Non-gaming micro ATX primary computer

Stupid boy · Post by **Stupid boy** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 9:43 am

My current desktop is several years old, and at least one hard drive just broke, so now's a good time to make a new one. Here's what I'm thinking about

Antec Mini P180
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
DFI LP JR 790GX-M3H5 AM3
SeaSonic M12II SS-430GM 430W
Crucial 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz Socket AM3 80W
Scythe SY1225SL12M 120mm "Slipstream" (two of these)
Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000

I haven't been following computer hardware for the past few years, so I have a few questions

Questions
I didn't give much thought to the case. Should I consider a different mATX case?

Is the power supply large enough? I'll definitely add more hard drives and a DVD drive.

Will the heatsink fit?

I plan to rely on the case fans to cool the heatsink instead of attaching fans to it. What do you think of this?

Is there anything you think I missed?

I still have some Arctic Silver 5. Is that still good, or do people use something else now?

Thanks

frostedflakes · Post by **frostedflakes** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 12:13 pm

If you wanted to save a little money, maybe check out the Athlon II X2 processors. Same as the Phenom II processors, except they lack the 6MB of L3 cache. Not only are they cheaper, but they use slightly less power and should be easier to cool.

That memory kit you're buying is intended for Intel i7 systems, which use a triple-channel memory controller. AMD still uses dual-channel, and you'll need to use memory sticks in pairs to enable it. So instead of buying that triple kit, look for a dual kit or quad kit, or just buy two of four sticks individually, of course.

Mini P180 is a good enclosure. It's a bit large for mATX, but if you're fine with the size, you might as well go with it. If you want something a bit more compact, check out the Antec NSK-3480. It also comes with a quality 380w power supply, which should easily be able to power that system. I'm not sure about that CPU cooler fitting in one, though.

Also, getting a CrossFire capable board for a non-gaming system seems a bit silly. For basic computing, a 785G based board should be fine for your needs, and I think they're a bit more power efficient than the 790GX chipset.

JL5 · Post by **JL5** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 7:26 pm

Seconding the Athlon II X2 CPU suggestion. Unless you do prof. video/music/picture editing a quad core would be more suitable. Otherwise a dual core is more than fine.
If you choose a lower TDP CPU (45-65W) running heatsink passive is a great option. Have removed top fan in my p180 and 1 rear fan is cooling heatsink passive without any troubles.
I'd imagine the large top fan in P180 Mini would make some vibration noise. Try with it on and remove if too noisy.

Look at DIY suspending HDDs, or possibly Antec SOLO case.
Mugen 2 cooler is good.
Arctic Silver 5 is still good.
Slipstreams are good.
Use software or fan controllers like Zalman Fanmate 2s to reduce fan RPMs.

Stupid boy · Post by **Stupid boy** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:39 am

Thanks for the suggestions

Changes
ASRock M3A785GMH
Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600)
AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB

What do you think?

I think I'm going to stick with the mini P180. I've wanted a P180 since before it came out, I'll probably add a few hard drives and don't feel like building something to fit in the case, and the P180 looks more interesting.

Also, is the fan that comes with the heatsink as quiet as the slipstreams? If it is, I'll only get one slipstream.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:10 am

Seems good and solid build. I hope you get good sample of bigboy fan, they are hard to replace but are good and in minimum are barely noticable and bring no vibrations.

The fan comes with Mugen 2 is same that is in Ninja. Slipstream PWM variant. Perhaps best stock fan so far. No reason to change that.

BillyBuerger · Post by **BillyBuerger** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:41 pm

I've got a very similar setup. The mini-P180 is a great case. I have an Arctic Cooling 120mm PWM fan on the back running off the motherboard CPU header and a Yate Loon 120mm fan at 5V at the front. These two fans keep the Athlon II 245 with a mini-Ninja and a fanless HD4670 both running at reasonable temperatures. So your setup sounds good. I don't know about other 785G motherboards such as the ASRock you picked, but I've been a fan of Gigabyte and the one I have is working great and has good BIOS undervolting options if you plan on playing with that.

Stupid boy · Post by **Stupid boy** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:58 pm

thejamppa wrote:Seems good and solid build. I hope you get good sample of bigboy fan, they are hard to replace but are good and in minimum are barely noticable and bring no vibrations.

The fan comes with Mugen 2 is same that is in Ninja. Slipstream PWM variant. Perhaps best stock fan so far. No reason to change that.

bigboy fan?

I ended up getting an open box ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO. I didn't get any fans beyond what comes with the heatsink; i'll use the noctua that was cooling my now-broken hard drive.

hybrid2d4x4 · Post by **hybrid2d4x4** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:16 pm

The top fan in the P180m case

jackylman · Post by **jackylman** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 11:51 am

Be careful with the mobo. I had an Asus M3A78 that put an extra 0.05V into the CPU at stock (with no way to undervolt). Good for OC'ers, not good for passive cooling. I was passively cooling an X2 5000 with a Thermalright Ultra 120 and I burned it up while installing Fedora