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Experimental System Build

I

imported_Technomancer

Member
Ok, so if you go and see the specs in my sig, it'll be apparent that I could use an enhancement or two. The best way for me seems to be just building one on my own. I hope by this to avoid the issues I've always had with HP/Compaq's proprietary software interfering with proper functionality of my system, and get a card that actually has some driver support from a manufacturer that actually exists.

After having done my system development experiments on other computers, it is time for me to get one for myself to do it with.

System Purpose:

1: Independent software development of 64-bit multi-threaded applications
2: File organization and management
3: Media Center
4: Gaming, but not a priority

System Performance Issues, Order of Importance:

1: Cool/low-heat operation
2: Silent/near-silent operation
3: No, or only most conservative overclocking (10% at most)
4: Low weight

I've done what independent research I can, but at this point I think it would be useful for me to acquire what help I can in designing my new system.

Specs, Revision 1:

Processor: AMD Athlon 64x2 4400+
Mainboard: Asus A8N-E (I heard there's a new version coming, any info on that?)
NOTE: AMDZone claims ASUS IS working on an appropriate BIOS for this board
Case: Antec's SLK 3000B
PSU: Seasonic S12-500, or Antec Phantom 500PGB (are these too physically large for my case)
Memory: 1 set of Corsair's TWIN2048-3200C2PT for 2 GB, may upgrade in future as RAM needs increase
HD: Probably single 7,200 RPM SATA drive, hopefully 300 GB or so capacity
Graphics: Preferably any single 256 MB card (NVidia's 6600 or ATI's 800), no SLI, no 512 MB monsters... yet
Audio: Undecided, might cannibalize my current system's card, or get Audigy 2 ZS
Network: 1 Gb ethernet, min (but mainboard has it integrated, so non-issue)
Cooling: Open to suggestions. The Zalman Resorator looks interesting, but I'm concerned about its flowpipe cracking and the noise increasing over time.
Bay Devices: 1 Floppy just to install the low-level drivers (why oh God why don't they go to CD's or something for these?)
1 Read/Write DVD device
1 Read DVD device
OS: Windows XP 64-bit, Linux 64-bit (dual-boot)


Peripherals, external devices:

I'll work on these when I get my new system's core specs defined. However, I never liked all the junk buttons on my Compaq keyboard such as the big red internet button, shopping-cart button and the other buttons I've found distasteful, anti-sleek or redundant. My dad thinks I should keep my speaker system but it's an ad-hoc hybrid Klipsch/KLH surround with no headset port, no off button and hisses even when my system's powered off.

As you can tell, I was none too pleased with my peripherals from day one.

Further questions:

When a case manufacturer says a fan is standard, does that mean the case comes equipped with that fan? I want to be sure; I've seen some pretty dodgy wording by manufacturers by before (for example: Alienware = quality & gaming systems... ha!).

 
Damn, thats not an upgrade. That's a quantum leap! You might get whiplash!

And if silence is really a priority you have a problem.

1. forget about SCSII drives, they are loud and expensive and no there aren,t any large capacities SCSII that I know of. Just get SATA drives

2. The high RPM chipset fans on NF4 boards are loud. You might want to look at getting a passive heat sink if not overclocking, or watercool the chipset.

3. The stock fans on 6800's are very loud. You will want to at least install an aftermarket NV silencer, or watercool the GPU.

Generally the best bet for a silent machine is water cooling.

Good luck

I still can't believe your going from a Coppermine 700mhz, to an X2 4400. Just damn
 
Are you limited on the budget? You could get a some SCSI drives for RAID 3/5 for "File organization and management" (there are some 10,000 rpm 300gb drives, I believe).
 
It's historically more like 3K every 6 years, but yeah this one's looking a little more expensive.

Anyway, I'll look into water cooling, but I want to know if there are any frequent issues with pumps not working, leakage, condensation/seepage, etc that I should be aware of. How reliable is water cooling on average for novice modders/system builders, compared to air-cooling fans?

I suppose a modest upgrade from a 3,600 RPM drive to a mere 7,200 will have to do...

As for the board and graphics card, I'm open to other possibilities here, especially as I'm graphics card agnostic, as long it's got a manufacturer that won't go out of business 3 months after I get it. So the GeForce 6800's are noisy... do ATI's 800's sound like jet engines, too?

For the case, I've also considered Antec's Sonata, but it says it's optimized for a 3.0 Ghz Northwood, so would an Athlon 64x2 4400+ be a problem for that case? It might be my imagination, but I thought I saw a Sonata II on Antec some days ago but couldn't find it again.

EDIT: Found Antec's SLK3000B, but I'm concerned about whether my chosen PSU's will fit.
 
Water cooling has come a long way. If you get quality components and install carefully, your shouldn't have any reliability or leakage issues. The only reason I mentioned it is that I upgraded in December from a Tbird 1.6ghz(almost silent) to a rig very similar to the one you have spec'd out except I used the A8N-SLI deluxe. I have three HDD's two of them 10k raptors. The performance increase was phenominal, but the noise increase was like 3x. Not a problem for me because the machine is in a common area and if I'm not gaming, I'm usually playing music.
 
Ok, the Zalman Resorator seems to be decent but for two issues that SPCR found:

1: Reports of the flowpipe cracking during useage,
2: Pump getting noisier over time in operation

Ideally, I'd prefer something that will cool as well as the best fans (which are... ?), is silent and STAY silent, and has no QC issues. Something that's easy to install without breaking is a big plus as well. Their article was in last August, hopefully some progress has been made since then?

I'm also dropping the amount of RAM to get for the moment. If I need more in the future, then it should be cheaper to buy by the time I need it.
 
Ok, dropping the reserator idea... no way I'm going to fit that on my deskspace! I'll be looking through some silent PC system-build recommendations, it looks like fan/heat-sink combo is best at the moment since I don't want to fit yet another external device onto my desk. Apparently, Zalmann's the way to go.

Supposedly, Seagate HDD's are some of the more quiet drives out, and Samsung's supposedly got the more quiet optical drives out. Can anyone verify if this is true or not?
 
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