Building Permit

[Newtun]

I'm getting close to buying the parts for my next system. I already have a WD800SE, and this is what else I'm considering:

• Antec Sonata case
• 2 Kingston 256 MB HyperX DDR400 modules
• FIC AU13 motherboard
• Athlon XP 2100+
• Spire WhisperRock

I hope to get it all at NewEgg, but they just sold out of the WhisperRocks. They still have the FalconRocks, but those don't seem as nice.

And I keep waiting for more info on the AU13, but it doesn't seem to be getting a lot of press. It seems to have the features I want, none that I don't want, and at a good price. I hope to push the FSB to 200 MHz and sync the HyperX with it.

I'm getting the 2100+ for a tad more than, say, the 1700+, so I'll be assured of a Rev B Tbred that's AMD-rated at least 2000.

Does anyone have any experience or suggestions on these components?

Thanks.

 

[Mercutio]

NewEgg's 1700s are rev B, and trust me, you want to wait for the WhisperRock. The FalconRock is a fairly average cooler that makes fairly average amounts of noise.

 

[Mercutio]

Also, notice the poll on newegg's front page. "Best Motherboard". At the moment, Asus and Abit are tied at about 35% of the vote each, which a bunch of other brands (Soltek, Epox, Gigabyte, Intel) in the 1 - 2% range.

That's the kind of thing makes me fear for the future of humanity.

 

[blakerwry]

I hope you like the sonata, I'm kinda inbetween about my Antec SLK 3700AMB that I bought from newegg...

the QC wasn't very good.. in piecing the case together it was broken in 4 different spots on the front bezel, rather than return it, I just used a little hotglue and fixed it myself.. The breakages are not visible and do not affect the funciton of the case, so i can live with it.

The case also seems rather loud and a poor cooler. A side vent would probably help out alot. I'm not too sure how well the Sonoata's top side vent works, but I've heard it also runs hot.


On the good side the case is extremely heavy and feels very sturdy. The paint job is also nice. and it has plenty of space for drives.

For my next case, i'll probably be going back to Enlight. Antec may know howto build a good PSU, but there cases just aren't worth it.

 

[Mercutio]

The sonata is a really nice case. I worked on one last week. I really appreciated the way the 3.5" drive bays are laid out in them, so that the jumpers n' stuff are visible.

I might also mention that Newegg sells a Compucase full tower that is identical in every way to the Antec Performance series, with a very nice HEC power supply.

 

[NRG = mc²]

Totally passive P4 system utilising heatpipes. Available for sale:

http://www.deltatronic.info/neu/index.html

Its all in German, but click the links and you'll see some interesting photos.

I never understood why no one makes an external passive ATX PSU - if its external then size (heatsinks) arent a problem so it should be pretty simple and cheap to build an external ATX PSU. Perhaps voltage drops over the wiring could be an issue but nothing that can't be worked around.

 

[blakerwry]

I think I've seen regular ATX external PSU's.. 300 or 350 watt... so we're not talking about the VIA 55 watt thingies... pretty sure it was fanless.

It was on the sudhian media SFF forums.

 

[NRG = mc²]

I just realised, I mixed up the windows...

What I meant to post here was:

I have a Sonata (upgraded from Cheiftec Dragon) and its generally a better case.

- Drive bay system rocks. Either slide the drives cable-outwards for easy access to cables and jumpers, or put them in the other way to keep cables out of the way and this makes for a -very- tidy case without needing rounded IDE, S-ATA or other rubbish.

- Drive mounting grommets make a big difference to drive noise. Initially I thought it would only affect seek noise but I can -just about- hear my WD800JB seeking and idling whereas in the Dragon case, firmly mounted to the drive cage, the idle whine of the WD stuck out like a sore thumb as did the seeks. And this is a very silent system, I'm surprised I can't hear the drive any more.

- Included 120mm rear fan at 7v reasonably quiet. pretty much silent at 5v but not much air. Definately quieter than my 120mm Sanyo Denki or Papst fans for the same air flow (they buzz or growl at low voltages).

- Front 120mm fan is a stupid idea. Mounted on the drive bay, the fan's inlet is greatly restricted and only serves to recirculate hot air and increase noise.

- Drive grommet mounting makes drives run hotter - they get pretty toasty if you keep the side panel open but if you close it up they cool down due to the airflow coming through the front.

- Blue front LEDs double as search lights. I have hooked them up to my HDD led header and now they flicker nicely with hard drive access - useful now that the drives are near inaudible.

- Air inlet is very restricted. The airflow from the rear 120mm fan drops dramatically once you close the side panel so I'm going to cut the internal bezel out. I've already gotten rid of the filter.

- Side holes reading Antec let some sound out but unless you mod the front bezel then I wouldn't suggest covering them up - they let in quite a bit of air.

- Not the most beautiful of front bezel designs - I prefer the looks and colour of my old Cheiftec - hopefully they will extend their range of colours.

- I didn't try the included TruePower PSU but reports on silentpcreview.com claim it isn't that quiet. Probably quieter than most PSUs but nothing like the Zalman ZM300A I've got in there now.

- Will be provided preinstalled with Acoustipak Deluxe noise deadening material soon

If anyone wants photos let me know, its internal design is really clever, don't know why no one else does this.

 

[blakerwry]

the Antec slk 3700amb has a similar drive cage setup, has the same HDD gromets, same 120MM fan at rear as well...

The differences in the Sonata are that the drive cage has been rotated 90 degrees, the side panel is a different design with side vents, and the plastic front bezel is of a different cosmetic design.

 

[Newtun]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I was thinking of a cheap-o case and an Antec True330, but the 380 would give me a little more headroom if I get more disk drives, and the Sonata is cheaper than a separate case and a True380.

I have heard too much bad-mouthing to consider the ASUS, but I would have liked to get an Abit (despite their reputation - I have had decent luck with my KT7). But I would like their NF7-½-S model. I'd like the MCP-T (not necessarily fully SoundStorm compliant), so the NF7 is out. But I don't trust the on-board serial ATA controller, so the NF7-S is out.

I know the NewEgg XP 1700+'s are most likely Rev B's, according to the user reviews, but it's still a crap shoot. With my luck, I'd get a Rev A, or a 1700+ that O/Cs to 1800+ speed, if at all.

 

[Fushigi]

I know the NewEgg XP 1700+'s are most likely Rev B's, according to the user reviews, but it's still a crap shoot. With my luck, I'd get a Rev A, or a 1700+ that O/Cs to 1800+ speed, if at all.

The 1700+ I picked up & put on the AU13 has been Folding 24x7 at a 16x multiplier (2600+) for a while now. A Speeze 5F263B1M3 provides the colling. Can't beat it for the price - about $120 + S/H for the CPU/HSF/mobo. No tweaks other that the multiplier so far. When I have some spare time I'll try to kick it higher.

- Fushigi

 

[Newtun]

I simply must have a 2100+ or higher processor - my brother-in-law just got a Dell with a Pentium 2000. If it can overclock to >2000 MHz clock or 200 FSB, that's gravy, albeit very tasty gravy.