help with spec for quiet & cool sff build (Sugo SG03)

jifster · 23 Nov 2008 at 12:16

Hey guys, well it's time to make some space in my room so my Coolermaster ATC 4000sx is going to be retired and I am thinking of scaling down to a Sugo SG03.

My requirements are a quiet and cool pc for watching TV downloads, browsing, irc, mp3, photo editing and a bit of mame, I do not play pc based games so power graphics are not required however I do need duel dvi so I can run a dvi lead to my tv and also my monitor. For this I will probably buy a Matrox card as I like good quality 2d graphics. I notice ocuk no longer stock Matrox. I will however be purchasing all other parts from ocuk and have used them since at least 2000.

So far my spec list is as follows, please help me fill in the missing parts.

Again, cool and quiet with some power are my main considerations for this build.

Case: Sugo sg03
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
Proc : AMD Athlon x2 or Phenom, which runs cooler? budget £100
Cooler: NT06-E
Memory: DDR2 2gb. Good quality DDR2, any suggestions? budget £60
Graphics: Good 2d card, probably Matrox if it fits the case.
HD: Already have Sata drives
PSU: Suggestions for quietest and size? 400w should do it.
Optical: Will probably use external once i've installed os.

Additional fans or swap out stock fans for quieter performance?
Additional rubber gromits required anywhere in the build for damping noise?

Thanks for any suggestions guys... I have not done a build for a couple of years now so may be missing something.

jifster · 23 Nov 2008 at 19:27

Hey guys, after reading a million threads on this case, is it possible to build a quiet pc using it?

Thanks if anyone can give me some spec advice.

Atom · 23 Nov 2008 at 19:49

Didn't the GA-MA78GM-S2H have some problems with powering the Phenom chips? How about changing the cpu for a 45 watt 4850e and also use a 3450 graphics card and run hybrid crossfire with the onboard gfx? That would give you 2 dvi.

Guardsmon · 23 Nov 2008 at 20:14

Do you have to use AMD? Something like E5200 would be fantastic.
For £60 you could get 4GB of good memory, but it depends whether you think you'll need it. what OS you using? and is it 64bit?

jifster · 23 Nov 2008 at 20:27

Atom said:
Didn't the GA-MA78GM-S2H have some problems with powering the Phenom chips? How about changing the cpu for a 45 watt 4850e and also use a 3450 graphics card and run hybrid crossfire with the onboard gfx? That would give you 2 dvi.

I'm a bit out of the loop so don't really know at a 4850e is, is it an intel cpu? I usually stick with AMD and thought they ran cooler than intel.

jifster · 23 Nov 2008 at 20:33

Guardsmon said:
Do you have to use AMD? Something like E5200 would be fantastic.
For £60 you could get 4GB of good memory, but it depends whether you think you'll need it. what OS you using? and is it 64bit?

I am not sure about an os at this stage but I don't think I will go for 64bit. Probably stick to XP for the build then try Vista at some stage in the near future.

I can quite easily go to 4gb though, budget can go up a bit if need be or I could just buy extra RAM when/if I goto Vista.

I'd rather stick to AMD for the build. Don't ask me why though.

Atom · 23 Nov 2008 at 22:17

jifster said:
I'm a bit out of the loop so don't really know at a 4850e is, is it an intel cpu? I usually stick with AMD and thought they ran cooler than intel.

It is a low power 45 watt AMD chip @ 2.5ghz.. I use one in a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H cooled by a NT06 in a SG01. Never seen it reach 40 degrees yet.

I use 3gb of Geil ULL pc6400.

Spec in sig.

jifster · 23 Nov 2008 at 22:24

Atom said:
It is a low power 45 watt AMD chip @ 2.5ghz.. I use one in a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H cooled by a NT06 in a SG01. Never seen it reach 40 degrees yet.

I use 3gb of Geil ULL pc6400.

Spec in sig.

Thx for the info. Why did you choose to have 3gb of ram, are you using XP?

Atom · 23 Nov 2008 at 22:36

Started of with XP and now on Vista 32bit. I had 2 gig in to start with and managed to get another 1 gb of a auction site for peanuts. No other reason than the price I paid for it.

jifster · 23 Nov 2008 at 22:47

Atom said:
Started of with XP and now on Vista 32bit. I had 2 gig in to start with and managed to get another 1 gb of a auction site for peanuts. No other reason than the price I paid for it.

Thx again.

I can't see the 4850e in the ocuk shop but I can see they are still available elsewhere. How would this cpu compare to lets say, the AMD 64 3700 I am using my primary machine now? I like the idea of the 45w cpu as I really do hate pc noise so the cooler the better for me.

jifster · 24 Nov 2008 at 04:26

Update on the spec. Comments?, just a nice machine for my music, video, web etc but still with a little power if I need it.

