Rate new build - please advise

[Guest]

Hi guys,

I've decided it's about time I build a new computer, since my old one is having a hard time catching up on various uses.

What I need is an all-round computer, that can be used for HTPC use (Im going to use it as a DVD-player, perhaps as BD-player as well, and as a CD/media player. It will be connected to my TV and my surround receiver), Gaming (not the primary use, but I will definately be using it for GTA 4 when it arives, and it would be nice if it can run any game available), and work (I often han plenty of applications running at the same time).

It should be very fast, and very little latency.

What I have found so far is:

Optical drive:
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE Bulk Sata

RAM:
Kingston HyperX/4GB 800MHz DDR2 Non-ECC CL5 kit2

Graphics card:
ASUS EAH4850 HTDI 512MB DDR3 RTL

Motherboard:
ASUS P5Q PRO Socket775 ATX

CPU:
INTEL Core2Duo E8500 3160 775 6MB TRAY

Computer Case:
Antec Performance One ATX MidiT P182 Black

PSU:
Corsair HX Series 620 Watt Modular Power Supply

Cooling:
CPU Cooler:
Scythe Mugen (passive cooler - with additional fan, which I probably wont use)

GPU Coller:
Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 (Passive cooler)

Harddrives:
main drive (C drive for installed programs and OS):
VELOCIRAPTOR 150GB 16MB SATA 3GB/S 10000RPM 3.5IN

Storage drives:
2x CAVIAR BLACK 1TB 32MB SATA/300 7200RPM


I am not planning on OC'ing. Now What do you guys think of the setup??
Do I need to replace some of the things. Are there anywhere I can upgrade/downgrade comonents to either gain a lot for a few bucks or save some money for very little performance (the E8500 is chosen since it is cheaper than the E8400 where I am buying).

 

[auscanzukus]

Thumbs up. Except for the cpu cooler & its use. I don't think it can cool the cpu passively & safely. Unless the case provides sufficient cooling.

 

[Guest]

OK, do you have any advise as to which Cooler (preferably passive) I should go for?

 

[Proximon]

You would need an awful lot of air moving through the case to cool both the CPU and the GPU, if you used passive cooling. This would all generate noise.

Better to get large 120mm CPU cooler and buy a very quiet fan to put on it.

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

 

[Proximon]

A lot of good info over at:

http://www.silentpcreview.com

 

[Guest]

I can see from the link you provided, that Intels stock cooler is 4th on their list of silent coolers. Is that true.
In that case I could save a few bucks on selecting the boxed version of the CPU, instead of buying a seperate cooler.

But I don't understand that the Zalman 9700 isn't listed there. I saw a review of coolers here at toms hardware, where the Zalman was used as the reference cooler.

 

[Proximon]

Heh. The Zalman was considered, at one time long ago now, to be good.

You can trust frostytech, they are serious about testing coolers. If you want quiet, get yourself a real cool Sunbeam or Xigmatek from the other list, then put a Noctua or Scythe fan on it. It's not after all the coolers that make noise but the fans they use.

Get a case with lots of fans... the Antec 300 is a good one. Add two quiet fans as mentioned above, then dial them all down to low settings. There are also some larger more soundproofed cases around.

Check the silentpcreview site for all sorts of ideas there.

 

[fshaharyar]

instead of ASUS P5K Pro u should consider MSI P45 Neo 2 it has a very good bios and heat pipe for northbridge and southbridge. and for gfx u should consider PowerColor PCS HD 4850 it is an overclocked version with an aftermarket cooler.

 

[fshaharyar]

take OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) it has better latency timer.

 

[fshaharyar]

WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) this one was recomended by Toms Hardware

 

[Shadow703793]

^ It's only 2*1GB. You will benefit from 4GB more than from low latency.

Imo, a 10k RPM drive (esp the VelocyRaptor) is an overkill. Just get a WD AAKS 640GB or a 7200.11 drive. Or better yet a small SSD drive.

Also by the looks of it you need a quiet PC so the 10k RPM doesn't make sense there.

 

[Guest]

ahhh, I see http://www.silentpcreview.com/article30-page1.html has the mugen cooler recommended with the fan. So maybe Ill still order that one, but include the fan, when I build it.

 

[huron]

Agreed about 4 GB RAM - don't go for only 2 GB. There are plenty of 2x2GB kits with Cas Latency of 4. Just use newegg power search to look for them.

 

[Onus]

Get RAM that will work at its advertised timings at the JEDEC standard, which is 1.8V. You can bump it yourself if you want to overclock or tighten the timings. My personal favorite is Mushkin.
With lots of apps running at the same time, it might be worthwhile to consider a quad.

 

[geofelt]

A very good list.
The key to quiet is to use large, slow(<1000rpm) fans.
The cpu cooler is buried inside a very quiet case, and a slow fan won't be heard. Just a small bit of extra airflow will make a world of difference.

