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Silent PC build help needed - Linux

MountainX said:
Awesome. Thank you!

OK. The very first review on NewEgg was from someone running Ubuntu with this drive and he gave it 5 eggs, so that answers my concerns about Linux compatibility.

He mentions "Micro Adapter required" but I'm not sure what item to order for that adapter. So... back to NewEgg :)
Click to expand...

I read up a little more. I don't like the idea of a "Micro Sata to Sata adapter" so I'm not going with that SSD. I think I'll stick with the originally recommended OCZ.'

Regarding the GPU, I appreciate the good recommendations and the logic is sound. But there is no way I'm scaling back the GPU below the GT220. I might be wasting a few bucks, but I want to be sure I'm covered. I want sharp text, fast screen redraws, good compiz support, and very snappy video performance with lots of windows open, adequate video playback, etc. I really don't know the minimum GPU that would satisfy my needs, so its worth it to go with at least the GT220. That's my opinion. I'll report back how well things go and let you know. :)
 
mutantmagnet said:
Now that the OP mentions he spends his time programming I would insist he scale back the money on the gpu and get an even better CPU because it will help with his productivity.
Click to expand...

Interesting thought on the CPU... suddenly I remember Danny Bui's post from page 1...
Danny Bui said:
Personally, I'd go with the Phenom II 1055T just to have six cores. However defaultluser might disagree with me on that.
Click to expand...

Has anything in this discussion tilted the scales in favor of the Phenom II 1055T?

The combo below gives more CPU cores (6 vs 4) and saves $40 too:

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX

GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
 
MountainX said:
Has anything in this discussion tilted the scales in favor of the Phenom II 1055T?
Click to expand...

Just the larger number of cores

As defaultuser pointed out: The Phenom 1055T uses more power and therefore generates more heat and therefore will be harder to keep quiet than the Core i5 750. The Core i5 750's single threaded performance still outperforms the 1055T's single threaded performance.

Remember that the Core i5 750 was a compromise between the Core i5 650's single threaded goodness and the AMD Phenom 1055T's multiple cores. If you don't care about the higher heat, higher power usage, lower single threaded performance, slightly louder noise, then by all means get the AMD Phenom 1055T for its six cores and lower costs.
 
Danny Bui said:
If you don't care about the higher heat, higher power usage, lower single threaded performance, slightly louder noise, then by all means get the AMD Phenom 1055T for its six cores and lower costs.
Click to expand...

Well I do care about all those things! :)

I want a silent PC, so I guess the i5 750 still wins out.
 
flexcore said:
If you subscribe to newegg promo(eblast?) they have
gskill 2 x 4GB 1600 cas 9 for $155
Mushkin 2 x 4GB 1333 cas 9 for $132
Seasonix X650 for $110

I just picked up the the gskill and the X650. Pretty good deals. Promo last till 10/20 I think.
Click to expand...

I have been trying to find out how to get this deal on the SeaSonic PSU. No luck... can anyone provide a link?
 
AMD_RULES said:
What did you end up ordering?
Click to expand...

Given your forum name, I do admit some guilt for not ordering AMD. Going with Intel was a hard decision. If someone had given a strong argument in favor of AMD, I would have gladly gone that way.

Here's what I ordered. If anyone sees a problem, please tell me!

Shipping Method: Two-Day Shipping
Subtotal of Items: $419.97
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
------
Total for this Order: $419.97


Delivery estimate: October 22, 2010
1 "SeaSonic 650W Power Supply X650 Gold"
Electronics; $139.99

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 "Prolimatech CPU Cooler for Intel Socket 1156, 1366 and 775 Megahalems Rev. B (Silver)"
Electronics; $62.00

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 "OCZ Technology 60 GB Vertex 2 Series SATA II 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive (SSD) OCZSSD22VTXE60G"
Electronics; $144.99

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC


Delivery estimate: October 22, 2010
1 "Zotac Zone GeForce GT 220 1 GB 128-bit DDR2 625MHz/800MHz PCI-Express Graphics Card ZT-20204-20L"
Electronics; $72.99

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC

-----------------------

Order Summary
Qty Product Description Price
1

DISCOUNT FOR COMBO #520622
-$14.99

Shipping from NJ, USA
1

BYTECC 6 ft. HDMI Male to DVI-D Male Single Link Cable Model HDMID-6
Item #: N82E16812270113

