Making a computer for my girlfriend.

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nick1985

nick1985

Lifer
Dec 29, 2002
27,153
6
81
Making a computer for my girlfriend, it needs to be QUIET and as STABLE as possible. oh, and fast as all hell ;)

Heres what i have so far:

ANTEC Life Style Series Black Case With 380W Power Supply, Model "SONATA" $99

Samsung 52X32X52 CD-RW $27

Samsung Ivory Color 16X DVD-ROM Drive $28

Scythe USA CK-006 Standard Black Keyboard $8.99


Mushkin Blue Dual Pack 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail $235


ASUS "K8V" K8T800 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU -RETAIL $111


Logitech B58 Premium Optical Wheel Mouse USB/ PS/2 $14

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache, 64-bit Processor - OEM $211

DCT OG-310 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System (NOT A SOUND GURU) $15

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9600 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "ATLANTIS RADEON 9600" -RETAIL NOT MUCH OF A GAMER, THIS CARD IS PASSIVE FOR SILENCE $94

Total so far is 842.

1) I want to know what the best athlon 64 motherboard is right not, im just not really sure. Is the asus good? is there better?

2) Is PC-3200 Ram fast enough so it doesnt choke the athlon 64?

3) Any recommendations for a quiet HSF thats around $10-$15?
 
ScrapSilicon

ScrapSilicon

Lifer
Apr 14, 2001
13,625
0
0
Originally posted by: nick1985
Making a computer for my girlfriend, it needs to be QUIET and as STABLE as possible. oh, and fast as all hell ;)

Heres what i have so far:

ANTEC Life Style Series Black Case With 380W Power Supply, Model "SONATA" $99

Samsung 52X32X52 CD-RW $27

Samsung Ivory Color 16X DVD-ROM Drive $28

Scythe USA CK-006 Standard Black Keyboard $8.99


Mushkin Blue Dual Pack 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail $235


ASUS "K8V" K8T800 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU -RETAIL $111


Logitech B58 Premium Optical Wheel Mouse USB/ PS/2 $14

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache, 64-bit Processor - OEM $211

DCT OG-310 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System (NOT A SOUND GURU) $15

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9600 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "ATLANTIS RADEON 9600" -RETAIL NOT MUCH OF A GAMER, THIS CARD IS PASSIVE FOR SILENMCE $94

Total so far is 842.

1) I want to know what the best athlon 64 motherboard is right not, im just not really sure. Is the asus good? is there better?

2) Is PC-3200 Ram fast enough so it doesnt choke the athlon 64?

3) Any recommendations for a quiet HSF thats around $10-$15?
Click to expand...

spending in excess of $325 on mobo/cpu and only $10 to $15 on the cooling of that $211 part...?
you know better..build it :)
 
nick1985

nick1985

Lifer
Dec 29, 2002
27,153
6
81
well from what ive learned in the past, you can get cheap good heat sinks. there is an 8 dollar heatsink that i swear by for athlon XP's ;)

what heatsink do you recommend then ;) remember im supposed to be around 800-850 for my budget, so im not buying a 30 dollar themalright or zalman(like i have :()
 
C

Cheetah8799

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2001
4,508
0
76
Does your girlfriend play computer games? If not, why do you have a full 1gb of Mushkin ram? The ram speed is fine, PC3200 = 400mhz fsb.

Also, does she really need a 64-bit system? You could save a lot by going back to say a Mobile XP 2500+ or 2600+ and overclocking it. Or even running it at stock speed with a quieter fan on the heatsink. You could then save a bit on a cheaper nForce2 motherboard.

I'm not saying faster isn't better, but do you really think your girlfriend will notice the small difference? I know mine wouldn't, same for all my buddies' girlfriends/wives. Unless if she plays games like Far Cry, or will use it heavily for multimedia/dvd/graphics work. I just keep thinking how dumb you might feel when all she does is plays Yahoo Games with her uber-fast rig. (I know from experience). ;)

Oh, and it looks like you still need a hard drive. I like the Seagate 7200.7 model drives. Very quiet. :)

One last thing, if your budget is only $850, what are you going to do about a monitor? Are you just going to give it to her, then say "here honey, now go spend $300 on a monitor"?
 
nick1985

nick1985

Lifer
Dec 29, 2002
27,153
6
81
Originally posted by: Cheetah8799
Does your girlfriend play computer games? If not, why do you have a full 1gb of Mushkin ram? The ram speed is fine, PC3200 = 400mhz fsb.

