Help balance silence with performance. Ultimate "Relatively Quiet" Gaming PC project!

[Karura]

I am trying to build a PC that is high performance, yet as silent as it could be, without sacrificing cooling. (We definitely don't want anything melting!)

Did I mention that it will all be air cooled?

Basically I am trying to pick parts that have a good balance of performance and low noise, especially fans. I am hoping that by using proper noise dampening materials, and low noise fans, I will be able to accomplish this project.

I plan to use the following parts:

Motherboard: ASUS Rampage III Extreme

CPU: Intel Core i7-950 3.06GHz (overclocked to ~4.0GHz)

Memory: GeiL Black Dragon 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3-2000

Storage: OCZ RevoDrive 120GB PCI-E SSD (Boot drive,) WD Raptor 150GB, Seagate Barracuda 1TB.

GPU: XFX 9800GX2 Black Edition

PSU: Corsair HX1000W

NIC: Intel PRO/1000 CT

Sound Card: Onkyo SE-200PCI LTD

Enclosure: SilverStone TJ10B-W

Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-205

Other parts:

CPU Cooler: Thermalright TRUE Copper

Card Reader: AFT PRO-35U

Acoustic Dampening: AcoustiPack ULTIMATE PC Soundproofing Kit
AcoustiPack EXTRA Foam Blocks

Thermal Compund: IC Diamond 24 Carat

Ram Heat Spreaders: 6 x EnzoTech DDR-C1

Fans: 5 x Noiseblocker Muiltiframe M12-S2 120mm (Case fans)
2 x Noiseblocker Multiframe M12-PS 120mm (CPU fans)
1 x Corsair Airflow 2 GTL (Memory cooler, not sure if this will fit.)

HDD Enclosures: 1 x GUP SMART DRIVE Copper (WD Raptor 150GB)
1 x GUP SMART DRIVE 2002C (Seagate Barracuda 1TB)

Lighting: 1 x Logisys 20" CCFL Frontal Light Bar

Bolded parts are the ones I am scraping from my previous PC.



1. I will be using this computer mostly for gaming (WoW, FPS, everything,) listening to music with Hi-Fi components, and recording (guitars, vocals, etc) once I acquire the right equipment for it.

2. My budget is very flexible, but it is around $2500CAD. The thing is, I am going to use a few parts from my previous PC that are still good in this new rig, so that will probably add up to another $1000 worth of parts.

3. I live in Canada, but not all the parts I want are here, so I will be buying my parts from Canada, USA, Japan and Germany.

4. I am an Intel and Nvidia fanboy; however, either ATI or Nvidia is fine for me seeing as they're both decent.

5. I intend to use my old PSU, GPU, a few harddrives (one WD Raptor,) and two SMART DRIVE 3.5" HDD enclosures.

6. I have looked all over the net, but I haven't found anyone trying to build a quiet gaming rig. It is always either about pure OC/cooling or pure silence.

7. I want to overclock my processor to 4.0GHz, but I am afraid that this might be too much for my cooling system to handle, I'll leave this up to you guys to critique.

8. I am planning to game at 1920x1080.

9. I plan to build the PC within a month from now, or at the very least order all the parts.

10. I understand, seriously understand that silence and overclocking do not go hand-in-hand, but perhaps it is possible if I use the right parts. Bring on the critique.

Thanks.

 

[darkewaffle]

Quiet + 9800GX2 + Raptor + overclocking = wat

You can actually achieve relatively quiet, but performance silence isn't going to happen.

With your budget why aren't you going liquid if it's that important? And what's with all the unnecessary expenses and the international shipping?

Don't need 12GB RAM, and as nice as the Revodrive performs I still hear it can be a lot more trouble than it's worth until the tech matures a bit more. Chances are you don't need the NIC, sound card, or card reader (well maybe on the card reader) but it just seems like you're throwing everything in here just because you can.

Further, just because you're going for quiet doesn't mean you need to cool everything. Actually it's kind of counter intuitive. The idea here should be good airflow and a few quality case fans, skip all the RAM crap. You don't need it.

Also a fan controller. Noiseblocker's are quiet by nature, but that's no reason to not be able to take it a step further. Fans are your case's noise, and if you're concerned about noise when recording (Just a guess) then you'll appreciate being able to turn them way down during such idle periods.

Also such a big case is going to make those already low CFM fans even less effective. Not to mention it's hella expensive.

Same for the motherboard. Overpriced, not worth the premium given what you're doing.

