Final Review Before Ordering

[dazraf25]

Well after help from a memeber of anandtech, I came up with this build. I just wanted a brief critique before placing the order. I am going to wait a couple weeks to see if there is a price drop, but most likely will not change anyting. This is build is not for any heavy gaming. I have read a lot recently about PSU's so hopefully the one with the case is sufficient for the setup. (No intentions of OC'ing). Thanks anandtech!

Antec PERFORMANCE TX640B Black Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case 400W Power Supply

Gigabyte GA-M51GM-S2G Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
(I have a 19' LCD but hopefully the video card will provide nice viewing till i can upgrade)

CORSAIR VALUE SELECT 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Orleans 2000MHz HT 512KB

NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X

Thanks for any input, I will be using the hard drive from my current PC ( 60 GB Maxtor).

 

[dazraf25]

bump

 

[imported_fx]

I wanted to asked you two questions: What's your budget? What's the purpose using this rig?

I'll help you out if you answer these two questions.

 

[dazraf25]

My budget is about $400and this setup is currently at $330. My use is light gaming and general use. I currently have an AMD Duron 1 ghz, 256 mb RAM and 128 AGP RAGE video ( ya its all old ).

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

I would stray away from Antec Psus... Get a Forton and a 50 dollar case.

 

[Operandi]

If you can fit it into your budget I really like this mATX SilverStone. If not this InWin is a very nice affordable case.

For the PSU the Seasonic S12 is a top notch unit; the 330 watt S12 will have plenty of power for what you intend to build. As an alternative this Forton-Source is a bit cheaper and also very good.

I would defiantly change the motherboard to the ASUS M2NPV-VM, with integrated DVI there wouldn't be any reason to upgrade if don't intend on gaming.

 

[imported_Imp]

I will also comment on the case. It looks pretty good especially coming with an Antec PSU, but you may want to get a 'bigger' case. I got the Antec SLK2650 and I almost cried after putting in the motherboard because there was barely any space. Not to mention how cramped it was for cable-gami. And just so you know, I'm not a big person; my hands are pretty small.

 

[kmmatney]

I would consider myself a budget computer user and a heavy gamer. Overall this looks very good to me, and you aren't going to get anything cheaper without having to resort to crappy-brand motherboards. The motherboard your are getting comes with a GUI overclock utility - you should at least overclock to 2.4 Ghz, which is nothing for this cpu - this would give you an Athlon 3800+ without any effort. These cpu's really run cool, so no worries at all on a low overclock like that.

If I was buying a DVD burner right now, I'd get one with lightscribe support. They don't cost much more.

I've worked with that case quite a bit. Its a good case, but there are many sharp edges. The large rear fan is great.

For a few extra dollars you can get a 450W Antec power supply, although will be enough for your current system.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155

 

[dazraf25]

Originally posted by: Operandi
If you can fit it into your budget I really like this mATX SilverStone. If not this InWin is a very nice affordable case.

For the PSU the Seasonic S12 is a top notch unit; the 330 watt S12 will have plenty of power for what you intend to build. As an alternative this Forton-Source is a bit cheaper and also very good.

I would defiantly change the motherboard to the ASUS M2NPV-VM, with integrated DVI there wouldn't be any reason to upgrade if don't intend on gaming.

I was reading the reviews on NewEgg about the ASUS mother board and it had more than usuall bad reports. Is this just a small sample size or has this been an issue with other ASUS boards?

 

[UsandThem]

Originally posted by: dazraf25

I was reading the reviews on NewEgg about the ASUS mother board and it had more than usuall bad reports. Is this just a small sample size or has this been an issue with other ASUS boards?

Newegg reviews are useless. They are filtered, and half the people who write one are just a few IQ points away from being able to comptete in the Special Olympics. Seriously, read some of them. They are bad.

Asus makes very good boards, and you should read a review from a hardware site (just google M2NPC-VM review).

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: dazraf25

Originally posted by: Operandi
If you can fit it into your budget I really like this mATX SilverStone. If not this InWin is a very nice affordable case.

For the PSU the Seasonic S12 is a top notch unit; the 330 watt S12 will have plenty of power for what you intend to build. As an alternative this Forton-Source is a bit cheaper and also very good.

I would defiantly change the motherboard to the ASUS M2NPV-VM, with integrated DVI there wouldn't be any reason to upgrade if don't intend on gaming.

I was reading the reviews on NewEgg about the ASUS mother board and it had more than usuall bad reports. Is this just a small sample size or has this been an issue with other ASUS boards?

Asus is generally known to be very reliable, I wouldn?t put a whole lot of stock in Newegg reviews.