Also, does she really need a 64-bit system? You could save a lot by going back to say a Mobile XP 2500+ or 2600+ and overclocking it. Or even running it at stock speed with a quieter fan on the heatsink. You could then save a bit on a cheaper nForce2 motherboard.

I'm not saying faster isn't better, but do you really think your girlfriend will notice the small difference? I know mine wouldn't, same for all my buddies' girlfriends/wives. Unless if she plays games like Far Cry, or will use it heavily for multimedia/dvd/graphics work. I just keep thinking how dumb you might feel when all she does is plays Yahoo Games with her uber-fast rig. (I know from experience). ;)

Oh, and it looks like you still need a hard drive. I like the Seagate 7200.7 model drives. Very quiet. :)

One last thing, if your budget is only $850, what are you going to do about a monitor? Are you just going to give it to her, then say "here honey, now go spend $300 on a monitor"?
Click to expand...

she already has a hard drive, a 60 gig seagate. No she doesnt play games a lot, but a gig of ram helps with more things than just games. i know athlon XP's are cheaper and im a huge fan of mobiles(i got my buddy's 2400 to 2.45 GHZ ;)) but i dont want to overclock on this computer and i wanted to get her the current generation of technology. she has a monitor, a 17" flat screen CRT
 
Axon

Axon

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2003
2,541
1
76
MSI Neo-Platinum has the Nvidia nForce250gb chipset, which IMO is superior to the VIA chipset.

Socket 754 has a very slim selection of motherboards with no true standout. They all have problems....

I know Chaintech has one for like $70.
 
Mermaidman

Mermaidman

Diamond Member
Sep 4, 2003
7,987
93
91
You should go for nicer:
-Keyboard
-Speakers--definitely speakers!

and a black DVD-ROM

Cut back on a couple of overkill items. e.g. the RAM

Call me metrosexual, but your keyboard, speakers and non-matching drive would cheapen the system. Who's paying? ;)
 
T

Tostada

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
1,789
0
0
Your priorities for this system don't make any sense to me.

You're getting a $9 keyboard. You're sticking with an old 17" monitor and an old hard drive. Why would you even consider an Athlon 64 for a non-gamer? Will she be doing anything whatsoever to tax that CPU? And it's not like Socket 754 is any more future-proof than Socket A. And last time I checked, you still need to have a ton of things open before a 512MB system starts hitting the swapfile.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time, but it just really doesn't make any sense at all to me. The Athlon 64 is really out of place.

The nice average silent system I've been recommending lately is $730.46 at newegg without a monitor/mouse/keyboard:

Mobile Athlon XP 2400+, $77
ABIT NF7-S, $85
Sapphire Radeon 9600, $94
160GB SATA Deskstar 7K250, $103.50
512MB OCZ EL DDR400, $128
NEC 8X DVD-R/+R dual layer, $89.99
AMS gMono black ATX case, $42 + $15 shipping
Enermax Noisetaker P 320W, $48 + $6 shipping
Zalman CNPS3100-Plus pure copper silent HS, $19.99 + $5 shipping
Zalman ZM-F1 80mm case fan, $4.99 + 4 shipping
Zalman FanMate-1 for northbridge, $3.99 + $4 shipping

A Samsung drive would be a tiny bit quieter, but those Hitachis are the fastest 7200RPM thing out there.
 
Markfw

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
27,110
16,021
136
Looks fine except you should get a Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 to go with that quiet Sonata, and a Radeon 9800pro instead of that 9600.
 
M

Mik3y

Banned
Mar 2, 2004
7,089
0
0
i dont see y she needs 1 gb of mushkin blue duel pack ram. 512mb should be plenty for her.
 
