Silent Casual gaming - mITX or mATX?

[Deer87]

Hi everyone.

I need some advice on choosing between a mATX and a mITX system.

The story short:
I have started to look around for the replacement for my 5 year old HP desktop.
Im a semi-casual gamer, so my needs are for a solid gaming system, but not necessarry top-notch.
I don't need crystal sharp, multimonitor fps-gaming. But something that can handle games like Skyrim, Civ5, Coh2 as well as future titles in these genres + GTA5, Masseffect and so on.

A major point for me is noise. I need a system that doesn't sound like an asmatic orca, as I am going to play in my living room with my GF still being able to be in the room without being bothered by a wheezing system.
If possible, it should also be fairly portable for the rare but occational LAN-party. (Noise is 1st priority, however)

Im probatly going to buy a system from a danish PC-builder called MM-Vision (some minor tailoring should be possible, as i know a guy there).
I have looked at these two builds:

Low noise mATX-build (https://www.mm-vision.dk/vision-game-green-silent-pc)

CPU: i5-4690 (assuming they let me upgrade from i5-4590)
GPU: ASUS GTX660-DC2-2GD5(i already have this bit)
Mobo: Asus B85M-G
Memory: Kingston 8GB DDR3-1866 HyperX FURY
Case: CoolerMaster Silencio 352
Cooler: Be Quiet Pure Rock
PSU: Seasonic 450RT 80 Gold
SSD: Crucial 256GB MX100
HDD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda (7200rpm, 6GB/s)

Alternative mITX build (https://www.mm-vision.dk/visiongaming/vision-Game-mini-til-lan-party):

CPU: i5-4690 (assuming they let me upgrade from i5-4590)
GPU: ASUS GTX660-DC2-2GD5(i already have this bit)
Mobo:Asus H81I-Plus mITX
Memory: Kingston 8GB DDR3-1866 HyperX FURY
Case: CoolerMaster Elite 130 ITX
Cooler:Scythe CPU-Cooler
PSU: Seasonic 650W 80+ gold
SSD: Crucial 256GB MX100
HDD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda (7200rpm, 6GB/s)

The BitFenix Prodegy case is a possible alternative.
They are both roughly 700 £ whice is also in the ballpark of what im willing to pay.

Also, should i consider a better Mobo, like a Z87 or 97? It will affect the price considerably.
And should I scrap the idea of HDD in the name of silence? Again, the alternative is rather expencive.

To sum up:
Will the mITX build be silent (relatively) or should i stick with a more designated silent case build?
I already bought a decent GPU last year, so i would rather not get rid of it already, unless doing so is directly stupid/counterproductive.
Silence above portability if both cannot be achived.

I hope you can help me with some input or considerations.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

With good, few, and the right fans, any build can be very quiet. The first computer we built at school has a Silverstone Milo ML07 case, two Corsair SP Quiet fans and a Silverstone Strider PSU with a stock Intel CPU cooler for the i5 and a GTX 750i. It is silent enough when gaming that I can't tell whether it is on or not. The build just completed uses a Thermaltake Core V1 with a slow 200mm fan, a Seasonic PSU, and the Intel stock cooler for i5. When it was first turned on, the lights came on, but I had to open the case to check that everything else was working, because I could not tell from the noise.

Maybe I have just been lucky.

The Thermal Core v1 is a cube case and is easy to fit into a bag and transport. The completed build still fits in the box the case came in with the foam packing for longer travel or if more robust protection is needed.

 

[Deer87]

The Thermal Core does look nice.
It is, however, not an option unless i start building the system myself, something I would rather avoid due to a complete lack of tinkering experience apart from a simpel GPU exchange.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Building a system from standard parts is REALLY easy. My Middle School students (11 - 14) can do it. I'd be happy to walk you though it if you wanted to try.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2516487/build-log-mini-itx-middle-school-student-build.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2328703/build-log-mini-itx-middle-school.html

The first build is what I was talking about.

 

[Deer87]

Well, i see your point. I am still reluctant to do it myseof. But anyways, would a Coolermaster 130 elite be a good case for such a build?
I read good things about the Bitfenix on Silentpcreviews, but considering the Coolermaster having the gpu right next to mesh/holes, i have been wondering if it does anything to dampen the noise at all.
Or is dampening in cases a moot point compared to choosing the right components?

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Cooler Master Elite 130 is a good choice. Read the on-line reviews to check. If you choose the right components you can reduce a lot of noise. I think that too many go for budget pars. My Corsair 120mm Quiet fans, are just that.

Same with the CPU cooler, look at what Frosty-tech and others have to say about performance vs noise. Even with GPUs you can go for cool or quiet (or sometimes both)

 

[blue_smoke]

I honestly don't understand how people think it's difficult or risky to build a PC yourself. Literally there isn't a wrong way you can put something in. Usually if it fits w/o force, then that's where it goes. It's adult lego sets people.

I've always liked the Core V1 because if you get a GOOD 200mm fan, that thing will remain frosty and quiet.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

It's all a matter of comfort and confidence. When I was young, I was into motorsport and learned just how much you can mess with things. Many people are more isolated from the nuts and bolts of technology these days; some of my students did not know what a zip-tie. Doing a first build by yourself, in isolation, can be very daunting.


We have made our sales pitch, and the OP gets to decide.

 

[Deer87]

I just looked into the prices on components. If i buy a Danish prices, I save only pebbles by building myself, so the reasons for doing it rely on me wanting to build it, as well as the freedom in choosing parts.
On the other hand, getting a professional to build it, the company is responsible for errors and failurs in 2 years (Danish law) and they have a professional workshop for service.
As for my question, i should maybe take it to the forums on Silentpcreview.
People here seems more concerned with why i consider to buy instead of building than the actual quetion - wheter one or both of the suggested systems are to be considered silent

Im still happy for the response and input i appreciate it

 

[blue_smoke]

Professional to build it. If law requires fixing, then get a pro to build it. Saving nothing from building it yourself isn't worth it if you get a company to build it and if something goes wrong you won't be able to fix it but they are requred to by law.

 

[Deer87]

Okay, i ran it with another forum.
I got the answers - that too many of the components have to be changed in order to lower the noise, so im scrapping the idea of buying a build from MM.

I think I will have to build it myself (so you were right in the end ), and my build now looks like this:

Case: Fractal Design Node 304
Mobo: ASUS Z97I-PLUS
CPU: i5-4690k
GPU: ASUS GTX660-DC2OCPH-2GD5
RAM: Kingston 8GB DDR3-1866 HyperX FURY
SSD: Samsung 250 GB Evo
PSU: Corsair CS550M
Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 1 TB

This thread can be closed.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Thanks for letting us know. Consider posting a build log or a follow-up thread to tell us how it all worked out and how quiet it was and what challenges you faced, that way the next person in your situation will have more information.