 

[dazraf25]

Operandi,

Thanks for your help. I been reading some more and like the board. Seems for the extra $10 bucks, I get a lot more. I downloaded the usermanual and it shows a list of Qualified Lendors. Corsair is not listed ( there is one listed the XMS but thats too much money for 1 GB of RAM)so I am thinking I will have to pick a different RAM for this motherboard just to play it safe and avoid any problems. The brands they list are Kinhston, Samsung, Infineon,Hynix, ELPIDA, and crucial. I am not to familiar with any of these. The manual list "DDR2-667 MHz capability". I am a little lost any advice?

 

[dazraf25]

Actually after reviewing each one I found the Kingston to be the most reasonable but the details make it identical to the Corsair for the exception of the Kingston being one stick and the Corsair being two sticks. Any thoughts?

 

[dazraf25]

Ok after reviewing other peoples post I came up with this updated build. Would appreciate any thoughts or a "looks good".

SeaSonic S12-330 ATX12V 330W Power Supply

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbar...t/product.asp?item=N82E16813131014</a>"> ASUS M2NPV-VM Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Micro ATX</a>

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Orleans 2000MHz

CORSAIR VALUE SELECT 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2


Still deciding on a case, might get the Cavalier. Thanks for any input. Here is the case i am looking at:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel

 

[LOUISSSSS]

centurion is a decent case.. but has some cheap quality parts in there. a few of my drive rail sliders on the side broke and same with the pci clips (i've always prefered screws anyways) and only an 80mm fan in the front is causing my friend's WD caviar 160gb hdd to idle at 55C...

 

[pinktank]

I'd definitely get a case with a 120mm fan, much cooler, silent.
Glacial tech fans were allright, locally I got some for 4$(Istanbul) ,now they're out of stock but they provided good air per db.
Depends on how silent you want your case though, personally I want it dead.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: dazraf25
Still deciding on a case, might get the Cavalier. Thanks for any input. Here is the case i am looking at:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel

Those are "ok" cases but something like the Lian Li Lian Li PC-7B isn't that much more and is much nicer case in my opinion. You get 100% AL construction, 120mm fans, and its something you'll probably be happier with in the long run so consider it an investment.

Or for a mATX case which actually makes more sense for that board, go with the SilverStone I linked to above.

 

[dazraf25]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
centurion is a decent case.. but has some cheap quality parts in there. a few of my drive rail sliders on the side broke and same with the pci clips (i've always prefered screws anyways) and only an 80mm fan in the front is causing my friend's WD caviar 160gb hdd to idle at 55C...

Anythought on the rest of the setup? I am surprised that with a low grade rig like this, cooling would be a problem.

Operandi, thats a little more than I wanted to spend on a case. After discovering the importance of a good PSU, I decided to get a good PSU and cut back on the case. Any other suggestions as far as a case go's on the low end?

 

[araczynski]

i used that centurion case (blue) for my little brother's build. it is a great case for the price. it has a big fan in the back in addition to the smaller one in front, and since the front of the case is completely perforated, heat was never an issue in his build (7900gt/3800x2).

 

[araczynski]

ignore the liquid cooling freaks here, heat won't be an issue in this build, i think some people have a hard time getting out of their "must have uber gear" mode for even a minute. i suppose the companies did a good job of feeding them lines that they can't imagine anything else now , "tell a lie often enough and soon people will believe you..."

my only concern would be the onboard 6100 graphics card, i don't think you'll get very much mileage out of it when paired to a 19" lcd, especially if you plan on gaming at native resolution (1280x1024).

that'll probbly have to be the first thing you replace down the line (sooner then later).

 

[dazraf25]

Originally posted by: araczynski
ignore the liquid cooling freaks here, heat won't be an issue in this build, i think some people have a hard time getting out of their "must have uber gear" mode for even a minute. i suppose the companies did a good job of feeding them lines that they can't imagine anything else now , "tell a lie often enough and soon people will believe you..."

my only concern would be the onboard 6100 graphics card, i don't think you'll get very much mileage out of it when paired to a 19" lcd, especially if you plan on gaming at native resolution (1280x1024).

that'll probbly have to be the first thing you replace down the line (sooner then later).

I agree that at some point I will upgrade the viedeo card. I also dont think cooling will be an issue considering the rig I have now doesnt even have a fan and does fine. My gaming will be limited (grad school eats up my time), thanks for the input.

 

[dazraf25]

This case seems best after everyones comments and some research.

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel


Seems I have found my build, just wanted to thank everyone that helped out and for all the input. I have learned a great deal just building this rig and look forward to my next one in a few years. Sorry for the persistance and thanks to all!

 

[tjpark1111]

LOUISSS's friend's caviar is obviously either
1)reporting some seriously wrong temps
2)the fan is getting clogged up by dust
3)some other reason because there is no way that even a very slow-spinning 80mm fan can't cool one single hdd. it does look like the drive cage for the centurion is very restrictive, but seriously i dont think there should be a problem.
good case choice, especially for the budget buyer. I also agree the video card should be something you should look into, although that depends on what games you play. Old school games like starcraft(which are actually like the most fun games to play ever)should work fine, i dont even know if that old game supports 1280x1024.