Hi, im starting to convert my current system into a very quiet mATX media box (mp3, cd, dvd, divx, web surfing etc).
Current system:
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice (Socket 939)
2x512 OCZ Value RAM 2.5-4-4-8
Asus A8N-E Motherboard
Radeon X800XL
Corsair HX520 PSU
The plan is this:
1. Shift components to a uATX motherboard
2. Shift everything into a small case.
3. Tune CPU by under-clocking/volting (following info from these forums).
4. Replace vid card with a passively cooled one.
5. Replace stock cpu heatsink & fan.
6. Replace PSU with lower power and (hopefully) quieter one.
The first question of this project is does this seem a good plan?
Another option would be to sell the Socket 939 MB, CPU and RAM, and buy more recent AM2 or Intel components. I would only do this if there was a reasonable amount of power saving resulting in lower noise cos my budget is small...
I also want the system to have no noticible reduction in speed.
Thanks for your help!!
Location: UK
Conversion to quiet media box...
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
I'm not sure why you'd replace an HX520, being as it's famously quiet (albeit slightly long-in-the-tooth in that department). I'd suggest replacing the factory fan with a Scythe SFlex/SlipStream if the fan is noisy now (bearings failing).
As for cases I personally like:
Antec NSK2480 (I own one and love it)
Lian Li C31 (because of the dual 120mm fans, like the Antec)
Silverstone LC17 (even though it's not mATX)
As for video card, I'd say get a 9600GT and an Accelero S1 or Thermalright (unless you get the slimmer NSK2480 case). This is assuming you want a pretty decent gaming card, otherwise, get an ATI 2600XT, HD 3650, or nVidia 8800GS or 8600GT/GTS (all of which will easily do HD decoding and gaming at resolutions < 1680x1050).
As for cases I personally like:
Antec NSK2480 (I own one and love it)
Lian Li C31 (because of the dual 120mm fans, like the Antec)
Silverstone LC17 (even though it's not mATX)
As for video card, I'd say get a 9600GT and an Accelero S1 or Thermalright (unless you get the slimmer NSK2480 case). This is assuming you want a pretty decent gaming card, otherwise, get an ATI 2600XT, HD 3650, or nVidia 8800GS or 8600GT/GTS (all of which will easily do HD decoding and gaming at resolutions < 1680x1050).
Sorry for the double post, but I don't think it's worth it to buy a new S939 motherboard, aside from the fact you probably have more adjustability with your current one (under-clocking/volting). I'd stick with all your current hardware and throw it in a Silverstone LC17 or Lian Li C30/C32.
As for coolers, I'd say with decent case fans you could get away with a passive Scythe Ninja or Mini Ninja, or a Zipang/Shiriken with the fan undervolted using a controller.
As for coolers, I'd say with decent case fans you could get away with a passive Scythe Ninja or Mini Ninja, or a Zipang/Shiriken with the fan undervolted using a controller.
I'll give you an alternative.
ISTAR Media tank
Marketing spin: "It is based on the renowned Sigma Design SMP8635 multimedia processor (the family used in many Blu-Ray Disc players). It can decode the highest bitrate consumer HD content available today. ISTAR Mini supports MPEG-2 MP@HL, H.264 [email protected], and VC-1 AP@L3 up to at least 40Mbps and can provide 1080p60/50/30/24/23.97 output, enabling a pristine HD signal path.
The ISTAR Mini can access digital media content from a variety of sources, such as NAS, USB 2.0, eSATA and SATA devices* (USB flash drive, SATA HDD, DVD drive, etc.) ISTAR Mini can also serve as a NAS and a BitTorrent peer-to-peer downloader.
ISTAR Mini also supports peer-to-peer Internet TV streaming technology from SayaTV, as well as popular unicast Internet TV sites such as YouTube, Google Video and Metacafe via its Media Service Portal."
