythe case fans look really good.

im not sure what to do about the graphics card cus there isnt many if at all decent motherboards with onboard graphics. if there were i might buy a graphics card at a later date.

this means i either get a really cheap one or the 7900 wich would prob last me for the next 4 years.

one little concern with the 7900 is that the heatsink swings out meaning it might be on top of the processor, wich is fine but if im getting a ninja this could be a problem.

[jltk87]

ive updated my list! here goes:

intel core 2 duo e6600 £220

asus p5w dh delux motherboard £145

wd wd2500ks hard drive £55

1gb 2x512 corsair twinx ddr2 pc6400 £80

gigabyte geforce 7600gt £118

antec solo £60

antec phantom 500 (cheaper than 350w!)

2 scythe s flex sff21d 120mm fans (1 intake + one outake) £15 each


let me nkow what you guys think and if you nkow of anywhere thats cheaper! im open to sugestions!

the motherboard might be a bit over the top but its the best one available at the mo and i want one that will perform for a long time.

hopefully this system will be extremely quiet, the loudest being the hard drive. (would you recomend getting a hd enclosure? i already have a scythe silentbox with a seagate in wich is still very loud)

thanks alot for your help

[jltk87]

I'm currently waiting for a few parts before i can start building my pc. (memory is out of stock)

ill let you know how i get on and mabye post some pics when im done!

[jltk87]

Hi,

Finally buit my pc!

its quite a sqeeze fitting everything in the antec solo but it fits! Its very quiet with only 2 scythe 120mm fans and the hard drive wich is mounted useing the grommets supplied. was going to suspend it but i need to move it around a bit so its not practicle. (also i think its effective as the hard drive does not touch anything apart from the grommets underneith wich take most of the vibration out)

my cpu temp is constantly at about 30 - 33 doing everyday stuff. havant tried anything too stressing yet.

i am however worried about my mb temp as its constantly at 45. i have looked around the internet and found that this is common with this board but there is a way of reduceing it by changeing voltages but im not sure wich to change.

i also noticed that the graphics card runs extremely hot! (only tested by touching heatsinks!)

all in all im very happy with the build, just need to get the mother board temps down. mabye ill add another 92mm fan at the front.

if anyone has any suggestions that would be great!

[cmthomson]

With the P5W DH, you should always remove those shiny metal covers from the north bridge and south bridge heat sinks. They look pretty, but they totally screw up the air flow through the heat sink, especially the south bridge.

The motherboard temperature reported by this board is from an on-chip sensor in the south bridge. Improving its cooling will result in much lower reported temperatures. At the very least, remove that cover. Most people also replace the TIM with something decent like Arctic Silver.

Here's a step-by-step for the heat sink stuff:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/sho ... p?t=106563