updated "90%" computer system
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:47 am
Greetings,
I've just built a pretty nice computer system for a fellow DBUG member, and I thought that I should pass along what I learned. Here are the specs:
Intel Core2Duo 6420 2.13gHz w/ 4MB L2 cache:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115016
Thermalright SI-128 heatsink, with GlobalWin 120mm fan:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835109129
Asus P5N-E SLi motherboard:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=247123
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131142
2X 1GB Corsair DDR2 SDRAM 533 (PC4200)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145525
Antec Solo case:
[Note: the location of the Power LED is incorrectly labeled: it is in fact a nice blue ring around the power button. Only the HD activity LED is on the left side...]
Fortron Source "Green" 300watt power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104031
Gigabyte GeForce 8600GTS 256MB video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125063
Western Digital SE16 320GB SATA hard drive, with 16MB cache:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136074
Sony DVD-RW burner:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827131038
(You can also get a SATA version of this for about $5 more.)
The cost of the hardware including shipping was almost exactly $900.
Three alternatives to major components would be a Gigabyte GA-N650SLI-DS4 motherboard, which is very similar to the Asus:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005052
A different heatsink that would be better in low velocity air flow (i.e. quiet); Scythe Ninja (that might not even need the fan):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185038
And a very similar Asus video card that has a different passive cooling heatsink:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121077
The system is very fast (right, Dick? ), and it can be upgraded to 4GB (or even 8GB) of RAM (with a 64bit version of Windows). It can have a second video card added for faster support of two monitors, or support for a total of up to four monitors. You can have three hard drives (suspended in the Solo's awesome drive cage) or four hard drives with the silicon-grommeted sleds.
The Solo is an excellent case -- the best I have ever used: air flow is excellent, the 0.8mm thick steel is also damped with applied sheets on the main panels, the drive mounting is also great, and the cable management (hooks behind the HD cage) is also great. It has room for up to four 5.25" drives, or three with one 3.5" (floppy/zip) drive.
It has two (front) USB 2.0 ports, and one Firewire and front audio ports. There are 8 USB ports in total, two Firewire ports, one eSATA port (for a very fast external HD), and one 1000/100/10 LAN port, as well as multiple "HD" audio channels. The motherboard lacks only a serial port (used for a pen tablet) that requires a inexpensive PCI card to be added to the system.
The video card is the fastest video chip available in a (stock) passively-cooled video card, and it has two DVI outputs. If you want even more speed, and can live with a little fan noise, and you can afford the $150 higher price tag, the GeForce 8800GTS is the card to consider.
You'll notice there is no floppy in the system -- I had to use one temporarily to install the SATA driver at the beginning of the Windows installation, but it did not stay in the system. We used WinXP SP2 -- I cannot recommend Vista at this time.
This system easily ran a 20% overclock (with an easy BIOS setting), and it stayed quiet, and ran 10-12C hotter for the CPU. It maxed at 65C, which is fine.
I've just built a pretty nice computer system for a fellow DBUG member, and I thought that I should pass along what I learned. Here are the specs:
Intel Core2Duo 6420 2.13gHz w/ 4MB L2 cache:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115016
Thermalright SI-128 heatsink, with GlobalWin 120mm fan:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835109129
Asus P5N-E SLi motherboard:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=247123
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131142
2X 1GB Corsair DDR2 SDRAM 533 (PC4200)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145525
Antec Solo case:
[Note: the location of the Power LED is incorrectly labeled: it is in fact a nice blue ring around the power button. Only the HD activity LED is on the left side...]
Fortron Source "Green" 300watt power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104031
Gigabyte GeForce 8600GTS 256MB video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125063
Western Digital SE16 320GB SATA hard drive, with 16MB cache:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136074
Sony DVD-RW burner:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827131038
(You can also get a SATA version of this for about $5 more.)
The cost of the hardware including shipping was almost exactly $900.
Three alternatives to major components would be a Gigabyte GA-N650SLI-DS4 motherboard, which is very similar to the Asus:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005052
A different heatsink that would be better in low velocity air flow (i.e. quiet); Scythe Ninja (that might not even need the fan):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185038
And a very similar Asus video card that has a different passive cooling heatsink:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121077
The system is very fast (right, Dick? ), and it can be upgraded to 4GB (or even 8GB) of RAM (with a 64bit version of Windows). It can have a second video card added for faster support of two monitors, or support for a total of up to four monitors. You can have three hard drives (suspended in the Solo's awesome drive cage) or four hard drives with the silicon-grommeted sleds.
The Solo is an excellent case -- the best I have ever used: air flow is excellent, the 0.8mm thick steel is also damped with applied sheets on the main panels, the drive mounting is also great, and the cable management (hooks behind the HD cage) is also great. It has room for up to four 5.25" drives, or three with one 3.5" (floppy/zip) drive.
It has two (front) USB 2.0 ports, and one Firewire and front audio ports. There are 8 USB ports in total, two Firewire ports, one eSATA port (for a very fast external HD), and one 1000/100/10 LAN port, as well as multiple "HD" audio channels. The motherboard lacks only a serial port (used for a pen tablet) that requires a inexpensive PCI card to be added to the system.
The video card is the fastest video chip available in a (stock) passively-cooled video card, and it has two DVI outputs. If you want even more speed, and can live with a little fan noise, and you can afford the $150 higher price tag, the GeForce 8800GTS is the card to consider.
You'll notice there is no floppy in the system -- I had to use one temporarily to install the SATA driver at the beginning of the Windows installation, but it did not stay in the system. We used WinXP SP2 -- I cannot recommend Vista at this time.
This system easily ran a 20% overclock (with an easy BIOS setting), and it stayed quiet, and ran 10-12C hotter for the CPU. It maxed at 65C, which is fine.