Building a new box

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I'm building myself a new box. I'm aiming for a silent and reliable computer.

Please note that shipping to Finland would in many cases cost more than the difference in part cost.

I'll build the computer myself.

Power: Nexus NX-5000 (500w, 16.2 decibel) (100e)
Case: Mode Com C-707 (already bought)
Memory: 2x 1024mb Corsair ValueSelect 677mhz DDR2 (2x48e)
Hard drives: 2x 320gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII (in a RAID1) (2x84e)
Graphics card: Asus GF8500GT 256mb PCI-E (passively cooled) (106e) (won't touch ATI)

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (122e)
Motherboard: Unsure, probably Asus M2N-E (93e)

Also, two 12dB papst case fans, a processor fan under 16dB (or possibly 17) and a DVD-+RW drive.

Suggestions?

EDIT: I'm not completely opposed to switching to Core 2 Duo E6300 or even E6600 - but there I'm completely lost motherboard-wise.

[ May 14, 2007, 22:43: Message edited by: Taza ]

 

Not good at technical stuff but I have an E6600 and my motherboard is the PSN32 -SLI- Premium, had to root out my receipt to tell you that. I also use a 320GB SATA hard drive so I assume your listed hardware will be compatible with this motherboard. So far had no trouble at all with it.

 

Intel is dropping prices on 22nd July - you will be able to pick up a quad core 2.4 GHZ C2D for US$266.

Oh why not ATI?

Bump your graphics card up one notch to a 8600GT, not only is it lots faster but it also hardware decodes video.

 

Probably the same reason why DotW won't touch Intel.

There are usually 4 types of people out there. People who like Intel or AMD, and people who like ATI or nVidia. For awhile there, the majority of "gamers" were the AMD and nVidia lovers.

At this point, I'm not so sure about ATI. They *still* don't have a DX10 card out, and the 8800's are beating the x1950's at several (not all) tests. nVidia clearly has the leading edge ATM since they came out with a powerfull card that can take full advantage of Windows Vista *before* the OS was even released. ATI's next card better be one hell of a beast for them to catch up...

 

I have no personal preference between AMD and Intel.

I've traditionally been an AMD guy, but not a partisan at all. It's usually more of a price thing, as you can find something comperable to Intel in an AMD chip for about 10% or so less. At least that's been my experience, anyway. I've also never had a problem with any AMD chip I've ever had, so they've earned my brand loyalty.

As for nVidia vs. ATI - I'm definitely an nVidia partisan, and won't go near an ATI card. They're buggy as hell, cheaply made and inconsistant. I've purchased two ATI cards since I've been gaming seriously (since 2000), and both of them were returned due to crappy performance and defects. I don't know a single person who's had a good experience with ATI cards. I also know people who've had their ATI cards crap out on them yet still refuse to buy nVidia for some strange reason, claiming that ATI is "still better." Go figure.

 

Yup, DR and Kitrax understood why no ATI.

I'm also not bumping up to 8600GT unless I can get it passively cooled - and I'm not modifying the card afterwards to install a silent cooler, I like my warranty.

Also, picking up things for USD ?!? doesn't apply here - it's Finland.

 

ATI/AMD just released the XT model of their new DX10 cards, the cheaper models are coming a bit later. It cannot match the 8800's in its current state though. BTW, it is NVIDIA, not nVidia.

 

Ehh, well looks like I'm a legend in computing threads...

But anyway, it all ultimately falls to one's preferences - ATI and AMD have been tried, tested and true in my case, so I stick to it. Besides, I don't need the extra edge Intel and NVIDIA currently have - when it comes to gaming, I prefer consoles, thanks a lot.

It also falls to one's needs - Average Joe doesen't need four cores and a dual-core video card.

I had Radeons 9200 and 9800 -- they were pretty darn reliable. Never had a single problem with either card.

 

not a technical aspect, but what have you been thinking for a casing? Ever thought about going down a less conventional road and using something that wouldn't typically be used? Like building it directly into the desk where the drawers would be.

