Please help me build a PC

[wolf550e]

My PC really needs a replacement (as it was built in June 2000 :-O), but I don't need a monster gaming rig and I don't want to spend too much, but I also don't want to buy crap.

What it will be used for:
- Mild, quiet, air-cooled overclocking. Quiet more important than speed, so not aiming for 2.8Ghz...
- Firefox, GCC, XviD on Gentoo Linux (That second core is very handy there).

No need for fancy graphics, so ideally I would prefer to save money and go for integrated video, all things being equal.
No IGP for overclocking, huh?
I've read reviews and browsed the forums, but it seems the more I read the more questions I have.

I want:
CPU:
- Athlon X2 3800+
- Opteron 165 - cost is +10%. What are the good steppings?

Mobo:
- DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra - too hot, too loud
- DFI Infinity RS482 - bad southbridge
- ASUS A8R-MVP - Is the Anandtech review too good to be true? Reviews at Newegg say so.

HSF:
- Zalman CNPS9500 LED - expensive
- Scythe Ninja - can't find it here
- Thermalright SI-120 - can't find it here
- Thermalright XP-120 - mobo compatibility?
- Thermaltake BigTyphoon - I don't like the cheap brand
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro - less powerful

RAM:
2x512MB Brand Value PC3200. I can run the ram async from HTT, right? So ram that won't go far above 400 won't prevent me from overclocking the cpu?
- Geil (cheapest)
- Corsair Value Select
- OCZ

VGA:
Decent 2D quality, DVI capable, passively cooled
- Radeon 9250 thingy
- GeForce 6200TC

Sound:
If I'm unsatisfied with the onboard sound, I'll stick an Audigy in there. Is that still ok?

HDD:
~200GB SATA
Warranty and cost are most important to me, I think, as I'm not prejudiced against anything that's not a Deathstar...
- W.D. - fastest?
- Seagate - quieter?
- Samsung - quietest?
- Maxtor - ...

Case:
A quiet "professional" looking mid tower.
- Antec Sonata II - pricy.
- Cooler Master Centurion 5 - ...
A cheap case without PSU?

PSU:
- ENERMAX EG375AX-VE - should be enough since I don't have a gamer's video card
- Seasonic - looking...

Edit: Thank for the comments! Keep 'em coming.
Edit: Edits are bold. Thanks for the advice!

 

[SlitheryDee]

What are you planning on using this computer for?

 

[Bobthelost]

Samsung spinpoints are the quietest HDs out at the moment. Older seagates aren't too bad either, the 7200.7s for example. NOT the .8 or .9 ranges.

Where are you exactly?

 

[Cabages]

"- Mild, quiet, air-cooled overclocking.
- Firefox, GCC, XviD. "

If you want to overclock, the opteron should be better.

"ASUS A8N-VM CSM - won't overclock " If that is so, then it contradicts one of your main goals. Not this one.

You might want a more powerful VGA, but as this isnt for gaming, I wouldnt know.

 

[wolf550e]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
Samsung spinpoints are the quietest HDs out at the moment. Older seagates aren't too bad either, the 7200.7s for example. NOT the .8 or .9 ranges.

Where are you exactly?

I'll read about them, then. Thanks for the heads up!

I'm in a Tel-Aviv suburb.

What is a good brand/model of value RAM for overclocking?

 

[markkleb]

You seem to want your cake and eat it too.

If your gonna OC Value anything is prob not a good idea.

None of the onboard graphics are good. ( I had the Asus A8N VM CSM that was supposed to be the best) It was soso at best.

As to dual core, do you do LOTS at the same time? If so mabye its ok. Otherwise My 3700+ is oced to 2750 mhz easy and works well for me. Buy mabye a 3000+ would be ok and 2 gigs of mem.

Since ur getting only 1 gig of mem get a good one, My PQI Turbo was only $94 for a gig and is lat2

Check out the coolermaster cases, very nice for $45 to $75

You can get a good video card for about $60


And I dont think if you want to oc Quiet should be your first concern.

 

[greenmaji]

I wouldnt think onboard vga boards would be the best idea for OCing. You might (most likely will) have trouble reaching higher HTT/FSB.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: greenmaji
I wouldnt think onboard vga boards would be the best idea for OCing. You might (most likely will) have trouble reaching higher HTT/FSB.

