[snip]
The key to reliable low-noise systems is using quality fans, not cheap
sleeve-bearing models that are subject to overheat. If you buy an
adequate heatsink and case with good cooling, overheating isn't an
issue. Intel CPUs actually run hotter now so you actually need a
louder fan to keep one at same temp.
I suggest you visit
http://www.newegg.com and review the customer
comments as well as looking over a few motherboard reviews to find the
features you want in a board, but try to stick with one of the larger
brands which I listed before to increase quality.
The bottom line is that there are several, you can pick what you want.
For highest performance (even on a budget) I suggest looking at the
800FSB version of the P4 IF you want a P4. Of course that means a
motherboard supportive of it and PC3200 memory, but these are things
listed in the board specs. In other words I try to avoid recommending
specific motherboards, not only because I don't have experience with
ALL of them for a fair comparison, but also because it'd be impossible
to predict all the little incompatibilites with the seeminly infinite
possible parts used. If you just want a generic recommendation, try
an Asus board with Intel chipset, whichever fits the budget.
Dave
Is there a set of heat sink & fan that you could suggest? I bought an
Athlon XP 2000+ about a year ago and used the fan that came with it on
another computer. That thing is reeeeeeaaaally noisey. In the summer
I finally changed the fan/heat sink and it's a lot more quiet now. I
changed it to...I believe it's called Galatico or something. It was
pretty cheap too. It was $25 Canadian, I think. Do you have any
suggestion for a heat sink/fan combo?
Patrick
I like the Thermalright line, those which can use an 80mm or larger
(by 25mm thick) fan, which includes AX-7, SK-7, and the whole SLK
series. The SLK-900 has some compatibility problems though, too big
for many motherboards.
On other Athlons I've used Alpha PAL8045 'sinks and liked those too,
but their performance is eclipsed by the Thermaltake SLK-800 and 9xxx
series, and 'sinks that mount through-board like the PAL8045 may limit
the compatible motherboards. Even so I like having it mount through
the board, knowing it's really on there good, no chance of falling
off.
Atop those use a 1800-2200 RPM fan, either dual ball-bearing or (only
Papst or Panaflo) sleeve bearing. That's just my preference though,
you'd get more performance with higher RPM but above about 2000 RPM
the fan is just beginning to be audible, of course depending on the
case and other noise-makers.
The Thermaltake Silent Boost isn't bad either, comes with a good
Panaflo fan... Most often you have to buy the fan seperately if you
wnat something geared towards lower noise, as 9/10 of the 'sinks out
there have fans that i'd consider noisey, else such poor performance
that they're clearly priced higher because they're being considered a
"niche product" instead of a higher-performance cooler paired with a
quiet fan. That's the general scheme I follow, get a 'sink an
overclocker would like then pair it with a large, lowest RPM high
quality fan. At worst someday when the CPU is old and seems slow the
fan will still be good used as a case fan.
You might also go somewhere like
http://www.newegg.com/app/manufactory.asp?catalog=62&DEPA=0 , where
you can filter the 'sinks by "80mm" size in the drop-down menu, then
choose something with, obviously an 80mm fan on it, but also with
either an all-copper bottom or copper inlay, though the 'sinks with
just a tiny round spot generally aren't very good, I mean one that's
mostly copper on the bottom, and I'd recommend something with a
triple-point socket clip or through-board mounting, not a single-point
clip for these larger 'sinks.
Dave