 

I had an Intel machine (486), Intel 200 MMX with Nvidia Riva TNT, Amd Athlon 700 with Geforce 256, Athlon XP 2400+ with Radeon 9200 and later 9600XT, and now a Core 2 Duo laptop with crappy integrated nvidia graphics courtesy of my work. next pc will be whatever is available.

From the different companies I have had stuff from, I have never had a problem ever. The upgrade for my 9200 was originally gonna be a FX5700, but the one I got was broken out the box so I went for a 9600XT instead, worked fine. never had any graphics card problems and never heard of any of my friends having graphics cards break, so I just buy whatever represents the best value for money.

 

Casing - Mode Com C-707. I prefer my computers to move easily. I have been thinking of building a computer inside something from junk parts, but not this box.

And oh, I'm NOT TOUCHING AN ATI CARD, BECAUSE I'VE HAD NOTHING BUT BAD EXPERIENCES WITH THEM. Thank you.

 

I second the anti-ATI experience, I've had nothing but problem with them. Also I've used AMD processor and Motherboards for quite some time and I'm pleased with them. Never had problem. Also you didn't specify which sound card you wanted to get. Integrated cards do the job I guess, but for some real performance I'd recommand a dedicated one.

 

It's WHO CARES, not wHo CaRez.

 

Well My Ati 9800 died after 13 months My xfx ti4200 still runs in some one elses pc. However my Ati sapphire 1600xt runs smooth and without a glitch for about a year now.

My motherboard is the Asus M2N-E mentioned above with a Nvidia 570 ultra chipset. The plastic rim on which you place the processor cooler broke soon, but I had a big tower cooler attached to it. So if you go whit a cooler that is large, go whit one that bolts trough the board. The board runs smooth with little crashes.

Beware that amd and dvd players on Sata gives problems. (Correct me if they fixed that) I also had to make a floppy for the HDD drivers before installing windows.

Also in general check the voltage of the memory slots compard to the voltage advised by the manufacturer of the memory.

Enermaxx has a fanless power supply. Absolutely low noise. By the way I found a gigabyte 8600gt silentpipe 2. Is that one not silent? Hope I helped

 

Okay, I've decided on some other parts.

Code:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600  222e  $300
Motherboard: Asus P5B              107e  $145
Memory: 2x 1024mb 677mhz DDR2       45e   $60 x2
Power: Nexus NX-5000 500w          100e  $135
Hard drives: 2x 320gb Barracuda     79e  $105 x2
Graphics card: GF8500GT 256mb      110e  $150
Extra fans:                         80e  $110
DVD+-RW: Samsung Super-writemaster   -     -
Case: Mode Com C-707                 -     -

Total:                             867e $1170

I'm still aiming to lower the price a bit.

I heard about a 8600GT passively cooled for 135e - but I'm not sure if I just misheard. I'm also looking for cheaper CPU fan. Using Core 2 Duo instead of a Athlon 64 X2 4600+ is some 110e more expensive, therefore it looks like the logical choice.

 

You might want to wait 2 months before buying the processor at least. Intel is doing some price cuts then, you will get a Q6600 (Quad-Core) with almost the same as an E6600 now.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7293

 

Gigabyte 8600 GT Silent pipe 2 139 Euro.

80 euro for a pcu cooler is much. example Thermaltake bue orb2 29 euro. Casefan: sharkoon silent eagle 9 euro. Evens it out a bit.

 

I'm going with two Papst 80mm 12dB case fans.

I just like Papst fans.

 

I was going to point that out too. I've always called them nVidia, because they use a cursive 'n'. So if you want to be overly lame about it...I guess we should all write it nVIDIA. But that’s a little too many capital letters for me.

Here are a few passively cooled nVidia 8 series cards

I'd like to see how ATI's new HD 2900 card stacks up against the 8800 cards. I've only seen one benchmark (from dailytech), so I'll wait for Tom's Hardware.

 

And to be complete, I know many dislike ATI, a Sapphire passivly cooled HD2600xt in July (With no performance loss)