I needed a CPU for my Audioputer, which i record tunes from my Piano with and edit some MIDI.
The goal was to have a low-power, low-noise computer that has enough power to run i.e. cubase or reason without being more than slightly audible.
I found out about The Geode Series (AMD), with a mere 14-25 Watts for a 1750+ (@1400Mhz) the probably perfect solution for my purpose. Reports on the web said it should be possible to cool the cpu passively, so i took an interest.
Finally after all parts arrived (... after lots of ebaying...) I assembled the following into a nice, small machine:
*AMD Geode NX1750+ CPU (Socket A)
*Asus A7N8X Motherboard
*512MB Kingston Value Ram @266Mhz (...the geodes FSB)-->added 512, so it's a gig now.
*some dvdrom
*Maxtor 160GB 8MB Cache HDD
*seasonic 200Watts Power Supply
*matx case
*creative soundblaster card (nothing special) -->replaced by M-Audio Audiophile 2496
*GF2, 64MB, TVout
Big Drama: The CPU is recognized as An Athlon 800, since the board doesn't support it. More research had the following result:
For the Geode, only a few Boards work properly!
So i exchanged my A7N8X for a ASRock K7S41GX (there is also a non GX version, offering 400Mhz FSB instead of 333, but Geode operates at 266, so go for the cheaper one) and found it working smoothly. Noiseless cooling is achieved by active cooling:
*2 60mm 12V Case Fans @5v
*12V CPU cooler @5V
Everything fine. Windows MCE works properly and I am happy to have a silent beast standing in my room. One drawback nevertheless: The case is not all good for HDDs, since they get pretty hot in their place...
Summary: Geode rules, what a pity so few boards support it.
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