As for your options, replace your PSU with a Seasonic Xseries, which are basically fanless idle and have exceptional fans and internal fan control. Also upgrade your video card, the 9800GX2 sits around par with a 5770/450GTS. Both of which are sidegrades but will draw much less power, create less heat, and be quieter. Additionally anything above those cards would be significant performance increases with many of the same benefits. Also laptop hard drives are excellent choices for quiet systems over full size drives.

 

[Zap]

Hello Karura, and welcome to Anandtech Forums.

The first thing you need to do is to change terminology. Instead of "silent" you should be thinking "quiet." The thing is no matter how "silent" you think a computer is, if it has moving parts (and sometimes even if it doesn't, depending on coil whine and capacitor squeal) it is not silent. You can only dampen, muffle and block so much noise. The hands down best method of making something quiet is to start by having it not make much noise to begin with.

Enough of the boring part. Let's go on with parts recommendations! I will just italicize what you wrote and put my comments after.




Did I mention that it will all be air cooled?
Okay. However, have you considered all-in-one liquid coolers like the Corsair H50 and the CoolIt Eco?

Basically I am trying to pick parts that have a good balance of performance and low noise, especially fans. I am hoping that by using proper noise dampening materials, and low noise fans, I will be able to accomplish this project.
You will accomplish more by creating less noise, not by blocking noise. Fans are a start, but any fan sold as "low noise" basically means it spins slower and pushes less air. You can't get around that fact. Some fans (based on blade design, etc) are slightly better than others, but otherwise it is a universal relative fact.

Motherboard: ASUS Rampage III Extreme
Good board, but maybe overkill. What does this board give you that you want or need? You can get SATA 6G and USB 3 in cheaper boards, and all X58 boards (even the Intel) are overclockable and have at least two PCIe x16 slots. Nearly $400 is a lot of money to dump into a mobo.

CPU: Intel Core i7-950 3.06GHz
Good choice.

Memory: GeiL Black Dragon 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3-2000
Overkill. Unless your computer is used only for benchmarking, save money here by going with DDR-1600 or even DDR-1333. Just get stuff that only requires 1.5v for the rated speed.

Storage: OCZ RevoDrive 120GB PCI-E SSD (Boot drive,) WD Raptor 150GB, Seagate Barracuda 1TB.
Your first huge mistake. Unless it is a VelociRaptor, ditch that Raptor. Just get rid of it! Heck, a $70 1TB Samsung F1 will spank it in everything (except straight access) and be very quiet without fancy noise blocking enclosures. My recommendation would be to actually NOT buy the RevoDrive, and instead buy a single SATA 240GB SSD for a bit more. The RevoDrive is expensive for the capacity, and while it is "faster" than SATA SSDs, I'm not sure you will feel a difference. Going from the Raptor to even the cheapest current SSD on the market (like a Kingston V+ series) will net a HUGE performance gain. Going from a cheap SSD to a super expensive SSD will net a huge performance gain... in benchmarks! In real world seat-of-pants feel, they would likely be very similar, however you will feel the difference in wallet thickness. Don't know about Canadian pricing, but in the States an OCZ Vertex 2 240GB costs $400 while the OCZ RevoDrive 120GB costs $300 (both after rebate).

GPU: XFX 9800GX2 Black Edition
Your second huge mistake. If you are not going water cooling, then you need to replace this. If you are an NVIDIA fan then just get a GTX 460 1GB. Alternately the GTX 470 pricing is good and the performance is a step up, but it may be noisier under load. Alternately go for one of the new ATI 6850/6870 cards.

PSU: Corsair HX1000W
Good.

NIC: Intel PRO/1000 CT
Unnecessary. What do you expect to gain from a network card that the built-in motherboard NIC won't give you? Uh huh. That's right.

Sound Card: Onkyo SE-200PCI LTD
Wow, had to look that one up. Are the Auzentech sound cards too pedestrian for you? I can understand wanting a good card but this seems overkill even for good sound cards.

Enclosure: SilverStone TJ10B-W
Okay.

Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-205
Okay.

CPU Cooler: Thermalright TRUE Copper
Okay. Performance is good but it really depends on the fan. Also, the full copper version is not much better than the normal one, while being a lot heavier/expensive.

Acoustic Dampening: AcoustiPack ULTIMATE PC Soundproofing Kit
AcoustiPack EXTRA Foam Blocks
It is 100x better to not create sound versus trying to block or absorb sound.

Thermal Compund: IC Diamond 24 Carat
Some more overkill.