This is very important if you truly wish to OC. If graphics aren't an issue then you can get acceptable budget grahpics cards extremely cheap, but I would recommend against integrated graphics solutions.

Edit: Also depending on how much you want to get out of your system premium RAM is suggested as it gives you more overclocking headroom. I am really not seeing how much overclocking will help you anyway given the fact that you are starting out with a dual core CPU and you don't profess any interest in gaming or any other high CPU demand applications.

 

[Boztech]

You're in the exact same boat I'm currently in. I had built myself a high-end gaming rig and recently decided to kick my gaming habit. Now I've parted out my machine and I've been researching building an "enthusiast home office" PC.

So far this is what I've found:

X2 3800+ - Recent chips have been seeing very good overclocks. Has 10x multiplier vs. 9x of Opteron 165 which eases overclocking with a less capable motherboard and/or RAM. And of course, it's cheaper.

Asus A8R-MVP - All around this is the new bang-for-buck peformance king of Skt939 motherboards. Overclocks on par with the Ultra-D without the noisy chipset fan and need for 4 power connections to the motherboard. Also offers up to 26% better disk controller performance on the Southbridge than nForce4. Layout is perfect. Only downside really is the PCB color, which doesn't matter if you don't use a window.

2x512MB Corsair Value DDR400 - Cheapest reliable RAM available. As stated a divider can be run without taking much of a performance hit due to the excellent integrated memory controller of the X2. A 3800+ can be taken up to 2800Mhz / 17 with the 166MHz memory setting the RAM will be right at 200Mhz and your system will still be very fast.

ATI X300 SE - Most all are passively cooled and are slightly cheaper than the 6200 TC, which eats up system memory with TC enabled. I also personally believe that ATI has much better 2D image quality. This is coming from owning a 7800GT and an X1900XT both within the past month on the same Apple 20" Cinema LCD.

HDD - WD2500KS runs around $95 and has a 16MB buffer, SATA 3GB/s and NCQ. The only faster 250GB SATA drive currently available is the Hitachi T7K250 which is far louder. This is coming from owning the 160GB version which I recently sold.

PSU - Fortron and Antec both make arguably the best bang-for-buck PSUs on the market. $50 gets you a 450w unit from Fortron with a 120mm fan. $60 gets you the modular Antec Smartpower 500w with dual 80mm fans that turn on and off with temp. It's a tossup, personally I'll take the modular unit to keep the cabling uncluttered.

Case - By far the best cheap case on the market is the Coolermaster Centurion 5. Good cooling, great tool-less features and looks arguably better than the plain-jane offerings from Antec in the same class. The advantage of the Antecs though is you get the PSU with the case and end up saving $10 / 20 / 30 depending on your choice.

 

[wolf550e]

Boztech,

It's good to know I'm not the only madman building a powerful non-gaming machine!

Mobo: Personally I just don't trust ASUS as of late, looks like they've cut some corners with that board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRatingReview.asp?Item=N82E16813131584

Video: ATI has lousy driver support for Linux, but we'll see.

Case: I've seen it, I'll read up on it.

PSU: Looks like Antec is more into bling-bling than quality, but I'll see. As I said, it doesn't have to be powerful!

 

[KoolDrew]

Since you are planning on overclocking, get the Opteron 165. Since you said "mild" overclocking I wouldn't even bother with a DFI board. They are great overclockers, but may take a little tweaking to get it to work properly. Since you want one with onboard video I would suggest something like the Biostar TForce6100-939. I have the socket 754 one and it is a great overclocker. For the HSF, I would've suggested the Scythe Ninja, but you said you can't get it. In that case, I would recommend the XP-120. You'll have to check Thermalrights compatibility list, but paired with a quiet 120mm fan it will be very quiet, but still provide great performance.

For the RAM just buy cheap value RAM from a reputable manufacturer. Some Corsair VS is fine. When it comes to hard drives, Samsungs are the quitest. For the case, I would recommend an Antec P180, but that may be a little too expensive. There are quite a few Antec cases you may like and the Cooler Master Centurion 5. When it comes to PSU a Seasonic would be the best choice.