Yay or Nay?

spuddy

Like something nice and quiet...
Is there any component I should consider changing? / or anything of a similar price but better performance?

Intel Core 2 Duo E6420
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
OCZ Gold PC6400 2048
Gainward Geforce 7300GT 256MB DDR2 Passive
Seagate Barracuda 500GB
Scythe Mine OR Ninja (which best? )

dazftw

Are you big into games?

spuddy

DeafVision wrote:

Are you big into games?

Nope, but do some photo & video editing.

papu

seems a grand build then , go for the ninja i have one its awesome :P

dazftw

Lower the card and get a better CPU?

You dont need that much if your not playing games!

spuddy

DeafVision wrote:

Lower the card and get a better CPU?

You dont need that much if your not playing games!

...well never say never! the card isn't breaking the bank so I'll leave it (just in case )

spuddy

papu wrote:

seems a grand build then , go for the ninja i have one its awesome :P

What's the difference between the two?
...really looking for the quietest one, should I consider anything else?

awhir

if you are not overlocking you do Not need a cooler.

you will be saving money on that and ya can maby get a E6600(which is a big jump in power compared to the E6420)

if you are also not overlocking you can get some value ram which will do fine.

spuddy

awhir wrote:

if you are not overlocking you do Not need a cooler.

you will be saving money on that and ya can maby get a E6600(which is a big jump in power compared to the E6420)

if you are also not overlocking you can get some value ram which will do fine.

Yep, probably won't oc (for the near future).
What I'm looking for is a quiet fan. Are the stock coolers good enough?

DirkVoodoo

The stock cooler is pretty good, can make an annoying whine at very low RPMs and is not suited to overclocking (duh!)

Are you going to be running this thing off your own willpower or will a PSU be thrown into the mix. These are also a crucial factor in low noise.

spuddy

DirkVoodoo wrote:

The stock cooler is pretty good, can make an annoying whine at very low RPMs and is not suited to overclocking (duh!)

Are you going to be running this thing off your own willpower or will a PSU be thrown into the mix. These are also a crucial factor in low noise.

That being the case, I may hold off on the cooler, and see how the stock option works. How whiney is it??

I have a 450w Coolermaster PSU, which is reasonably quiet and should run the above components.

I (briefly) considered this for something really quiet, but I don't think it will fit in my Wavemaster

DirkVoodoo

Not very much at all, it might be my specific one. It was just when it would start spinning up or down to VERY low rpms, it sounded like a mouse squeaking. Of course, I am led to believe that it is in fact a hamster, or several small genetically engineered ones, that race around the cpu, carrying instructions and performing calculations. This would reinforce my theory of the fan being a modified hamster wheel, hence the squeaking!

spuddy

Final quick question for the memory:

• 2 x 1GB PC6400 or
• 1 x 2GB PC6400

Does it really make a difference having 2 sticks?

L31mr0d

2x1Gb sticks will be better as their timings will be tighter (usually) and they will run in dual channel.

Also, imho those Seagate Barracudas aren't quiet, compared to my WD SE16 drives anyway. I found the seek noise on them worse than the 2 raptors i'm currently using. I'd recommend the Samsung Spinpoint drives, they are rated as being very quiet. Also get a drive that supports AAM to allow you to adjust how loud the seek noise of the drive is. I'm pretty sure all Samsungs have it as standard, but don't take my word for it, do your own research.

awhir

L31mr0d wrote:

2x1Gb sticks will be better as their timings will be tighter (usually) and they will run in dual channel.

Also, imho those Seagate Barracudas aren't quiet, compared to my WD SE16 drives anyway. I found the seek noise on them worse than the 2 raptors i'm currently using. I'd recommend the Samsung Spinpoint drives, they are rated as being very quiet. Also get a drive that supports AAM to allow you to adjust how loud the seek noise of the drive is. I'm pretty sure all Samsungs have it as standard, but don't take my word for it, do your own research.

the seagates are great drives and probably the fasted inexpensive hard drive.

There is a 50:50 chance if you get a quite 1 or a loud 1.
you will know by the colour of the Die on the bottom this has been a probelm with .10 seagates.

DirkVoodoo

Second the samsung, quietest drive I have ever used. 16MB cache 500GB drive for €90 can't be beat.