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Im Building a (Linux) Desktop

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kitamesume:
^ corrections to your spreadsheet.

the "should be a low-profile one" is because the case im refering to is a slim case that can only hold low profile GPUs.
the HD7770 is a whole tier faster than GTX 550 Ti, GTX 550 Ti's equivalent is HD7750.
intel's processor is undoubtedly more energy efficient than AMD's phenom line and a huge margin at that and since you're eying to use it for torrents as well you'd might want to have a more energy efficient rig.

the 275watt PSU will hold, according to recent approximations:
the intel's i5-2300 barely uses 100watts
the GT430 hardly even uses 50watts
most chipset/motherboard consumes hardly 25watts
rams doesn't really consume more than 2watts per stick
HDD consumes about 10-25watts each drive, green drives consumes 10watts while performance drives reaches 25watts, except raptors which uses way more.
do note that SSDs uses well below 10watts.
recent modeled optical disk drives(cd/dvd reader) uses around 25watts as well.

means to say if you had:
i5-2300(100w)
GT430(50w)
mobo(25w)
2x ram(4w)
3x green hdd(30w) } total of 4HDDs
perf hdd(25w)       }
ssd(10w)
odd(25w)
they sum to about 269w power consumption, and this is IF they were all running all at once and running at 100% of their usages.

notes: i rounded them to a higher value to compensate for their peak power usage so that means it shouldn't even be using this much power when running it normally.
the case with the 275watts PSU uses a flex PSU which means finding a replacement is out of the question.

fixed the list to include the SSD and an ODD, also changing the refereed case to something that can accept an ATX psu:
also intel's option:
[CPU] - [$179.99] Intel Core i5-2300 Sandy Bridge Quad Core 2.8GHz
[Mobo] - [$69.99] GIGABYTE GA-H61MA-D3V
[RAM] - [$48.99] Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory
[GPU] - [$55.99] ASUS ENGT430/DI/1GD3/MG(LP) GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 64-bit DDR3
[CASE] - [$88.99] SILVERSTONE GRANDIA GD04B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
[PSU] - [$44.99] CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2
[SSD] - [$129.99]Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC(SSD)
[ODD] - [$20.99]ASUS 24X DVD Burner
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[$639.92] SYSTEM TOTAL

notes:
i liked the reviews from mushkin SSDs, a full egg in the overall review.
some of them have rebates, but i don't really trust them.
why do i suggest HTPC cases? well i'm not really saying you should get an HTPC case, rather i'm saying that you should get a case that is space efficient.
oh and the case can now hold a full size GPU, so no need to get low-profile ones.
HD7770 and HD7750 is insanely efficient ( HD7750[55watts!?] = GTX 550 Ti[116watts] || HD7770[80watts!?] = HD6850[127watts] ) so how did they do it? AMD transitioned their GPUs from 40nm fabrication process to 28nm, making the die size shrink and of course a side effect of needing less energy for transistors to operate because they're more closer to each other.
shipping cost is excluded from the list, expect the final price to rise.

datora:
.
@firefish5000 - what size case do you have in mind?

I went with simplicity and flexibility, a mid-tower that will hold a full ATX motherboard (which you may not need).  It will have lots of room inside to work, and for airflow to ensure cooling is not an issue.  Cable management is easier, and you can add in extra hard drives and other stuff.

The compromise is size.  If you want something compact, such as what kitamesume is suggesting, you have to pay attention to video card size (it will need to be low-profile), adding in a CPU cooler, etc.

Are you building this rig to build-once and forget?  Or, do you intend to tweak and mod and change hardware around?  If you get in and out of the case several times a year, even just for basic cleaning, having room to see & for your hands to get in may well be worth the mid-tower.  Do you have space/desire for a tower-style, or do you want/need it compact?


Some decisions:

 • Big decision on case size, as it will determine some of your components.

 • Do you want to play with overclocking?  That affects your options at this point.  It also affects cooling, both in care of build and fan options.  Heat fins on your memory and the size of your CPU cooling block will require a case that has room.

 • You have not indicated to use if silence is a high priority, &/or if high/extreme energy efficiency is important.

 • No discussion of audio has taken place, although most modern systems have excellent audio chipsets.

 • USB 3 and SATA III have been assumed, but watch out for motherboards that don't have those if you're looking at budget boards on special.  If you don't need/want a high-performance system, there's no reason why you can't stick with SATA II & USB 2


Video cards:

You indicated this is a linux rig, and you indicated you will experiment with the distro, probably often.

nvidea chipset ... nvidea has the best support under linux, and has for many, many years; they've embraced & supported open source for a long time & have lots of experience with it.  It's about as close to plug and play as you're going to get under linux distros.  The other cards are tweaked for Windows/game performance; their support under linux can often be spotty and can lead to anything from "only" frustration to incompatibility of features.

