Budget/Smaller/Quiet PC?

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o2taku

Weaksauce
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Apr 23, 2008
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I've been thinking of a budget PC as of late... I've always been interested in a small and quiet PC, but don't think I want to pay so much for one. A cheap system with something like an unlocked Sempron 140 and a smaller SSD would be interesting, but I'm not sure how that would work in terms of size. I think mATX might be pushing it.

Does anyone have any ideas for a build of this type? Thanks for any help.
 
Please answer the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST" so that we can help you better.

But right off the bat: Any halfway decent 30 to 40GB SSD will cost at least $110 or so. Judging from your post so far, that probably won't fit the budget. But we can better refine the recommendations once you answer the sticky.
 
if you dont need a dedicated GPU and onboard will suffice then you can go miniITX using a sempron 140, Or go to a dual core atom setup (board & CPU for 80 bucks).. But yea answering the sticky would make it a whole lot easier to assist
 
It's easier to build quiet if you stick with an ATX midtower. These smaller systems tend to eschew key elements like 120mm (or larger) fans, and tend to have poor sound isolation.

I would recommend the following case if you want a good start to a quiet system:

Sonata III with 500w Earthwatts: really cheap right now at $110 free shipping with $20 MIR.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...024&cm_re=antec_sonata-_-11-129-024-_-Product

This baby has everything you need for a quiet, non-overclocked system. If you want to overclock, or if you add a powerful video card, be sure to add a front intake fan to get proper airflow:

This one is dead-silent, but may not be enough airflow:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...04&cm_re=scythe_s-flex-_-35-185-004-_-Product

This is not silent at full speed, but very quiet. Runs silent at about 1000 RPM. Moves a lot of air:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...05&cm_re=scythe_s-flex-_-35-185-005-_-Product

If you have a motherboard capable of throttling the fan speeds, then you should probably get the faster one, and throttle it to your satisfaction.

There are harder-core cases for noise reduction, like the P183, but I don't think you need something that insane. The P183 is also a lot larger than the Sonata III, and more expensive because you have to supply your own PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129061&Tpk=antec p183
 
there is no reason to need to be atx to be quiet.. I have built a virtually dead silent mini ITX system using basic parts from newegg with no modification.. Its just a matter of paying attention to everything & the heat it produces.. & the sempron 140 is a 45w CPU so its not exactly getting hot.. & since there were no other set forwarth requirements there is nothing that says that the only moving parts wont be the CPU fan & psu fan, making for a very very quiet system that is very small..

Since we dont know what the budget is though we may find that its going to have to be a 30 dollar combo for the case & psu, or we may have enough to work in a lian li & corsair psu..


for 520 (minus another 60 in MIR) I jsut priced out this

Case
Mobo
PSU
RAM
CPU
CPU Cooler
SSD

Would make for a very very quiet system on a moderate budget.. For the little that has actually been said about the needs it sounds like a dual core atom may be a batter way of going as well.. Also 4gb ram may not be necessary further reducing the cost..
 
Hey, sorry guys - I didn't use the outline because I don't want to set too narrow of a budget. However, I will fill it out now to make things easier.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc Internet browsing, moderate gaming (LAN).
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2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $350-650? Tax and shipping included if it's the latter. I would say the less the better? However, whatever gets quality and not all bargain basement parts works.
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3) Where do you live? Canada
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4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific. I've been thinking of a few special parts - the new Kingston 30GB SSD for $90 at NCIX right now looks OK. I'm also thinking Sempron 140 with a motherboard that unlocks. However, if that doesn't fit a mATX system then that would have to change. I like the Sempron because I don't really want to compromise with something like an Atom that'll be noticably slower (when unlocked).

A dedicated GPU that's quiet is I suppose a necessity as I plan on doing some Left 4 Dead 2 on it at the minimum.
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5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. Nothing at this moment.
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6) Will you be overclocking? If there's headroom (which I think there would be on a Sempron).
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7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? Probably a 23" monitor.
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8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Sometime in the near future would be nice.
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9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc. Ideally a motherboard with an SB710/750 southbridge that would let me unlock the Sempron.
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10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit? XP 32-bit.
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bastage said:
for 520 (minus another 60 in MIR) I jsut priced out this

Case
Mobo
PSU
RAM
CPU
CPU Cooler
SSD
Click to expand...

This looks like a nice build - however, I'm thinking a SB710/750 mobo and perhaps DDR3 for future proofing would work? The rest of the PC looks quite nice, although I'll need to see how the prices are in Canada.
EDIT: Just realized it's mini-ITX and not micro-ATX. I do want a dedicated GPU so this might be a little limiting. I don't suppose there are boards that small that support dedicated GPUs?

Thanks guys.
 
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o2taku said:
This looks like a nice build - however, I'm thinking a SB710/750 mobo and perhaps DDR3 for future proofing would work? The rest of the PC looks quite nice, although I'll need to see how the prices are in Canada.
EDIT: Just realized it's mini-ITX and not micro-ATX. I do want a dedicated GPU so this might be a little limiting. I don't suppose there are boards that small that support dedicated GPUs?

Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

There are not currently any AMD boards that small that support a GOOD dedicated graphics. However if you flip flop to an intel there are a few 1156 boards that do (also with DDR3 support)..

Also for light gaming asus & zotac both have Dual Core atom boards that support a dedicated graphics.. I Built a system for a friend not long ago using the zotac varient & adding a GT 220.. He does some light gaming, but nothing hardcore.. & THe system is very light on power..
 
Okay, I've been looking at my options and think mATX might be the best balance for performance and size.

