New blade configuration Options

[Dersgniw]

We have money in the bank and it's time to spend! In the next week or two we'd like to start buying new blades.

Help us find a new blade configuration. With the help of the board (especially golfhou) we have put together the following configuration. I'd like to open discussion to these parts and others. Please let us know if you like this config or think other parts would work better for a comparable price. Feel free to post your own parts completely different from what we have below or just mix and match.

Motherboard: ASUS M2A-VM from Newegg $64.99 + 6.50 (estimated shipping) = $71.50
Brand  ASUS - Model  M2A-VM
CPU Socket Type  Socket AM2
CPU Type  Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64
FSB  1000MHz Hyper Transport (2000 MT/s)
Chipsets - North Bridge  AMD 690G - South Bridge  ATI SB600
Number of Memory Slots  4×240pin
Memory Standard - DDR2 800 - Maximum Memory Supported 8GB
Expansion Slots
AGP Slots  None
PCI Express x16  1
PCI Express x1  1
PCI Slots  2
Storage Devices
PATA  1 x ATA100 up to 2 Devices
SATA 3Gb/s  4
SATA RAID  0/1/10
Onboard Video Chipset  ATI Radeon Xpress 1250
Audio Chipset  Realtek ALC883
Onboard LAN - Max LAN Speed  10/100/1000Mbps

Processor:AMD X2 4600+ $105.50 (free shipping) = $105.50
Core  Windsor
Multi-Core  Dual-Core
Name  Athlon 64 X2 4600+(65W)
Operating Frequency  2.4GHz
HT  2000MHz
L1 Cache  128KB+128KB
L2 Cache  2 x 512KB
Manufacturing Tech  90 nm
64 bit Support  Yes
Hyper-Transport Support  Yes
Virtualization Technology Support  Yes
Multimedia Instruction  MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, 3DNOW! Professional
Voltage  1.20 V/1.25 V
Cooling Device  Heatsink and Fan included

Power Supply: Cooler Master $40.00 (after rebate) free shipping = $40.00
Brand  COOLER MASTER
Model  RP-650-PCAR
Series  eXtreme Power
Type  ATX from factor 12V V2.01
Maximum Power  650W
Fans  Sleeve bearing 120mm fan
PFC  Active
Main Connector  20+4Pin
Dual +12V  Yes
PCI-E Connectors  2 x 6Pin

RAM: 2 gig Crucial DDR2 800mgz $84.99 - $20.00 rebate (free shipping) = $64.99.
CRUCIAL / 2GB kit (1GBx2) / 240-pin DIMMs / 800MHz / DDR2 PC2-6400 memory modules

Total = $280.00

The Total may be off a bit because I updated his total in my head with the price updates.

[Dolphin]

This is a great configuration at a very good price I like it.

[jlhugh]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817153023

I don't know about the cool master psu, but that thermaltake is very quiet and works awesome. it does not have as many watts, but the price it good.

[lilhurricane]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817153023

I don't know about the cool master psu, but that thermaltake is very quiet and works awesome. it does not have as many watts, but the price it good.

I also would go Thermaltake or Antec for PSU's..

The config looks good

[grobinette]

I can't find any real reviews on that Coolermaster PSU after 30 minutes of searching. The closest I found was for a smaller 550 watt unit and they said it was ok for the average user, but we are going to be pushing them a bit.

I'm a little PSU shy, but can we look at thermaltake or something else?

[marti]

Looks good to me. Rosewill power supplies are quieter than most, but they are much more expensive, and not on sale. I am used to working in an environment of blades and some of mine are noiser than others.

[grobinette]

We had a bunch of the Rosewill's that died or were Mobo killers. Don't want to go back there again.

[lilhurricane]

Aye...definitely not.
Brand name, stable voltage.

This is an important component..

[golfhou]

I can't find any real reviews on that Coolermaster PSU after 30 minutes of searching. The closest I found was for a smaller 550 watt unit and they said it was ok for the average user, but we are going to be pushing them a bit.

I'm a little PSU shy, but can we look at thermaltake or something else?

Reviews on all types of hardware from a very technically competent source. Words of praise are hard to come by from these testers.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/

[golfhou]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817153023

I don't know about the cool master psu, but that thermaltake is very quiet and works awesome. it does not have as many watts, but the price it good.

If it has to be a Thermaltake, I think this would be a better choice.

Thermaltake Purepower

Reasons:
12 volts with at least 14 amps on two (2) rails instead of one (1). Motherboard & HDD.
70 % efficiency rating.

