New build...

[mjc]

My oldest son has been bugging me for a new system...so...

This is what I put together for him.

AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS-324-98
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"

HIS H465FS512H Radeon HD 4650 512MB

RAIDMAX Tornado ATX-238WRP Black SECC Steel ATX

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 + my two 1 GB sticks of Corsair (I replaced them with 2 2GB sticks earlier in the year and just had them sitting around...:D)

And he's borrowing my monitor until I can replace it with a 19" LCD (I'm using his--Acer V173 Bb Black 17" 5ms LCD Monitor).

I had to RMA the original processor, because it arrived with bent pins...so I finally got it running today.

It runs quite nicely with Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala).

He want's a different keyboard and mouse and better speakers...(yeah, dad's plain no-frills peripherals just don't cut it for a teen).

The one thing I noticed...the CPU is running at just around 40c, without the paste having had time to settle in, yet.

This is the first build I've done in a long time that was from 'scratch'...all new parts and not a rebuild/upgrade (even if I did decide to add my left over RAM).

[123456]

Only thing I don't like is the GFX card, unless he's not a gamer. Hows the PSU?

[mjc]

About the most strenuous thing is going to be Oblivion...and the PSU is just a 450W for now it is going to be replaced in the near future (yeah it is the bundled one...and just barely adequate).

[jlreich]

The one thing I noticed...the CPU is running at just around 40c, without the paste having had time to settle in, yet.
Did you turn off the AMD "cool and quiet" and auto fan control in the BIOS? That's the first thing I do in a new build. I find them useless unless you are a fanatic about noise and don't mind your CPU cooking.

At the 19" monitors resolution the 4650 should be able to handle Oblivion pretty well.

the PSU is just a 450W for now it is going to be replaced in the near future (yeah it is the bundled one...and just barely adequate).
Definitely want to upgrade that before too long. Start playing Oblivion and the GPU is going to start sucking down some juice.

[mjc]

That's the plan...it's just enough for 'normal'...and yes, I find them useless too...on my machine, the video card is louder than the CPU fan, even at full bore on the CPU fan.

[PrntRhd]

What PSU are you looking to install "later"?

[mjc]

I haven't decided yet...something in the 550-600W range.

[123456]

Sweet. Sounds like a solid system.

[mjc]

I have a Thermaltake that died on me...still under warranty (500W) and an Ultra 550 W (that's the one with the bad fan...and probably the one going in this machine...I have a fan on order, that should fit).

My system can get by with the 450w, so I may swap them until I get the Thermaltake replaced.