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Want new PC, CPU+Mainboard choice.

S

sisi20

Member
The fact is, i have now VERY silent and nice PC based on a bit aging CPU. I went to our local store and told them, that i need some pc for very long running (sometimes i keep it running nonstop few days - when processing some filters or downloading something and so on).

Inputs: it must have very low consumption, integrated graphics card with good quality and fast 2D (eg for photoshop).

I got two offers from them: one based on Pentium M 1.6 GHz and one with Athlon 64 S754 1.8 GHz 64bit.
The AMD system is visible cheaper but they said that it takes much more power and as intel user before i am a bit scared from AMD too.

What is your recommendation? Which PC take least energy when there is not extensive application running? What is better choice regardless of how much it will cost on beginning?
I want to keep that computer for another 3 or more years so i dont care how much it will cost now, but how much i will pay during that time.

Thank you for any help!


priorities:
[*]consumption
[*]Silence
[*]reliability
[*]Performance
 
Thank You, this mainboard looks quite good. Is it proven that it is good? Does Cool and Quiet works on it? How much more takes this CPU when Cool and Quiet is enabled in compare to Pentium M?
With the quality, i mean simply that it works and have nice output, I dont need any gaming or stuff so. I have now integrated for Pentium III and am very happy with that. And i think that i will not need any new windows or so, i will use XP until i will buy new PC.
Thank You for any help!
 
Let say that for me is that consumption more important than it will have stunning against very good picture quality...
I have very nice calibrated monitor and doing anyway many test prints so i dont need anything "on the top"
 
Cool and Quiet is moreso for idling on the processor. For 2D graphics, could you just get a lowend passive card? If you are integrated 2D, you are still going to be tying up some system memory. Especially if you are using Photoshop, which can use a good amount of memory.

I would recommend, a respectable 754 platform, low-end discrete video card, and spend the rest of your budget on memory. Grab something decent for 754 1.8/2.0 if the budget allows. Enabling CnQ should make cpu temps drop dramatically when the system is idle.
 
yes, but this is not answering either of my questions. I dont care so much about price and i will have 2 GB of memory. another card would increase the consumption i expect? So i still dont know which is better, pentium M or athlon. Please look to order on my preference list.
Anyway thank you for post!
 
Cool-n-quiet will help you while downloading (CPU idle) but not when converting pictures or doing other CPU load. The AMD64s actually draw quite a bit in that mode.

I would go for a Pentium-M with integrated graphics.

But I cannot tell you how good Intel integrated graphics is for photoshop work. You probably want color calibration and all that Jazz.

For quiet I found that the modern fans shipped with both AMD and Intel CPUs are pretty quiet but start making noise after a year or so, the AMD faster. Put a Zalman 7700Cu or CLCU on and that's it.

Here is an article with the power consumption of video cards.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/geforce6600gt-oc_3.html

Video card fans are almost always noisy junk that noise-breaks after 1 year max.
 
BTW, if you have enough money check out the Zalman noiseless case. It is $1000 but it is made for music studios and the like. No moving parts in the whole computer except the harddrive.

Another note: power costs me about $1/watt/year. So a computer taking 100 watts more is only $300. So from a power bill standpoint it is not neccessarily worth kicking down the power consumption.

However, if you have A/C with strict settings then you pay about $3 for heating and cooling combined, that changes the equotation.
 
Ok, i read somewhere, that A64 takes about 27W in cool and quited mode, what is about maximum of what takes Pentium M, so i am more to Intel now too.
The system will have the fanless power supply and i will check out that fan 7700, thank You.
Electrician is quite expensive here, it is not just that i will have to eat water with sand, but why to pay more when i dont need to, right?
 
Amd makes some .09 core winchester socket 754 mobile cpus that use less power with 512 cache. All mobile athlon 64's won't work with a standard heatsink, unless you remove the plastic bumps on each corner of the heatsink bracket. I use a fan rpm adjuster on the cpu heatsink with all my computers to reduce noise, such as the zalman "fan mate 1 or 2". I also recommend a low end video card, such as a 9600se agp which I use. It has no fan on the heatsink. But I don't recommend a fanless power supply. The hot air has to be moved out by at least one fan. For the power supply, use a 12cm or 14cm side fan model, such as those made by fortron and coolmax. Be sure the model you select has a manual adjustment on the back.
 