Ram Heat Spreaders: 6 x EnzoTech DDR-C1
What is your obsession with RAM? Just live with what is on the RAM you buy.

Fans: 5 x Noiseblocker Muiltiframe M12-S2 120mm (Case fans)
2 x Noiseblocker Multiframe M12-PS 120mm (CPU fans)
1 x Corsair Airflow 2 GTL (Memory cooler, not sure if this will fit.)
Ditch the memory cooler and just run slower memory. Memory coolers typically use tiny fans which end up being the noisiest and dying the quickest.

HDD Enclosures: 1 x GUP SMART DRIVE Copper (WD Raptor 150GB)
1 x GUP SMART DRIVE 2002C (Seagate Barracuda 1TB)
It is 100x better to not create sound versus trying to block or absorb sound.

7. I want to overclock my processor to 4.0GHz, but I am afraid that this might be too much for my cooling system to handle
The cooling system can handle it. The real question is at what noise level.

 

[Zap]

Double post, but looks like darkewaffle and I have similar thoughts. I just took longer to write more. :sneaky:

You can actually achieve relatively quiet, but performance silence isn't going to happen.

Bolded important part.

Further, just because you're going for quiet doesn't mean you need to cool everything. Actually it's kind of counter intuitive. The idea here should be good airflow and a few quality case fans, skip all the RAM crap. You don't need it.

This was what I was trying to say, heh.

Also a fan controller. Noiseblocker's are quiet by nature, but that's no reason to not be able to take it a step further. Fans are your case's noise, and if you're concerned about noise when recording (Just a guess) then you'll appreciate being able to turn them way down during such idle periods.

Extremely good point. When you are gaming you won't hear any fan noises above your speakers/headphones.

Same for the motherboard. Overpriced, not worth the premium given what you're doing.

Wow, we're on the same wavelength!

Also upgrade your video card, the 9800GX2 sits around par with a 5770/450GTS. Both of which are sidegrades but will draw much less power, create less heat, and be quieter.

Re-emphasized!

Also laptop hard drives are excellent choices for quiet systems over full size drives.

Another good point. 1TB notebook drives aren't that expensive, but ARE as close to silent as possible with spindle HDDs. They of course are a lot slower than a 7200RPM 3.5" drive, but typically when used in conjunction with an SSD, a HDD is just for data storage and not to run stuff off.

 

[piasabird]

Put computer on other side of wall.

 

[muskie32]

You said you were not water cooling....

But did not say you where not mineral oil cooling

 

[DominionSeraph]

CPU: Intel Core i7-950 3.06GHz
Good choice.

He wants a quiet PC and a 130W TDP 1366 is a "good choice" over a Lynnfield? On Anand's test system it's ~35% more total system power draw at idle than an i5 750/i7 860, and that's including a GTX 280 in both. 20% more draw at load.

 

[mfenn]

Quiet + 9800GX2 + Raptor + overclocking = wat

My reaction exactly! :awe:

Op, darke and Zap have given you some good advice. I'd take it a step further and get an i5 760 based rig. Similar gaming performance, lower TDP.

 

[mosox]

+1 for the I5 760. And you can get the HD 6850 for lower power consumption.

 

[Karura]

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their input and lightning fast replies!

This is my first time building a PC without any help, so I am still somewhat inexperienced.

After reading the responses, I came up with a few new thoughts!
1. I should start using quiet instead of silent, since that is what I am striving for. My bad with the wrong terminology!

2. I am going to change my approach to this. Instead of going for low noise as the top priority, I want to have performance, but minimize the noise level. So I feel that I would still like to use the i7-950 and have a decent video card.

3. I have considered getting a different CPU cooler, but it seems like the H70, with a pump and all, will be significantly louder than TRUE + Noiseblockers. I was also recommended the HR-02 and NH-D14. Any thoughts or feelings on this?

4. About the video card, it seems like it would be a wise decision to upgrade/change it. I want to buy a new card in the future, but as of right now, would it be alright to lower the fan speed on the 9800GX2 with software or should I not even consider this?

5. Does 30dBA sound like a reasonable goal? How many decibels is considered to be "relatively quiet?" I am going to be using my computer in the basement, and the ambient noise level there is quite low.

6. I used to use the WD Raptor as the system drive, but now that I am considering the OCZ RevoDrive, I guess I can get rid of this. Should I still keep one or two 7200RPM drives for data storage?

