Draft new PC build

[touc]

Hi all,

I've spent the last few days looking into the putting together of a new system. I would really appreciate any feedback as to the suitability of what I've chosen. Bear in mind I have no plans to overclock at present which accounts for the choice of ram (which I had the most trouble deciding over - I'm in the UK where it seems to be particularly expensive atm). This is what I've come up with:

Antec Sonata II case with 450W SmartPower 2.0 PSU

Core 2 Duo E6400 (using the heatsink that comes with it)

Gigabyte 965P-DS3 mobo

2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC5300 (667), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-15

Gigabyte GeForce 7600GT 256MB

2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB S300 HDs

Pioneer DVD+-R/RW Dual Layer 16x

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have!

 

[Operandi]

Looks good but I wouldn't trust any Antec case/PSU bundle at this point. Maybe the NeoHE but then there are better options in that price range.

I would suggest you purchase a case and PSU separately. Since I don't know where you are shopping I'll refrain from making specific recommendations for the case. For the PSU I would look for the Seasonic S12, the 330 watt variant will power that system easily with room for upgrades.

 

[LouPoir]

Looks good to me - I love Antec stuff

 

[pkme2]

Very nice, but change the PSU.

 

[Baked]

Buy the Enhance ENP-5140GH from ewiz.com and use the Antec PSU as backup in case the Enhance fails after 50 years.

 

[modestninja]

Originally posted by: Baked
Buy the Enhance ENP-5140GH from ewiz.com and use the Antec PSU as backup in case the Enhance fails after 50 years.

Only problem is that he's in the UK... I don't think the 5140 retains the bang for buck if you include the shipping and duty to get it to the UK (if ewiz even ships it there).

 

[modestninja]

Just checked, ewiz does ship to the UK. The price:

USPS Global $96.00

And that's the cheapest one. Ewiz is most likely out for the Op.

 

[Squeegemiester]

If you are going to use DDR2667, get CRUCIAL; get a PC Power &Cooling PSU - Silencer 470 or better; use an ABIT AW9D (or MAX) motherboard.

 

[dBTelos]

PC P&C is generally over priced, and I don't see any reason to recommend one here. The Truepower (or Sp, I forget which one is in the Sonata) has Fuhjyyu caps that will, in normal circumstances, die after a year or two (from heat). A FSP GLN 400W would be good, or a Seasonic S12 430W is another option.

 

[touc]

Thanks for the feedback guys. In truth the case/psu was the thing I was least sure about - I just copied it from a pc building guide. As modestninja said being from the UK is a pain when buying hardware at a decent price. I'll be ordering everything from the same couple of online UK sites to save money on delivery and ensure I get the parts by next weekend.

The big attraction for the Antec case was the reasonable price (given it had the psu included) and the noise reduction. I was also a fan of the design (asthetically speaking I'm not keen on cases with transparent sides).

If anyone has any recommendations for reasonably priced quiet cases and PSUs I'd be grateful.

Squeege - I'd be interested to know why you think this and if others agree with you. I'm not sure what you gain with Crucial ram and the DS3 mobo seems pretty popular as a mid-range priced mobo.

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: dBTelos
PC P&C is generally over priced, and I don't see any reason to recommend one here. The Truepower (or Sp, I forget which one is in the Sonata) has Fuhjyyu caps that will, in normal circumstances, die after a year or two (from heat). A FSP GLN 400W would be good, or a Seasonic S12 430W is another option.

Yep, bad caps. I think my 430W TruePower must have different caps, because it's powered 4 rigs over a 4-5 year period just fine

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: ariafrost

Originally posted by: dBTelos
PC P&C is generally over priced, and I don't see any reason to recommend one here. The Truepower (or Sp, I forget which one is in the Sonata) has Fuhjyyu caps that will, in normal circumstances, die after a year or two (from heat). A FSP GLN 400W would be good, or a Seasonic S12 430W is another option.

Yep, bad caps. I think my 430W TruePower must have different caps, because it's powered 4 rigs over a 4-5 year period just fine

Most of the failing Antecs are actually less then 4-5 years. It's more then likely a design problem just as much as it is due to using lower quality caps. Fuhjyyu may not be high-quality but there are certainly worse. Moreover Forton-Source has been using Fuhjyyu in their entry level PSUs for years of which I've used many (15+), I've never had or even seen one fail.

 

[touc]

Originally posted by: dBTelos
PC P&C is generally over priced, and I don't see any reason to recommend one here. The Truepower (or Sp, I forget which one is in the Sonata) has Fuhjyyu caps that will, in normal circumstances, die after a year or two (from heat). A FSP GLN 400W would be good, or a Seasonic S12 430W is another option.

Is this along the lines of the FSP you mentioned:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=468726

Again if anyone has any recommendations for quiet mid-rands cases (with no see through side panel) or PSUs I'm all ears

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: ariafrost

Originally posted by: dBTelos
PC P&C is generally over priced, and I don't see any reason to recommend one here. The Truepower (or Sp, I forget which one is in the Sonata) has Fuhjyyu caps that will, in normal circumstances, die after a year or two (from heat). A FSP GLN 400W would be good, or a Seasonic S12 430W is another option.