I'd agree with alot of other people have said. As for reliability you have no worries going with an AMD chip - they aren't any less reliab

I'd go the AMD route - but make sure it's a 90nm chip as they use less power. Venice I think use a little less than their Winchester counterparts. Whenever you're not using it eg if left on overnight it'll use Cool n Quiet to be at low power. There shouldn't be a massive difference between a Pentium-M and AMD64 really especially if you got a better heatsink eg Hyper-X48 with the price difference.

Having an absolutely near-silent set-up would be quite a challenge.

If you were going for something pretty close to that a pentium-m system would probably be better along with a 120cm power supply. Then get a case like the Antec 3700BQE or Sonota that sport a 12cm fan - 5volt it and you should be doing pretty quietly.

Oh also get a Samsung Spinpoint hradrive as they are the quietest. Although Seagate are also quiet but sport a 5 year warranty. A fan blow over the hardrive at slow speed (do a volt mod if needed or get a fan adjustor) would also help its reliability - hardrives are the most unreliable part of a PC.


EDIT - I can't remember if the Pentium-Ms weaknesses (eg regards FPU performance) will be important in the tasks that you do - they might well be in which case the AMD64 might well be preferably
 
Athlon64 (Venice) is lower power than anything but the Pentium M, but performance wise will blow it away (assuming you get a 3200+ or better), and with Cool and quiet enabled and a Zalman or fanless, it would be a hard combination to beat !
 
I have to admit I have heard Marks one system he has OC'd like 400-500mhz and uses a Silent K and I could not hear the damn thing when it was in the antec case he was using...And it runs FH non stop so it can take the heat while being very quiet....I mean quiet ppl....My system is embarassing loud compared to that....


I think the P-M 2.0ghz is the best performer of the ones listed, but like mentioned above you want integrated graphic then go Sckt 939...

On the other hand there are some vid cards as powerful as 9600pros that use passive coolers...It can be done, but if you run no fan PSU's as well you still need to have some airflow....120mm case fans can help keep audible noise down as well....
 
Yup. I have an Antec Sonata, and I had to replace the fan on the thermaltake Silent boost with a Panaflo. The Silent boost is quiet, Until its in by bedroom which is dead silent, then I neede to make the one more change. So maybe a Zalmann. I like the Silent Boost becuase it uses a stock 80mm fan, and fits the standard motherboard for the HSF part.
 
Just Becuase you are Building a silent pc you shouldn't sacrifice power. Ive built a silent A64 rig that can overclock to 2.6 useing a Zalman 7000cu moded with a SilenX 92mm 14 dBA Fan. And a X850 with moded Zalman VF700 SilenX 80mm 14 dBA Fan which you can undervolt to 5v and they run at 11dba(not whill overclocked tho) coupled with a silent psu you cant here it at 1 meter! and have killer performance. Also seagate Barracudas the older ones are Quieter. Hope this Helps
 
According to your priorities, the P-M will win. But if you're going to be using integrated graphics, Sonoma sucks.

S754 Mobile A64. It has the best balance out of perfornace and power consumption.
It will also let you use the Radeon Xpress 200 chipset.
 
The salesmen don't know shit.

http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20041224/pentium_m_boards-04.html

If you are primarily interested in creating a low-noise, low-power computer, you should also definitely consider AMD's latest 90 nm Athlon64, based on the Winchester core. We measured the power requirements of most of the current desktop processors for our Pentium 4 570 review, and the results of the 90 nm AMD Athlon64 processors 3000+, 3200+ and 3500+ were amazing: they only consume 3.2 Watts in idle mode (running Cool & Quiet). An Athlon64 3500+ never required more than 31 Watts even under full load. This is all the more amazing if you consider the performance level that this particular processor delivers.
Click to expand...

It was good to see that both companies include suitable CPU coolers, since it will be hard to find Socket 479 models at most retailers. Both systems were impressive in that they work with amazingly low noise levels and provide decent performance. However, while the Pentium M is fast enough for most of today's applications, it certainly won't match the fastest Athlon64 systems. In particular, the 90 nm Winchester core is a fast and energy-efficient processor that will enable AMD to fight for market share when it comes to low-power environments.
Click to expand...
 
I will see. In the setup for pentium M PC is fanless power supply, dual notebook drives, and fanless Zalman 7700 Alcu.
3.2W looks nice! Do not have anybody some detailed consumption test?
 
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