The Galaxy GT 430 card I listed earlier is slightly superior performance to the Asus card for the same price.  That 128-bti data path vs. 64-bit data path is quite significant.  My old AGP 8x nvidea 7800 chipset card by PNY is 64-bit, now over 5 years old (and, BTW, still has performance to spare).  However, if you need a low-profile card then you have to get the Asus, or keep looking.

Don't neglect the memory recommendations I posted earlier.  There was just a memory topic in this forum within the last month or so ... a good read with good resources.


In summary, I really respect kitamesume's experience and knowledge, but I cannot condone a design that might peak at approximately 250 watts power and put in a 275 PSU.  Bumping it up is virtually a requirement, especially for a n00b to building.  Also keeping in mind you're a learning builder, every suggestion I made kept in mind simplicity, such as components that are easy to replace, either due to failure or future upgrade ... thus, no unique components such as a "non-replaceable" PSU.

I see a 430 is now listed, and that is far more sane.  Usually, if I even bother to calculate power use, I make sure the PSU has at least 100W more power than peak ... so a 350 in this situation would be a minimum.  By going 400 and over, you are future-proofing for added hard drives, maybe adding in a second burner, like a blu-ray, jumping to a better CPU, upgrading video card, etc.

While I have avoided Intel personally, the suggestion for an i5-2300 based rig is a good one.  You gain quite a bit of performance and energy efficiency for the extra money.  I already pointed out the raw difference in GHZ the chips could potentially run at, but I can't answer the question about which would perform better at the clock settings.  I think it'll be pretty close to a wash on performance, with the Intel running cooler and using less electricity.


Another expense:

Make sure to install proper surge protection and a Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) battery back-up.  A good surge protector should handle over 4000 Joules and run ~$20.  Depending on the system you end up building, on the low end you can get a basic UPS of 350 volt-amps or up to a 550, 650 or 750 for more power hungry system.  I have several 550 and 750 supplies that run all my critical components (external hard drives, for example), which ran me $45 and $50 each respectively on sale..

The battery supply is not primarily to run your system during a power outage.  It is to make sure the power feed to your system is very clean and stable.  Minor variations in your electricity can wear your components, such as your mechanical hard drive, and shorten their life.

You can survive brief power surges and drops/outages of a few seconds.  If your power fails without warning, you also get 5 to 15 minutes to shut your system down gracefully.  APC, as one brand, is very solid and has linux compatibility to connect by USB cable and auto-shutdown if you're not home.  They're great for charging cell phones and running laptops during power outages, for other useful examples.

My 750 supplies also power/surge protect my local network & internet: wireless router, switches, FiOS connection.  I get about half a day of internet capability on my Android during a complete power out off one 750 ... and I have three of them plus a couple 550s.  Where I live, storms have taken my power out for three to seven days about five times in the last two years.  These have been good insurance for the last year.  Before that I lost well over a terabyte of hard drives with irreplaceable, critical data.

Something to think about and budget for as time moves along.

firefish5000:
I usually clean the all of my computers about once every 2 months. Generally I go into them for something else but clean them while I am at it.
So space from a tower is probably necessary.
Over-clocking will probably be done
Silence is not important, no matter how loud it is or what sound it makes, I would just get use to it.(plus one of my other computers has a very loud fan and until recently the dvd drive always made this odd loud sound, laser fell off the rail)
The discussion of audio, i dont know what to say...
Yes, my distro rarely stays the same for more than a month, I have so many options I decided I should try to try them all.

I have never purchased nor built a computer before, so I dont even have the experience of having a guy from best buy tell me all the specs of each computer and the luxury of asking him questions.(...I should do that) and am a very big n00b.
The Power supply... I suppose it would be a good idea to have a good bit extra so I can add to it. I probably will get a second burner and add or change something in the future, I dont know what but I best plan ahead.
nvidea chipset, I figured. I thought it was odd that my laptop had a nvidea program with all the same basic features as it did under windows the moment I switched to linux.
Also, a UPS is definitely something I am looking into, recently the power has been going out for about 5+ seconds(sometimes for a good hour) at random times, it hasen't seemed stable since the last storm.(I have no clue whats wrong, but all neighborhoods surrounding us also keep loosing power)the lights will also randomly dim and then brighten back up and the tv turns itself off (not in a haunted house, though I wonder about the tv), I think I am in an environment where a ups is necessary.(Just to clarify, i am serious. I feel like the electricity is ridding a mad roller coaster, though i am getting better at keeping track of time without clocks) I do wonder though, would it be a bad idea to hook the ups to a generator for when the power is out? (we have one, it's not a fancy one that turns itself on during power outages but its powerful enough to run the computers and a refrigerators at least)

vuzedome:
Man, you guys turn a simple Linux based build into a beginners nightmare.

