CPU for Antec Aria

[ilovesocks]

I want to build my first computer in an Antec Aria, which comes with a 300W power supply.

I'd like to get an Athlon 64, but I hear they run hot, and I don't know if the Aria's 120mm fan can take care of it. If I use an AMD, here's what I'd get:


AOpen "MK89-L" nForce3 150 Chipset Motherboard Socket 754
AMD Athlon 64 3400+, 512k L2 Cache
OCZ Performance Series Dual Channel 2GB (1GBx2) DDR PC-3200


Here's the Intel setup:

AOpen "MK89-L" nForce3 150 Chipset Motherboard Socket 754
Intel Pentium 4/ 3.2E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, HT Technology
OCZ Enhanced Latency Series Dual Channel Kits 2GB(512MBx4) DDR PC-3200

Either way, I'm going to use an ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT Video Card, 256MB GDDR3.

So, will the AMD be too hot in there? Are there any redundancies, bottlenecks, incompatibilities with these setups? I'm a noob and am not very interested in overclocking .. yet. Also, is 2GB of RAM overkill? I was thinking no because I'd like this computer to stay competitive for more than two years unlike this one (below).

Thanks!

 

[Nubius]

I'd suggest you get Socket 939 for the AMD setup so that you can actually run that RAM in dual channel. Also if you get the 3500+ it has 1mb of L2 Cache.

Also I highly doubt that 300w will be sufficient for that system. You cant look solely on the wattage though. You need to make sure the PSU has strong rails. More specifically the +12v rail. I'd suggest getting one that's atleast 18a-22a rated.

I say this because that's a powerful mobo, CPU, vid card AND ram for that matter so you'll definitely want to make sure the PSU can deliver well beyond what the system needs. The general thought is you want to make sure your system never uses more than 75% of it's rated capabilities.

Shouldn't get too hot though although do you have a link to the case you're getting?

I don't know too much about intels though so I couldn't suggest a better CPU or motherboard in that case

 

[ilovesocks]

yeah here's the case

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15130

but since 300W isn't enough, is there another MicroATX case I could get that comes with a more powerful supply?

 

[ilovesocks]

if you think i could keep an athlon 64 cool enough in there, i'd like to go with it instead of a pentium, so i'll ditch the intel setup.

that motherboard is made for a serial ata hard drive, right?

what's a good form factor, cache, and rpm? (i'm looking on newegg)

 

[Nubius]

Well micro cases don't come with very powerful PSU's....

I'd be able to get a better idea if infact that PSU would suffice for your needs if they listed the rails somewhere on there =/

Other than that the microATX cases I've found only offer up to 350w PSU maximum and those were pretty expensive...

So now I'm wondering if that PSU is actually good quality.

Hard to say without knowing the rails though.

What all do you plan on running in there as far as how many HD's and CD-Rom drives etc..etc..

EDIT: No I don't believe that motherboard supports SATA. Just checked on newegg and I didn't see SATA ports and it didn't list it off in the specifications

EDIT EDIT:

what's a good form factor, cache, and rpm?

Well you're talking about 3 different things there. Form factor = mobo, cache = CPU (and HD's), RPM= HD's

 

[ilovesocks]

oh, i'm a gamer/audiophile, so just a dvd-rw drive and one hard drive.

so what sort of hard drive do i need?

 

[Nubius]

You'd need an IDE Hard Drive to fit onto that motherboard.

You'd want a 8mb buffer hard drive and if you can afford 10,000 RPM hard drive then that'd be a nice fast HD to match the rest of the system.

 

[ilovesocks]

if i used a more 'value' sort of ram, would it take some weight off the psu?

thanks for all your help, nubius

 

[Nubius]

No the RAM takes a certain amount of voltage no matter what. There are some of the high latency RAM sticks that take like 2.75-2.8 Dimm voltage compared to 2.6 by default on ValueRAM, but honestly I doubt you'd see any effects from that.

Like I said now I'm starting to think if perhaps that PSU IS indeed enough power, but without them listing the rails I gotta assume it's 15a which is pretty weak by todays standards.

You sure you absolutely want MicroATX form factor?

Also theres better motherboard manufactures like:

ABit, MSI, and DFI is who I'd recommend.

If you get larger than MicroATX then the cases fit for those will have more powerful PSUs

More specifically Thermaltakes cases that include PSU's are awesome. One of the few companies that puts in their brand name quality PSU's

 

[Codeine]

I dont know if you understand why socket 939 is soo much better but here are some reasons. First, socket 939 runs on a higher frequence then 754(witch makes it run faster) and is alot cooler. They are all dual channel memory, witch helps hella. Anything Clawhammer/sledgehammer on a 939 board is killer.

Also, dont get any athlon 64 thats Newcastle, get Clawhammer. That case you want, are horrible for gaming computers. First their psu all suck, sorry for being so blunt. Second they only have like 3 PCI slots. And since you worry about a hot computer, welcome to micro atx. They are a pain in th @zz to get a cooling system in, rather its liquid or hardware. They also run hot, since they are so small all the heat from your hardware gets dense. I highly recommend a Mid-Towor or a Full-Tower.