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Silent and cheap, yet powerful build, what do you thinkl

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - Silent and cheap, yet powerful build, what do you thinkl

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Cheps   01-10-2008 at 02:22:36 PM

Hello people! I want to make a silent and cheap build, but still pretty powerful. I just want to play games in 1280x1024 with good graphics. Here is what I had in mind:

Antec P182 Gun-Metal Black
520 Watt, Corsair HX Series, 12 cm fan
Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L
Core 2 Duo E6750 - 2.66
DDR2 2x 1 GB DIMM Corsair Twin2X DDR2-800/PC2-6400
Sapphire HD 3870 - 512 MB
Samsung 250 GB SpinPoint P120
Samsung WriteMaster, 20x DVD±, LightScribe, black

Any comment is welcome :)

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akhilles   01-10-2008 at 02:40:33 PM
- 0 +

Swap that mobo out for GA-P35-DS3L

The rest are very good. You can max everything out in games. Except maybe Crysis.

Reply to akhilles
mi1ez   01-10-2008 at 02:41:16 PM
- 0 +

What cooling are you using? Case fans, CPU cooler etc.

Reply to mi1ez
Cheps   01-10-2008 at 03:02:30 PM
- 0 +

Thanks for your quick answers guys.

akhilles> What is exactly the difference between the P31 and the P35? I thought the P31 would be enough for me.

mi1ez> For the case I'll keep the original tricool fans, they are pretty good from what I've read. I may add a 12cm in front of the graphic card if needed. I think the 3870 fan is not that bad either, expulsing air right out of the case. For the CPU I'm not sure, I'm aiming for 400FSB OC (3.2GHz), I will see how well perform the stock cooler, but maybe you have suggestions?

Reply to Cheps
deuce271   01-10-2008 at 03:30:47 PM
- 0 +

P35 boards are just better boards. Help with OCing and run faster, cooler chipsets. P35 boards are also more upgradable.

------------------------------ Antec Nine Hundred, Gigabyte P35-DS3R, Intel Q6600 @ 3.2 Ghz, Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme, eVGA 8800GT 512MB, G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-800 4-4-4-10, Seasonic S12 ATX 650W, Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA, 26" LCD Monitor (1900x1200), Windows XP Pr
 Reply to deuce271
akhilles   01-11-2008 at 01:16:41 PM
- 0 +

P31 VS P35:

P31: lack of FSB 1333MHZ CPU support, up to 4GB RAM, up to 4 SATAII
P35: FSB 1333MHZ CPU support, up to 8GB RAM, up to 6 SATAII

http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/P31/index.htm
http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/P35/index.htm

Reply to akhilles
mi1ez   01-11-2008 at 01:32:37 PM
- 0 +

Intel's stock coolers are far from ideal in a "silent" PC. I'm currently in the middle of a major overhaul too and I'm looking at the Zalman coolers (CNPS9500 and 9700) for their large fans and all copper construction.

 

With reguards power supplies, I don't know all that much and wouldn't be able to recommend anything. All I know is that my PSU is currently the loudest single component of my system!


Message edited by mi1ez on 01-11-2008 at 01:33:01 PM
Reply to mi1ez
jtt283   01-11-2008 at 02:17:47 PM
- 0 +

Choose a PSU from Tier-3 or better from the list at http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiere [...] gs?t=anon.

------------------------------ There is ALWAYS a drone. Exactly where, or how many drones you will encounter may vary, but that there will be at least one will not.
 Reply to jtt283
skittle   01-11-2008 at 03:28:40 PM
- 0 +

tricool fans are far from silent at stock settings, you need to do a volt mod.

 

Stay away from the zalman HSFs, they dont let you choose your own fan. However you will need a 3rd party HSF... the stock HSF is not very quiet...

 

Get some noise canceling foam to insulate your p182, and block off the unnecessary case openings. Cut out the precut fan protector in the back, and replace it with a wire one. Much less noise, and better air flow.

 

Consider an after market cooler for the video card.

 

Also, if you really want a silent PC, get a notebook harddrive, thats really your only option for a silent pc (unless you want to dish out the cash for a SSD).

 

@jtt283, and OP... the 520HX is a tier-2 PSU, and very quiet.

 


Message edited by skittle on 01-11-2008 at 03:33:52 PM
------------------------------ macgirlfriend:
"Hey I don't get you people, the people on insanely mac were so much nicer"
 Reply to skittle
Cheps   01-11-2008 at 07:04:40 PM
- 0 +

Thanks again for your answers. I will go with stock coolers and see how it goes. If it's too noisy (especially when I OC) then I'll get new coolers :)

As for the "P31 VS P35" I'll probably never upgrade to 8GB ram with that CPU anyway and I really don't need 6 SATAII. And Intel says that 1333Mhz FSB is not supported, but Gigabyte says it is (I've read reviews saying that 1333 was working fine).

Reply to Cheps
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