New build recommendations? Low noise.

[DavidA]

I built a PC about four years ago. In fact, you can see all the details about the finished build in this Hexus thread. It's based around a Core 2 Duo E6400 processor. Since then, I've upgraded my video card to a 9800GT and installed an 80GB Solid State Drive.

I've been playing a lot of Starcraft 2 at the moment and sometimes the framerate will drop to under 30fps. I figured it might be time for an upgrade. I'm guessing processors will have improved significantly since I installed this.

So I'd like your recommendations please.

- Low noise. Passive ideally.
- Quality case. I broke a fan on my current one.
- Intel preferred over AMD.
- Nvidia preferred over ATI.

Thanks in advance.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

TBH,a Q6600 or Q6700,a new PSU and a new graphics card should do the job for another year or so IMHO.

StarCraft II runs better on AMD graphics cards IIRC.

Also,AMD Bulldozer is being released in Q2 2011 around March or April AFAIK and this will be the first fully new high end AMD CPU architecture since the Athlon 64.

As you probably know the current socket 1155 motherboards have SATA II issues and you will have to wait until March or April for Intel to replace the motherboards. However,this is also the the same time as the release of the Z68 chipset too.

Edit!!

Have you tried overclocking your E6400??

You could probably get it upto around 2.8GHZ to 3.0GHZ with only a small increase in voltage.

[DavidA]

Thank you.

I had such a nightmare with AMD last time I used them that I'd much prefer to stick to Intel. The Q6700 processor looks good. Any idea what kind of speed increase it would give me over my old Dual Core E6400?

I read something bad about Sandy Bridge, which I assume means I should steer clear of that for a while. Are there good Intel-based motherboards which don't have this problem?

I don't like overclocking because I'm trying to keep heat and noise low. I'd prefer to get a new system.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Is your 9800GT a 512MB or 1GB model BTW??

I suspect that at 2560X1600 the VRAM is probably not enough.

Thank you.

I had such a nightmare with AMD last time I used them that I'd much prefer to stick to Intel.

TBH,this does not mean just because you had an issue with an AMD based build once that it will be the same for all AMD based builds for ever.

Anyway,when AMD Bulldozer is released it will mean more competition for Intel and better prices IMHO.

The Q6700 processor looks good. Any idea what kind of speed increase it would give me over my old Dual Core E6400?

A Q6600 or a Q6700 would be a drop in upgrade for your current setup. You are looking at between £70 to £90 on Ebay as they are not made any more.

Both processors have twice the cores and twice the L2 cache of your current CPU.

It does seem that you motherboard will support 45NM Core2 quad processors with a newer BIOS:

http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/c...Deluxe/WiFi-AP

This means the cooler running Q8000 and Q9000 series quad cores will also work fine. You should be able to get a secondhand Q8400 for under £100 from Ebay too.

Here is a comparison of a 2.2GHZ E4500 and a Q8400:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/65?vs=89

Here is a comparison of the E4500 and a Q6600:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/65?vs=53

I read something bad about Sandy Bridge, which I assume means I should steer clear of that for a while. Are there good Intel-based motherboards which don't have this problem?

The problem is due to premature degradation of the SATA II controller which affects all the socket 1155 based motherboards ATM. Intel will replace the motherboards but the replacements will only be out by March or April at the earliest.

Also,the Z68 based chipsets will be out around this time too.

I don't like overclocking because I'm trying to keep heat and noise low. I'd prefer to get a new system.

Even on stock voltage the E6000 series could be overclocked a reasonable amount. I would give it a try TBH.

[MSIC]

I can see pros and cons for getting a Core2Quad.
Firstly there will be many situations when it wont be much quicker than what you have.
An E6400 runs at 2.13Ghz (stock).
A Q6700 runs at 2.66Ghz (stock).
Since there is no improvement in architecture, you're only getting about 25% faster clock speeds. This may or may not be ok for your needs. There will also be a small extra benefit from the extra cache.
Assuming applications which are not very multithreaded you will therefore get only 25% improvement; the day-to-day use of Windows will 'feel' about the same.
Starcraft can benefit (a bit) from at least 3 cores (although seemingly not more than 3), so again, i'm a bit on the fence about recommending it (although future games are more and more likely to benefit of course).

A major pro is clearly that you can keep much of the current setup and slot in the new CPU.
A downside however (again, same architecture) is that it will produce quite a bit more heat, which you've said you dont want.

The significant upside to a whole new system is that you can get major speed improvements plus around the same power usage as current (depending on if you want to go for dual-core plus hyperthreading, or proper quad-core etc). The downside to this is 2-fold: significant extra cost (when compared to buying a Q6700), and the whole Sandy Bridge chip fiasco.... i'd be very inclined however just to wait a few weeks, wait until they get new (improved) motherboards in stock, and go the 1155 route.

[DavidA]

Wow. Super helpful. Thank you both. Lots to consider.

So the short version is that unless I switch to a new architecture then I'm only going to a small increase and it's not worth upgrading the architecture until the revised Sandy Bridge boards arrive. Is that about right? I think I'll hold off. Until then, I'm going to start looking into this new architecture.

