Looking for advice on system for light gaming

Ondo · Post by **Ondo** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:56 pm

So I'm looking to build a quiet system, primarily for internet use and programming, but also for some gaming. I've picked out a few components, but still need advice on many more.

Here are the things I'm planning:
Storage: OCZ Vertex 30GB SSD.
CPU: Athlon II x2 240e. Assuming I can find one in stock anywhere.
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 4650.
Power Supply: PicoPSU-150-XT and 150w power brick.

Here are the things I'm completely unsure about:
Case: With the PicoPSU and SSD drive, I don't need a separate compartment for the power supply or anything to help silence the hard drive. How much does that matter? Should I still go with something like the Antec Solo? I guess I'm looking for solid construction, good airflow, and room to mount however many fans I need, right? Speaking of which...
Fans: The recommendations on which fans to get looks pretty straightforward, but how many fans should I be looking for to cool this system with the least noise? If I go with low-speed 120mm fans, should I be looking at 1, or 2, or more? Also, what sort of CPU cooling should I get?
Motherboard: I'm not sure what to look for, besides supporting the CPU and RAM I want and a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot. Info on things like power usage, undervolting support, or fan control support looks hard to find.
RAM: 2 or 4 gigs of something. Not sure what to look for. Leaning towards DDR3, since it doesn't seem much more expensive, but that still leaves a lot of choices.

Post by **CA_Steve** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 4:41 pm

>So I'm looking to build a quiet system, primarily for internet use and programming, but also for some gaming.<

If the SSD is your only drive, it may be too small. Games take up a lot of space. WoW uses 16GB+ on my system, other apps take up another 10-15GB, XP uses ~4GB.

"light gaming" means? what games at what resolution? That'll determine the system requirements.

Ondo · Post by **Ondo** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 5:22 pm

CA_Steve wrote:If the SSD is your only drive, it may be too small. Games take up a lot of space. WoW uses 16GB+ on my system, other apps take up another 10-15GB, XP uses ~4GB.

I think I'll be okay - my current machine is a Mac Mini with a 32GB Windows partition, so I'm familiar with how little space it would be. But more space would take it from something I could live with, awkwardly, to something I'd be happy with, so I'm going to check if I can afford a larger SSD once I've figured everything else out.

CA_Steve wrote:"light gaming" means? what games at what resolution? That'll determine the system requirements.

Mostly older games - I want Guild Wars and the Orange Box to run well at 1440x900, and for The Witcher to run decently, even if at low res. It'd be nice if something like Dragon Age could also run, but not if it makes the machine louder.

EDIT: Let me elaborate farther on what I want from the machine. First and foremost, it needs to be a very quiet machine for internet browsing & programming, and other basic tasks. The goal is not just that I don't notice it, but also that it doesn't aggravate my tinnitus - I'm not sure how quiet it needs to be for that, though. However, I like video games, and would like it to be good enough to play those - however, since I had very similar goals with my last two computers, many of the games I want to play are quite old. It's also a priority to have the computer stay quiet even when running games.

I think the parts I've selected so far will give me the basics of what I want as far as gaming while still being easy to cool - the CPU has a TDP of 45W, and the graphics card uses around 48W. However, I'm not sure how to go about cooling them.

Post by **CA_Steve** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 10:02 am

Thanks for the update. Based on these games, the cpu/gpu you've chosen should work fine. The Witcher's fps is driven by the speed of a dual core cpu, and not the gpu. Guild Wars and Orange Box games like Half-Life 2 don't need much oomph, either.

I think the 4650 power consumption may be closer to 30W than 48W.

AMD socket AM3 cpu means your motherboardchipset choices are:
1) 770: $80 mobo, no onboard gfx. less bells and whistles.
2) 785G: $90 mobo with on-board gfx.
3) 790GX: $120 mobo - no gfx. bells and whistles.

I haven't been tracking amd mobos to see which provide the best options for fan control or undervolting. The 785G would meet all of your 2D needs...and maybe Guild Wars. Don't think it'll cut it for the other games...but haven't seen any benchmarks.

What is your incentive for going the PicoPSU route - because it's fanless? - because you want a small form factor PC? If you go the std. mini-tower case route, like the Solo, my preference would be to get a decent ATX style PSU that is silent over your systems' power range. This also gives you more flexibility than the PicoPSU (more power connections, more power). Take a look at comparison chart halfway down this page. Something like the Nexus Value 430 would be inaudible in a case.

Case and fans: This is a low power system. One exhaust fan is fine. Something like a 1200 rpm Scythe slipstream. I went with manual control via a Fanmate 2 and dialed it down from quiet to inaudible.

CPU cooler - 45W CPUs are easy to cool. I like the Xigmatek tower coolers. I think the S1283 is compatible with AM3. You might be able to get away with passive cooling the cpu.

Meato · Post by **Meato** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 11:35 am

My 2 cents,

WoW runs 30+ FPS at 1600res "Very Good" settings on an E7300 + HD 4670 under the most taxing circumstances (25 player raids).
Try to scrape together enough change for a 60-80GB SSD.

Ondo · Post by **Ondo** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:33 pm

Thanks for all the info!

CA_Steve wrote:What is your incentive for going the PicoPSU route - because it's fanless? - because you want a small form factor PC?

Primarily because it's fanless. I like having one less fan to worry about, even if it shouldn't be a problem. I'm not really worried about flexibility - I haven't upgraded an existing computer in over a decade, despite planning for it once.

Small form factor would also be nice, though. Ideally I'd like a case that's as small as possible, but still looks okay sitting on the floor (unlike the Mac Mini). Looking through Antec's cases, the NSK3480 and NSK1380 both look interesting. The NSK1380 might not look as good sitting on the floor, but I like the sound of three-layer side panels to dampen noise, and it seems to be a fairly popular in combination with a PicoPSU.

Post by **CA_Steve** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:21 pm

One more question that's been knocking around in my head: Why are you moving away from your Mac Mini?
- too noisy?
- too slow?
- you want to embrace your inner feelings for Microsoft OS?
- just feel like building a new PC?
- something else?

Just curious

Ondo · Post by **Ondo** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:33 pm

CA_Steve wrote:One more question that's been knocking around in my head: Why are you moving away from your Mac Mini?
- too noisy?
- too slow?
- you want to embrace your inner feelings for Microsoft OS?
- just feel like building a new PC?
- something else?

Just curious

Too noisy. It was fine when it was new (except under load), but it's been almost three years and it's a lot louder now.

Post by **CA_Steve** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:14 pm

Have you considered noise reduction measures:
- slapping an SSD drive in there to replace the HDD (I think the Mini has a 2.5" ~5400rpm drive)
- building an enclosure for it
- the thing is tiny. How about mounting it under your desk on it's own shelf or a bracket - put a bunch of wood and some distance between it and you. Add an external ODD on your desktop and you are done.

Ondo · Post by **Ondo** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 10:04 pm

CA_Steve wrote:Have you considered noise reduction measures:

I had a little bit, but not enough. After some consideration and re-arranging I managed to move it into the next room, and with a closed door between me and it I can't hear it anymore.

Thanks for the advice. I'll still want to pick up a better computer sometime, but it's nice to not need one yet.

Post by **CA_Steve** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 6:57 am

I'm glad it worked out.