Standard Return Policy

$5.99

1

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I5750
Item #: N82E16819115215

CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

$194.99

1

GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128425

Standard Return Policy

$104.99

1

ASUS USB-BT211 USB 2.0 Mini Bluetooth Dongle
Item #: N82E16833320057

Standard Return Policy

$14.99

1

LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106289

Standard Return Policy

$19.99

4

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231310

Memory Standard Return Policy

$279.96
($69.99 ea)

1

SABRENT CRW-UINB 68-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader w/ USB 2.0 Port supports SDHC/VISTA
Item #: N82E16820300608

Standard Return Policy

$14.00

Shipping from TN, USA
1

Antec P183 Black Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129061

Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

$129.99

Subtotal $749.91
Tax $0.00
UPS 3 DAYS $12.72
Order Total $762.63
 
In case it interests anybody, here are the exact details of the PC that this new build will be replacing, 4 and a half years later.

Order date: 2/28/2006

Qty Product Description Price
1
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 500 (PC 4000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWINX2048-4000PT
Item #: N82E16820145596
$220.00
1
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Item #: N82E16835100007
$5.99
1
NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A - OEM
Item #: N82E16827152058
$39.75
1
ZALMAN 9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Item #: N82E16835118223
$59.99
1
ASUS A8N5X 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131569
$83.99
1
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 2.0GHz Socket 939 Dual-Core Processor ADA3800BVBOX
Item #: N82E16819103562
$297.00
1
ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT 500W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817194003
$109.99
1
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811119068
$49.99

UPS 3 DAYS $49.82
Order Total $916.52

Added video card in next order:
1
PNY VCQ4285NVS-PCIE-PB Quadro NVS 285 64MB 64-bit DDR PCI Express x16 Workstation Video Card
Item #: N82E16814133156
$151.00
Subtotal $217.98
Tax $0.00
FedEx 1Day $35.00
Rush Processing $2.99
Order Total $255.97

-------------------------------------------------------

3/14/2008 Upgraded video card:

Qty Product Description Price
1
MSI NX8600GT-T2D256EZ GeForce 8600 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814127293

MSI 626 913 0828
$89.99
Subtotal $89.99
UPS Ground $7.15
Order Total $97.14

---

Also ordered a bunch of fans, only some of which were used in this build:

Qty Product Description Price
2
ZALMAN FB123 92mm Case Fan
Item #: N82E16835118204
$10.90
($5.45 ea)
1
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D 120mm Case Fan
Item #: N82E16835185004
$14.99
1
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Case Fan
Item #: N82E16835185006
$14.99
1
SILVERSTONE FM121 120mm Case Fan
Item #: N82E16811999344
$15.99

ZALMAN ZM-MFC1 Fan Controller Panel
Item #: N82E16813999251
$26.99
1
ZALMAN FAN MATE 2 Fan Controller
Item #: N82E16835118217
$5.99
1
Dynatron BH-625/C62 60mm 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink
Item #: N82E16835114012
$11.49
1
ZALMAN VF700-CU 2 Ball VGA Cooler
Item #: N82E16835118117
$29.99
 
In my original post I said I planned on keeping my two HP L2335 monitors for another year... however, today I learned about this monitor:

$1132 - Smart Buy 30IN LCD 2560X1600 1000:1 ZR30W Dvi-d Dp 7MS S-ips U.s

Will the build I just ordered drive this monitor sufficiently? I hope so...
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Danny Bui said:
It should.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I thought it might be appropriate to ask that question in a new thread in the video card section of [H], so I did that. It started an interesting discussion.

I have learned a lot on this build so far. Thank you very much for your help!
 
Danny Bui said:
It should.
Click to expand...

First, forgive me for discussing my video card question in two threads... but Danny Bui is only reading this thread and I would like his opinion because we have been discussion my video card wants extensively in this thread already.

I just read this review:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/10/11/galaxy_geforce_gt_430_video_card_review/
It states:
NVIDIA claims that the GeForce GT 430 should have approximately 2x as much geometry and shader horsepower as the GeForce GT 220, which is the video card it intends to replace.
Click to expand...