The velociraptor is actually one of the quietest drives, when installed without the heat sink.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article844-page1.html

 

[Shadow703793]

^ Hmm.. interesting.

 

[Guest]

OK, thank you for all your answers.

It seems like most of the stuff I have chosen is fine, although I myself am in doubt weather to go for Quad or Dual core.
Any remarks on that (I am hoping to keep the computer for about 5 years with minimal upgrades). Should I go for Quad core?

I do know, that the fan on the Scythe Mugen (also referred to as Scythe Infinity) is a 120 mm fan. And at silentpcreview it seems one of the better coolers (low noice levels).
The Antec Case should provide improved noice reduction as well, and it includes 3 120mm cooling fans.

The RAM discussion have thrown me off a bit. I thought that 800MHz PC6400 DDR2 RAM was the way to go. More than 800MHz would gain no or only little extra performance. Should I reconsidder the Kingston ones? Would I be able to gain a lot of performance if I choose other RAM, and in that case, what specific RAM should I get (brand/type etc.)?
Since RAM is so cheep at the moment, I want to get the best available (still at fair prices - the kingston ram is around £50 where I buy, but Im willing to pay more, if I gain noticable performance).

The main focus on the computer is power and speed. Second to that is noice reduction.
That is why I want the VelociRaptor as my C drive. It will hopefully provide additional noticable speed to the computer.
I might just stick to one of the Caviar Black drives, as the cost of the extra drive is quite expensive for a safety precaution (I have never had noticable Hard drive errors, and I will keep my important data on an external drive too).
Additinally going for WD drives should ensure stability. They are supposedly the most stable (least error-prone) SATA hard drives on the market.

@fshaharyar:
It is not a P5K Pro I am considdering, but a P5Q Pro, or maybe even a P5Q-E. What is the difference between those two. I know the -E model has TOSLINK out, which I might need untill I get HDMI between my receiver and the computer.

But are there any other advantages to the Asus P5Q-E model (other than TOSLINK out) compared to the P5Q Pro??

 

[Proximon]

P5Q -E has eSATA and an extra ethernet port, and better board heatsinks.

The only reason you need 1066 RAM is if you are overclocking beyond 400FSB, and you are not.

If you want good performance RAM get:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731
1.8V, 5-4-4-12, good price.

 

[geofelt]

In real(vs. synthetic benchmarks) applications, there is minimal difference in performance between the fastest and slowest ram. Think 1-2% . For maximum overclocks, speed is more important. DDR2-800 from a quality vendor will be fine. Don't spend more for faster speeds or lower latencies.

As to duo vs. quad, think about what you will be doing. If you will be doing lots of multitasking, then get 8gb and a quad. If you mostly do something intensive, like gaming, then go for the higher clock speeds of a duo. If you need a quad, then seriously consider waiting for nehalem. The cheapest at $300 will be a multitasking monster, the equivalent of up to 8 threads.

 

[Guest]

OK, thanks.

I'll probably go for the E version solely because of the TOSLINK port. My current setup is using TOSLINK, and if I go for HDMI out, I need to know that I can get lossless sound transferred too. And that is not possible unless I get something like a ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 card, which is way too expensive.

What do you think of the Quad vs. Dual core dilemma?

 

[Proximon]

The whole quad vs duo thing is, I think, more a personal choice.

As a very old school guy with some training in programming way back in the day, I keep a very minimal operating environment. I don't have a bunch of processes active and I don't do more than a few things at once... I could do more, but it's a matter of habit.

For me, a dual core made more sense. When 33% of my games want quad I'll upgrade.

I know a lot of people that load down their system tray until the computer staggers, and then call me to ask what is wrong. They are better off with 4 cores.

 

[Guest]

In real(vs. synthetic benchmarks) applications, there is minimal difference in performance between the fastest and slowest ram. Think 1-2% . For maximum overclocks, speed is more important. DDR2-800 from a quality vendor will be fine. Don't spend more for faster speeds or lower latencies.

As to duo vs. quad, think about what you will be doing. If you will be doing lots of multitasking, then get 8gb and a quad. If you mostly do something intensive, like gaming, then go for the higher clock speeds of a duo. If you need a quad, then seriously consider waiting for nehalem. The cheapest at $300 will be a multitasking monster, the equivalent of up to 8 threads.

OK, thank you for the info.

I'll probably stick to Duo then. I won't wait till early next year for a Core i7 that has been fully tested and optimized. I'll probably be doing some multitasking (currently I have 4 apps open). But not to a greater extend. I need my DVD's (and later BD's) to run smoothly, and the games I do play (not a lot, but still some demanding ones) to run smoothly as well.

I wont get 8GB right now, since I'll be running 32-bit XP untill Windows 7 is out (and probably not untill SP1 for that is out too).