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$2,000+ Quiet(er) Gaming PC - Advice Please

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Hi, I’ve been reading the forums for a long time but just got an account and am hoping to get some advice. I’ve read a lot of build advice posts and am comfortable with most of what I’m choosing. I’ve owned both AMD (well ATI anyway) and nVidia cards. I prefer nVidia and that’s what I’m sticking with.
I play mostly play games like Fallout 3/New Vegas, Oblivion (and Skyrim this fall), Civ 5, Dragon Age and Diablo 3 (soon!)

I’m really hoping to get some guidance on:
1. Gtx 570 vs 560 Ti as it pertains to sound. I’m looking for a quiet PC. Not silent…just quiet. I’ve read the charts and now the 560 Ti puts out fewer decibels, but that’s just numbers on a page. I would like someone who has (at least heard) one or both of these cards to answer...is the 570 noticeably loud? I don’t want to force the wife to turn up the TV while I’m gaming. Or have to turn the sound up to hear the game over the GPU.
2. Is the 2600K too much? Would a 2500K suffice?
3. Motherboard…I like the look of the new ASUS Sabertooth P67. Any thoughts on whether or not that covering will just trap dust?
4. Is the BluRay Player OK? Any other suggestions?
5. All other comments welcome!

Approximate Purchase Date: Within 30 days…as soon as Vertex 3 is available

Budget Range: $2,000 - $2,500 before rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, surfing, some school work, MINOR video editing

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com or Amazon.com

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: I prefer ASUS, Intel, EVGA (nVidia), Corsair. Reliability/quality is more important that saving a few dollars

Overclocking: Probably

SLI or Crossfire: Prefer not to but would consider it in future to keep system ‘relevant’

Monitor Resolution: Currently 1680x1050 but getting a 1920x1080 within 3 months

Additional Comments: Quietness is very important…but I’m not comfortable with a custom liquid cooling solution. Although I can appreciate bling (lights, edgy cases, etc), I don’t need it. I know that Amazon shows the Vertex 3 as available but I suspect supply is low or non-existent.

Corsair Graphite Series 600T Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid Cooling System
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

OCZ Technology 240 GB Vertex 3 SATA III 6.0 Gb/s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive VTX3-25SAT3-240G
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QJM1HG/ref=ox_sc_a...

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SAMSUNG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Linksys WMP600N IEEE 802.11a/b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft 2.0 PCI Wireless Adapter
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SilverStone Silent Foam SF01, Sound Dampening Acoustic EP0M Foam Material, Black, 21"x15", 4mm thick, 2 pcs (x2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

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I just recently upgraded from a 560 ti to a 570, although the 570 is a tiny bit louder, it also performs better. This also could be because I went from a one fan 560 ti, to a dual fan 570. I bet if you got a 570 with one fan, it'd be the best of both worlds. For your second question, the 2500k is more than you need for gaming, but you have the money so the 2600k will be a nice upgrade. Now the P67 Sabertooth motherboard does just the opposite, It uses airflow from the CPU fan and blows air throughout the whole motherboard. Finally, pretty much any bluray player you get now will be just fine.

Sorry for the long response!

EPbaseballer14 said:
I just recently upgraded from a 560 ti to a 570, although the 570 is a tiny bit louder, it also performs better. This also could be because I went from a one fan 560 ti, to a dual fan 570. I bet if you got a 570 with one fan, it'd be the best of both worlds. For your second question, the 2500k is more than you need for gaming, but you have the money so the 2600k will be a nice upgrade. Now the P67 Sabertooth motherboard does just the opposite, It uses airflow from the CPU fan and blows air throughout the whole motherboard. Finally, pretty much any bluray player you get now will be just fine.

Sorry for the long response!



Thanks for the advice. I stuck with the original build plan. I figure if I need more GPU performance I can upgrade later. If my rig runs quietly enough I'll probably just go for a second 560Ti.

I'm actually throwing together a quiet gaming PC myself so some suggestions from what I've picked up at SPCR (great resource for silent PC building).

Best acoustic dampening materials choices would be acoustipack, or foam backed mass loaded vinyl.

http://shop3.mailordercentral.com/supersoundproofing/pr...
http://www.acoustiproducts.com/en/acoustipack.asp

Going big air over cheap water is less noise. Both have a fan, but only 1 has a fan and pump.

Go with a hyrbid fanless/fan PSU, such as the Corsair AX750/850 or seasonic x-750/850 w/e you can get for cheaper (they're same internally).
You'll have no fan noise at all until 350/400W of power usage, which basically means no fan even at full load for a 560 ti (352W system power under furmark).

You can also consider using a Raven 02/02-E or FT02 and passive cooling your CPU. Apparently, yes, you can passively cool even a gulftown i7-980x with these cases and Ap181 fans.
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_conten...

edit: fixed link
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I am in the process of building a similar rig, and can lend you my experience, so far.

Corsair 600 T is an excellent case with both good airflow and quiet fans. I am currently modding mine to add three XIGMATEK Cooling System Crystal Series CLF-F1254 120mm White LED Case Fans. I am replacing the top fan with two Xigis to increase airflow (from approx 80 cfm to 140 cfm), and replacing the rear case fan for quieter operation (the Xigis are rated at under 20 dB.

While the ASUS P67 Sabertooth is excellent, I decided to wait until May for the Z68 motherboards to come out. I bought the Biostar H67+. I am impressed with the Sabertooth shroud for isolating the MB from GPU & CPU heat, and will try to go with the Sabertooth Z68 when it comes out.

I went with the i5 2500K because of price and OC ability. Presently, the i7 2600K is overkill for games. Unless you have CPU intensive apps the 2500K is better value.

I went with a PNY GTX 470 that I picked up for $150. I am modding it with the Zalman 3000VF for cooling and quiet. It handles all games I have thrown at it on max settings, but the stock cooling on reference cards sucks. If you are going for the GTX 570 or 580 make sure it has good cooling (dual fans or a cyclone design that dissapates heat well). The case design of the 600 T takes care of the excess heat.

I have the Corsair 650W TX PSU because I don't SLI or crossfire, but wanted to have overhead for a good PSU. If I change my mind about SLI, I'll upgrade.

The Antec 620 H2O is an excellent choice, but you should also consider its clone the Corsair H60.

I chose a Crucial 300 128 GB SSD for my boot and it runs cool and quiet. I highly recomment getting a SATA 3 compliant SSD as the SSD is one device that can use the bandwidth.

I got the WD 640 GB Cavair Black HDD with 64 MB cache (running on SATA 3) for storage. If I get another SSD the HDD can be put on SATA 2 with little or no degradation in access speed.

I am installing the Silverstone silencing foam this week, but I don't expect a great drop in noise. My system is already SAD (Silent And Deadly).

If you can afford it I'd suggest the Corsair Dominator RAM -- the current speed champ.

I have a legacy Creative Platinum Audigy 2 card for my sound -- I'd only give it up for the Creative Titanium.

I also have a legacy Klipsch 5.1 sound system -- it is the bomb.

You might think of running multiple monitors for full game immersion.

As I said, my system is SAD, and because I am a bit of an amature audiophile, it plays music, and runs multimedia wonderfully.

Good luck with your build.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... Combo Discount: -$30.00 Combo Price: $299.98
ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... Combo Discount: -$20.00 Combo Price: $209.98 $10.00 Mail-In Rebate Card Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $199.98
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... Combo Discount: -$10.00 Combo Price: $554.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $534.9
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video ...
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
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