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Please, help a noob to build his first silent, multipurpose, PC!

B

Bombadillo

Junior Member
Hi guys!
I'm a new user of this fantastic forum, and i'd appreciate an expert opinion about a rig i'm about to build.
My priority is silence and trustability, cause i need to work at the PC many hours a day, every day. I'm looking for a machine that can easily manage some light multitasking (lot of internet browsing, some ftp upload/download, some photoshop, p2p, etc), and which i can connect to my 37" Plasma 720p (for HD contents, movies and if it's possible MAME and other emulators).

Then there is the "gaming factor": i'm a console player, but i'm interested in trying some PC games as well. Since my requests aren't so high (i'm looking for a 19-20" monitor, and medium details would be nice), i'm considering the hybrid crossfire and maybe, in a second moment (if i'll keep up playing on PC and i won't be satisfied with the performances), upgrade to a serious discreet VGA (maybe the 8800 GT or 9600GT).
Here's my ipotetic configuration:

CASE: Antec Solo
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
CPU: Amd Phenom 9750+ 95W 2,4 ghz
DISSI: Scythe Ninja 1100V PLUS REV. 2
RAM: Team Group Elite CL5 2x2 GB
VGA: Radeon HD3450 512MB PASSIVE COOLING (Hybrid Crossfire)
PSU: Corsair HX 520
HD: Samsung 160 GB SAMSUNG SPINPOINT S166 HD161HJ SATA II
MONITOR: Samsung 206BW


And here there are all the details:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for: Multitasking (nothing too heavy), HD contents, Music and some (light) gaming.

2. What YOUR budget is. Around 1000 EURO (1500 $)

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. Italy

4. Brand preference. No preferences (but i like AMD)

5. DO YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. No overclock, thanks.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it? In the next weeks.



Thank you very much for your attention! 🙂
 
Your build looks fine but I would opt for a larger/faster hard drive. The 640GB Western Digital and 750GB from other manufacturers are going for very cheap and are some of the fastest drives available. A 160GB is old technology and the price per GB is expensive compared to larger and faster drives.


EDIT: I am unsure about hybrid crossfire. I have not seen enough reviews to say it is a good choice, you might want to just get a nice midrange discrete graphics card instead of gambling on new unproved technology like that.

A 9600GT or 3850/70 might be a better choice and much faster for games. (even though you don't need the horse power now it might come in handy later on)
 
Hi Twsmit, thank you very much for your time. 🙂
I think i'll go with the 640GB Western Digital, perfect.

For the VGA, instead, what about the Sapphire Ultimate HD 3870 (passive cooling)?

Thanks again, mates!

 
dont forget to pick up high qaulity fans for both your ninja and the rear exhaust.

One hting to remember is a passively cooled video card might run just fine but it can get hot which in turn raises your pc's temp. A nice non passive card with upgraded cooling (or even stock cooling) can be very quiet and keep the card temps down. Just something i'm throwing out there as i've heard of passive cards hitting 80C which obviously spreads throughout the case.

as for your GPU i'd go with a 8800GT/9600GT over the ATi ones.

I know you said you like AMD but you could get a E8400 core2duo. This would run cooler reducing the need for the fans to be higher to cool. it is 45W vs the 125W fo the AMD quad core. Looking at benchmarks for the phenoms and the 8400 (dual core) compares just great to them. I only mention this since you want silent and the cooler parts run the quieter fans can be.
 
Originally posted by: velillen
dont forget to pick up high qaulity fans for both your ninja and the rear exhaust.
Click to expand...


Ok, perfect. Some suggestion (Noctua?)?


Originally posted by: velillen
One hting to remember is a passively cooled video card might run just fine but it can get hot which in turn raises your pc's temp. A nice non passive card with upgraded cooling (or even stock cooling) can be very quiet and keep the card temps down. Just something i'm throwing out there as i've heard of passive cards hitting 80C which obviously spreads throughout the case.
Click to expand...

Ops, i didn't consider this point... :

Originally posted by: velillen
as for your GPU i'd go with a 8800GT/9600GT over the ATi ones.
Click to expand...

Is it better in every aspect?


Originally posted by: velillen
I know you said you like AMD but you could get a E8400 core2duo. This would run cooler reducing the need for the fans to be higher to cool. it is 45W vs the 125W fo the AMD quad core. Looking at benchmarks for the phenoms and the 8400 (dual core) compares just great to them. I only mention this since you want silent and the cooler parts run the quieter fans can be.
Click to expand...

To tell the truth, i'm not an AMD fanboy: i was considering the Phenom (the 95w version, not the 125w) just because i've read very good reviews about the AMD 780G chipset, and i started from that to imagine the PC. I know the Intel CPUs are far better than AMD ones, at the moment...

