proposed mATX system:

Got a shopping cart of parts that you want opinions on? Get advice from members on your planned or existing system (or upgrade).

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

proposed mATX system:

Post by rei » Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:56 pm

Hi guys, it's me again. Another year, another hankering for a new machine.

I wonder if this is doable on 300w?

mobo: ABIT NF-M2 nView mATX
65W- cpu: AMD Athlon64 X2 4200EE
cpu-fan: Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 PWM
ram: 2x Corsair ValueSelect 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM
82W - video: XFX 7950GT Extreme 512MB
hd: WD 250GB Caviar WD2500KS SE16 7200rpm SATA
optical: Plextor PX-755SA SATA
case: Antec NSK3300 w/ 300W PSU
case fans: 2x 92mm Nexus, 1x 120mm Nexus @5v

usb1: APC 750VA UPS
usb2: Xbox 360 controller
usb3: Logitech joystick
usb4: powered USB hub in LCD monitor

Updated post with the 2 power draw numbers I found for the CPU and video card. I'll do some more research. Thanks.

Ran http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine and it suggested 335.
Last edited by rei on Thu Nov 30, 2006 2:57 am, edited 4 times in total.

kentc
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 160
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:50 am
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden

Re: proposed mATX system:

Post by kentc » Wed Nov 29, 2006 10:18 pm

rei wrote:I wonder if this is doable on 300w?
yes and by a wide margin. in the sticky "Read before posting!" in the PSU forum the following is stated:
"6. How much power do I need? One of the most often asked questions, most PCs need less power than you think. See the discussion of this in the Recommended PSU page. There are many threads, the most relevant being How much will a 300w power supply run?"

study more, test the new search-facility.

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:00 am

I do apologize, I've been here two years and read through all the posts numerous times. Was just lazy I guess.

jaganath
Posts: 5085
Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:55 am
Location: UK

Post by jaganath » Thu Nov 30, 2006 3:26 am

Ran http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine and it suggested 335.
While this is one of the most accurate PSU calculators on the 'net, it still gives estimates which are much too high, sometimes by 50% or more. Nice build, main noise problem will probably be the GFX card?

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Thu Nov 30, 2006 9:34 am

It's passive :)

jaganath
Posts: 5085
Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:55 am
Location: UK

Post by jaganath » Thu Nov 30, 2006 9:38 am

rei wrote:It's passive :)
An 82W passive card?! You better ensure that thing gets good airflow. :shock:

stromgald
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2004 12:45 pm
Location: California, US

Post by stromgald » Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:01 am

jaganath wrote: An 82W passive card?! You better ensure that thing gets good airflow. :shock:
Yup, its actually the most powerful passive graphics card out there right now. I tend to keep in track of these things since its what I drool over on a regular basis :P .

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:36 am

i'm hoping 2 nexus 92mm intake and 1 102mm noctua exhaust will do exactly that for airflow and keep things inaudible.

also still torn whether or not i should get core 2 duo (e6300 and intel matx mobo) instead since i'm less familiar with the chipsets/cooling available for the intels.

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Sun Dec 03, 2006 1:58 am

scaling back power ambitions a bit. it'll hurt with gaming but i have to de-emphasize the urge to spend 2x on video card for 50% improvement. i currently use a 7800gt (20w idle to 56w load) but a 7600gt downgrade won't be TOO bad.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html

to improve the power draw, i've decided to change:

mobo: Intel Desktop Board DG965SSCK ($40 more expensive than the Abit)
cpu: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 ($20 more than the 4200)
video: GIGABYTE GV-NX76T256D-RH silentpipe ($198 vs $389)

the cpu draws considerably less at load than the EE 4200 and video card draw goes down from 50idle-82load to 14idle-35load. i just hope the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro fits in the NSK3300 case!

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Sun Dec 03, 2006 2:28 am

here's the damage in canadian $

$150 Intel Desktop Board DG965SSCK
$210 Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X PC2-5400 2GB
$220 Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH or
$240 Asus EN7600GT Silent/2DHT/256M/A
$220 Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6300
$090 WD 2500KS 250GB Caviar SE16 7200rpm SATA II
$100 Antec NSK3300

this is sort of optional, well, the case fans can be added with minimal hassle.

$140 Plextor PX-755SA SATA
$040 Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
$020 Noctua NF-S12 120mm 800RPM case fan
$020 Nexus Real Silent 92mm case fan
$020 Nexus Real Silent 92mm case fan

does anyone know how quiet the stock intel fans are?

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Sun Dec 03, 2006 3:18 am

crap! chipset coolers might not fit with the passive card's radiator fins on the top of the card. looks like it's back to the nf-m2 nview and a64 x2 4200ee

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Sun Dec 03, 2006 3:12 pm

something else i found out...

nforce 430 mcp can't boot/burn on sata burners...sooooo...i'd have to spend a lot of money (asus/intel are $20-40 more than am2 boards) on the burner, board, cpu just for sata cable burning.

