Gigabyte G31 Questions

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Odom

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Hi All

Looking at putting together a pc for pure storage purposes and possibly turning it into a media server later. Been looking at the G31 series of motherboards to serve as a base and build from there. Should I consider a different mobo and would it be possible to passively cool the CPU on this board via heat sinks alone?

Any thoughts appreciated.
 
G31 only has 4 SATA ports as far as I remember. Maybe a better idea to go with a P45 or similar for the extra SATA ports if you're wanting it specifically for a storage server
 
Ok lets go....
How many hard drives you think you'll end up using? Do you want to put them in a Raid array at all? The G31 boards seem to only have 4 SATA connectors, a bit limiting unless you are willing to put in RAID cards.
Then why do you want to passively cool the CPU? Is the PC going to be in an area where you want to keep noise to a minimum? If not, then just go the usual route.
Any specific reason for the socket 775 choice?
 
Thanks for the quick replies.

4 Should be sufficient for me and I don't intend to use RAID. If I ever do want more hdd's or to start using RAID I'll just buy a sata/raid controller and go from there.

The main reason for the passively cooled CPU is more of a bit of forward thinking. If I intend to make it a media server I'd probably move it to my living room and I don't want a noisy computer sitting in the same room as my TV.

No specific reason for the 775 socket choice, just read through a view reviews online and the g31 seems to give the most bang for your buck. It's dirt cheap and does what I need it to do.
 
Well in that case the G31 will do the job. I would personally go for an AM3 board with a 4000 series onboard GPU in your position. The GPU will take the load off the CPU when watching HD content if you have a player that allows for this. And I would not recommend passively cooling a CPU unless its an Atom (or equivalent). CPUs just put out too much heat unfortunately. Rather get a decent cooler and force the revs on the fan low to lower noise.
 
I guess passive cooling is too risky in this case.

If I go the AMD route do you have any motherboard suggestions?

Thanks again
 
Lol. My torrent box has three heatsinks superglued together and no fans. Doubt the glue is much good at conducting though...

I have a duct sucking air for PSU over the heatsinks. Random project- I wanted a quiet, low power machine for 24/7 operation. Hasn't died yet :)
 
Be careful, not all G31 boards support Gigabit Ethernet, read the specs before buying.
 
Rather spend the extra money and get a G41/45 chipset board if you want to go the intel route. The G41 boards have Intel's X4500 graphics chipset which will handle HD content better, or if you get a G31, get an entry level graphics card - something like the HD4650 or something similar.

Ponder is right about the gigabit story, I had to buy two ethernet cards today because of that reason.

I suppose you could get away with passive cooling if you maybe gonna use a dual core celeron - this cpu's run very cool at stock speeds and if you fry one, its cheap to replace. I however wouldn't try it, maybe just take Archers advice and down the revs on the fan.
 
timvdwest said:
Rather spend the extra money and get a G41/45 chipset board if you want to go the intel route. The G41 boards have Intel's X4500 graphics chipset which will handle HD content better, or if you get a G31, get an entry level graphics card - something like the HD4650 or something similar.

Ponder is right about the gigabit story, I had to buy two ethernet cards today because of that reason.
Click to expand...


For his purposes he does not require Intel HD support.

As for the Gigabit you really have to read up on the specs of the board before purchasing, otherwise they make for really good budget boards.

The Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 which I own does support Gigabyte Ethernet.
 
ponder said:
For his purposes he does not require Intel HD support.

As for the Gigabit you really have to read up on the specs of the board before purchasing, otherwise they make for really good budget boards.

The Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 which I own does support Gigabyte Ethernet.
Click to expand...

He did say he might want to use it as an HTPC at a later date;)
 
Wouldn't go the AMD route, If I'm not mistaken, most of their CPU's are a higher wattage for the same performance as their Intel counterpart.

I agree with timvdwest - Maybe consider the G41 Chipset - only around R150 more, slightly more powerful graphics chip and if it negates the need to buy a graphics card (usually with a noisy fan attached) then its worth the extra spend.
 
I hate noisy computers, the PSU and GPU are usually the main offenders, so if those are quiet or can be silenced it makes a big difference. My CPU fan runs at minimum speed almost all the time, so contributes little noise.
 
Thanks to all for the responses.

I am considering using a celeron dual core and just shoving a huge heat sink on it. I'll probably try do a bit more research first tho. Looking at the g41 boards now. They are actually pretty closely priced to the g31's and I may go with one of those instead.
 
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