datora:
.
When you get to the actual assembly, search youtube for videos.  Newegg has a channel with several that are lucid and chock-full of good advice and procedure.  Those are good to start with, and then you'll have developed knowledge & vocabulary to search for more and filter through who is full of BS and who has a clue.  There are hundreds and thousands of how-to videos once you start searching, but once you've seen about the first five you'll be halfway to expert.

In particular, the newegg videos demonstrate how to test your initial boot with mobo outside of the case, just so you know all that stuff works before you take the time to install it.

My advice has always been to use a mid-tower or tower case for ease of access and expansion and cooling capacity.  After a year or two of playing inside a large case, you'll be better prepared to work in smaller cases & laptops.


As far as a bluray burner goes, this one:

ASUS Black 12X BD-R SATA Blu-ray Burner BW-12B1ST

has pretty decent reviews.  I see it go on special, including rebate, down to ~$55 every few weeks or so.  I can't speak to it specifically, other than the ASUS DVD burner I recommended earlier has served me well for years.  I've had about a half dozen of them personally in various systems and they've all bee rock solid; ripped thousands of CDs and hundreds of DVDs with them without issue.


If you are serious about playing with overclocking, one of your best and first resources: http://www.overclock.net/f/ forums.  Again, you'll gain the vocabulary necessary for searches and find dozens of critical links to all the information & resources you could ever want.  In fact, when you are evaluating a CPU & mobo (& RAM & GPU) for purchase, you can usually find them in those forums with many comments about how good or bad an idea they are for any overclocking or how much is reasonable to expect.  I've never needed to post a question there ... just keep searching and following links and have taken care of all my questions.


One dust trick I use on my systems: all my intake fans have a small frame/"cage" built from miscellaneous supplies (copper wire, gutter mesh, etc.) over which I stretch various materials such as gauze or fine mesh; whatever's at hand.  This traps the majority of dust and cat hair & such before it ever enters the case.  Really cuts down on wear & tear on the electronics.  I also use natural bristle brushes .... without any metal parts, all wood & plastic .... to help clean sensitive electronics of fine dust build up, etc.  Part of my tool kit.  Make sure you are always grounded, of course.


I don't have experiences with a generator.  Probably the safest strategy, in my imagination, would be to run my systems off the UPS.  If power goes out, shut systems down gracefully.  If I really needed my systems during an extended outage, I would get the generator running & stable electric into the house, then connect the UPS up and boot systems.  Might take a few extra minutes of my time, but during a power outage I have other duties to perform & wouldn't want distractions about my computer being on until everything else is stable & calmed down.  If I'm offline for 20 or 45 minutes, the world is not going to end.  Don't let yourself get sucked into a false sense of urgency if your equipment is of value to you.


As far as you other answers, you know what you need to do now.  You have additional flexibility going with large case.  Looking for fans, you can target quality fans with a low decibel rating, like 22-24 dBa or lower, maybe even down to ~16-18.  This is whisper quiet.  You can add two fans at this rating with CFM (cubic foot per minute) airflow of ~60-70, or even 55.  Do this instead of a single fan at 78 or 85 CFM.  Fans blowing air in from two or four directions can target specific hot spots, such as CPU, GPU, memory bank.

Look for a PSU that has two fans.  Under 500 watts, not a big issue and probably unlikely, but if it has that configuration it helps exhaust your case more efficiently, assuming the intake is inside your case instead of pulling cooling air from outside.


Y'know ...


--- Quote from: vuzedome on March 17, 2012, 03:03:05 AM ---Man, you guys turn a simple Linux based build into a beginners nightmare.
--- End quote ---

I'm not seeing that.  A nightmare, by my definition, is wandering through the wilderness without without guide or lucid examples.  Been there done that  wrote the book & produced the film on it.

I've been building, refurbishing and maintenancing PCs since the early/mid-1980s, and taught Computer Science in a State university for 6 years.  I do have some concept of leading a complete n00b through the various options and decision trees required to get them on their feet, getting them to build a working model in their head of what they are attempting and plan out the project moving forward.

This topic is now an exceptional resource for any newbie who has little idea where to begin.  I truly fail to see how collecting all the basic information needed into one topic that can be read in 30 minutes constitutes a "nightmare."  ::)

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