7. As for the sound card, I plan to setup a 2.2 speakers audio rig in the near future, so I was thinking.
SE-200PCI LTD -> Stereo Receiver -> Speakers/Subwoofers

Another question regarding sound card is that, would it help offload some work from the CPU and help improve performance in gaming? (like 2-3 FPS)

8. Last but not least, I heard good things about the Intel CT NIC, so would including that help boost my internet performance? I guess since the Rampage III Extreme's on-board NIC is already Intel, it shouldn't make a big difference.

I guess to sum everything up, I would like to have a powerful overclocked performance PC, but make an additional effort to reduce noise! Please let me know what you guys think! I really appreciate all the insight and comments you guys are giving me.

New goal: Relatively quiet performance PC!

Edit:

I forgot to mention. Would it be a good idea to open up the HX1000W and install a Noiseblocker 140mm fan so that it becomes more silent, as an alternative instead of buying a Seasonic X-750?

 

[DominionSeraph]

Enjoy your turbine.

 

[Karura]

Enjoy your turbine.

=/ Are you trying to say that my efforts are futile?

 

[mosox]

The i7-950 isn't really better in gaming than the I5 760.

 

[TheStu]

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their input and lightning fast replies!

This is my first time building a PC without any help, so I am still somewhat inexperienced.

After reading the responses, I came up with a few new thoughts!

Proceed...

2. I am going to change my approach to this. Instead of going for low noise as the top priority, I want to have performance, but minimize the noise level. So I feel that I would still like to use the i7-950 and have a decent video card.

How long are you planning on keeping this system? Because although multi-threading is become more and more common it still isn't there, so a Core i5 would probably work just as well if you are planning to upgrade again in maybe 2-3 years.

5. Does 30dBA sound like a reasonable goal? How many decibels is considered to be "relatively quiet?" I am going to be using my computer in the basement, and the ambient noise level there is quite low.

30db is rated on this[L]
site as being a whisper quiet library, so pretty darn quiet. I would say that is attainable, I think mine might be that quiet.

6. I used to use the WD Raptor as the system drive, but now that I am considering the OCZ RevoDrive, I guess I can get rid of this. Should I still keep one or two 7200RPM drives for data storage?

Can a PCI-E SSD be used a boot drive? And as Zap pointed out, just getting a regular SSD, or something like the Crucial C300 series that can actually tap into SATA 6Gb/s would be a better way to go. As for the 7200 RPM drives, I offer anecdotal evidence from my computer; I have 4 7200 RPM drives in my tower, along with an OCed Core 2 Duo and a GTX 260. Unless my ear is IN the case, I cannot hear it at all, and I am very sensitive to noise levels.

7. As for the sound card, I plan to setup a 2.2 speakers audio rig in the near future, so I was thinking.
SE-200PCI LTD -> Stereo Receiver -> Speakers/Subwoofers

Why not tie into the receiver through optical or digital coax?

Another question regarding sound card is that, would it help offload some work from the CPU and help improve performance in gaming? (like 2-3 FPS)

I can't say that it will be overly necessary to care about that aspect. Not when you are talking about quad cores with hyperthreading, 12GB RAM and SSDs. The minute amount of CPU overhead than an onboard card might add is probably something in the 0% range.

8. Last but not least, I heard good things about the Intel CT NIC, so would including that help boost my internet performance? I guess since the Rampage III Extreme's on-board NIC is already Intel, it shouldn't make a big difference.

Do you have gigabit internet? Have you run a speed test and found that your ISP is not delvering your full speed unto you? I ask these things because for as long as I have had onboard ethernet, I have never had a problem, and I don't think many others have as well.

I guess to sum everything up, I would like to have a powerful overclocked performance PC, but make an additional effort to reduce noise! Please let me know what you guys think! I really appreciate all the insight and comments you guys are giving me.

New goal: Relatively quiet performance PC!

Edit:

I forgot to mention. Would it be a good idea to open up the HX1000W and install a Noiseblocker 140mm fan so that it becomes more silent, as an alternative instead of buying a Seasonic X-750?

I say buy everything but the stuff to deal with the noise. Don't get the aftermarket fans or padding or any of that stuff at first. Put your computer together, get it all running and then decide if it is necessary.

 

[DominionSeraph]

=/ Are you trying to say that my efforts are futile?

You have a really poor foundation. 130W TDP 1366 proc; dual-gpu board; Raptor. You expect to put that into a case that has holes everywhere and expect it to be quiet?

Go 1156. It's a more efficient baseline. Less heat = less cooling required = less noise.
Then find a case that will serve as a foundation for controlling the air path. You do NOT want a straight air path from a noise-generating object to your ear, and that's exactly what you're gonna get with a blowhole and side vents. You want to shield those fans from your ears, not put them right out in the open.