Yep, bad caps. I think my 430W TruePower must have different caps, because it's powered 4 rigs over a 4-5 year period just fine

I got an old school 480TP. Still going strong.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: touc

Originally posted by: dBTelos
PC P&C is generally over priced, and I don't see any reason to recommend one here. The Truepower (or Sp, I forget which one is in the Sonata) has Fuhjyyu caps that will, in normal circumstances, die after a year or two (from heat). A FSP GLN 400W would be good, or a Seasonic S12 430W is another option.

Is this along the lines of the FSP you mentioned:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=468726

Again if anyone has any recommendations for quiet mid-rands cases (with no see through side panel) or PSUs I'm all ears

This would be a better choice;Seasonic S12 330.

I don't see many/any good choices for cases on that site, but look around for Lian Li, InWin, or Compucase.

 

[modestninja]

This Silverstone is a high quality PSU. It's the manufactured by the same company (Enhance) as the 5140 he mentioned.

Others that are good quality:
400W SilverStone Strider aPFC PSU (Titanium black colour), Temp Controlled Fan (22 dBA min)

430w Seasonic S12-430 aPFC PSU Silent ATX2.0 *New Version RoHS

380W Seasonic S12-380 aPFC Hi-End PSU

Basically you should be fine with any of the Seasonics, Silverstones or Corsairs (if you want to spend more). Given the small price difference I'd stick with those that are 400W+.

 

[dBTelos]

Your link isn't opening for me, but if the model number look up says it's a GLN then I recommend it. IMO, it's one of the best FSP supplies and should be able to handle your system easy for many years. Not to mention very cheap in price.

And yes, Fuhjyyu caps aren't that bad. It's that they are so sensitive to heat that if you don't cool them properly (which Antec isn't doing) then they have a fairly short life.

 

[touc]

Thanks for the replies and the links.

I am thinking of going with one of the two silverstone models modestninja linked, though I am unsure which. Given they are of the same wattage are you paying for noise reduction? If so I would be happy to shell out the extra £10 or so.

Case wise I'm leaning towards the Antec solo which ticks all the boxes for me - simple design, small size, quiet - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129018

Look ok?

 

[dBTelos]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1954278&enterthread=y

 

[touc]

Misleading of me to post a link to it on a US site. I did so because they procide more information on it. I'm stuck buying from a site that chargers more in £ than you'd pay in $ and can't even provide a picture!

http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=44N3&fb=882&InMerch=1#

 

[dBTelos]

Ah! sorry about that.

 

[touc]

ok I'm going to take no replies to mean no objections! My finalised build is below - I'll place the orders tomorrow unless I wake up and find people telling me I've gone astray in this thread.

Antec Solo Quiet Mini Tower ATX Black NO PSU
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=44N3&fb=882&InMerch=1#

400W Silverstone SST-ST40EF PSU
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=483484

Core 2 Duo E6400 (using the heatsink that comes with it)

Gigabyte 965P-DS3 mobo

2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC5300 (667), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-15
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=291364

Gigabyte GeForce 7600GT 256MB
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=412319

2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB S300 HDs

Pioneer DVD+-R/RW Dual Layer 16x
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=401076

I hope this is all ok. Thanks to everyone who has provided advice.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: touc
ok I'm going to take no replies to mean no objections! My finalised build is below - I'll place the orders tomorrow unless I wake up and find people telling me I've gone astray in this thread.

Antec Solo Quiet Mini Tower ATX Black NO PSU
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=44N3&fb=882&InMerch=1#

400W Silverstone SST-ST40EF PSU
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=483484

Core 2 Duo E6400 (using the heatsink that comes with it)

Gigabyte 965P-DS3 mobo

2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC5300 (667), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-15
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=291364

Gigabyte GeForce 7600GT 256MB
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=412319

2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB S300 HDs

Pioneer DVD+-R/RW Dual Layer 16x
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=401076

I hope this is all ok. Thanks to everyone who has provided advice.

I used that Gigabyte card a few weeks ago. The passive heatsink works great; the GPU stayed in the low 60's even when under load for hours.

The only thing I would personally change would be the PSU. The Seasonic I linked to is a bit better in terms of build quality and marginally better performance. Since don't have anything to warrant 400 watts the Silverstone doesn?t make a lot of sense vs. the Seassonic.

Everything else should be fine.

 

[touc]

Ok thanks Operandi, I'll go for http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=277839 instead

 

[modestninja]

There isn't much difference in terms of build quality between those two units. Both are quiet, efficient and have good track records in terms of reliability. And while I agree that you don't need the 400W now, if you replace you video card down the line with something that draws more power or decide that you want some more performance by overclocking your processor, the 330W isn't going to cut it. Anyway, you should be fine for now with either PSU as they are both high quality and efficient units.

Also, the solo, IMHO, is a much better case than the Sonata. I've got one for my HTPC and it keeps everything cool and quiet.