Case: Sugo sg03
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
Proc : AMD Athlon x2 4850e
Cooler: NT06-Lite
Memory: Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB)
Graphics: Probably Matrox or similar quality 2d card.
HD: Already have Sata drives
PSU: Silverstone ST50EF-Plus Short Cable ed.
Optical: Will probably use external once i've installed os as don't use often.

Which Noctua fans do I need for this rig? I want quiet fans and presume I need 2 x 120mm for the front of the case but which ones? NF-P12 or NF-S12 1200RPM or 800RPM ?

Any other fans that I can swap out or add inside for extra 'quiet' cooling?

Guardsmon · 25 Nov 2008 at 14:28

use the 800RPM Noctua's they are much quieter and move enough air.
Also the Enermax 425 modular PSU would probably be enough for you and is modular..

Bane · 25 Nov 2008 at 17:37

I got a pair of NF-P12's and they are very noticeable for air flow noise. But I'm running them directly off the PSU, so running full pelt.

I need to look again at the box contents, as it included two cable adaptors. These might of been to reduce voltage to 5V and 7V.

An additional fan you can added, if you think it's needed, below the CPU cooler as per this forum thread

Atom · 25 Nov 2008 at 19:42

Make sure you get the NT06-E, it's the later version with 5 heat pipes instead of 3.

Dangerous Dave · 25 Nov 2008 at 22:18

jifster said:
Update on the spec. Comments?, just a nice machine for my music, video, web etc but still with a little power if I need it.

Case: Sugo sg03
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
Proc : AMD Athlon x2 4850e
Cooler: NT06-Lite
Memory: Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB)
Graphics: Probably Matrox or similar quality 2d card.
HD: Already have Sata drives
PSU: Silverstone ST50EF-Plus Short Cable ed.
Optical: Will probably use external once i've installed os as don't use often.

Which Noctua fans do I need for this rig? I want quiet fans and presume I need 2 x 120mm for the front of the case but which ones? NF-P12 or NF-S12 1200RPM or 800RPM ?

Any other fans that I can swap out or add inside for extra 'quiet' cooling?

I have that CPU & newer version of that cooler the NT06-E in a Sugo SG1 on a Nivida 8200 MB for my Bedroom HTPC. I suspect you will be able to run with no case fans with that CPU as it gives off very little heat, the only fan I have in the case is the PSU fan which is enough to cool the CPU, using the NT06-E I have never seen the CPU temp go over 45c and its very quiet I can only here the HD which I am hoping to swap of for a SSD when the prices drop a little more. Bonus also that playing back video even HD it doesn't use any more than 47w from the mains according to the power meter I tried. It has also played anything I have flung at it even Blu-ray/HD-DVD.

Atom · 26 Nov 2008 at 01:27

Just put my 4850e setup in a pc7 while I try out a Q6600 setup in my SG01. Strapped a Nexus 800rpm to the nt06 and tried undervolting it . Tried prime for a hour and got it at 1.12v with temps at 14 and 23 degrees on the cores, It gets to roughtly 38 max in my Sugo.. Also increased the vga vore clock on the board from 500mhz to 900mhz.

Here is a screen shot but it's not very clear for some reason.

jifster · 26 Nov 2008 at 03:43

Thanks guys thats excellent.

Updated spec.

Case: Sugo sg03
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
Proc : AMD Athlon x2 4850e
Cooler: NT06-E
Memory: Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB)
Graphics: Probably Matrox or similar quality 2d card.
HD: Already have Sata drives
PSU: Enermax Modu 82+ 425W EMD425AWT Modular ATX2.3 Silent PSU
Optical: Will probably use external once i've installed os as don't use often.

2 x Noctua NF-S12 800RPM 120mm Silent Case Fans.

Is the Enermax psu really quiet?

hp7909 · 26 Nov 2008 at 04:26

jifster said:
Is the Enermax psu really quiet?

Very quiet PSUs from Enermax

jifster · 26 Nov 2008 at 09:28

hp7909 said:
Very quiet PSUs from Enermax

Thanks

Guys I am really torn between the sg01 and sg03. I think the black sg01 may suit my room a lot better and since dangerous dave mentions he does not have any cooling issues using the cpu in my spec I may give that a go.

Damn but I also like the black sg03... it's not easy to choose !

If I go for the sg01 will I need any extra fans inside or are there any I need to swap out with Noctua's. Even if they are installed for use just for the summer months or at really low voltage.

I am starting to order a few of the bits now. Shame ocuk does not appear to sell the cpu and cooler though.

Will probably order the case last when I have decided.

Guardsmon · 26 Nov 2008 at 11:27

SG01 looks a lot better

but would have though with one fan in the front of a SG03 it would have better cooling, but I'm the wrong one to ask, I'm a lian li man