HTPC/AVCHD build.

mobiushky

Most likely. I have very similar set up, but add a 125W cpu and a 95-100W video card (I have an additional video card running 3 monitors) and I run a 520W power supply. The fan never turns on. You will be drawing significantly less power. If you are looking for super quite PSUs SilentPCReview rates the Corsairs the quietest. I use a Corsair HX520 and I have never heard it since the day I put it in. Corsair is the manufacturer with the most 80+ Certified PSUs on the market from what I can tell. (Which means 80% efficient or better.)

PSUs are a balancing act. You want to get a good one, but then you have to understand that the most probable piece of equipment to fail in your system (after optical drives) is the PSU. So odds are you are going to replace it at least once before your next major upgrade. So you don't want to spend too much. The best PSU in the world is the one that you forget you even have.

I personally like the ones that have modular plugs because you only use the cables you need and don't have a bunch of extra cables in the case doing nothing. Plus if you break a connector (yes I have broken a SATA power connector), you can always replace the cable instead of the PSU. Assuming you don't want to do your own splicing.

After all that, not to hurt anyone's feelings, but it's basically like throw dart and which ever PSU it lands on, buy. Maybe pick a price range first, then find the best possible PSU in that range and look for a good deal.

__________________
DRM is roughly the equivalent of poking you in the eye, repeatedly.
----------------------------------------------------
Main Setup:
Pioneer PDP-5070HD
Pioneer VSX-80TXV
Dish Vip622
PS3 (120Gb), someone tried to tell me my BD player could play games too, what an idiot.
Logitech Harmony 1000 remote
All Klipsch speakers

Bedroom Setup:
Sony KDR-40XBR4
Dish Vip622
PS3 (80Gb, no BC) I think I have too many PS3s.
Sony Commander RM-AV3000

TELBOY77

I've been doing a little more research and I'm tempted to go for the Phenom II 955 3200ghz (125w). Also, do have an opinion on case's with built in PSU's. I was considering the Antec Sonata III 500 black steel with 500w PSU.

mobiushky

The age old CPU debate... LOL! My simple advice (the one I live by) is to buy the absolute top line CPU you can afford. if your budget is only $150, get the best possible CPU for $150. The price difference between the 2 you are looking at is pretty small really. What like $30? So if your budget can swing the price diff, I'd do it. But that's me. The thing is, if you "settle" for a lower model CPU, you are eventually going to regret it. Not to be offensive to people. Some people only have budget for cheaper CPUs, thats fine. But if you have $150 and you buy the $60 processor, you will regret it eventually.

As for the Case, I've always liked the look of the Sonata cases. Antec is an excellent PSU maker also. I used Antec in my prior PC. The only comments I would make about that case are these:

It's nice and wide. Lots of room for adding taller CPU coolers.

It looks like it has a lot of room in it. That's good if you ever want to add stuff later on.

My only beef is the ventilation. You only have 1 exhaust fan with the option to add only 1 more. If you keep your power demands lower, that will not be a problem and you can probably have a near dead silent PC. Even upping to the 955 shouldn't be an issue, but you will certainly want an aftermarket cooler for it. IF you start adding a lot HDD and a powerful Video card, you may find your are overloading the air circulation in the case and things will run hot. You want to maintain the best possible air circulation you can to be sure that all of the components get adequate cooling. Don't let that scare you away from this case! The #1 killer of airflow in PC cases is them being too small. This is a big open case that should not have a problem with that. Personally I like to have more fans available.

For comparison, I have a Cooler Master 690. It has, are you sitting down? LOL, it has space for 8 fans to be added. 3-120mm are pre-installed from the factory. Of those 8 spots, 7 can fit 120MM fans. Of those 7, 5 can actually be as large as 140mm. Larger fans create more airflow with less noise. I have 2-130mm fans in the top. One 140mm fan in the side panel. And 2-120mm fans in front and back. All of them are on a fan controller that allows me to set the speed. The 140MM alone as the ability to push up to 151cfm! I usually keep it pretty low though. The other thing I liked about the 690 is that the PSU is in the bottom of the case. It has it's own grille to the outside and vents out the back. The idea is that the PSU does not contribute to the interior heat now. It gets it's own dedicated out side air source. I also like the zero tool design.

Now, having posted all that, I'm not trying to persuade you to get this case unless you like it. I'm just showing something different.

A lot of people don't like the exterior of my case because its boring. Which it is. I don't really care that much, but I would like something a little flashier. It's just, for the price and features, I can live with less flashy.

Well that was a bit rambling wasn't it? I guess my bottom line would be this. That Sonata is a great case. It really is. Just don't overload the interior with a lot of cabling and heat sources because you don't have a lot of air movement to work with. The set-up you are posting will do fine in it. If you start adding a lot in the future, you might find you start crowding it up and restricting the airflow.

You know for that price range, you might look at the Lian-Li PC-A05B or the PC-7BPLUSII. Lian-Li is an excellent case and they are all aluminum which is a lot lighter and good at heat dispersion. The 7B has a little more room for expansion, but it costs a little more too. about $150. Comes with a 550W PSU also.

__________________
DRM is roughly the equivalent of poking you in the eye, repeatedly.
----------------------------------------------------
Main Setup:
Pioneer PDP-5070HD
Pioneer VSX-80TXV
Dish Vip622
PS3 (120Gb), someone tried to tell me my BD player could play games too, what an idiot.
Logitech Harmony 1000 remote
All Klipsch speakers

Bedroom Setup:
Sony KDR-40XBR4
Dish Vip622
PS3 (80Gb, no BC) I think I have too many PS3s.
Sony Commander RM-AV3000

TELBOY77

Thanks for the advice. I've done some research regarding the case's that you recommended. But I still like the sonata. Aesthetically, it's a really nice looking and minimalist case. I do realise ventilation could be an issue. Basically, the system will consist of the processor and two hard drives previously mentioned, a Blu-Ray writer and, potentially, a graphics card.

mobiushky

Cool. Let us know how it all goes when you put it together.

I just upgraded my internal video card from the X1950XT to a HD4670. It amazes me how much smaller the new card is and yet more powerful. The 1950 requires the extra power plug from the PSU, but the 4670 doesn't. I believe the 4670 is less than 40W under load where the 1950 is close to 100 or more. The GPU physical size is noticeably smaller compared to the 1950.

My only beef is that the new HD series cards (including the onboard on the 790GX) only support DVI on monitors that are HDCP compliant. I have 2 that are not. So now, I had to route both of them using analog instead of DVI. Not a HUGE deal really as the PQ should be basically the same on both. Just frustrating to have to use the adapters.

On the plus side, HD video now runs smoothly on all 3 monitors. Before it was only smooth on the monitors connected to the Mobo.

__________________
DRM is roughly the equivalent of poking you in the eye, repeatedly.
----------------------------------------------------
Main Setup:
Pioneer PDP-5070HD
Pioneer VSX-80TXV
Dish Vip622
PS3 (120Gb), someone tried to tell me my BD player could play games too, what an idiot.
Logitech Harmony 1000 remote
All Klipsch speakers

Bedroom Setup:
Sony KDR-40XBR4
Dish Vip622
PS3 (80Gb, no BC) I think I have too many PS3s.
Sony Commander RM-AV3000