 

[s44]

I'm with everyone else above (forget OC, sell the vidcard, and get GTX460/68*0 or just go water!), but I'll further note that a soundcard is now a gigantic waste of money. HDMI (from your new vidcard) straight to an AVR will give you the best connection.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Here's a much better build in terms of quietness that will be much friendlier on your wallet, AND be nearly indistinguishable from your original build performance wise (better in some areas, slightly worse in others):

Processor
i7-870 - $290

Motherboard
ASUS P7P55D-E Pro - $189

Memory
G.Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1333 - $140

Graphics Card (Choose One)
EVGA GTX 460 1GB - $200
Sapphire HD 6870 - $240

OS / App Drive (Choose One)
Corsair Force 120GB (Sandforce) - $240
Crucial C300 128GB (Micron) - $270

Games / Storage Drive
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB - $70

Sound Card (or skip if you have an external receiver and use the motherboard's onboard SPDIF => receiver)
ASUS Xonar Essence STX - $200 (Stereo speakers / headphones ONLY - no surround sound)

Power Supply (Or keep your current PSU)
Seasonic X-650 - $140 (80Plus Gold, Delta fan)

Heatsink (Choose One)
Prolimatech Megahalems - $62 (no fans included)
Noctua NH-U12P - $75 (includes fans)

Thermal Compound
Shin-Etsu G751 - $5

Case
Silverstone FT02 - $230 (often regarded as the best case in terms of quietness / air flow combined)

 

[Karura]

Wow, I am amazed by the insight you guys have to offer. I am very glad that I registered on this forum!

I think TheStu's got a point about building my core rig before all the accessories, and s44 thanks for pointing out that everything now is HDMI. With the sound card I was going to get, I planned to use the digital out 192 kHz sample rate to output to a stereo receiver, and I'm sure that would be good enough. Is HDMI better than digital 192 kHz out?

Thanks CurseTheSky for your recommended parts, I will definitely look through that and give it some consideration.

Last thing I can think of right now, I plan to use my rig for 5 years, so I want it to be good enough to last a while. I know futureproof is impossible (as seen with my 9800GX2) but I want a decent rig that will last me.

Oh I forgot to mention, while looking for VGA cooling solutions, I encountered this.

It seems like it is a costly and perhaps, not very economical method; however, I must admit, it looks amazing!

Perhaps I can purchase a two HD 5850s, attach a HR-03 to both of them, and then crossfire it together? Then again, it sounds like that would take up all my PCI-E slots. Hmm... I will put some more thought into it tomorrow!
h

Edit: I forgot to answer a few more questions.

The OCZ RevoDrive is the only PCI-E SSD in Raid 0 that can be used as a boot disk and it seems to be running ok as long as you have the latest bios for your mobo. That being said, should I still go for it instead of just using a OCZ Vertex 2 Pro or something? Also thanks Zap and everyone else for your input, I'm just taking my time to read over everything and consider it.

One more Q.

Do fan controllers normally control the case fans only? Or do people also connect the CPU heatsink fans and PSU exhaust fans to it as well?

 

[CurseTheSky]

Last thing I can think of right now, I plan to use my rig for 5 years, so I want it to be good enough to last a while. I know futureproof is impossible (as seen with my 9800GX2) but I want a decent rig that will last me.

I suggest sticking with middle-of-the-road parts then, and upgrading pieces bit by bit. If you spend $400 on the processor / motherboard now and another $400 on the processor / motherboard in 2-3 years, you'll get a better bang for your buck than spending $800 now and none in 2-3 years. 5 years is a LONG time in the technology world - if you're using a 5 year old rig today, it'd most likely be an Athlon 64 / Athlong 64 X2, or Pentium 4 / Pentium D. Ancient.

Oh I forgot to mention, while looking for VGA cooling solutions, I encountered this.

It seems like it is a costly and perhaps, not very economical method; however, I must admit, it looks amazing!

Perhaps I can purchase a two HD 5850s, attach a HR-03 to both of them, and then crossfire it together? Then again, it sounds like that would take up all my PCI-E slots. Hmm... I will put some more thought into it tomorrow!

I'd stick with a single graphics card, especially if you want to keep things quiet. SLI and Crossfire will dump nearly double the heat into your case, and even if the cards themselves run relatively cool, all of that heat has to go somewhere (causing your CPU to heat up, for example).

