How's this look?

[michael2572]

About to take the plunge for a new small-formactor zippy little machine.

Here's the list...let me know what you think:

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

Thanks guys.

P.S. I know the Phenom 925 is out of stock...I intend to get it elsewhere.

[glc]

G.skill ram is not recommended and you don't need a 500 watt PSU if you don't have a video card.

[michael2572]

Okay. I was also looking at Corsair XMS memory, would you recommend this:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1600C9

As for the power supply, how about this one:

Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Thanks.

[michael2572]

Oh and, what about this one:

Newegg.com - Thermaltake TR-380P 380W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

I like Thermaltake.

[David M]

The experts at this website will recommend the Antec over the Thermaltake for reliability reasons.

[michael2572]

Alrighty. List updated, any more red flags?

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

[jdeb]

maybe out of your price range but I have used a modular power supply in that case to make it easy, less cluttered (cable management), and more cooling efficient. This is the power supply I use for those cases, which are great by the way...
Newegg.com - SeaSonic X series SS-400FL Active PFC F3 400W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

On a side note, the heatsink fan from the CPU is going to be very close to the power supply, this open cage, modular type power supply (I suggested) proved to be extremely efficient in lowering the CPU temps verses a standard ATX. I have built many mini itx builds so if you can swing the price, do it. Now is it an absolute necessity? No, but if you are building it for someone (excellent reliability) or plan on adding a modest video card down the road, this will be a wise investment. They are virtually silent as well.

[glc]

All you really need is 1333 speed ram, and I prefer using 1.5 volt ram. I would probably use this:

Newegg.com - Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT51264BA1339

[michael2572]

jdeb - That's really, really cool. I hear Seasonic is a great brand. I've never owned a modular power supply, but I'd love to be able to alltogether remove unused cables. I'm completely open to getting that unit, but do you think I could drop in a Radeon HD 4850 in the future with that?


glc - No RAM expert here, but from what I understand, there is almost no real-world difference between speeds...so that means there's no real advantage with that Corsair 1600 compared to the Crucial 1333 memory. If that's so, then are you recommending the Crucials because it's a more reliable brand, or lower voltage is more stable/efficient? Or some other reason?

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by michael2572 jdeb - That's really, really cool. I hear Seasonic is a great brand. I've never owned a modular power supply, but I'd love to be able to alltogether remove unused cables. I'm completely open to getting that unit, but do you think I could drop in a Radeon HD 4850 in the future with that? glc - No RAM expert here, but from what I understand, there is almost no real-world difference between speeds...so that means there's no real advantage with that Corsair 1600 compared to the Crucial 1333 memory. If that's so, then are you recommending the Crucials because it's a more reliable brand, or lower voltage is more stable/efficient? Or some other reason?

I would feel confident with putting in a 4850 with that power supply. With your specs, I figured your at 350 watts. Max load on a 4850 is 251 watts and 131 at idle. I like glc's recommendation on the ram as well.

[glc]

ATI recommends a 450 watt or greater PSU with a 4850. If you want a fanless Seasonic modular and don't care about price, I'd recommend this one:

Newegg.com - Seasonic SS-460FL Active PFC F3, 460W Fanless ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91, 80Plus Gold Certified, Modular Power Supply

[michael2572]

That's quite a chunk of change. I mean, the computer costs what it costs, but I don't know if I can justify a $160 power supply. When you think about it, the CPU consumes up to 95W, the motherboard maybe at most another 50W, the video card at most 240W, and I'd guess the hard and optical drives wouldn't be more than 20W, we're pretty much right on 400W of power. (Oh, and the SSD is like 2W at the absolute most, yes?)

Unless I'm proving myself to be a complete idiot, I think I'll stick with the 400 watter.

Here's another issue. What the hell is up with AMD and TRIM. There seems to be absolutely zero credible sources on the internet today that confirm or deny AMD's AHCI drivers' compatibility with TRIM. I have people telling me yes, they support TRIM, as well as no, they don't. I understand you can use Microsoft's default AHCI drivers and you'll get TRIM support. Can anyone who knows what they're talking about shed a little light on this situation?

[David M]

I think you are pushing your luck but it's your rig. You are also not figuring for the power the RAM consumes nor the fans nor all the circuits, chipsets, voltage regulators etc on the motherboard.

[glc]

I'm going by ATI's minimum recommendations - I personally wouldn't try to run a 4850 with 400 watts.

Why would you want a 4850 anyway?

[michael2572]

Hah. Well, it seems there is a strong argument for 60W of extra juice. Okay, I'll consider that other power supply. After all, I am paying $30 less for the case now, so I could feel good about putting that toward more power.

Originally Posted by glc Why would you want a 4850 anyway?

Aside of it being a great card, I happen to have one already.

Here's the latest list.