I

imported_raybay

Member
May 10, 2004
136
0
0
Use a better, more powerful power supply. It may be fast, but is it "pretty" or "cute". Is this the best looking case you can find?
Unless she is an experienced gamer, this will be a fine machine with an upgrade of the power supply and the addition of some decent speakers with a woofer.
 
nick1985

nick1985

Lifer
Dec 29, 2002
27,153
6
81
Originally posted by: Markfw900
Looks fine except you should get a Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 to go with that quiet Sonata, and a Radeon 9800pro instead of that 9600.
Click to expand...

why do i need a radeon 9800pro when i already said she doesnt game. the most graphic intensive game she plays is starcraft...not everyone needs a 9800pro :roll:

the speakers are fine for what she will use them for, this isnt a music editing studio.

whats wrong with a $9 keyboard? it is the one she picked out, and it will work just fine.

the "old" (brand new that was given to her) 17 inch and the seagate are being used becuase they are FREE. 60 gigs and a 17 inch flat is enough.

i got an athlon 64 because i want the fastest computer that will fit in the budget.

as for the last poster who said to get a better power supply, a true 380 is PLENTY for 99.9% of systems.

oh, and the drives are white because the sonata has a door and you wont see them, so what does it matter?
 
nick1985

nick1985

Lifer
Dec 29, 2002
27,153
6
81
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
I seriously hope you're not buying her this system. :Q Aren't you what, 16? :confused:

- M4H
Click to expand...

im 19, and no im not buying it. she needs a new one and she asked me to make her one.
 
jpeyton

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
116
Originally posted by: nick1985
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
I seriously hope you're not buying her this system. :Q Aren't you what, 16? :confused:

- M4H
Click to expand...

im 19, and no im not buying it. she needs a new one and she asked me to make her one.
Click to expand...

Well you're throwing her money down the drain, I guarantee it.

I say this with 99% certainty after building systems for guys and girls I know: if you build her a $500 system, and a $1000 system, put them in the same case, and let her use it normally for a month, she will think they are identical. In fact, let them use it for a year, and if they're "NOT MUCH OF A GAMER" they will not notice.

It's her money; don't splooge it on higher-end parts to satisfy your craving. What's worse is the system you're building is a mix of high-end and low-end stuff; try to balance it out if you're spending that much.

My suggestion:

Antec 3700BQE
Shuttle A35N-Ultra
Athlon XP 2400+ "Mobile" Barton
Speeze WhisperRock
512MB Kingston Value PC3200
Samsung 52x32x52x16 Combo Drive
Logitech MX310/500/700 Mouse
Keyboards are highly subjective; whatever she likes.
At least half-decent speakers; low-end Creative or Logitech 2.1 sets for under $40.
Video Card: If your GF honestly plays no accelerated games, she'll be fine with a passive-cooled Radeon 9000/9200 at half the price.

Overheating is a non-issue with the BQE. You can run the rear case fan at 7V for more quietness and it will still move enough air to cool the case. However, I would add a quiet (Evercool, Panaflo) 120mm fan to the front at 12V to have positive pressure in the case.
 
I

imported_x1

Junior Member
Jun 6, 2004
16
0
0
Originally posted by: ath50
most graphic intensive game she plays is starcraft
Click to expand...

I'd definitely just get an XP processor, they would be fine for her needs and a ton cheaper.
Click to expand...

yeah, same here. a64 isn't not worth it for the occasional rts.


btw, I'm building a girlfriend so far I have:

boobs
mouth
hair
legs

Think I need anything else??
 
J

JeffCY

Member
Jun 1, 2004
149
0
0
Originally posted by: x1
btw, I'm building a girlfriend so far I have:

boobs
mouth
hair
legs

Think I need anything else??
Click to expand...
How about arms so she can get in the kitchen and make you some food? J/K if there are any females reading this... hehehehe. :D
 
C

CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
XP2500+
Shuttle or Soltek NF2 board
512 Kingston valueram
etc

simple as that.. and hella cheap.
 
ScrapSilicon

ScrapSilicon

Lifer
Apr 14, 2001
13,625
0
0
Originally posted by: nick1985
Originally posted by: Macro2
Nick's got a girlfriend now! Hoe yeah!!!
Click to expand...

been almost 10 months ;)
Click to expand...

practically married :p
Originally posted by: CraigRT
XP2500+
Shuttle or Soltek NF2 board
512 Kingston valueram
etc

simple as that.. and hella cheap.
Click to expand...
I love that setup with a Speeze WhisperRock :)
 
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