New fairly quiet rig advice..

[Quicksilver]

Hi,

I'm looking to build a reasonably quick rig which will be fairly futureproof without breaking the bank, quiet without resorting to watercooling and hopefully reasonably compact as the intention is to store the PC within an open fronted cupboard (with rear vents!).

One of my requirements is a PCI slot as I need to use a specialised PCI sound card but other than that, I'm fairly open to suggestion with regard to form factor, case (looks like it'll have to be a desktop as I'm quite limited with height), CPU etc etc.. I've had experience building PCs in the past but with Moore's Law; everything's changed in the mean time! I'll be using the machine for some music production, limited photographic work, usual surfing, potentially some gaming and HD output. Ideally working within a £500(+/- as required) budget, looking more towards AMD than Intel, potential to O/C

I'm thinking along the lines of:

1x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
4GB RAM
WiFi
AMD Phenom II (which??)
....

Sorry for being rather vague, but if anyone can give me some pointers, recommended motherboards (possibly mATX), whether I go Quad or Dual core (quite like the look of the Phenom IIs), DDR2/DDR3, where the world is now with PSUs and any other useful advise, I'd be most grateful.

Regards,

Quicksilver.

[kmac]

I'm sure CAT will be along in a sec...

I'm a big fan (no pun intended) of quiet PCs and can advise on Fans, coolers and PSUs but until you choose your CPU...

[Domestic_Ginger]

I like the look of the P180 mini and wouldn't mind one myself.
Antec Mini P180 -Gun Metal Grey - Micro-ATX -8 drive bays - 200mm+120mm fans £60
Will need two 120mm fans.

DFI JR 790GX-M2RS, AMD 790GX, Sok AM2+, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, Micro ATX £60

AMD Athlon II X3 435, Triple Core, Rana, S AM3, 2.9GHz, 1.5MB Cache, HT 2000MHz, 95W, Retail £59.

I would get a HDT-1283 for £20 or similar.

Memory is a bit of a dog atm. So I'm steering well clear

SST-ST50F-230 v - 500W Silverstone Strider ST50F-230 v 1.0, PSU Silent, Modular, V 1.0, 80+ Eff' £51

OR

The Corsair 450 at £58

Not sure what you mean by gaming so went with onboard gpu for the time being.

One problem with the motherboard is the lack of slots if you want a PCI wifi card with your sound card.

Should really do some work today.

[Quicksilver]

Many thanks for the prompt responses. With regard to gaming, I wouldn't be using the PC as an out and out pure gaming machine, but I'd like the scope to play the latest games with reasonable performance should I ever get a break from work.
The PCI sound card is by far the most important with WiFi a close second as I'm unable to cable that area unfortunately.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Do you have a copy of an OS to hand??

Also what type of games will you be intending to play??

Do you value power consumption over outright performance??

[Domestic_Ginger]

He's back

[Quicksilver]

Hi Cat,


Do you have a copy of an OS to hand??

No, aiming for 7 but not including within my *rough* budget.

Also what type of games will you be intending to play??

Battlefield series, looking at Star Trek Online.

Do you value power consumption over outright performance??

Power consumption isn't a major consideration.

Thanks in advance.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Hi Cat,


Do you have a copy of an OS to hand??

No, aiming for 7 but not including within my *rough* budget.

Also what type of games will you be intending to play??

Battlefield series, looking at Star Trek Online.

Do you value power consumption over outright performance??

Power consumption isn't a major consideration.

Thanks in advance.

I would say that going for slightly lower power consumption components will mean they will need less cooling and hence the PC would be quieter.

[mikemikemi]

I think it's easier to choose the parts you want then aim to quiet down parts that make noise.

CPU - Any, but replace the stock heatsink, with better one employing 120mm fan, Noctua and Xigmatek come to mind.
PSU - I just bought a Seasonic-X series which is one of the quietest out there but pricey.
Mobo - Aim for ones with no active fans.
Graphics - There are passive cards out there, won't be great for gaming: Nvidia 6200, 6600, 9500 come mind, there are some ATI ones as well but can't think of any I've seen.

Sound absorption foam may help, although I haven't seen any reviews so cannot confirm if this genuinely makes a difference.

[kmac]

Some good pointers can be had here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page2.html

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_PSUs

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page1.html

The loudest thing in my PC is the hard drive - and its a very quiet one.

[Quicksilver]

Excellent advice, many thanks. Looks like I've got a fair amount more research ahead of me. Due to the shape of the "cupboard" which is akin to a wooden server rack, there's a fair amount of resonance. It doesn't have to be silent but as quiet as possible (possibly using off the peg fans/deadening) would be preferable to the hairdryer currently in place!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This is what I would look at getting:

Phenom II X2 550BE ~ £69

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166518

Xigmatek HDT-S1283 ~ £20

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?W...source=froogle

Antec Solo ~ £66

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

This is meant to be an excellent case for a quieter build

Nexus NX-5000 (R3 Model) Power Supply ~ £77 including postage

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1650.html

Expensive but a very quiet power supply

Novatech ATI Radeon 5750 Passive 1024MB ~ £121

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...html?nov-5750p

You can get cashback from Quidco and TopCashBack on Novatech purchases

Samsung F3 500GB ~ £37

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146252

MSI 770-C45 ~ £48

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165438

4GB 1600MHZ DDR3 ~ £83

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191175

Run this at 1333MHZ using lower latencies

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £18

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164449

Edimax EW-7128G ~ £11

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Edima...eless-PCI-Card

The total comes to around £550 excluding postage.

The X2 550BE maybe unlockable to a quad core if you are lucky:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=227004

[Quicksilver]

CAT, you're an absolute legend. Many thanks for that. Certainly food for thought, just have to wait for the end of the month.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Here are some other bits you may want to consider if you can increase the budget:

Asus M4A79XTD EVO ~ £84

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...SATA-3Gb-s-ATX

This is a Crossfire capable motherboard and has a better 8+2 VRM and better cooling for the VRM which should help for overclocking when compared to the MSI motherboard

2X92mm Fractal Design cooling fans for the case ~ £14

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/92mm-...ber-Fan-Mounts

The OP may want to check out the Scan free shipping offer too:

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...tup-guide.html

[kmac]

Don't buy drives from ebuyer - their packaging is dreadful and there is good chance they'll be damaged in transit. Scan has them in Today Only very often anyway at prices less than ebuyer

[s3ds]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xigma...T-D1284-cooler
i prefer that one but in fairness i do have one like cat states

my last buid used these as they are 4 pin PWM fans
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Akasa...cone-pins-incl