Silent gaming PC

[e1618978]

Hi

I was planning on building this PC, I need a quiet PC that will run the game Rift on maximum graphics settings on a 2560x1440 30" monitor.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Silent_Gaming_System_Build_Guide

processor: Intel Core i5-760
cpu cooler: Scythe Samurai ZZ
motherboard: Gigabyte H55N-USB3
memory: 4GB Corsair DDR3-1333
graphics: Radeon HD 6870
graphics cooler: Scythe Musashi
hard drive: OCZ Vertex 2 60GB
optical: Samsung SN-S083F/BEBE
case w/power supply: Silverstone Sugo SG07
os: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM

Any suggested improvements? I was thinking of maybe using an Asus motherboard (and core i7?) instead, since I heard that Asus motherboards are good - and I had a gigabyte board go bad last time (5 years ago).

 

[jerreddredd]

what is important in your build?

noise and what noise level is acceptable (22Db 25Db 30Db 35Db)?
Size: why ITX vs mATX? (more flexibility in mATX)
portability (LAN Gaming)?
Looks (want it in the living next to the XBOX and PS3)?

I ask these questions because of LGA1155 /Sandy Bridge. more performance less heat. still small. but not tiny.


One thing that I should mention is that if gaming at 2560x1440 is your objective, you should choose GPU with 2GB of RAM.

here is a good place to visit for all things silent:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/

 

[ScrewySqrl]

I'd suggest a 2500/2500K over a 760!

 

[jerreddredd]

I'd suggest a 2500/2500K over a 760!

exactly! but no ITX cougar point MB yet. thats why I asked him/her all those questions.

mATX Sandy Bridge is tight. and can be made silent also.

 

[e1618978]

I have no attachment to any form factor, if it were the same size and noise level as my 2008 era Mac Pro (35dB?) that would be fine. Is there a good LGA1155/Sandy Bridge build out there that you would recommend?

The most important things to me are reliability and the ability to run games without the PC noise being noticeable. My PS3 and Xbox are both way too loud, for example. I don't care what the case looks like as long as it does not look too flashy (no neon lights or windows or alien plastic shell, etc), I like the sedate look of that silverstone case.

 

[jerreddredd]

I have no attachment to any form factor, if it were the same size and noise level as my 2008 era Mac Pro (35dB?) that would be fine. Is there a good LGA1155/Sandy Bridge build out there that you would recommend?

The most important things to me are reliability and the ability to run games without the PC noise being noticeable. My PS3 and Xbox are both way too loud, for example. I don't care what the case looks like as long as it does not look too flashy (no neon lights or windows or alien plastic shell, etc), I like the sedate look of that silverstone case.

Cool, I will work on a mATX silent build for you. Have thought about the GPU? gaming at the resolution you want to, i would suggest 2GB's of Memory on the card. HD 6970's, 6950's, GTX 560 ti, and 460 all are good choice at 2GB's. we also need to find good cooler for which ever card you wan to use. I'm pretty sure I saw somewhere that the Scythe Musashi is a good fit for the 6970 2GB and i think the 6950 is the same layout. 6970 =$380 and 6950=$275.

give it some thought. what kind of budget are you thinking of?

 

[e1618978]

Is $1500 a reasonable budget? I could go as high as $2k if needed to get the performance for the game. Thanks, btw - I really appreciate your help!

 

[wortwortwort]

I think $1500 is far more than you need.

 

[jerreddredd]

Is $1500 a reasonable budget? I could go as high as $2k if needed to get the performance for the game. Thanks, btw - I really appreciate your help!

$1500 should be just fine.

 

[jerreddredd]

Ok, here are 2 builds one is the minimum I would recommend, the other is a more of a power build.

sources for prices are:
http://www.quietpc.com
http://www.newegg.com

I didn't shop around... that's your job I just found good quality silent parts that fit together.
I didn't use any after market VGA coolers because this voids the warranty of the GPU. There are several cards that have after market style coolers on them that are very silent (under 35Db at full load) which are priced 'well' and you don't have to perform open heart surgery on the GPU to install the cooler.

The case I selected is the little cousin to the one I'm going to use in a build for my son. It is due in stores in Mid April, so I hope you can wait that long, if not I will recommend another case. Check the case out here:
http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=58
its worth the wait.

Core i5 Sandy Bridge Budget silent PC
Case:
Fractal Design Define Mini Computer Case $120.00
Additional Fans:
Fractal Design 140mm Silent Series Fan x2 $38.00
MB:
ASUS P8P67-M PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 $150.00
CPU:
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 $225.00
CPU Cooler:
Scythe Samurai ZZ Quiet Top-down CPU Cooler $35.00
RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM $55.00
PSU
RX-6300 630W 15.5dB(A) Ultra-Quiet Modular PSU $130.00
GPU
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II OC Radeon HD 6950 2GB (has a stock silent cooler installed) $310.00
SSD/HD:
OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB $215.00 (you won't be happy with only 60GB, trust me)
DVD/CD:
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner $18.00
OS:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM $100.00
----------------------
Total $1,396.00

