Which Radeon; which PSU; which case fans?? - newbie needs help

[mephistopheles]

I am assembling my first dedicated system for HTPC. It is primarily for TV (NTL digital) viewing & recording; DVD etc. I am not into games (yet!) and want it to be cool and quiet. So far I have :-

Asus TUSL2-C + P3 Tualatin 1.26GHz + 512MB PC133
Zalman CNPS6000-Cu HSF
PixelView Xcard
Pioneer 106S DVD-ROM

It will all go temporarily in a spare Server Cube (but later an ATech Heatsink case) and output to a Mitsubishi Megaview Pro XC-3730 35" CRT monitor (VGA -> x5 BNC Analogue RGBHV max res 1280x1024) and (until I can afford 7.1) Cyrus 2 + PSX stereo with Sonus Faber Electras.

(1) Which Radeon to get for best PQ + low heat/noise?

(2) Would 350 watt Antec True Power be good?

(3) Which case fans?

I've searched and researched, but can't decide. Help!

[JohnS]

RE radeon

9500 for pq but 9000 not pro for lower heat, if you decide on the 9500 you will want a quiet cooling solution such as the Zalamn ZM80 heatpipe.

Re hsf

best but dear air solution is the thermaltake slk800 and combine that with a low airflow panaflo fan, bit over the top for a celeron but superb solution that has more headroom than the Zalman flower cooler and at least as quiet if not more so.

Re PSU

everyone raves about the Enermax range as I have in the past but I have recently tried the Seisonic SS300 which is far far better in terms of noise output and seems as good for voltage stability.

Re case fans
not if you can help it but panaflow get my vote over papst.

In my opinion the heatsink is the primary way to lower temps instead of worrying about airflow....I have tried both and obviously have the best solution I have found in what I have now.

I now have had all of the above and in my dign case with an xp2100+ slk800 ati9500 and zalamn heatpipe with no case fans get 100% load temps in ambient 26C of no more than 49C which is superb running DVD's its more like 45C. With a Celeron you'll probably be around 40C or lower.

Who said you cant get lowish temps with an Athlon

[JohnS]

Oh and I've got a spare Xcard for sale if your interested. Will post it shortly on the Classifieds.

[mephistopheles]

Thanks John. I appreciate the help.

Looks like I'll head for a Radeon 9500 with Zalman HS if PQ is better than 9000.

I found this test comparison on the SLK800 (BTW it's Thermalright http://www.silentpcreview.com/module...rtid=47&page=1
It blows the others out of the water except at 5v when the AX7 seems to be the winner; the Zalman flower is way behind. I'll double-check the headroom to ensure a Thermalright will fit in an Atech case. But whether to try the AX7 at 5v?

I read somewhere that the Antec True Power was cleaner than Enermax; I hadn't come across the Seisonic. I take it yours is 300 watt?

Thanks for the offer on the Xcard, but I already have one. The items listed under "So far I have......" are the things I've actually got.

[JohnS]

Thanks for the offer on the Xcard, but I already have one. The items listed under "So far I have......" are the things I've actually got.

teach me to read more thouroughly,

I read somewhere that the Antec True Power was cleaner than Enermax; I hadn't come across the Seisonic. I take it yours is 300 watt?

Yep. 300w should be plenty for your requirements and some.

I'll double-check the headroom to ensure it will fit in an Atech case.

Sorry, when I said headroom I meant that it was far more capably than you really need, its not actually all that tall, no worse than the flower cooler.

SilentPC Review is a really useful site, I found it a few weeks ago which got me on the modding the Enermax idea but decided better to buy a quieter one and sell the Eneremax than mess around with a expensive box.

[mephistopheles]

I should read more carefully, too. I was in the process of editing my reply to your first post to include the anomoly in the test results when you posted again.

Actually, the CPU is a P3 Tualatin not a Celeron Tualatin, but probably still way cooler than an XP2100+.

[Mr.D]

I've got a very similar spec:

TUSL2C (this board is great easiest install I've ever done)
1.13GHz tualatin
512M
radeon VE

Also use the zalman flower cooler: it does the job, was a pain to fit but i think I got a bent clamp (luckily they give you two). Mind the fingers its very sharp! I run it at lowest revs and its pretty much silent at a distance of a foot say.

I also use an enermax PSU ( can't remember the exact model) but it is the loudest thing in the case and thats at lowest setting. It is quieter than a quietPC PSU I also have but I'd still recommend you look elsewhere.

Machine is rock solid . Normal usage is TT and Dscaler.

[mephistopheles]

John, where did you get your Sea Sonic PSU? I can't find them for sale online anywhere.

[JohnS]

koolnquiet

not big time! i'll find the link 2morrow if you havent found it

[mephistopheles]

OK I found koolnquiet. They publish the impressive Mikhailtech review of the Antec TruePower 330watt, so I went for that instead if the Seasonic in the end, though I actually got it much cheaper at Watford Electronics.

I'll see if I can return the unopened Zalman flower for a refund at Maplin, they're usually very accommodating, but I can't find the SLK 800 in stock anywhere thus far. I got a Sapphire Radeon 9500 + Zalman ZM80 at Overclockers for a good price and whilst the plastic was hot I got a 120GB Barracuda V IDE at Komplett and some fancy copper braided IDE cables at the Overclocking Store.

All things being equal everything should arrive early next week and I can start to put it all together. Then I can start saving up for either a Terratec or m-Audio 7.1 and agonise for several months about which sound system to get.

Thanks for the help on this guys.