I pieced together and price matched a system on NCIX. It's not final, but I like the look of it. I'm planning on reusing an 8800GTS 320mb for now as well as a 400w Corsair PSU.



Will there be any issues with space if I use the 400w PSU? Being non-modular it seems like it might have issues in an mATX case like the Sugo.

Would I be better off getting a quiet mechanical HDD? I have Vista 64-bit laying around, so I could use that and up it to 4GB RAM and downgrade to a solid 500-640gb HDD.

Lastly - would it be worth it to get something like the Scythe Shuriken? It seems like a nice quiet heatsink, but would it be a noticable upgrade for something like a Sempron?

Thanks.
 
o2taku said:
Will there be any issues with space if I use the 400w PSU? Being non-modular it seems like it might have issues in an mATX case like the Sugo.
Click to expand...

Try it and see what happens. The worst that'll happen is that you might have to pay for a modular PSU.

o2taku said:
Would I be better off getting a quiet mechanical HDD? I have Vista 64-bit laying around, so I could use that and up it to 4GB RAM and downgrade to a solid 500-640gb HDD.
Click to expand...

For your needs, a quiet mechanical drive would be more then enough. You don't need a SSD for web browsing. However if you want the lowest power possible, then SSD is your best bet.
o2taku said:
Lastly - would it be worth it to get something like the Scythe Shuriken? It seems like a nice quiet heatsink, but would it be a noticable upgrade for something like a Sempron?
Click to expand...

Try the stock HSF first and then see if it's quiet enough for you as quiet is subjective.

I still don't see why you want the Sempron 140 considering that confirmed dual-core as well as faster AMD X2 240 is only $60CAD over at newegg.ca. An unlocked Sempron 140 would still use as much power as the AMD X2 240. In addition, that Sempron would stil be a tad too slow for L4D.
 
Danny Bui said:
Try it and see what happens. The worst that'll happen is that you might have to pay for a modular PSU.



For your needs, a quiet mechanical drive would be more then enough. You don't need a SSD for web browsing. However if you want the lowest power possible, then SSD is your best bet.


Try the stock HSF first and then see if it's quiet enough for you as quiet is subjective.

I still don't see why you want the Sempron 140 considering that confirmed dual-core as well as faster AMD X2 240 is only $60CAD over at newegg.ca. An unlocked Sempron 140 would still use as much power as the AMD X2 240. In addition, that Sempron would stil be a tad too slow for L4D.
Click to expand...

Do you have any recommendations for a quiet 7200RPM HDD? I know the low power drives would be quiet but I don't want to compromise the performance by that much.

Regarding the Sempron, it just seems ridiculously good for $34. I know I could get an Athlon II for $60, but then I would be tempted to go for an X2 550/555 to get the chance for a quad. My plan is to use the Sempron and see if it's sufficient for what I want to do - if not, then an upgrade down the road wouldn't hurt considering the price.
 
for some time now I have not been able to find a 7200 PRM drive that I considered quiet. For that matter I cant find a LP drive thats quiet either.. If you want dead quiet then your best bet would be a SSD & then maybe a LP drive for data storage
 
o2taku said:
Do you have any recommendations for a quiet 7200RPM HDD? I know the low power drives would be quiet but I don't want to compromise the performance by that much.
Click to expand...

The WD WD6400AAKS 640GB drives were pretty quiet to me.
 
Thanks for the input guys - I decided to pull the trigger. This is what I ordered:



I switched from an SG02 to an SG03, even though it cost more, as I think I'd prefer the SG03 in the long run.

Will a Corsair CMPSU-400W be comfortably enough for a G80 8800GTS 320mb? If so, would there be any headroom for future upgrades?

I'll see how well the Sempron does, and decide whether I need to upgrade the CPU/Heatsink down the road. Hopefully the GPU is the primary thing that needs to be replaced later.
 
nice case.

yup. yup, quite a bit of headroom with that cpu/gpu combo, hehe.

plz remember to post pics! :)
 
Hey guys, here's how it went down.

Everyone went fine with the build, but I ordered an XFX 650W PSU as I wanted to return the Corsair CX400W to the other PC. It came in today, and I installed it.

However - one of the modular SATA power cables broke, so I decided to use one from my Corsair HX850W since they looked identical... well, not such a great idea.

I plugged it in and I turned it on. I hear a crackling sound, thinking maybe there was a cable stuck in a fan. However, I looked up and saw smoke, which of course prompts me to turn it off and look inside.

The damage? 640GB Caviar Blue connector is burned good. The SATA port on the motherboard has some plastic burned on and the metal latch from the SATA connector. Here's how the HDD looks.



So it's pretty obvious that's a goner. However, would you think the motherboard needs to be replaced? Of course it would be ideal, but considering the damage I think an RMA is out of the question.

Amateur mistake, had to learn the lesson the hard way.
 
Yeah now you know modular cables are not interchangeable, despite being from the same manufacturer.

Yeah an RMA is in order for the mobo. You might not be able to RMA the drive though.
 
I'm trying an RMA, but don't have my hopes too high considering the damage and how it occured.

However, do you think that perhaps something else could have been damaged? The motherboard was burned, so I'm thinking there could be a chance. What about the PSU since it led to the melting cable?

Also, does anyone have any ideas for some dark-yellowish smudges on a case? The melting left some discolouring on the bottom of the case.

This isn't as bad as I would think since it isn't my primary PC, but certainly not fun considering the PC was THAT close to being finished. :(
 
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wow.. everything that was connected could potentially be damaged. just wow..
 
Too bad I missed this topic because I was actually going to recommend a mac mini. Seemed like it would've been a good fit for you.
 
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