I posted a version of this over on ars, but I'd like to see if I get some different responses here. I am looking to build a new computer that will serve as my primary machine. Gaming is one of the demands.
I had two main goals for this system.
(1) It must be very quiet, preferrably inaudible from a meter away. That's not to say that while under load it needs to be completely silent. But if I leave it on overnight idling, I don't want to hear it.
I do not want to have to control fan speeds manually.
(2) It has to be upgradeable. My current machine was built just before 64 bit processors and PCI-E, and I didn't go SATA either. I want to avoid having that happen again.
My idea was originally to buy a 939 X2 system, run up a tab of around $1500, and hope that would last me a while. However, the imminent releases of AM2 and Conroe are not sitting well with my plan. So in the middle of that Ars thread, I came up with another idea. I would build a cheaper system to hold me over for a 8-12 months, hopefully by which time AMD will have its response to Conroe, and prices will be nicer. Then I step up into a new processor and maybe video card.
Before I go on, here is my current system:
Kingwin KT-436
AMD Barton 2800+
Radeon 9800 Pro (128)
512 Crucial PC2700 Ram (I can't get more than 1 stick to run without BSOD...long story)
Thermaltake Silent PurePower 420W Power Supply
Coolermaster Aero 7 Lite
Words can't express how loud this thing is, and I have no idea where to start isolating it. If I turn down the CPU blower/fan, it gets a bit quieter but the CPU heats up considerably. Power supply is pretty damn loud. I suspect that most of the other noise comes from the case fans and video card fan.
Ok, so if I followed my marginally better build followed by a big upgrade, the initial system might look like this:
Processor
Socket 754 vs 939 for $80-120 (I need suggestions here). This computer would be used for gaming, word processing, perhaps some media encoding/decoding, and maybe for music listening. Although I would be upgrading from the processor in about a year, I would like for the processor to retain value, whether resold or reused (I will go into that later).
I've heard that Socket 754 will be supported for longer, but I'm not really sure if that matters much. I guess if they continue releasing Socket 754 processors for a while, I could upgrade without jumping to a new motherboard.
AMD Sempron 64 3100+ vs AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Sempron is ~$20 cheaper, has half the L2 Cache
Case
The first important component when it comes to goal #1! I've been looking at a few cases, namely the Antec Sonata II, Antec P180, and MNPCTech Modded cases. I would probably go with the P180 over the Sonata. As far as the modded case goes, it carries a fairly large premium. However, it probably comes the most prepared for silent operation.
note: http://www.mnpctech.com/ThermaltakeSwing_Modified.html
PSU
This might be the biggest source of noise in my current machine. It seems that the only logical option, outside of attempting a passively cooled PSU, is a Seasonic. I will probably be going with the 500w version. These are expensive components though. I want to be using the Seasonic for a few years down the road. Is 500w safe, especially if I want to leave this on 24/7? Should I go 600w?
Video Card
Ok, here is the next problem. With DX10 coming within the next 12 months, the current card will probably not see the inside of the upgraded system. It does need to be able to handle games until then (a la Oblivion). However, remember goal 1. I need a graphics card that will operate quietly when I'm not encoding video or playing games. I planned to spend ~$150 for this purpose, but I have not read any reviews of cards in that range which can operate silently. That said, I'm going from newegg "reviews". In dire need of suggestions in this department.
Motherboard
I'm having trouble finding passively cooled boards. I won't need SLI. I will need onboard audio. I would like to spend $80 or less here.
HSF
Important when it comes to noise, although I'm not really sure which way to go. XP-120 (attach temperature controlled fan), Scythe Ninja (again w/ temp controlled fan), Zalman9500. Then again, if I'm not overclocking, these processors might not even need these higher end solutions. I could probably get away with an XP-90 or a Zalman 7000/7700. I think the main goal here is automation of fan speed. Any of these can run quietly if the fan isn't spinning on full.
Hard Drives
I'm pretty loyal to Seagate, and they typically have had the quietest solutions. However, I've been reading reviews that their most recent line is a bit noisy.
Throw on 1 gig of Corsair ValueRam ($80)
$150 for hard drive(s)/optical drives
To summarize, that's about $1000 making a few assumptions, such as being able to find a $150 video card that fills my needs, spending $250 on the most expensive case. That means to meet my original price goal of $1500, I'd have $500 to spend 12 months down the line to upgrade this to a modern powerful rig. The transition would go as follows:
SocketA/Barton2800+ board/processor are removed from Kingwin case
939/754 board/processor removed from P180 or MNPCtech case
939/754 board/processor installed in Kingwin case
New motherboard/processor installed in P180 or MNPCtech case
Seasonic remains in new case with upgraded components
TT 420w power supply remains in Kingwin case, unless it isn't powerful enough
So, I will have $500 for:
Processor
Motherboard
Video Card
Memory
Hard Drives? (I have a 40gig and a 120 gig in my current computer, 160 in another, and will probably end up with a 250gig in the initial build. While I would like to re-rip my music collection into lossless, I could probably do without more hard drives
I would probably want to jump up to 2 gigs of memory, which would probably cost me ~$150 assuming prices remain constant. $200 processor. $200 video card. $100 motherboard. Pushing $700. It is a bit over what I wanted to spend initially, but then, the timing is better and it will last longer. Going with one of the Antec cases would also make a notable difference here.
