PSU&Mem for Milder OCer

[khenderson]

Looking to build a system around Anandtech's current midrange guide for "upgraded Intel Midrange":
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2839&p=5

E6400
Gigabyte GA-P965-S3
X1900GT 256MB, possibly substituting X1900XT 256MB

For the case I'm leaning to Antecs P-180 with 3 120mm fans and a layered case for less noise:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129154

I don't want the noise, the heat worry, or the extra attention required when doing heavy overclocking, but it seems foolish not to do something mild if case an components allow. That said, I'm trying to determine the best memory and PSU for this setup. I'm no interested in having room for upgrades. Likewise, I plan to use a single video card and have no interest in SLI. There's a decent chance I'll go for the XT1900 256MB instead of the GT.

Anandtech recommends 2X1024MB Crucial PC2-6400 Ballistix, but they also say one could go with lesser memory if overclocking isn't as important. Same goes for the 550watt PSU (Fotron/FSP Group FSP550-80GLC EPS 12v SLI). Is 550 too much for my needs?

Any suggestions for PSU and Memory? Most I want to spend for PSU is $100. I guess around $250 for memory. Again, I'm trying to find the balance of price and performance relative to the overclocking. Maybe it's better I do no overclocking and get cheaper memory, but mild OC is the goal.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Thor86]

I'm using an Antec Trupower 430watt with my E6400 @ 3.2Ghz with 7900GTX, no issues.

As for memory, and DDR2-800 ram should be fine. Cheaper the better.

 

[Conky]

That Fortron 550 would be a good choice and is not overkill.

As far as RAM goes, I recommend Corsair or Crucial.

 

[Bobthelost]

If you want low noise and a decent PSU then check out the P150, it's a quieter case design than the P180.

550W is way overkill, won't hurt you, wont' do anything for you either.

RAM: 667 means you can put your FSB to 333mhz without overclocking the RAM. That's 333 x 8 or 2.75Ghz or so (rough numbers, calc has disapeared) you may be able to push the RAM higher than that if you want, or you can use RAM dividers.

 

[khenderson]

Wow, 3.sGhz! It's encouraging to hear your 430 is able to push that and your 7900GTX, but I thought memory timings would be at least something to look at. Are you OCing your memory and, if you know it off hand, do you know what temps you're running for CPU and/or case?

Thanks for the post.

 

[khenderson]

Thanks for the post Bobthelost,

>If you want low noise and a decent PSU then check out the P150, it's a quieter case design than the P180.

I like the P150, but wasn't sure the 430 would be enough and I'd assume that if it's quieter it's because it has one less fan than the P180 despite the P180 having layered walls for quieter operation. I'm trying to get an idea how much heat OCing will create with mild OCing. If I get a nice performance boost with OCing then I'll probalby need the P180 for cooling, but otherwise quieter is nicer. If you have any case reviews or can point me to related data, that would be appreciated. I personally don't care much about cosmetics so it's really almost exclusively about cooling and noise for me.

Regarding the memory, when talking about I DDR2-800, how would someone usually run the clocking?

 

[khenderson]

Thanks for the post beachboy

>That Fortron 550 would be a good choice and is not overkill.

I'm getting some mixed signals on the power needed. I know the conroes draw less than older intel CPUs, but a X1900XT 256MB might be pretty hungry.

>As far as RAM goes, I recommend Corsair or Crucial.

That's what Anandtech's guide says too. Those are quality names and I've used both in the past and been happy, but I might get by with something less expensive if I don't make OCing a priority.

 

[Bobthelost]

The P150 has layered sides too, i've got a P150 and P180 here, the P180 is much better for high powered systems (and notably ones with more than 3HDs), but the P150 should be sufficent and if it you do it right the major source of noise is going to be Hard drive caused, where the suspended drives help in the P150.

If you want more info on quiet parts/computing then check out SPCR, the forums can be a better resource than the reviews (which are excellent, but not as plentiful as i'd like).

 

[khenderson]

Regarding the P150 vs. P180 case, you're starting to sway me. With the savings in cost from the 180+PSU, I'm in a good position to treat myself to the nicer graphics card (gaming being a primary priority for me). I wonder though if that 3rd fan makes a big difference in case heat. How does case heat compare in your experience between the 150 & 180?

Spending more time at SPCR is a good idea, but I'm not ready to blow my budget paying more across the board for quieter, more expensive, less bang for buck components.

Your first hand knowledge on these cases is appreicated. What are you running in them?