Now I'm really inclined to return my GT 220 and order the GT430. I notice the 430 has the highest VDPAU feature set (C) like the 220, which is good.

I guess I might pay a price in heat by going with the 430... and that's a concern. Is there anything else I should consider in making this choice?

(As you can tell, the video card choice is important. I hope I'm not asking too many questions about it!)
 
I still don't see why you keep worrying about the GPU's performance. You're not gaming and Compiz Fusion doesn't require that much horsepower AFAIK. I've asked this multiple times and you've been ignoring it: WHY DO YOU NEED THAT MUCH GPU POWER FOR?

I'm struggling to understand why you want so much GPU power in the first place. If I don't understand that, how the hell can I help you?
 
Danny Bui said:
WHY DO YOU NEED THAT MUCH GPU POWER FOR?
Click to expand...

Here are some typical things I do where I notice severe limitations in my current hardware. I just want to make sure that my new hardware doesn't have these limitations

* HD video playback (e.g., MotoGP.com -- or even some DVD movies) - I can see some stutter or artifacts in action scenes or even some scenes that simply pan a landscape
* multi-display support - dragging windows isn't always smooth
* scrolling and panning a large spreadsheet that is displayed across both monitors can be very slow
* opening large spreadsheets is slow at the point where the display is rendered (e.g., adapting row height, etc.)
* photo editing in The Gimp is sometimes slow
* web browsing - when I have multiple tabs open, page rendering is noticeably slow. I have dual dual broadband connections (cable and DSL). The bottle neck in web browser performance seems to be CPU and/or GPU performance (my guess).
* Netbeans IDE - dragging tabs (undocking/redocking) is slow.
 
The first one I can understand but the thing is that most current gen video cards can handle HD content just fine. That includes the GT 210 mentioned earlier

The second I'm thinking GPU driver related as I noticed the same thing with Linux and my 8800GT awhile back but updated my drivers afterwards

The third and fourth is related to the CPU and HDD.

The fifth is RAM, CPU, partially GPU, and HDD related.

The six and seventh items is related to CPU, HDD, and RAM.

I'm fairly sure that you GT 220 will be more than capable of handling your needs. But if you're gonna be paranoid and a worrywort and if you want to throught the trouble of returning the card, then go for the GT 430.
 
Danny Bui said:
The first one I can understand but the thing is that most current gen video cards can handle HD content just fine. That includes the GT 210 mentioned earlier

The second I'm thinking GPU driver related as I noticed the same thing with Linux and my 8800GT awhile back but updated my drivers afterwards

The third and fourth is related to the CPU and HDD.

The fifth is RAM, CPU, partially GPU, and HDD related.

The six and seventh items is related to CPU, HDD, and RAM.

I'm fairly sure that you GT 220 will be more than capable of handling your needs. But if you're gonna be paranoid and a worrywort and if you want to throught the trouble of returning the card, then go for the GT 430.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your insights about the probable causes of the issues I'm seeing. That's helpful. I wish I had your understanding of computer hardware.

I think I'll try both video cards and see if there is any difference in the new system. The GT 430 has a 45 day return policy. I got the GT 220 from Amazon.com, so returning it is no problem. Therefore, it will be easy to try both and find out if the GT430 is any better for me.

If I like the GT430 (and if the heat isn't a problem for my silent system) it seems like a good deal compared to the GT 220 - it's only about $7 more while being significantly faster*.

*NVIDIA claims that the GeForce GT 430 should have approximately 2x as much geometry and shader horsepower as the GeForce GT 220.
 
My Zotac GT220 card arrived today (from Amazon). The motherboard, CPU, cables, etc. did not arrive from NewEgg yet.

I think I will put the GT 220 in my current PC and test it out. However, the HDMI to DVI cable* Danny Bui recommended is not here yet.

The card has a VGA out connector. And I have a VGA to HDMI cable. Will that work? Or will I just get an analog signal out of that port no matter how/what it is connected to?

The documentation with the card is sparse - just a "quick start guide". And the Zotac website seems to have no info.
---
*BYTECC 6 ft. HDMI Male to DVI-D Male Single Link Cable Model HDMID-6
 
MountainX said:
The card has a VGA out connector. And I have a VGA to HDMI cable. Will that work? Or will I just get an analog signal out of that port no matter how/what it is connected to?/QUOTE]

It'll work but you'll only get analog signal
Click to expand...
 
