New Vista Build - C2D (Part Deux)

[mplutodh1]

An extension of my previous post.

I've had a copy of Vista Ultimate and Office 2007 Ultimate sitting on my desk for a few weeks now waiting for me to upgrade my box.

My PC is primarily just for home use, no gaming, no OC'ing, I do some development on it, but all in all I'm not as hard on my box as I used to be. Looking for an affordable box that will be capable of running Vista Ultimate for a few years. I typically try and keep stuff for 2-3 years. On a budget - trying to reuse most of my existing components.

A BIG issue for me is noise, I can't stand the noise. I hate fans! And I'm not going to deal with fan controllers, etc - my box now is very quiet and I'm hoping I can continue that with new hardware.

Here is what I'm thinking. Any thoughts? Something look incompatible, unstable? Any way to reduce the price?

NEW COMPONENTS
MSI P6N SLI-FI - $112.99 @ Newegg
XFX PVT73PYDJ3 GeForce 7600GS - $126.99 @ Newegg
E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz - $183.00 @ Newegg
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) TWIN2X2048-6400 - $184.00 @ Newegg
CORSAIR 520HX 520W Power Supply - $119.99 @ Newegg
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler $39.99

$726.97
- $40 MIR Corsair
- $20 MIR XFX
- $10 MIR Corsair

Total: $656.97


EXISTING PARTS:
Antec SLK3700-BQE Case
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 SATA 16mb Cache (x2 RAID1) 300.0 GB
Seagate Barracuda Plus 200G 7200RMPS
Dell 1907FP DVI
ViewSonic VX900 DVI
NEC DVD RW - IDE
Sony DVD Rom - IDE

UNSURE:
Heatsink/Fan - Quiet/Affordable

 

[piasabird]

Power supply is awful heavy duty for no gaming, but that might be ok. I keep thinking Intel is going to lower CPU prices but that may be wishful thinking.

 

[mplutodh1]

Recommendations on a PSU that is quiet?

 

[iluvdeal]

Have you thought about going with a Scythe Ninja or Thermaltake Ultra 120 for your CPU cooler? Since you don't game or OC, you might not have to use a CPU fan at all with those huge heatsinks. Even with a fan, a 120 fan undervolted should be barely audible.

 

[sbaksh]

you should not say you have a "copy of vista" however vista is crap, stick with xp

 

[evenmore1]

The Thermaltake Blue Orb II is a very quiet CPU cooler for $35 though it is big. It should be able to fit in the MSI though. It can't OC but that's fine for you. It only makes 16 dB of noise, which is even less than the Zalman's.

As for quiet PSU's, the Corsair you have there is a bit overkill for the system. Sure it's stable and all, but it is good for overclocking, etc. A good PSU is the FSP 450W ($50 at the egg, I've heard that it can power an 8800GTS) but a Seasonic 500W ($90? on Newegg) or an Enermax Noisetaker 485W ($90 at the egg) are reliable quiet PSU's.

btw: is that $40 MIR for the PSU? after or before the $120?

hope that helps you!

 

[mplutodh1]

$40 is on the RAM and I cant find a Seasonic 500W for around 90, all are around $120.

 

[tapir]

You don't need 500W, I am running an E4300 overclocked and a 7900gtx on a 370w noisetaker with plenty of juice to go around

 

[mplutodh1]

So will the PSU in my Antec SLK3700-BQE Case work then?

 

[tapir]

Eh... maybe I spoke too soon, I just built my rig a few days ago and now I'm thinking my 370W may not be QUITE enough to stay 100% stable at peak usages. but I'm not done testing things yet either

You should at least be able to get it running with the 370W though and then decide whether you want to shell out for something better

EDIT: But now that I read the thread over again, a 7600GS will consume a lot less than a 7900GTX so I'd definitely give the PSU you have a try and see how it does for you.