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:01 pm

Well I've put the deposit down on the NF-M2 so I'm committed to AMD now. Freezer 64 Pro PWM here I come.

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:10 pm

Wait... so when SATA Burners come out full swing, u won't be able to install windows with them? Or use them in general?


Have fun with ur build.

A lot of ppl here reco cheapie PSU's. I feel uncomfortable recomending them. I spend a lot of $ on hardware and disregard the <3 of the system... nono in my book.

I'd rather spend a bit more and buy something s lil better than what I need and be SAFE.

You also can't look at total wattage. You have to see how many watts are on the 12v line. How many amps are on the 12 line as well. Given most ppl probably don't run heavy machines but quality is always important. There are decent PSU's out there for $40 and under.

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:27 pm

some SATA controllers on some chipsets don't let them boot properly w/o firmware updates. some even with firmware updates.

some recognize but don't burn properly. at all.

the intel chipsets all appear to be strictly compatible. the nvidia nforce 430 MCP chipsets do not seem to burn.

pity, i wanted the thinner sata cable to help with airflow. looks like i'll pick up a cheap liteon ide burner.

there are no mainstream sata burners from what i can tell apart from the plextor ones.

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:29 pm

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827106047

hmm.

heh, this literally appeared a few hours ago. almost ordered it immediately then remembered the nforce compatibility issue :/ at least with plextor. going to wait to hear back from liteon support.

looks like it's on their website now too:

http://us.liteonit.com/us/index.php?opt ... &Itemid=67
Last edited by rei on Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:39 pm

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Are you sure???

PLEASE send link. I'm feinding to end IDE...

H buddy had no problem with his. Look at this link
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1114607

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:43 pm

it doesn't say what mobo he uses or if he can burn? also, note he got a CDRW drive not DVDRW.

the plextor compat pages for the scant few chipsets they tested with show that some detected but could not burn.

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:45 pm


MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:46 pm

He as an NF-M2

I hope not... I really don't think it will be an issue. Do you have link?

Darn, that would suk if it doesn't work!

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:48 pm


Feel a lil better. The plextor are using , I believe, a IDE to SATA converter so that is why the problem. I believe these are REAL SATA drives that are not using a converter.

I could be wrong... buy one and tell us... heh heh. I would but I'm still not in the states yet.

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:50 pm

I'm in Canada, can't order directly from Newegg. Was -this- close to getting friend to order and ship up.

nightmorph
Posts: 316
Joined: Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:07 am

Post by nightmorph » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:51 pm

rei wrote:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827106047

hmm.

heh, this literally appeared a few hours ago. almost ordered it immediately then remembered the nforce compatibility issue :/ at least with plextor. going
to wait to hear back from liteon support.
Hey, thanks for the great find. I'll have to get one of these on down the road to complement my existing Samsung IDE burner. Too bad this wasn't around in October; cable management would have been so much easier!

Out of curiousity, what nForce issues are you referring to? Do they extend to the nForce500 motherboards, such as nForce570 for socket AM2? I Googled a bit and couldn't find anything in particular, aside from various Windows driver-related problems with the chipset. (Non-issue in my case; I run Linux.)

I'm rather surprised to see a SATA optical drive at such a low price. Hopefully the build quality of this one is better than Lite-on's past offerings. No reviews on it anywhere, though...of course.

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:55 pm

You beat me on {H} rei! :D

Lookie here

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Mon Dec 04, 2006 10:08 pm

scroll all the way to the bottom, nightmorph:

http://www.plextor.com/english/support/ ... isting.htm

nightmorph
Posts: 316
Joined: Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:07 am

Post by nightmorph » Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:02 pm

rei wrote:scroll all the way to the bottom, nightmorph:

http://www.plextor.com/english/support/ ... isting.htm
Ahh, it's a Plextor thing. Nothing that I'll ever worry about. Thanks for pointing it out. :)

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:43 pm

Giggity giggity giggity gig...the Xbitlabs power consumption tests for the 7950GT at 61W load not the 82W I'd previously thought.

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:46 pm

My local chinese place also tells me HP has a black SATA burner, internals made by LiteOn.

Mike_P
Posts: 75
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:40 am
Location: Toronto, ONT

Post by Mike_P » Wed Dec 06, 2006 5:07 pm

the NSK3300 uses a SFX power supply, incase you didnt already know.. i would get a case that uses a regular ATX PSU.

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Wed Dec 06, 2006 5:17 pm

yeah, i'm aware. if i have to, i can track down that seasonic sfx 350w one.

the only other case i'd consider are the inwin matx cases (i've had 3 in the past) but the don't have room for fans at the front and poor airflow.

i like the look of this one and its size. the nsk4400 is just too tall. i have an x-qpack right now.

Post Reply