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Advise before I head to the online store?

O

Oddish

Member
I?m on my way to my online store to get the below system (everything that?s missing I?ll get from another computer) and I just wanted to see if anyone can answer the questions I have, or has any comments or advise before I spend my hard earned cash.

Thanks in advance!

Case:
Antec Sonata (with TruePower 380W)

Motherboard:
MSI 875P NEO-LSR

Question: Simply put: is this a good motherboard for the rest of the components? I can get it at a really good price through my job. Otherwise I might have chosen an ASUS board.

Processor:
Intel Pentium 4 Northwood 2.8GHz 512Kb 800MHz

Question: What confuses me is that the webshop that I?m going to order from has got a 2.8 MHz P4 with 800 MHz system bus, but according to Intel?s website there?s only 800 MHz system bus on the 3 GHz processor. *confused*

Processor cooling:
Arctic Cooling Super Silent 4 TC (edited after advise in this thread)
Arctic Silver 3 Premium Thermal Compound

Question: Is this enough?

Memory:
2 x TwinMOS Original 512Mb DDR-DIMM PC3200/DDR400 184pin 400MHz

Question: Can I take advantage of the dual-channel memory technology with the above memory modules or do I need a special kind of memory? There was no mention of it on TwinMOS?s website.

VGA Heatpipe Cooler
Zalman ZM80HP

I bought a Saphire Radeon 9700 Pro yesterday, and it sounds terrible so I?m getting this cooler for it. Any comments? Is it a bitch to install?

I would really appreciate any comments you might have since I don?t wanna pay all this cash and get stuck with a poor system.
 
For an extra $45 I can get

Corsair TWINX512-3200LL 512Mb (2x256Mb) DDR PC3200 CAS2 400Mhz with Black Heatsink

Instead of the two TwinMOS memory sticks above. Is it worth it?

Ooops, I thought that was 2x512. Maaan those Corsair memory sticks are expensive. Forget this post.
 
The 2.8 Northwoods have a 533 MHz bus, not an 800 MHz bus. There is only a 3.0 processor available with an 800 MHz bus. Any two sticks of usable DDR is fine for Dual-Channel DDR.
 
There have been a trickle of 2.4, 2.6 and 2.8C 800 MHz FSB CPUs being sold. I'd be VERY SURE that is what they are selling you. The case and mobo are nice choices as is the ram.

Are you going to overclock it? I'm not wild about the cooler because of the 38 dB of noise it makes.
 
Originally posted by: oldfart
There have been a trickle of 2.4, 2.6 and 2.8C 800 MHz FSB CPUs being sold. I'd be VERY SURE that is what they are selling you. The case and mobo are nice choices as is the ram.

Are you going to overclock it? I'm not wild about the cooler because of the 38 dB of noise it makes.
Click to expand...

I don't know why you think that is loud, even though you are quoting 38dba, that is relative (to how close the meter is), and by the review I saw on Tomshardware.com, and by personal experience (I own 2 of them) those are almost the quietest fans around. It also cools VERY well, even for overclocking. My XP2700 at PC3500 levels runs 39c !

 
Originally posted by: oldfart
There have been a trickle of 2.4, 2.6 and 2.8C 800 MHz FSB CPUs being sold. I'd be VERY SURE that is what they are selling you.
Click to expand...
So, what is a "2.8C"? Is that the same as the Northwood 2.8 only with 800MHz FSB or is it slower? I tried to Google it, but I couldn't find any info.

It makes sense that the 2.8C is more lame since the normal 2.8 is about $100 more expensive. I'm clueless here, should I go with another processor, and if so, do I need the above motherboard? I'm sorry if these are retarded questions but this is my first home-made system and I'm not very experienced when it comes to these things.

Originally posted by: oldfart
Are you going to overclock it? I'm not wild about the cooler because of the 38 dB of noise it makes.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't know how to, but if I get into that in the future, I'll make sure to get some good cooling. 🙂

 
2.8C means 800 MHz FSB. 2.8B is 533 MHz FSB.

As far as noise goes, it is a personal preference. I cant tell you how many products I've owned that were too noisy for me that others thought were "quiet". Here is a gauge for you. I think the stock P4 HS/Fan is too noisy. I did a Google search on "Vantec VP4-C7040 Aeroflow" and looked at the first review that got a hit.
Rated at 5600 RPM, this particular fan pushes 35.5 CFM at a noise level of 38 dBA. This might seem noisy for P4 users accustomed to the quiet noise levels of the stock Intel cooler
Click to expand...
Since I consider the "quiet noise levels" of the P4 HS/Fan as too loud, I doubt I'd be very happy with something that is considerably louder.

If you are not overclocking, why not just use the factory HS/Fan?
 
yeah, that's actually silly. If you're going to use the zalman (that's the passive version right?), it would be foolish to buy a 38db fan (that's quite loud). Instead, try pairing a lowdb 80mm with anyone of the 80mm p4 heatsinks available. It shouldn't run more than $30 for the pair, and it will be money well spent.
 
I use an Alpha 8942 and a Panaflo L1A 80 mm. 21 dB is a heck of a lot quieter than 38dB. This is cooling a P4 2.4B @ 3.06 GHz.
 
I don't want to be too much of a quiet freak, but that chipset fan is going to be screeching within a week. Might want to grab a cheap zalman chipset cooler as well.
 
As far as the fan I haven't used it, but if you are ify because you thinks it's loud look at the Thermalright SLK-800-U, I have this paired with a VANTEC stealth 80mm fan and it is amazingly quite. I OC like an SOB and my CPU stays at 35c 🙂. (2.66 northwood).
 
One thing often overlooked is airflow through the case. Very rarely is my case temp above room temp because I have 5 (7 if you include PSU fans) moving air either in our out of the case. You won't need active cooling on the northbridge if you use a large heatsink and have good airflow through the case.
 
I can never understand why people use so many fans. I have 1 intake and 1 exhaust. They are both Panaflo L1As. This is overkill. I could lose the front intake and still be fine. PS is an Antec True330 which has variable speed thermal controlled fans.

Anyway, sorry to hijack the thread into a quiet PC thread. I could go on an on about it (as you've seen) 😉.

If you are buying a retail 2.8 boxed CPU, just use the HS/F it comes with. It is fine.
 
Well, I don't wanna be stuck with the fan that comes with a boxed CPU since I might get the urge to attempt some overclocking in the future. I'll see if I can get hold of the fan recommended by "isaacmacdonald" (Arctic Cooling Super Silent 4 TC) since it's supposedly "Super Silent". 😉
 
Originally posted by: isaacmacdonald
I don't want to be too much of a quiet freak, but that chipset fan is going to be screeching within a week. Might want to grab a cheap zalman chipset cooler as well.
Click to expand...

EDIT: I just ordered a Zalman NB32J

Thanks for the tip!
 
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