All my parts arrived. I have a couple questions.

1. Any tips for applying the thermal compound? Any links to recommended how-to articles on this? I have some experience with this, but I'd like to see if I can upgrade my skills.

2. The P183 case is larger than I expected. It's actually far larger than I need for the components I have. I'm thinking about looking for another case before I do the build.

I looked at this one:
LIAN LI PC-A05NB Black Aluminum ATX Mini Tower

The size seem right, but it sounds like it won't be a good match for my PSU...

I also looked at these. They are too big too.

$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$250 - Silverstone Fortress Series FT02B ATX case

I also reviewed this link, but didn't see any other cases mentioned (than the ones I looked at already):
http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums...p?f=15&t=60221
 
Danny Bui said:
The Lian Li does take some modification to keep quiet. And that's in addition to the some heat issues with the Lian A05. Check out the Antec Solo and see if fits. Since this is not a gaming PC, the GPU length issues with that case shouldn't affect you.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation of the Antec Solo. The size is more to my liking. The thickness seems sufficient for my CPU cooler too. This may be the right case for me.
 
I need recommendations on a few small parts to finish up my build:

1. a USB front panel hub that will fit in a 5 1/4 (or 3.5") drive bay and plug into the USB header on the mobo. It would be great to find one with 8 USB ports.

2. a DB9 serial port that will fit in a card slot opening on the back of the case and plug into the COM port header on this mobo.

(Does anyone make a front panel that has USB and a DB9 serial?)

3. does anyone make a front panel lcd (controller) that will give temperature readouts from this mobo?

4. are there any front panels that also control power, sleep/suspend, and things like that?

Thanks!
 
MountainX said:
I need recommendations on a few small parts to finish up my build:

1. a USB front panel hub that will fit in a 5 1/4 (or 3.5") drive bay and plug into the USB header on the mobo. It would be great to find one with 8 USB ports.

2. a DB9 serial port that will fit in a card slot opening on the back of the case and plug into the COM port header on this mobo.

(Does anyone make a front panel that has USB and a DB9 serial?)

3. does anyone make a front panel lcd (controller) that will give temperature readouts from this mobo?

4. are there any front panels that also control power, sleep/suspend, and things like that?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm still looking for these parts.

For the DB9 serial port adapter/bracket, I found this for Intel mobos. Will it work with the Gigabyte? Is there a better one?

Cables To Go 28300 DB9 Male Serial Add-A-Port Adapter with Bracket for Intel Motherboards

I didn't find any USB front panels yet...
 
For this build (with the Antec Solo case and 2 Yate Loon 120 mm fans) what CPU, GPU and system board idle and load temps should I expect?
 
The system is very quiet so far (and it will get quieter when the rest of my parts arrive).

Under normal use here are the temps I'm seeing:
mobo: 42 degrees
CPU: 31
GPU: 50

Under max CPU load*, here are the temps:
mobo: 54 degrees
CPU: 60
GPU: 55

Under near max CPU load plus moderate GPU load**:
mobo: 55 degrees
CPU: 55
GPU: 65

*max CPU load achieved with the cpuburn. Here's the info about it:

CPU Burn contains several benchmark applications for stressing Intel P5, Intel P6, AMD K6 and AMD K7. The benchmark tools can run without root privileges.

These programs are designed to stress x86 CPU's as heavily as possible for testing a system. The goal of the programs is to maximize heat production from the CPU, which results in stressing the CPU, cooling system, motherboard and power supply. The programs have been optimized for different processors.
Click to expand...

**To put a little load on the GPU I'm just running glxgears in full screen while also running cpuburn to max out 3 of the 4 cores. Glxgears nearly maxes out the 4th core.
 
Temps looks fine to me. Never had a chance to work with the Solo so can't really say what the expected temps should be.
 
Got my Antec Solo case and Yate Loon fans finally! I moved everything over to my new case today.

Did I get a bad batch of Yate Loon fans? I know these fans have a great rep, but all 4 of the 120mm Yate Loon fans I ordered have significant motor/bearing noise. On top of this, the fan/air noise is fairly loud too. The Scythe S-Flex fans in my old PC are way, way quieter.