ISTAR costs 200$, buy Antec MX-1 and 500GB WD GP hard drive for 150$. Even without the external hard drive, ISTAR can stream movies, music etc straight from your computer or from internet. Drop in the hard drive and you can do the same thing from your external hard drive. And now it also acts as a NAS. It has built-in bittorrent client, so you can shut down your computer at night while downloading with the low power ISTAR.
It knows all the most popular codecs and can even play Matroska files. It also knows SRT, SMI, SUB and SSI subtitles.
I don't think there's much point in building mediabox PCs, when you can get all this in a small package, with a low price.
ISTAR Media tank
Marketing spin: "It is based on the renowned Sigma Design SMP8635 multimedia processor (the family used in many Blu-Ray Disc players). It can decode the highest bitrate consumer HD content available today. ISTAR Mini supports MPEG-2 MP@HL, H.264 [email protected], and VC-1 AP@L3 up to at least 40Mbps and can provide 1080p60/50/30/24/23.97 output, enabling a pristine HD signal path.
The ISTAR Mini can access digital media content from a variety of sources, such as NAS, USB 2.0, eSATA and SATA devices* (USB flash drive, SATA HDD, DVD drive, etc.) ISTAR Mini can also serve as a NAS and a BitTorrent peer-to-peer downloader.
ISTAR Mini also supports peer-to-peer Internet TV streaming technology from SayaTV, as well as popular unicast Internet TV sites such as YouTube, Google Video and Metacafe via its Media Service Portal."
ISTAR costs 200$, buy Antec MX-1 and 500GB WD GP hard drive for 150$. Even without the external hard drive, ISTAR can stream movies, music etc straight from your computer or from internet. Drop in the hard drive and you can do the same thing from your external hard drive. And now it also acts as a NAS. It has built-in bittorrent client, so you can shut down your computer at night while downloading with the low power ISTAR.
It knows all the most popular codecs and can even play Matroska files. It also knows SRT, SMI, SUB and SSI subtitles.
I don't think there's much point in building mediabox PCs, when you can get all this in a small package, with a low price.
Thanks for the replies.
I should have given a better description of what im trying to do...
The plan is for this 939 system to go into a cube type case (something like the Lian-Li V350A) to have sitting under a coffee table or something - i want something in the living room but dont like laptops. This would leave behind my P182 and the HX520 to build a quiet, likely quad-core intel, system for gaming etc.
KyleSTL - ill check out your recommendations, thanks.
Erssa - buying something pre-made isnt nearly as fun
So, ill have a look round for a case that is small, looks good and can take a full ATX motherboard but its likely ill need a uATX mb.
It also looks like ill be staying with socket 939 so can keep the processor and RAM but the next question is where can i get a uATX 939 mb that is good for a quiet system. In the UK, online shops seem to only stock the Asrock 939N68PV-GLAN nForce 7050 Micro-ATX. Ive read a couple of bad reviews on this with regards to its connector placements - ill do some more research. Does anyone have any suggestions for a mb?? I need pci-express for graphics.
Thanks
I should have given a better description of what im trying to do...
The plan is for this 939 system to go into a cube type case (something like the Lian-Li V350A) to have sitting under a coffee table or something - i want something in the living room but dont like laptops. This would leave behind my P182 and the HX520 to build a quiet, likely quad-core intel, system for gaming etc.
KyleSTL - ill check out your recommendations, thanks.
Erssa - buying something pre-made isnt nearly as fun
So, ill have a look round for a case that is small, looks good and can take a full ATX motherboard but its likely ill need a uATX mb.
It also looks like ill be staying with socket 939 so can keep the processor and RAM but the next question is where can i get a uATX 939 mb that is good for a quiet system. In the UK, online shops seem to only stock the Asrock 939N68PV-GLAN nForce 7050 Micro-ATX. Ive read a couple of bad reviews on this with regards to its connector placements - ill do some more research. Does anyone have any suggestions for a mb?? I need pci-express for graphics.
Thanks