New system build - General opinions/advice!?

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:55 pm

I'm going to build myself a new small budget gaming rig. For now I picked out the following parts:

Mobo: Asus M2A-MX
CPU: Athlon64 X2 4850E
RAM: 2 X 2 GB Kingston
HDD: Samsung 320 GB
DVD: Donor drive
GPU: Asus Radeon 4850
Case: Coolermaster Elite 340 or Antec 3480
PSU: Corsair 450W or Antec stock
CPU cooler: Mini Ninja

Will I be able to achieve acceptable cooling in one of those cases?
I am hoping to run the Ninja passive with just the 120MM case fan pulling air over it.

I have not looked into alternative GPU cooling yet.

Oppinions much appreciated as my old rig is currently on artificial life support

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:15 am

I just completed a fairly similar build. Check out my componests in this thread:
viewtopic.php?t=49610#4

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:16 am

BUMP

Just as I thought I had made my final decision I started considering AMD vs. Intel.

My initial idea was the Asus M2A-MX paired with an Athlon64 X2 4850E. However I'm considering pairing it with the new 780G board from Gigabyte instead, the "GA-MA78GM-S2H" (as the reviews seem to favor it over the Asus).

As an alternative I'm considering going with Intel, more specifically an Asus P5E-VM SE board paired with an E7200 CPU (Wolfdale).

The Intel option will cost about 50$ more.

What is the general opinion (without starting a flame war). Is it worth the extra 50$ in performance? What's easier to cool etc?

Thanks

Cistron · Post by **Cistron** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:31 am

Boomerang Rapido wrote:The Intel option will cost about 50$ more.

What is the general opinion (without starting a flame war). Is it worth the extra 50$ in performance? What's easier to cool etc?

As this looks like a gaming rig, I'd say yes. The 780G becomes somewhat superfluous if you pair it with an HD4850 anyway.

You can shave some more bucks off the bill, if you take one of the Xigmatek HDT heatsinks. They'll provide ample cooling for the E7200, even when overclocked.

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:31 am

Thanks.

Would it make more sense to just get a faster AMD CPU or am I still better off with the Intel combo?

bozar · Post by **bozar** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 12:35 pm

If performance is the most important thing on your list then you should go with intel.

If you do choose amd don't pick a motherboard with an old nforcechipset, a passive ninja won't provide enough airflow for the northbridge which will become really hot.

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:20 pm

Well my revised (Intel) parts list would look like this:

Mobo: Asus P5E-VM SE
CPU: Core 2 Duo E7200
RAM: 2 X 2 GB Kingston
HDD: WD 320 GB
DVD: Donor drive
GPU: Asus Radeon 4850 (onboard for starters)
Case: Coolermaster Elite 340
PSU: Corsair 450W
CPU cooler: Stock Intel cooler for starters

I will be running Vista. Is 4 GB RAM strictly necessary or could I save a few $ there by starting out with just 2 GB?

Any other comments? One build vs the other?

Cistron · Post by **Cistron** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:49 pm

I can tell you what I run: E2160@3GHz (easily cooled by a Scythe Mine, but the CPU is far away from being a lemon), Enermax Pro82+ 385W, Abit IP35, WD320AAKS, HD3870 SCS3 and 2GB PC6400 (which only runs at PC5300 speed anyway).

So one could say my system is your perspective system's uncle. I get along very well with 2 GB of RAM. Vista home premium 32bit is very responsive and I don't have problems playing Oblivion at the full screen resoltuion of 1680x1050. If you're short on money, go for only 2GB. Lot's of tiny saving will still be considerable in the end.

If you really want to go for a quiet computer, you should reconsider the enclosure. I went for a Â£25 budget case (Sharkoon Rebel9) at the time and whilst it isn't a bad case, I still regret not investing an extra Â£25 for a Solo.

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:29 am

The case is one of the items where I'm quite fixed in my decision. The solo for example is just too big, plain and simple. My current rig sits in a thermaltake dragon case. The Elite 340 is basically as big as I'm willing to go.

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:47 am

Anyone else!? The gigabyte mobo + 4850e cpu seems a popular combo as they are now on backorder.

The price difference is not that big a deal for me. My main concern is noise/heat/performance issues.

I know the Intel is the faster CPU by a good margin, but will the AMD CPU be too much of a bottleneck in games? Also will the low TDP of the AMD make it significantly easier to cool?

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 6:34 am

Well I ended up going for Intel. The final specs are:

Mobo: Asus P5E-VM SE
CPU: Core 2 Duo E7200
RAM: 2 X 1 GB Kingston
HDD: WD 320 GB
DVD: Donor drive
GPU: Asus Radeon 4850
Case: Coolermaster Elite 333
PSU: Corsair 450W
CPU cooler: Scythe Ninja Mini w 92mm fan

I chose a cheap coolermaster case after realising the Elite 340 was just too plain small. It's actually not bad. It has penty room and plenty space for running cables. I haven't really gotten around to doing a decent job of that yet though.

I'm running a 120mm case fan (came with the case) at low speed, and the CPU fan is running in "Silent Mode" from the BIOS. THe corsair PSU is very nice.

The fan on the GPU isn't half as bad as I had feared. At the moment I think it's actually drowned out by the rest of the fans.

All in all the system is actually very quiet. It's clearly audible but exhibits only a low hum, and is in no way intrusive. I think I can live with this for a while to come

I have yet to see how it sounds once I start pushing the system.