I also want to ditch that blue LED fan. I hear Noctua makes the Ferrari of fans. Can anyone recommend a super quiet 140mm fan?

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by michael2572 Hah. Well, it seems there is a strong argument for 60W of extra juice. Okay, I'll consider that other power supply. After all, I am paying $30 less for the case now, so I could feel good about putting that toward more power. Aside of it being a great card, I happen to have one already. Here's the latest list. I also want to ditch that blue LED fan. I hear Noctua makes the Ferrari of fans. Can anyone recommend a super quiet 140mm fan?

list link not working

[glc]

I happen to have one already.

As good a reason as any! I was implying that you shouldn't go out and buy one just for this build, there are better choices.

If you can forego the fanless PSU, here's a good modular:

Newegg.com - SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

[michael2572]

Right, I understood, and I agree, there are much better options for a new card these days.

Newegg.com - Seasonic SS-460FL Active PFC F3, 460W Fanless ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91, 80Plus Gold Certified, Modular Power Supply
I am warming up to that power supply. Really liking the prospect of zero fan noise from the psu. I surely don't need 520W, yes?

Sorry, I fixed the link.

[glc]

You don't NEED 520 watts, but I picked it because it was a high quality modular at a very decent price point. It never hurts (except possibly the wallet) to run above recommended minimums. I'm running a 520 watt modular Corsair (no longer available) with a system where 400 watts would be acceptable. I believe the 520 Seasonic is essentially the same PSU, Corsair uses Seasonic as one of its OEM's.

[michael2572]

Okay, I'll think about that. Fanless is a big deal, though, because I'm after quiet.

However, in regards to my overall plan -- I realized how horrible the timing would have been for this build. Before, I knew about Sandy Bridge, but I wasn't fully aware of how incredible these chips claim to be. And, they're literally days away. (Tomorrow it starts?)

I'm scrapping the Deneb build for Sandy Bridge. I'm keeping these parts but waiting on LGA 1155 CPU/Mobo/RAM. Still after ITX formfactor.

[glc]

I'd wait till April before jumping on Sandy Bridge.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by glc I'd wait till April before jumping on Sandy Bridge.

or longer if he plans on staying with the mini itx form factor, I would be surprised if it is available then.

[michael2572]

You think? Sounds to me like it's coming really soon. Surely you wouldn't think jumping for a Phenom x4 at this point in time would be a wise move when we're so close?

I also don't think ITX will take any longer than mATX, seeing as half of Sandy Bridge is designed for notebook. I get the "small, light" vibe from this lineup.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by michael2572 You think? Sounds to me like it's coming really soon. Surely you wouldn't think jumping for a Phenom x4 at this point in time would be a wise move when we're so close? I also don't think ITX will take any longer than mATX, seeing as half of Sandy Bridge is designed for notebook. I get the "small, light" vibe from this lineup.

I looked on the Asus website and no mini itx form factors are being shown yet for the P67 or H67. they typically come out a couple of months later.

[michael2572]

Oh, I should probably mention I'm open to mATX at this point, but I want to find the smallest case I can.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by michael2572 Oh, I should probably mention I'm open to mATX at this point, but I want to find the smallest case I can.

well that makes things a whole lot easier then.

[michael2572]

They're available on Newegg! Looks like there's plenty of mATX, and even one ITX:

Newegg.com - Intel BOXDH67CF LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

That's not bad, I really like how that one FINALLY ditches the retarded PS/2 port for more USB.

I'm wondering what course of action I should take now. I'm not a hardcore gamer, and I don't want/need to run the latest games. The most graphic-intensive games I want to run are GTA IV and Battlefield BC2. Google seems a bit scrapped for Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics benchmarks, so I'm a little on the fence about whether I should go H67 or P67.

I really want to stick with ITX because of the Lian Li PC-Q08...the case I pretty much settled on after a lot of research.

[glc]

Wait a couple of months for the Sandy Bridge dust to clear. More often than not, early adopters wind up with issues.

Intel boards haven't had PS/2 ports for a while now, but to me that's a complete nonissue. I prefer PS/2 for their intended purpose.

[michael2572]

Originally Posted by glc Wait a couple of months for the Sandy Bridge dust to clear. More often than not, early adopters wind up with issues. Intel boards haven't had PS/2 ports for a while now, but to me that's a complete nonissue. I prefer PS/2 for their intended purpose.

Hrm, you're like the wise side of my brain telling me to be smart about it...

Problem is, I need a computer in a matter of weeks. You think more ITX boards will be available within a week? Seems like the Intel one is the only one in existence right now.

Also, out of curiosity, why do you prefer PS/2 over USB? I really can't think of one advantage.

[Nuclear Krusader]

PS/2 is less finicky than USB. On some older mobos you can't use the USB peripherals until Windows starts and loads the drivers. This has become less and less common, of course, but PS/2 being an older interface is more reliable, tried and true than USB.