PSU and Case for Mid-High-Range Silent Setup Needed

[Smyco]

Hello. I have recently joined and gotten great advice along the way so far. At this stage I am thinking about a good and hopefully silent PSU as well as a case. Perhaps you can give a novice some good advice? I would appreciate it.

This is where I am at the moment. The computer is for gaming, video & music editing, recording and encoding, general small desktop office applications, email and web. The gaming part of this is not such a big part of it, though it should be able to take the workload is needed at a later stage.

I am looking for a good, silent PSU possibly Gold that will deliver enough power and leaves room for upgrades of the system at a later stage, so 650 or 720 or do I not need that much?

It should be modular as well I think since I like to have one the cables I need to have. The silence part of this would be important however a louder PSU is also welcome if the values are much better.

Are there generally makes I should stick to?

Are there makes specifically for silent PSUs? Which are those?

Here the list so far:

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.76 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 4GB Video Card ($529.99 @ Newegg)

For the case I had the Node 605 in mind, however I am up for good suggestions considering design and silence. It does not need to be an HTPC case at all, but I do like the look of it, though I don't know if it is silent. Would the EVGA GeForce GTX 680 4GB fit in there actually?

I have 2 other SATA drives and this E-MU 1212m audio card that I need to run 100%. If there is room for more drives the better.

A Mid Tower case would do as well if thought through. For example what I like about the H2 is that is has this bay for top mounting a drive.

An HTPC case with such a mount bay would be ideal for me, lol. I am not kidding, I do a lot of work on PCs and constantly have other drives running, checking, fixing, formatting, so an easy swap drive case is also great.

Case: Fractal Design Node 605 HTPC Case ($159.40 @ Amazon)

Thanks heaps for your input, can't wait to get my hands on building this.

 

[excella1221]

Fractal Design cases are popular for being silent, so the Node is probably a good choice.

As for the PSU, any of these would be enough for your system, and I don't know of any noise issues with them either.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182262&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703035&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

There isn't much difference between Bronze and Gold, any 80 Plus certification is good so don't think about it too much. The Capstone is gold though.

Here's one from Seasonic, though it's too expensive for my liking.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151098&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

P.S - If you haven't bought any of the components you mentioned above, consider dropping the 680 as it performs too close to the 670 - you're basically paying ~$100 for a 5% increase in performance from the latter.

 

[Smyco]

Thank you for your reply. I am happy to get some help and advice.

You mention "is probably a good case.." and the Node being a HTPC case someone else in another thread has mentioned that they are not good for gaming. So I am confused wether the Node might support that load while being silent and moderately cooling the system. I am not expecting an ice cold CPU but know what heat can do to drives over time.

This leads me to the other question about HTPC cases in general. Some of them are shown in the galleries of the manufactures as a single standing machine in the middle of the living room with no screen or keyboard near them. So where does the operator sit then? On the sofa? Doing everything over a wireless keyboard?

About the graphics card I think I will go with your advice then. The 670 FTW 4GB should do as well. Does it really need 4GB RAM btw? Considering the lower cost an SLI of two 660 or two 670 might come in handy at a later stage. Then the PSU should be able to support that load so perhaps 650 w or 720 W are needed then? Is that a good PSU that supports that load well but also works good if not used to the max? I am not saying I plan to but if it is possible perhaps later I might try SLI and will need more power then. Do you have some recommendations for that scenario as well?

Thanks again so much for the recommendation and explanation about the standards for the PSUs. I will have a look at those.

 

[excella1221]

Well, manofchalk is an expert on these things and he seems to have made a valid point.

Dunno what you mean about the standing machine. It might just be to point out how it would look like and to advertise it since showing other peripherals might defeat that purpose.

2gb of VRAM should be enough for a single monitor system. 750w is highly recommended for 2-way SLI/Crossfire setups.
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=62224&vpn=P1750BNLG9&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1257

 

[Smyco]

Thanks again on your advice with the PSU! Will have a look at it for sure!

Is there a good review perhaps about silent PSUs? Or a good make in general when thinking about powerful and silent PSUs?