 
I would recommend your going for a low power 45watt cpu for that board. There's an X2 version going at 2.5 ghz for 90 dollars or so US at Newegg, or you might pick up a single core le-1640 that runs stock at 2.6 for under 50 dollars. I would then get an antec earthwatts power supply 380 watt version. That, along with the onboard graphics should do you just fine for what you are interested in. It would also be a quiet, very stable, trustworthy system. I've built such a system with the le-1640 and the gigabyte mother board and it's fast and virtually silent. Also, I'd recommend a smallter hard disk. There is a seagate disk that's the most popular at newegg, that's 250 mb and goes for 65 dollars. It's a single platter disk, very fast and quiet and extremely reliable according to everything I've read. I have it again, am very pleased with it. The key here is to go small, quiet, uncomplicated, with no more power than you really need. This avoids getting external graphics card, heatsink, larger power supply etc. And quiet, wonderful quiet! And a snappy, reliable rig that will give you pleasure for years.
 
Welcome to the forums, Bombadillo.

Originally posted by: Bombadillo
CASE: Antec Solo
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
CPU: Amd Phenom 9750+ 95W 2,4 ghz
DISSI: Scythe Ninja 1100V PLUS REV. 2
RAM: Team Group Elite CL5 2x2 GB
VGA: Radeon HD3450 512MB PASSIVE COOLING (Hybrid Crossfire)
PSU: Corsair HX 520
HD: Samsung 160 GB SAMSUNG SPINPOINT S166 HD161HJ SATA II
MONITOR: Samsung 206BW
Click to expand...

I agree with the HDD, because even if you don't need the capacity, a couple bucks more (okay, around $50US) gets a vastly faster drive.

PSU is a good choice. For RAM, just whatever works because more expensive RAM doesn't really translate into faster performance, just better overclocks (and you aren't overclocking). The Scythe Ninja is a good choice for silent computing, as is the Antec Solo.

For processor, I'd go with a low wattage dual core. You won't see too much more performance from the extra two cores for your described usage, plus one key to making a quiet system is to start with components that don't put out much heat to begin with.

For video card, you may as well start with a card good enough to do what you want. The Radeon 3450 is okay for everything except your potential foray into PC gaming. For PC gaming, I'd say you would want at least a Radeon 38xx series, Geforce 9600GT or Geforce 88xx series.

BTW, my setup is somewhat similar to what you want to do.

here's a picture

Antec Solo case with undervolted fans
Core 2 Duo E6750 (overclocked even!)
Scythe Ninja (passive)
Corsair 650W power supply
Thermalright HR-05 chipset heatsink (usually not needed)
8800GT with passive heatsink (Arctic Cooling Accelero S1)

The noisiest part of my system are the front fans. They are dual 92mm fans and while undervolted, aren't the most quiet. When I built my system, I just used what I had on hand, otherwise I'd have chosen quieter fans. Now, while I say the fans are the noisiest part, they are not noisy at all. I normally don't hear the system at all, but can hear the fans only if I lean down towards the tower.
 
Hi guys,
here i am (was busy so i couldn't post).
Thank you very much for your suggestions, i really appreciated! 🙂

So, i'll probably take a 9600GT (maybe with an Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 like the one that Zap has put in his system) and a low wattage dual core CPU. A 4850e could be a nice option for my usage?
Two things about the dissipation:
1) The default fans of the case are silent, or i have to change them? How can i undervolt them?
2) Can i run the Scythe Ninja passive?

Thank you again, mates!


 
The Solo comes with a rear fan. It does not come with the front intake, although it has mounts for two 92mm fans.

The Scythe Kaze-Jyu 100mm fan has a set of 92mm holes, so it will work as an intake in the Solo, and it's not too expensive. You can only use one since it's oversized though. That's what I did with my Solo, and I'm happy with it.

For the exhaust I used the 800RPM model of the Scythe Slipstream series. Again, not too expensive and very quiet. The 520HX is a good choice.

However, I'm not running my CPU passively. I have an E4500 @ 2.93GHz being cooled by a BTF-90. If you want to run your CPU with a passive Scythe Ninja, you're probably going to want more air flowing through your case than I have. That may translate into more noise from the intake and exhaust fans.
 
Originally posted by: Bombadillo
1) The default fans of the case are silent, or i have to change them? How can i undervolt them?
Click to expand...

The only included fan with the Solo is a rear 120mm Tri Cool. It is a 3 speed fan and is reasonably quiet on the lowest speed, but nowhere near "silent." There are quieter fans. However, you may want to try it and see how you like it because there are many who think it is "silent" to their ears when set to LOW.

