build advice wanted

[Peter]

I'm considering building the following system for use with Slackware
Linux 12.2 and possibly freebsd 7.x (no over-clocking):

Antec 300 case
SeaSonic SS-550HT PSU
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
EVGA 512-P3-N954-TR GeForce 9500 GT PCI Express 2.0 x16
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

My questions:

1) The PSU bracket is in the bottom of the Antec 300 case. I've heard
that some PSUs will not fit in this case. In addition, I've heard that
some PSU motherboard power connectors are too short when mounted in the
bottom of cases. Is anyone successfully using the above case, PSU, and
motherboard combination?

2) I would prefer a fan-less video card (the one above has a fan). I'm
not a gamer and I currently use matrox g400/g500 agp cards, which cannot
be reused in the above motherboard. Any recommends for a fan-less video
card that will work with this motherboard and Linux?

Any additional advice/warnings on the above combination is appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your assistance,

Peter

 

[Dave]

I'm considering building the following system for use with Slackware
Linux 12.2 and possibly freebsd 7.x (no over-clocking):

Antec 300 case
SeaSonic SS-550HT PSU
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
EVGA 512-P3-N954-TR GeForce 9500 GT PCI Express 2.0 x16
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

My questions:

1) The PSU bracket is in the bottom of the Antec 300 case. I've heard
that some PSUs will not fit in this case. In addition, I've heard that
some PSU motherboard power connectors are too short when mounted in the
bottom of cases. Is anyone successfully using the above case, PSU, and
motherboard combination?

http://forum.digitalpowered.info/index.php?showtopic=13578

Well someone above uses the same case, power supply, and CPU, with a
different mainboard. Keep in mind that most motherboards based on a certain
chipset have very similar physical layouts. Not sure if the above is the
same chipset or not. But even if not, there is a better than 99% chance
that your hardware should all fit together just fine, mechanically.

2) I would prefer a fan-less video card (the one above has a fan). I'm
not a gamer and I currently use matrox g400/g500 agp cards, which cannot
be reused in the above motherboard. Any recommends for a fan-less video
card that will work with this motherboard and Linux?

How about this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814141085

Biostar is a very good brand, highly under-rated. Not quite as good as EVGA
(which is arguably the best quality, as far as video cards go), but only a
half-step below EVGA as far as quality goes. I think this particular
fanless card is exactly what you need, and should work great with linux and
freebsd. -Dave

 

[Peter]

http://forum.digitalpowered.info/index.php?showtopic=13578

Well someone above uses the same case, power supply, and CPU, with a
different mainboard. Keep in mind that most motherboards based on a certain
chipset have very similar physical layouts. Not sure if the above is the
same chipset or not. But even if not, there is a better than 99% chance
that your hardware should all fit together just fine, mechanically.


How about this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814141085

Biostar is a very good brand, highly under-rated. Not quite as good as EVGA
(which is arguably the best quality, as far as video cards go), but only a
half-step below EVGA as far as quality goes. I think this particular
fanless card is exactly what you need, and should work great with linux and
freebsd. -Dave

Dave,

Thanks for the advice. I changed my video card and cooler to the following:

video card: MSI N8400GS-TD256 8400GS 256M (has a fan, but with less ram
and supposedly works well with linux)
cooler: ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT (does not use push pins)

I finished building the system last night and I did not have any issues
with the case or power supply. I haven't installed anything yet, but it
does boot linux from a live cdrom.

Peter