[golfhou]

It is an important component and I didn't choose the CoolerMaster casually. It gets goods reviews from http://www.xbitlabs.com/.

Quote from X-bit PS reviewer's conclusiosn:
"As for my favorites, they are Antec Phantom 500, Corsair CMPSU-620HX, Seasonic S-12 SS-500HT and Zalman ZM460B-APS. These four models all boast excellent operating parameters and are also very quiet (I’d even say silent if the Corsair model was not on the list).
The CoolerMaster Power might have joined that company, but its developers didn’t manage to cool it quietly despite its very high efficiency. Its fan speed is high at high loads." End quote.

Antec Phantom 500 - $129.99
Corsair CMPSU-620HX - $169.99
Seasonic S-12 SS-500HT - $129.99
Zalman ZM460B-APS - $99.99
Cooler Master - Normally $109.99 - on sale for $79.99 - after a $40.00 MIR = $39.99 (free shipping)

I don't own any stock in Cooler Master but I do have a couple of their power supplies and I have been very pleased with their performance.

I also found out that, "The Thermaltake W0093 is made by Channel Well, the supplier of PSUs for Foxconn and Antec."
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/dis...p_23.html#sect0

[Dersgniw]

Only 3 days left on that rebate.. is that correct?

[jlhugh]

I don't object to the Coolmaster PSU. I have not heard a thing about them. It sounds like they are solid units. All I know is the 2 rosewills i have on these blades here are loud and i am waiting for them to kill the 2 blades they are hooked 2.

[lilhurricane]

I'd go with spending a lil more..and getting quality that's well known, stable and has been around.

My Thermaltakes, both professionally & personally - have always lasted years, and the company replaces outside of warranty with just a phonecall.

Just my own humble opinion.

[golfhou]

Only 3 days left on that rebate.. is that correct?

According to the rebate form, the receipt must be dated on or before the 19th. I think Newegg waits to bill your credit card until after the item has shipped. But I could be wrong about that.

If we don't get that one I am sure we can find something comparable for about the same price.

Lisa is right about the Thermaltakes being excellent power supplies with great support. If we miss on the Coolermaster rebate, then we can always get one of them. I picked the Coolermaster because it scored in the top five (5) and it had by far the lowest price.

Jason and Gary are right about the Rosewills. They are "blade killers". We might want to think about budgeting funds to replace those PSs before they kill those blades.

Price are fluctuating a lot right now. The RAM at Newegg has gone up to $128.00 - $40.00 rebate = $88.00.

This post has been edited by golfhou: Jul 16 2007, 10:14 PM

[Dolphin]

Interesting discussion...time for me to weigh in on the PSU discussion. Personally, I prefer (1) Antec or (2) Thermaltake. Thermaltake is right up there on the list in terms of stability and manufacturer warranty. I've found Antec PSU's to be very reliable and stable. The PSU is one of the most crucial components (as we all know) and we want one that will last and not kill blade MB's. I've had very good experience with Antec and/or Thermaltake.

Just my 3 cents

This post has been edited by Dolphin: Jul 17 2007, 01:15 AM

[Ray422]

Newegg definately charges your credit card BEFORE the order ships. I currently have an order in step 3 of 5, so I happened to be looking at their procedure.

Step 3: Your credit/debit card has been successfully charged. Please note that you may no longer make changes to your order.

Step 4: Your order contents will soon be packaged and sealed.

Step 5: Your order has shipped. You may view your tracking information by clicking the applicable "View" link above. However, your tracking number may not appear immediately as the shipping couriers update only periodically. Your tracking number(s) will also be sent via email to your Newegg.com login.

[Dersgniw]

So, everyone so far seems to like the configuration, with exception to the power supply and that rebate will be gone by the time this goes to vote anyway.

So, I guess we're now looking at this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817153052 ?

[Dolphin]

Yep. That looks about right to me.

[grobinette]

golfhou, I figured you probably didn't pick the Coolermaster blindly, but I couldn't find anything. I've been down that road with supposedly solid power supplies with decent reviews and you now have two Xeon's as a result of that.

We all have our preferences. I like Western Digital, Asus, Intel, etc. and my Enermax PSU's are running rock solid - but that's my experience. I'm sure someone here has had not so good experiences with the same brands.

That Thermaltake is probably going to do the trick. There is one review that mentions low voltages. Since we don't get extreme with overclocking, use high end video cards, and run a lot of periphials that should not be a problem for the blades. I say yeah.

I also think that we should consider replacing any of the Rosewills that remain, but first things first....