My 9800GT is 512MB. I seem to recall that was appropriate for my large screen, but I might be wrong. Could you recommend a new videocard?

[Terbinator]

Radeon 6850.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

TBH,I would wait a few more months! Once AMD releases Bulldozer they will be more competitive in the £125+ CPU market and this will mean Intel will reduce prices.

If you are willing to spend around £200 to £230 I would look at either GTX560TI 1GB or an HD6950 2GB. Some games at 2560X1600 will benefit from the extra RAM of the HD6950 and others will not.

Alternatively if you want to spend less than £150 I would look at an HD6850 1GB or GTX460 1GB.

Like I said before StarCraft II does prefer AMD cards:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/20293/9

[Pob255]

Can I ask what front fan? the antec p180 didn't come with a front fan at stock.
It came with
120mm tri-cool rear
120mm tri-cool top
120mm x 36mm tri-cool middle of the lower chamber.
There was a bracket for a front fan in the upper chamber, but you don't need to use it as it has normal screw holes anyway (I actually snapped the bracket on the front fan trying to get it out, but that didn't matter as I was getting rid of it, and the lower chamber fan bracket, so I could use rubber anti-vibration plugs)
Still a great case, just swap out the fans for something less noisy

Depends how much you're willing to spend on 4 fans.
four of these BitFenix fans would be a very good cheap option http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120mm...fdb%29-1000rpm (should be around £4 each

[alexander]

I was in the same situation as you, I needed a silent, small system, this is what I went for after much research:

Lian-Li V354B Case (M-ATX)
Sandybridge 2500k CPU
Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 Undervolted to 5v
Asus P8P67-M Pro
1 x 140mm Noctua Silent Fan
2 x 120mm Noctua Silent Fan
Gigabyte HD6870 With Gelid Icy Rev 2 Cooler
Corsair AX750 PSU
4GB Corsair 1600mhz RAM
OCZ 60GB SSD
500GB Samsung Spinpoint Drive
LG Blu-Ray Drive

The case has an inbuilt fan controller, it doesn't quite undervolt them to the correct levels for silence, but I attached further cables to undervolt it to silence. Absolutely all the fans needed to be undervolted for silence, not even the Noctuas with their own fan controllers made them silent.

The only thing I can really hear is the Hard Drive, I could suspend it but it is quiet enough as it is. The PSU fan never usually spins from what I can hear under normal loads.

Hope this helps, it took me quite a while to decide what components to go with.

[MSIC]

Wow, thanks for that post Alexander, I'm considering the same Lian Li case myself, so it's good to read about you having components that fit together and work.
At the risk of highjacking the thread a little (sorry O.P.), was there anything that with hindsight you would have bought or done differently?

[alexander]

Well, after reading many forums myself, I was of the understanding that the Megahalems CPU cooler would fit, but with the V354B and the Asus P8P67-M it does not, the cooler won't fit because it hits the PSU. This is because of where the CPU is mounted on the motherboard, with a different motherboard has its CPU closer to the top of the board it probably would.

There's nothing I would have really changed, perhaps gone with a higher power graphics card like a 6950, bought a 6870 for my previous Shuttle which only had 400W PSU as it was power efficient.

Saying that though, I can fly through absolutely any game at 1920 x 1200, not that I have that many though.

One thing about the USB 3.0 ports on the front of the case, they are only connected by USB 3 cables and you need to run the wires through the whole case to be plugged into the USB 3 ports on the external I/O part of the board. They only JUST reach on the P8P67-M after moving the graphics card to a lower slot, this is as the USB 3 ports on this motherboard are at the very top.

Another thing is that a Modular PSU is essential, the case isn't great if you are constantly changing the insides as there are many screws to take the side off and you need to take out the PSU out to make any internal changes, without a modular PSU it would be a nightmare. I would really, really recommend the Corsair AX750 though, made by Seasonic and is absolutely silent.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

There's nothing I would have really changed, perhaps gone with a higher power graphics card like a 6950, bought a 6870 for my previous Shuttle which only had 400W PSU as it was power efficient

What Shuttle did you have?? I have an SD37P2 with the 450W PC55 and I am looking at the HD6850,HD6870 and GTX460 ATM.

Did the card fit fine or did you need to make modications??

[MSIC]

Oops.. i must have been tired last night. I'm unlikely to be considering the PC-V354 for myself, but really like the V352.

[prehensile]

Lots of credit to And Alexander that you really know what they are talking about.

I haven't ever had an AMD system that was very buggy, I guess you judge a system by how many days and weeks it can stay online without having to restart for any reason.

The most important thing is to have a very good motherboard with a very good chipset, the best I ever had was a MSI "showcase" neo-2 platinum board with AMD which was much more bug free than my current core2duo

[alexander]

I was also using an SD37P2, without any modifications. It should work in yours.

I now have the SD37P2 v2 for sale if anyone would be interested in it?

I'd probably suggest the 6850 to be honest with you, think they have quieter coolers in general, the stock 6870 is absolutely horrific.