Core i7 Sandy Bridge Power Build Silent PC
Case:
Fractal Design Define Mini Computer Case $120.00
Additional Fans:
Fractal Design 140mm Silent Series Fan x2 (top exhaust, side intake) $38.00
MB:
ASUS P8P67-M PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 $150.00
CPU:
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz $329.00
CPU Cooler:
Noctua NH-C12P SE14 Top-Down CPU Heatpipe Heatsink with NF-P14 Fan $87.00
RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X 8GB (2 x 4GB)DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM $130.00
PSU:
RX-7000 700W 15.5dB(A) Ultra-Quiet Modular PSU $142.00
GPU:
PowerColor PCS+ AX6970 2GBD5-PP2DHG Radeon HD 6970 (has a stock silent cooler installed) $375.00
SSD/HD:
Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 $265.00
DVD/CD:
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner $18.00
OS:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM $100.00
--------------------------
Total: $1,754.00

notes on the i7 SB build:
I like the more powerfull GPU for gaming at 2560x1440.
I like the Noctua Cooler for it superior silent cooling and added clearance over the MB (ram heat spreader)
I like the Bigger PSU just in case I wanted more performance i could put in another GPU in CrossFire (yes, pushing the silent envelope I know)
I like 8GB of ram for less use of the swap file and less wear and tear on the SSD.
I like the faster Sata 6 SSD, would like the OCZ Vertex 3's become available, with 2nd Gen SandForce.

 

[jerreddredd]

Here is all the stuff I pondered over for the builds
newegg.com and Quietpc.com

CPU's:
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
$328.99
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
$224.99

CPU Coolers:
Noctua NH-C12P SE14 Top-Down CPU Heatpipe Heatsink with NF-P14 Fan
$86.11
Scythe Samurai ZZ Quiet Top-down CPU Cooler
$35.18

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM
$54.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws X 8GB (2 x 4GB)DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM
$130

PSU (Silent)
ASM X-Zero 600W Heat-piped Cooled Semi-Fanless PSU
$164.99
RX-7000 700W 15.5dB(A) Ultra-Quiet Modular PSU
$142.10
RX-6300 630W 15.5dB(A) Ultra-Quiet Modular PSU
$129.17

GPU's
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100314VXSR Radeon HD 6870 1GB (has a stock silent cooler installed)
$229.99
ASUS EAH6970 DCII/2DI4S/2GD5 Radeon HD 6970 2GB (has a stock silent cooler installed, takes up 3 slots)
$384.99
PowerColor PCS+ AX6970 2GBD5-PP2DHG Radeon HD 6970 (has a stock silent cooler installed)
$374.99
ASUS EAH6950 DCII/2DI4S/2GD5 Radeon HD 6950 2GB (has a stock silent cooler installed, takes up 3 slots)
$324.99
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II OC Radeon HD 6950 2GB (has a stock silent cooler installed)
$309.99
GPU Cooling Solutions (if needed)
Gelid Solutions Icy Vision Rev.2 VGA Cooler for High-end ATI and Nvidia
$50.22
Scythe Musashi Dual Fan Graphics Card Cooler
$49.18
Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme Plus GPU Cooler
$56.21

HD/SSD:
Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$264.99
SAMSUNG 470 Series MZ-5PA128/US 2.5" 128GB
249.99
OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$214.99

BR/DVD/CD RW
LG Black 10X Blu-ray Burner WH10LS30 LightScribe Support 10X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DV...
$89.99
DVD/CD RW
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
$17.99

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM
$100

 

[e1618978]

Thanks! I'll get started on the power build asap.

 

[e1618978]

That case is super sweet, I will definitely wait for it.

 

[jerreddredd]

Thanks! I'll get started on the power build asap.

Let me know how it goes. I am using most of those same parts in a build for my son.

also if you could select best answer and solved on the thread.

 

[e1618978]

Best answer selected by e1618978.

 

[russellthomas21]

Hello I was in the same situation. I wanted a gaming pc that I could use on my Tv but also cart off to lan with a buddy. Before you trash talk my cpu look at the benchmarks for it. It scores higher than an i7-860. I know it is a laptop processor but who cares! This thing is insanely fast and very quiet. With the low power processor I don't have to worry about heat. Also the i7-950 is only rated 30 points higher than this laptop processor in the benchmark. Who says small power can't pack a punch?

Proof
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-2630QM+%40+2.00GHz

Here is my build:

Sugo SG07 Itx Case
i7-2630QM Quad Core CPU (4 cores 8 threads)
Jetway NC9B-HM67 Socket G2 Mini-ITX Motherboard (two USB 3.0, 3 Sata III ports, 2 Sata II ports)
1 GB XFX 6950 Video Card (same performance as 2GB for single monitor setup)
Two Crucial M4 64GB Sata III SSD Drives (running in raid 0 on sata III port)
1.5TB Western Digital Hard Drive (on sata III port)
8GB 1333mhz DDR3 Ram
Mini pcie wireless card with internal antenna (great because i don't have an antenna to worry about)
Bluray Drive (on sata II port)

 

[russellthomas21]

Also this build only cost me $850. Thank you ebay and newegg hahah