New build ideas

[allyb]

Hi,

My PC finally died on me, it gave me 4 good years then the mobo packed in and my gfx card

Good news is I get a new toy!!

So what I would like is something that will let me use a lot of HDDs as I already have 2x500gb and 3x1TB as well as older smaller ones.
I want high spec but cool and most importantly silent.

After much reading I have narrowed it down to the below spec:

Mobo: Asus Pe64 X48 DDR3 v Asus P5Q3 P45 DDR3 ( thinking of going with the Pe64 due to more sata ports).
CPU: Q9650/Q9550 oem
Graphics: ATI 4550/4650 passively cooled + hdmi port - low spec here besides video usage
PSU: Zalman ZM600 600w silent heatpipe
RAM: 2x2GB OCZ platinum PC3-12800
CPU Cooler: silent and cool possibly zalman 9900
Already have optical drives and HDDs
Case: Cosmos RC1000 silver or Antec Zan B&W or Zalman GS1000

Struggling to decide :/ Please help? Thanks

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would go for a Core i7 based build!! The Core i7 920 will be faster than a Q9650 and cheaper! A decent X48 based motherboard is nearly the same price as a X58 and you are already buying DDR3 RAM anyway.

[staffsMike]

so I take it you want things nice and quiet.

I wouldn't bother with any "silent" coolers zalman offer tbh, they'll either be quiet and cook your cpu or noisey in my experience.

Xigmatec's tower coolers are very good coolers and with something like a noctua fan will be extremely quiet.

Wouldn't bother with DDR3 with anything less than X58 and core i7 cpu's (expensive). Persoanlly I wouldn't even bother with intel, AMD offer fantastic solutions for both strong integrated graphics (I take it you aren't gaming) and pretty damn good Quad cores.

So in light of that,

AMD phenom II 940 BE ~£195 + Sythe ninja II or Xigmatec (as above) ~£30
Asus 780G -EM mobo ~£60
4GB crucial ballistix DDR2 ~£40
Antec P180 mini ~£60 (uATX which the board would be too)
640GB WD AAKS ~£55
LG HD/Blu ray ~£60 (or just standar SATA optical £15)
450W Corsair VX ~£65

I would get an fan cooled PSU. THe corsair's are super quiet as are enermax modu and pro series.
On board graphics are strong enough for blu ray and light gaming but you could always add a passive card later.

If you wanted it completly silent then you could change the antec tri cool fans for noctua and it really would be.

[allyb]

I would go for a Core i7 based build!! The Core i7 920 will be faster than a Q9650 and cheaper! A decent X48 based motherboard is nearly the same price as a X58 and you are already buying DDR3 RAM anyway.

Thanks. I did consider i7 but figured cooling and noise may be an issue.

[allyb]

so I take it you want things nice and quiet.

I wouldn't bother with any "silent" coolers zalman offer tbh, they'll either be quiet and cook your cpu or noisey in my experience.

Xigmatec's tower coolers are very good coolers and with something like a noctua fan will be extremely quiet.

Wouldn't bother with DDR3 with anything less than X58 and core i7 cpu's (expensive). Persoanlly I wouldn't even bother with intel, AMD offer fantastic solutions for both strong integrated graphics (I take it you aren't gaming) and pretty damn good Quad cores.

So in light of that,

AMD phenom II 940 BE ~£195 + Sythe ninja II or Xigmatec (as above) ~£30
Asus 780G -EM mobo ~£60
4GB crucial ballistix DDR2 ~£40
Antec P180 mini ~£60 (uATX which the board would be too)
640GB WD AAKS ~£55
LG HD/Blu ray ~£60 (or just standar SATA optical £15)
450W Corsair VX ~£65

I would get an fan cooled PSU. THe corsair's are super quiet as are enermax modu and pro series.
On board graphics are strong enough for blu ray and light gaming but you could always add a passive card later.

If you wanted it completly silent then you could change the antec tri cool fans for noctua and it really would be.

Thanks for the advice.

I do think intel is the way to go on quad systems.
I don't want to use integrated gfx for hd content and will require an hdmi port hence the gfx choice
Silence is very important to me though so I take on board the views regarding the fans and coolers.
I already have both a bluray burner and dvdrw sata devices to add to the system
my main worry for the mobo is enough sata ports and how cool it will run.
e-sata is also essential as I intend to get an esata enclosure for additional drives.

Again thanks for the advice

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The other alternative is the Phenom II as they have very low idle power consumption:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/16147/12

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpu...-920-review/13

The Phenom II is better value for money IMHO than the equivalently prices Intel quad cores. I would get the Core i7 for the sort of money you are willing to spend because at that price the Core2 quad is definitely not worth the money!!

[staffsMike]

The motherboard has VGA, DVI, displayport and HDMI
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150278...specifications
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?mo...49&l3=639&l4=0

Wish I had this one, but I have the CM version with which is the same minus HDMI.

If you are leaving them at stock clocks I would either get i7 for best performance or phenom II for best value system.

[Webby]

I have to agree with Mike here the Phenom II with a 780G or 790GX board will be everything you need the onboard graphics are the equivelent of an ATI 3450 (slightly lower clock speed) and handle HD video playback flawlessly.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I also agree that a 780G or 790GX with a Phenom II would be the best value for money. The HD3200 and HD3300 integrated graphics have acceleration for HD video onboard. Some of the motherboards havd HDMI and Displayport outputs.

A good example is the following:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150278

http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1...52&modelmenu=1

If you need a computer for very computationally intensive tasks then the Core i7 is the way to go though!!

[staffsMike]

Posted it already but all credit to CAT for pointing it out to me in the first place

[allyb]

if i go core i7 can i still get it to run cool and silent? if so what mobo and coolers would you recommend ? Thanks

[allyb]

the worry about the amd mobo is it seems to be more aimed at a media pc and nothing else. the built in hdmi. it doesnt have many sata ports and for me that is key i need quite a few. i have a bluray burner and a pio dvdrw to fit as well as upto 8 HDDs and e-sata external enclosure.

[SuGaR847]

I quite nice silent case is the NZXT Hush (HU001). Has 2 120mm fans that should provide sufficient cooling if you don't plan two use more than two GPUs...

[allyb]

I quite nice silent case is the NZXT Hush (HU001). Has 2 120mm fans that should provide sufficient cooling if you don't plan two use more than two GPUs...

Thanks, I will take a look at that case. No i will only be using 1 gfx card. a low spec one at that.