Originally posted by: Bombadillo
2) Can i run the Scythe Ninja passive?
Click to expand...

Yes.
 
If you go for any of the 45 watt cpus, single or dual core, you won't need extra fans on your case. The cpu stock heatsink should be just fine, and it should be very quiet so as not to be heard at all when enclosed in any case, the limiting noise factor most likely would be the case fans and possibly the hard drive if it's a noisy one. For what you describe as your anticipated usage, I see no reason why you would want to get a higher powered cpu than the 2.5 ghz 45 watt x2. As to fans and quietness, with my rig using the same gigabyte mother board and an le-1640 (stock fan) using the seagate 250 mb drive in an x-qpack case, the rig is so quiet that it's eerie. I have some very quiet fans I picked up, and I was going to use one or two in that case, but it was unecessary. I also have a Solo case still in the box and I'm going to use that for an Intel dual core rig that's also designed to be quiet. the quiet thing is addictive.
 
Ok mates, with your help my rig is taking this shape:

CASE: Antec Solo
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
CPU: Amd 4850e, 45w, 2,5 ghz
CPU COOLING: Stock
RAM: Cheap CL5 2x2 GB
VGA: Nvidia GeForce 9600GT
VGA COOLING: Artic Cooling Accelero S1
PSU: Corsair HX 520
HD: 640GB Western Digital
MONITOR: Samsung 206BW

Am i right? Will it be a silent enough machine? It seems a very nice PC to me! 🙂

Thx!

 
Originally posted by: velillen
for your fans take a look at
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page2.html

pretty much rates all the "top" fans by CFM and noise and gives the best from each category.

just remember some fans can be quite pricey compared to others so shop around and compare prices a bit before deciding
Click to expand...

Perfect! The NF-S12-800 seems a nice substitute for the Solo stock fan, isn't it?. 🙂
Is it better to add a 92 mm fan or not necessary?
 

Originally posted by: Zap

However, you may want to try it and see how you like it because there are many who think it is "silent" to their ears when set to LOW.
Click to expand...


Since i saved some money, from the initial budget, i think i'll take a more silent fan. 😉

Thank you very much!

[/quote]

[/quote]

 
The one thing I'd possibly change would be getting a graphics card. The onboard integrated graphics on the motherboard are much better than the prior generation's. You might want to wait on getting anything else until you've tried out the motherboard alone just to see if it's enough for you before adding significantly to your cost when it might not have been necessary. I suppose it all depends on whether you are sure you will be playing certain games at higher resolutions. If you aren't I'd go with the onboard graphics, at least for a while, to see how great (they really are!) they are alone. In any case, your rig particulars look very nice. You'll have a lot of fun with it. After you've built your rig you should check the bios on the motherboard. If it's f2 or earlier, you should flash it to f3. Use the flashing utility built into the bios (not the one you can get online that works as a windows application, I tried that one and it didn't work, so I used the onboard utility without problems). You get the new bios at the www.giga-byte.com site. Also, you will want to get the catalyst 8.4 driver set from the amd site. Then install it by uninstalling (in windows) the catalyst 8.3 set from control panel in windows. Uninstall all components of the set. Then install the new version. (The old version is installed from the cd that comes with the motherboard. You might be able to just install the other drivers from the cd, and wait to install the catalyst 8.4 drivers initially.) The 8.4 drivers are really important as there were some problems with 8.3, that affect movie playback in media center, etc. Finally, be sure to keep the sata drives set to "native ide" when you install the operating system. The motherboard is set for that to start with, as you'll see when you boot up the first time -- there is a nag screen that can be disabled. Plug in any sata dvd/cd drives into the last sata sockets so they will always be set to native ide. With these settings and software upgrades running home premium Vista sp1 is flawless using the rig.
 
Hi Cparker,
i want to thank you particularly for your exhaustive explanation, you're very gentle.
I'll do as you suggest: I'll wait to take the "discreet" VGA, because i'm sure i want to play some strategy game (Civilization IV, for example) but not so sure about FPS (i'm curious to try Crysis, but i know i could get bored after a while...).
So, my PC seems to be ready! I feel satisfied, so i think we can call it a day. 🙂
One thing about the OS: Cparker, do you use 64 bit version of Vista or the 32bit one?

Last question: the Western Digital you suggested me is silent, or maybe is more silent the 250GB Seagate mentioned by cparker?


