It's getting much easier to build a quiet pc. I decided it was time to buid myself a new machine reusing my old Antec Sonata case. First I'll list the components and some of the rationale behind why I picked them and then I'll cover the results.
Components
1) Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
This is an awesome CPU. It has 2 cores running at 3 GHz and sharing 6Mb of L2 cache. It overclocks well and only costs £128. It's pretty much a no brainer with the E8500 costing an extra £50. As it's based on 45mm fabrication technology, the thermal profile is excellent. All that power within a 65 watt envelope.
The only other temptation was to get a Quad processor. The older Q6600 was going for a similiar price and the Q9450 would be fantastic but was an extra £80. But after reading this article comparing CPU performance, I knew there were very few scenario's where what I do on a computer might actually use 4 processors so for now I'm just sticking to 2.
2) Abit IP35 Pro XE
The hardest choice was deciding on a motherboard. After reading dozens of articles, I decided that motherboards based on the X38 or X48 chipsets were just no worth the premium they're charging for them. On top of that, these boards tend to use DDR3 memory which is way more expensive than DDR2 memory at the moment.
With the new chipsets eliminated, it was down to finding a motherboard using the P35 chipset. Every motherboard seems to have it's troubles. My strategy is to look at the support forums and stick to top tier brands. I like to buy a motherboard than overclocks well. The Abit IP35 Pro had lots of good reviews. I bought the XE version just to make sure I got 1600 FSB support for a little bit of future proofing.
3) 2 x 2Gb Corsair TwinX Dominator DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15 RAM
The CPU has an FSB of 1333 so I got the fastest RAM I could. I'm running 32bit Vista so I can't use all 4Gb but it was cheap! It's always good to have lots of RAM. The heatsinks on the RAM is amazing. I didn't bother installing fans on it.
4) MSI 512Mb NX8800GT Zilent graphics card
Choosing a graphics card is always tricky. I typically following the advice on tomshardware which tracks the best value card at various price points every month. It boiled down to the Nvidia 512Mb 8800GT or 512Mb 8800GTS which is just clocked a bit faster and has 12 extra processing units. Either one is fast.
The problem with graphics cards is finding one that is very fast AND quiet. I chose the NX8800GT because it had a Zalman fan with speed control. There are cheaper 8800GT cards but I wasn't sure they would be quiet. There's a Gigabyte one but I read that the Zalman fan on it could not be controlled. This MSI one is nice and quiet when it's not being pushed.
5) 525 watt Enermax Modu82+ Power Supply
I splurged on the power supply which I know sounds a bit weird. This is the highest rank power supply on Silent PC Review. Well, in truth the 625 watt version is but the 525 watt version is very close. It's very efficient which means it doesn't waste converting electricity to heat. It's also modular which is a boon to keeping the case tidy. I expect to have this component around for a long time so might as well get a good one. I've also read the the Abit IP35 need a good power supply.
6) Pioneer DVR215BK
I didn't spend much time researching the DVD writer. Pioneer has a great reputation and this model was recommended on both cdrinfo and cdfreaks.
7) Hitachi 750Gb Deskstar 7K1000
I first built the system with an old Samsung drive but later decided I wanted something that performs better. The 7K1000 performs about as well as a Raptor in real world tests but has a much higher capacity. The huge 32Mb buffer helps no doubt! The drive is a bit noisy with the seeks having a grinding quality. Not the sweet chirp of a Raptor!
Note that there are reports of the Abit IP35 Pro having compatibility problems with Raptors and Vista.
Results
The build itself went smoothly with the componets all working together. However, I had random bluescreens of death (BSOD) in Windows Vista SP1 with the stock BIOS and the drivers that came on the install CD. I eventually got a full BIOS corruption and the machined failed to start. Arrgghhh.
At that point, I did a bit of searching and upgraded the BIOS from 10 to 11 (looks like the same as BIOS 17 on the IP 35 Pro). I also switched hard disks, reinstalled Vista and found newer drivers for the graphics card, intel chipset, network and onboard audio than those on the install disks (see the xtremesystems thread). I also disabled things like the floppy controller, 1394 port and the JMicron controller that I just didn't need.
So far it seems stable but the jury is still out. Once it proves to be stable, I plan to overclock it.
I just use the stock fan on the CPU and it idles at 31 degrees celsius. It's a little noisy so I plan to replace it with something much quieter. There's a good review of cpu coolers on tomshardware.