Looking for constructive critisism on a new build.

ryan7107 · Post by **ryan7107** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 2:54 pm

I'm building a new PC for a family member. The main requirements are that it's very quiet, reliable, and will be an acceptable performer for at least three to four years. Mostly it'll be an browsing/office type. Not much gaming. No set-in-stone budget, but we are thinking ~650 w/o a monitor (we are reusing XP from the previous build, which will become an Ubutnu box). Never built a silent PC before, but this is where my research has led me.

Antec Solo Case
AMD-2400 CPU
Ninja Mini CPU Cooler
Seasonic S12 II 330W PSU
2 1GB sticks of DDR2 RAM
GIGABYTE GA-MA69GM-S2H Motherboard
ASUS 7300GT Fanless GPU
2x WD 1600AAJS HDDs (1 as a backup, either in a RAID or incremental)
Samsung 19x DVD Burner
1 120mm Nexus fan to replace the case fan
1 80mm Nexus fan to replace CPU fan

My real questions are;
1) The other option is to go with the intel E21xx, thoughts? (My thought is that the 45W CPUs will work better in a quiet system, if there are better options let me know.)
2) Will heat be an issue with only 1 CPU cooler, 1 case fan, and 1 PSU fan? And if not, could I even run the CPU cooler fanless?
3) Is there any way to decrease noise any more without adding any/much expense?
4) Are the 2 Nexus fans worth it in this build?

Thanks in advance.

santacruzbob · Post by **santacruzbob** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 4:26 pm

looks like a pretty good build. I would recommend going with the E21xx series cpu as I've got an E2140 that runs very cool even bsel modded to 2.13ghz that runs 28*C idle, 42*C load stock cooler @ 20*C ambient. You could save a few bucks and run undervolted yate loon fans and spend the extra cash on a better video card. The rest of the build looks great, I would just want to get a slightly better video card to bring it up to snuff.

ryan7107 · Post by **ryan7107** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 5:00 pm

Thanks bob, I am tempted to go with the E21xx series, my only concern is finding a good intel MB the supports RAID that doesn't cost $150. The GPU wan't much of a concern. Instead of "not much gaming", I should have said "virtually no gaming".

psiu · Post by **psiu** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 5:00 pm

santacruzbob wrote:looks like a pretty good build. I would recommend going with the E21xx series cpu as I've got an E2140 that runs very cool even bsel modded to 2.13ghz that runs 28*C idle, 42*C load stock cooler @ 20*C ambient. You could save a few bucks and run undervolted yate loon fans and spend the extra cash on a better video card. The rest of the build looks great, I would just want to get a slightly better video card to bring it up to snuff.

Like the 7600 or maybe an 8500/8600 depending on price available. Should be able to find one passively cooled as well.

I would vote for Yate Loons for the fans, undervolt as needed, and probably toss one in the front as well. It will be plenty quiet for them, and gives you some more peace of mind and hopefully no need to ever troubleshoot (pipe dream perhaps, but one can always hope).

EDIT:

ryan7107 wrote:Thanks bob, I am tempted to go with the E21xx series, my only concern is finding a good intel MB the supports RAID that doesn't cost $150. The GPU wan't much of a concern. Instead of "not much gaming", I should have said "virtually no gaming".

blast it. this is what happens when I go looking at Newegg at videocard prices and features, surf around for performance comparisons, and generally get all distracted by all the tubes on teh intarwebz. My replies take so long they are already out of date.

blast you tubes!

ryan7107 · Post by **ryan7107** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 5:06 pm

No problem psiu, thanks for the input. I only added a videocard at all because he said he may be interested in using it to stream some HD content in the future.

kittle · Post by **kittle** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 1:43 pm

one other thing to add.
Since this sounds like a PC that wants to be put in a corner and used whenever -- take care that its not stuck inside a non-ventilated computer desk or enclosed 'hutch' or something.

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 10:41 pm

I'm going to go ahead and validate your current setup. Although, that micro ATX board probably has a lot of features you are paying for but not using.

If you do no gaming at all, that video card is fine. It should even handle HD video just fine.

I've seen lots of people on here go way overboard on video cards when they dont' even game, lol.

Koni · Post by **Koni** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:07 am

Have you looked into the XFX GeForce 7600GS HDMI? It's passively cooled, has an HDMI output (with HDCP support), Dual Link DVI and got plenty of good reviews.

Since it's a build for three or four years and HDMI connections get more common, if there should ever be a need to connect it to an HD television, you're already settled.

Edit: Don't mind my earlier suggestion, I checked your motherboard choice and it already has an HDMI connection. Then I would suggest you go without an additional PCIe16x graphics card, since the Xpress 1250 chip on the AMD690G should be plenty for daily work and hardware video acceleration.