 
Bombadillo:

Thanks for your kind words. To answer your question, I picked up a retail upgrade home premium vista with sp1. These all come with 32 bit OS but you can pick up a cd for the 64bit version for 10 dollars or so shipping from Microsoft that will work with the same key. I installed the 32 bit version with only 2 gigs of ram. The ram I picked up was HP rebate special ram that's supposed to be equivalent to a lot of the retail ram available. It was 10 dollars a gig shipped after rebates. I'm not sure if it's still available, but you might check the hot deals forum. It's an awesome deal. I think the last time I saw it, it was something like 12 dollars a gig, which is still pretty good. But other ram brands that have been mentioned here are also great. As to which os to use, 64 vs 32, I think that's up to you. I decided to go with the 32 because I wanted to use the rig with windows home server, and as of this date that software only works with 32 bit clients, as far as I know. If you want to get both 64 and 32 bit OS versions, you should check first if you can pick up another disk with the other version. All retail versions allow you to. I'm not sure about the oem versions, but someone here or at the software/Operating systems forum would be able to help you, I'm sure. It turns out that the retail upgrade version is cheaper than the oem version of home premium. You can get it for 95 dollars shipped from Amazon.

As to the hard drive, I like Seagate drives all other things being equal. The Seagate I mentioned scored 5.9 on the vista score. I think that's pretty good. I'm sure the WD would score as high, maybe even 6.0, but you'd hardly notice the difference, I would think. Then why Seagate? It's because of the disk wizard software that includes acronis true image backup. It's available with seagate drives. (download it from their site) I don't need anything more than 250gb on my computers right now and since I have a network, I'll wind up storing multimedia files and such on a windows home server I'll be setting up as shared storage. Anyway, that was my thinking. I've read great things about that WD drive, so you can't go wrong with it. If you don't need the storage capacity, the Seagate single platter drive would be nice and has that backup software as a bonus.

One more thing. Get an OS that already has sp1 in the package. I've heard that some people had some problems installing non sp1 versions with that motherboard. Also, the sp1 versions seem to be cheaper than the older non sp1 versions. I think MS lowered their prices.

Again, good luck!
 
Hi Cparker! 🙂

Originally posted by: cparker
Bombadillo:

Thanks for your kind words. To answer your question, I picked up a retail upgrade home premium vista with sp1. These all come with 32 bit OS but you can pick up a cd for the 64bit version for 10 dollars or so shipping from Microsoft that will work with the same key. I installed the 32 bit version with only 2 gigs of ram. The ram I picked up was HP rebate special ram that's supposed to be equivalent to a lot of the retail ram available. It was 10 dollars a gig shipped after rebates. I'm not sure if it's still available, but you might check the hot deals forum. It's an awesome deal. I think the last time I saw it, it was something like 12 dollars a gig, which is still pretty good. But other ram brands that have been mentioned here are also great. As to which os to use, 64 vs 32, I think that's up to you. I decided to go with the 32 because I wanted to use the rig with windows home server, and as of this date that software only works with 32 bit clients, as far as I know. If you want to get both 64 and 32 bit OS versions, you should check first if you can pick up another disk with the other version. All retail versions allow you to. I'm not sure about the oem versions, but someone here or at the software/Operating systems forum would be able to help you, I'm sure. It turns out that the retail upgrade version is cheaper than the oem version of home premium. You can get it for 95 dollars shipped from Amazon.
Click to expand...

Brilliant. 🙂

Originally posted by: cparker
Bombadillo:
As to the hard drive, I like Seagate drives all other things being equal. The Seagate I mentioned scored 5.9 on the vista score. I think that's pretty good. I'm sure the WD would score as high, maybe even 6.0, but you'd hardly notice the difference, I would think. Then why Seagate? It's because of the disk wizard software that includes acronis true image backup. It's available with seagate drives. (download it from their site) I don't need anything more than 250gb on my computers right now and since I have a network, I'll wind up storing multimedia files and such on a windows home server I'll be setting up as shared storage. Anyway, that was my thinking. I've read great things about that WD drive, so you can't go wrong with it. If you don't need the storage capacity, the Seagate single platter drive would be nice and has that backup software as a bonus.

One more thing. Get an OS that already has sp1 in the package. I've heard that some people had some problems installing non sp1 versions with that motherboard. Also, the sp1 versions seem to be cheaper than the older non sp1 versions. I think MS lowered their prices.

Again, good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I didn't know about this backup software, very interesting.
The drive you mentioned is this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148262

Grazie mille! I love this forum.

 
Si! Questo drive e fantastico! Really a great drive. Just be sure to remove the tiny jumper so it will run at full speed. The software is the same as Acronis drive image. It allows to you make image backups of the entire disk drive onto another drive which can be on a usb drive or even a network drive. Then if you have to "restore" the system you just boot from a cd and it will restore the entire drive image onto the old or a new hard drive. You also get a backup utility with the mother board that will put an image of your system drive onto a hidden partition of the disk. I haven't used that utility yet, but I have used the disk wizard on the computer I just built and it's really good.

Buona fortuna!
 
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