Perfect configuration

So the time has come to replace the iron for a home PC. I firmly decided that I want from the company and began to study the current market trends. In the new computer, I wanted to implement something that does not satisfy me in the old one.
I have to move from time to time, so it’s not very convenient to carry a lot of healthy boxes. Immediately make a reservation that the laptop for me is inconvenient in work, low-power and very expensive pleasure.
Problem number two (the first is obsolete) is the noise created, in fact, I will mostly fight with it. It may be slightly noticeable, but, as practice shows, causes discomfort, fatigue and, as a result, low labor productivity.
I do not position the computer as a game, and I will not play very often, but I think that it would be nice to run releases of recent years comfortably and at acceptable settings.
So, I need power and silence in a small case for reasonable money.
First, I present the configuration, and then everything is in the details.

• AMD Phenom II X4 945 3000Mhz 45nm 95W processor
• Cooler for Noctua NH-U12P processor
• Gigabyte GA-M85M-US2H motherboard (rev. 1.2)
• Kingston 2048 MB Memory Module (DDR2 800 MHz) x 2
• Video card Leadtek WinFast GTX 260 Extreme +
• Samsung SpinPoint F1 Hard Drive
• Enermax EPR425AWT power supply
• Antec Mini P180 microATX chassis

CPU

The most important point. Why not X58 + Socket 1366, I think obviously, the platform is still a little expensive. But why not Intel at all - for one reason.
The glorious company NVIDIA introduced the equally famous Hybrid SLI® technology, which consists of two parts: GeForce Boost and HybridPower. From the first sense, no one (judge for yourself if the user buys an inexpensive computer for office work, then the modern integrated video card is enough for all needs, especially since they even have hardware support for decoding HDTV video. And if you suddenly want to play games , the purchase of a GeForce 8500 GT class video card or GeForce 8400 GS will look at least ridiculous, as their performance is not enough for modern games, even in conjunction with an integrated adapter.), but for the sake of the second and this whole idea.
HybridPower technology allows you to disable a discrete card during idle time (2D - mode) and enable its integrated video instead. As a result, we get not only noise reduction, as the cooler on the card stalls, but also energy savings. But what a pity, this technology (or, most likely, “subtechnology”) only works with AMD processors (nForce 750a SLI, nForce 780a SLI, GeForce 8200). I’ll make a reservation that I haven’t learned about the Hybrid SLI yet, I was planning a platform based on Intel, and I was second-rate to AMD.
Until now, I was stopped by a high TDP of top representatives of the Phenom II X4 line (~ 120-140 W). After this news, all doubts disappeared.

Cooler
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The box cooler doesn’t suit us, of course, but for less noise, we need to take a turret. In a small case it will be hot enough, so for insurance we place a quiet 120mm fan on the radiator.
The market for coolers is very large, but since I used Noctua products before and had only positive impressions, I will remain true to this company further.
The offer from Noctua is the following: this is a tower with a universal, reliable, easy-to-install mount on different sockets + a very quiet, almost silent, fan.

Motherboard


The most holivarny point =). The candidates were: ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI (By the way, MSI has Valuev’s face, as I saw , the browser closed with fear right away, a joke ). Since the computer is assembled in parts at home, and the mother was chosen for the processor, you need to know for sure that it works on it without any problems. Having dug up the ASUS and MSI sites, I did not find anything even remotely resembling a Gigabyte concept.
First I looked at all the available cards for my stone here . Then from the circle already narrower, opening each, I was looking for the right chipset and form factor. Here you can see that the mother supports the processor and even from which version of the BIOS. And here you can see the RAM that will work exactly with the computer, took the memory modules for its configuration from there. In addition, there is a Russian-language forum where they quickly answer technical questions!

Video card

The most interesting item. Very few manufacturers make their own cooling systems for video cards. Most often, they only differ in that the sticker on this very cooling system of the reference sample. The Leadtek WinFast GTX 260 Extreme + is a reference design, but it doesn’t make a lot of noise as much as everyone else (even on the box it says “quiet cooling system”).
After analyzing the BIOS of the video card, it turned out that Leadtek engineers lowered the core voltage from 1.12 to 1.06. Read more here . As a result, the speed of the cooler dropped from ~ 3200 to ~ 1700. It would seem so little, and what the result. If we remember, then the HybridPower technology also supports the GTX 280. But the Leadtek is not a simple GTX 260, it has Extreme, and “+” as well. On this card is the second revision processor, which means more unified shader processors (192 -> 216) and more texture units (64–> 72). To all this, Leadtek has increased the memory and processor frequencies. That is, it turns out that Leadtek WinFast GeForce GTX 260 Extreme + compared to the GeForce GTX 280 is only slightly trimmed by universal shader processors and texture units, and the frequencies are identical.

HDD

It did not take long to think. In terms of reliability, all manufacturers have now reached almost the same level, but in the field of silence there are recognized leaders in the face of Samsung F1 Series and Western Digital GP Series. Since the first will be faster, I will take them, the second, who needs less heat.

Power Supply

Here's something you really don't need to save on. After calculating their power, and throwing a couple of percent on the stock, went to 400 watts. Z BP is the same choice as with coolers. I settled on Enermax because of the high efficiency, quiet fan, real voltage on the 12 volt line (33A) + quality and reliability.

UPD: RAM

I chose from this recommended list, until yesterday I was able to find only Kingston 2048 MB DDR2 800 MHz in the prices, just looked, you can still find PATRIOT 4 GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066 MHz or Kingmax 2 GB DDR2 1066 MHz.

Housing


And lastly, the most problematic point. It would seem that everything is already assembled, only it is necessary to assemble it all into a case. There are no options, only Antec Mini P180. This is not just a small case, it is a case specially designed for quiet computers: multilayer noise-absorbing walls, mounting hard drives through vibration-absorbing pads, low-noise fans, the lower location of the power supply. In addition, it is a strict and very stylish design.
I knew that everything could not be as perfect as I want it to be. It turned out to be an unpleasant feature. Antec does not sell its products in Ukraine. I don’t even know what to do, I don’t drive on e-Bay in three, there are no friends from Russia, although I don’t know how much cheaper it will be, but I simply don’t see any competitors for this corps.

It is clear that if the situation does not change, then I will collect the fact that there is. In any case, I will be grateful for any help in resolving the issue.

PS : All the above is not the ultimate truth (even if it seemed to you that I just put it so categorically), but on the contrary, I am waiting for criticism and your configuration options that will be quieter, smaller, more powerful and cheaper.

Cheers!

(Habratopik prepared by a comrade Sulfur who doesn’t have a Habré, however, an invite to sulphurssobachkaramblerchechkaru would help to fix it, because before the invite, the post apparently will not reach (no one asks))