I have one Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D 800 RPM fan which sounds dead silent to me. (I know there are supposedly quieter fans, but I really can't hear this one at all.) My other Scythe is a 1200 RPM model and it is super quiet too. I bought these Scythe fans in 2007 and they are still working great, so maybe the claims about the FDBs are true. Should I order more of these for my new case? Is there something better now?

All the fan reviews I can find on SPCR are old. Is the info in them still valid? The newest fan review I could find is this one:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16393
 
Last edited:
Those fan info is still valid. Yes the S-Flex fans are still good choices. Though the Sycthe Slipstream fans are just as quiet.

You probably got a bad batch of those Yate Loon fans. Though which ones did you specifically buy? Also, did you try volt-modding those Yate Loons?
 
Danny Bui said:
Those fan info is still valid. Yes the S-Flex fans are still good choices. Though the Sycthe Slipstream fans are just as quiet.

You probably got a bad batch of those Yate Loon fans. Though which ones did you specifically buy? Also, did you try volt-modding those Yate Loons?
Click to expand...

I purchased the Yate Loons from the link you gave me on page 1 of this thread:
http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-120mm-Case-Fan-D12SL-12-pr-3009.html
(I bought the closed corner model on that page.)

I'm using a Zalman fan voltage control. (I want to use something else.) I can drop the RPM pretty low, but all of the Yate Loon fans have a fairly loud ticking even at the lowest RPM, and there is some faint whistling squeal sound too. They are louder at 5V than the S-Flex SFF21D is at 12 V (800 RPM).

Also, what about fans that will use the 4-pin connectors on my mobo. (I think those 4-pin fan connectors use PWM, right?) What fans would you recommend that are PWM-friendly?

Where can I find cables that will let me run more than one fan off each PWM connector on my mobo?

Thanks again.
 
MountainX said:
I purchased the Yate Loons from the link you gave me on page 1 of this thread:
http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-120mm-Case-Fan-D12SL-12-pr-3009.html
(I bought the closed corner model on that page.)

I'm using a Zalman fan voltage control. (I want to use something else.) I can drop the RPM pretty low, but all of the Yate Loon fans have a fairly loud ticking even at the lowest RPM, and there is some faint whistling squeal sound too. They are louder at 5V than the S-Flex SFF21D is at 12 V (800 RPM).
Click to expand...
Hmm either you have defective Yate Loons or that Zalman fan control isn't helping anything.

MountainX said:
Also, what about fans that will use the 4-pin connectors on my mobo. (I think those 4-pin fan connectors use PWM, right?) What fans would you recommend that are PWM-friendly?
Click to expand...
I'll be honest: I actually don't pay attention whether or not a fan is PWM friendly. I usually just volt mod the fans or buy quiet fans to begin with.

MountainX said:
Where can I find cables that will let me run more than one fan off each PWM connector on my mobo?
Click to expand...

Newegg
 
Awesome! Thanks. I don't know how you found that :)

I'm going to try the Scythe Slip stream SY1225SL12LM-P fans (with PWM).

I'll let you know how they work once they get here.

(I think you are right about my Yate Loon fans - they must be a bad batch or were damaged somehow.)
 
My new fans arrived - Scythe Slip stream SY1225SL12LM-P fans (with PWM).
I also moved everything over to my new Antec Solo case, as I mentioned in a prior post.

Danny Bui, it might not surprise you to hear that I ended up not using the PWM feature of the fans. I got better results just controlling the voltage manually, exactly like you said. (But these Scythe PWM fans were no more expensive than non-PWM fans, so it was not a loss to get them. And, who knows, I might use the PWM feature in the future...)

The finished system is very quiet and very cool. :)

Here are the old temps (from a few posts earlier):

Under normal use here are the temps I'm seeing:
mobo: 42 degrees
CPU: 31
GPU: 50
Click to expand...

Here are the new temps:
Under normal use here are the temps I'm seeing:
mobo: 31 degrees
CPU: 25
GPU: 40-41

The weather did get a little colder, so my room is a few degrees colder now. But it is also clear that the case and fans dropped the temperature considerably while also making it quieter. All fans are running between 600 and 800 RPM.

It is very, very quiet. Unless I put my ear right up to it, I can't hear it. :)

This system meets all my goals. Thanks again!
 
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