That's just about all I have to say. I've got a lot of questions there, so I hope someone roughs through it and can give me some suggestions. Is my logic sound in my upgrade path?
I had two main goals for this system.
(1) It must be very quiet, preferrably inaudible from a meter away. That's not to say that while under load it needs to be completely silent. But if I leave it on overnight idling, I don't want to hear it.
I do not want to have to control fan speeds manually.
(2) It has to be upgradeable. My current machine was built just before 64 bit processors and PCI-E, and I didn't go SATA either. I want to avoid having that happen again.
My idea was originally to buy a 939 X2 system, run up a tab of around $1500, and hope that would last me a while. However, the imminent releases of AM2 and Conroe are not sitting well with my plan. So in the middle of that Ars thread, I came up with another idea. I would build a cheaper system to hold me over for a 8-12 months, hopefully by which time AMD will have its response to Conroe, and prices will be nicer. Then I step up into a new processor and maybe video card.
Before I go on, here is my current system:
Kingwin KT-436
AMD Barton 2800+
Radeon 9800 Pro (128)
512 Crucial PC2700 Ram (I can't get more than 1 stick to run without BSOD...long story)
Thermaltake Silent PurePower 420W Power Supply
Coolermaster Aero 7 Lite
Words can't express how loud this thing is, and I have no idea where to start isolating it. If I turn down the CPU blower/fan, it gets a bit quieter but the CPU heats up considerably. Power supply is pretty damn loud. I suspect that most of the other noise comes from the case fans and video card fan.
Ok, so if I followed my marginally better build followed by a big upgrade, the initial system might look like this:
Processor
Socket 754 vs 939 for $80-120 (I need suggestions here). This computer would be used for gaming, word processing, perhaps some media encoding/decoding, and maybe for music listening. Although I would be upgrading from the processor in about a year, I would like for the processor to retain value, whether resold or reused (I will go into that later).
I've heard that Socket 754 will be supported for longer, but I'm not really sure if that matters much. I guess if they continue releasing Socket 754 processors for a while, I could upgrade without jumping to a new motherboard.
AMD Sempron 64 3100+ vs AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Sempron is ~$20 cheaper, has half the L2 Cache
Case
The first important component when it comes to goal #1! I've been looking at a few cases, namely the Antec Sonata II, Antec P180, and MNPCTech Modded cases. I would probably go with the P180 over the Sonata. As far as the modded case goes, it carries a fairly large premium. However, it probably comes the most prepared for silent operation.
note: http://www.mnpctech.com/ThermaltakeSwing_Modified.html
PSU
This might be the biggest source of noise in my current machine. It seems that the only logical option, outside of attempting a passively cooled PSU, is a Seasonic. I will probably be going with the 500w version. These are expensive components though. I want to be using the Seasonic for a few years down the road. Is 500w safe, especially if I want to leave this on 24/7? Should I go 600w?
Video Card
Ok, here is the next problem. With DX10 coming within the next 12 months, the current card will probably not see the inside of the upgraded system. It does need to be able to handle games until then (a la Oblivion). However, remember goal 1. I need a graphics card that will operate quietly when I'm not encoding video or playing games. I planned to spend ~$150 for this purpose, but I have not read any reviews of cards in that range which can operate silently. That said, I'm going from newegg "reviews". In dire need of suggestions in this department.
Motherboard
I'm having trouble finding passively cooled boards. I won't need SLI. I will need onboard audio. I would like to spend $80 or less here.
HSF
Important when it comes to noise, although I'm not really sure which way to go. XP-120 (attach temperature controlled fan), Scythe Ninja (again w/ temp controlled fan), Zalman9500. Then again, if I'm not overclocking, these processors might not even need these higher end solutions. I could probably get away with an XP-90 or a Zalman 7000/7700. I think the main goal here is automation of fan speed. Any of these can run quietly if the fan isn't spinning on full.
Hard Drives
I'm pretty loyal to Seagate, and they typically have had the quietest solutions. However, I've been reading reviews that their most recent line is a bit noisy.
Throw on 1 gig of Corsair ValueRam ($80)
$150 for hard drive(s)/optical drives
To summarize, that's about $1000 making a few assumptions, such as being able to find a $150 video card that fills my needs, spending $250 on the most expensive case. That means to meet my original price goal of $1500, I'd have $500 to spend 12 months down the line to upgrade this to a modern powerful rig. The transition would go as follows:
SocketA/Barton2800+ board/processor are removed from Kingwin case
939/754 board/processor removed from P180 or MNPCtech case
939/754 board/processor installed in Kingwin case
New motherboard/processor installed in P180 or MNPCtech case
Seasonic remains in new case with upgraded components
TT 420w power supply remains in Kingwin case, unless it isn't powerful enough
So, I will have $500 for:
Processor
Motherboard
Video Card
Memory
Hard Drives? (I have a 40gig and a 120 gig in my current computer, 160 in another, and will probably end up with a 250gig in the initial build. While I would like to re-rip my music collection into lossless, I could probably do without more hard drives
I would probably want to jump up to 2 gigs of memory, which would probably cost me ~$150 assuming prices remain constant. $200 processor. $200 video card. $100 motherboard. Pushing $700. It is a bit over what I wanted to spend initially, but then, the timing is better and it will last longer. Going with one of the Antec cases would also make a notable difference here.
That's just about all I have to say. I've got a lot of questions there, so I hope someone roughs through it and can give me some suggestions. Is my logic sound in my upgrade path?