The OCZ RevoDrive is the only PCI-E SSD in Raid 0 that can be used as a boot disk and it seems to be running ok as long as you have the latest bios for your mobo. That being said, should I still go for it instead of just using a OCZ Vertex 2 Pro or something? Also thanks Zap and everyone else for your input, I'm just taking my time to read over everything and consider it.

I would personally stick with something that I KNEW worked, without screwing with motherboard BIOS versions or other drivers. Maybe you can boot from it, but what happens if your motherboard dies in a couple of years and you find out that your new motherboard doesn't support booting from the PCI-E SSD? Get a 2.5" SSD and call it a day.

Do fan controllers normally control the case fans only? Or do people also connect the CPU heatsink fans and PSU exhaust fans to it as well?

You could rig it up to control the CPU fan or PSU fans, but it would take some modding and generally isn't worth the effort. CPU fans usually use a 4-pin PWM connection that allows the motherboard to directly control the fan speed based on the CPU's current temperature. Buy a quiet PWM fan and you're golden. PSUs have their own temperature / fan speed circuitry, and it's best to let them do their thing on their own.

 

[Axon]

I effected something similar to this with my primary rig last year. Let me preface this by saying that it CAN be done, at least making the PC volume so low that you won't notice it unless you're actively trying to... if you're willing to go all the way and not skimp on price.

My recommendations:

1. CPU isn't as critical to silence as your cooling option is, and in particular, your fan choice. IMO, there are only two choices for near silence in fans: the scythe gentle typhoon, and the little known but baller noiseblocker NB-multiframe rubber casing series: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/84...5s60b160#blank

That is the best fan I've ever owned and well worth the price premium. At 1600 RPM it makes no discernible sound that I can pick up. I would pair it with a Prolimatech Megahelms. One review there bitches that he can hear it, but he must have surgically implanted dog ears because I can't really hear 15-20 dba from 4 feet away with a case over it.

Remember that as long as you don't stress your system too much, you don't need insane amounts of fans. 3-4 should do ya.

Also, I do have my CPU fan rigged to my fan controller. I love it. I'm never going back. Plus...my fan is so quiet you can't hear it at max RPM anyway. At least I can't.

2. GPU: It's a good time for this right now. I highly suggest the "vanilla" GTX 460 1GB or the AMD 6850. Both feature a center mounted fan and make substantially less noise that the back-mounted exhaust fan.

3. Casing and insulation: you can insulate your case to minimize noise, but you have to ask yourself: how crazy am I? Is this worth it? Does it really matter that I hear a soft "wrrr" when I'm playing SC2 or sexting my girlfriend over IM?

If the answer is yes, insulate case. Pay $100 more.

If the answer is no, do not insulate case. Pay $100 less.

4. Hard Drive: no brainer. SSD. No moving parts.

5. PSU: you're good on that.

 

[Zap]

He wants a quiet PC and a 130W TDP 1366 is a "good choice" over a Lynnfield?

Not necessarily, but it isn't necessarily louder either. However, you make a good point. Loaded P55 mobos can be had for under $200 and the CPUs are cheaper too.

This is my first time building a PC without any help, so I am still somewhat inexperienced.

Oh boy!

3. I have considered getting a different CPU cooler, but it seems like the H70, with a pump and all, will be significantly louder than TRUE + Noiseblockers. I was also recommended the HR-02 and NH-D14. Any thoughts or feelings on this?

Air cooling highly depends on airflow. More airflow = better cooling = more noise. Yes, a TRUE can be set up for super quiet operation, but then it won't perform anywhere close to what it is capable of.

Liquid cooling seems less susceptible to airflow.

4. About the video card, it seems like it would be a wise decision to upgrade/change it. I want to buy a new card in the future, but as of right now, would it be alright to lower the fan speed on the 9800GX2 with software or should I not even consider this?

Why in the future and not now? You will see more gains out of a new graphics card than out of a standalone Intel NIC or the Core i7 950 over the Core i5 760, but you were considering those other parts.

5. Does 30dBA sound like a reasonable goal? How many decibels is considered to be "relatively quiet?"

See, dBA is an absolute number yet you just mentioned "relatively." Yes, "noise" is relative, to your ears, to ambient noise, etc. I'd say go for what is quiet to your ears. If you aim for an actual number and then buy a sound level meter and find you are at 31dBA or something, you might go nuts trying to figure out what is putting you over that elusive clean round number.

6. I used to use the WD Raptor as the system drive, but now that I am considering the OCZ RevoDrive, I guess I can get rid of this. Should I still keep one or two 7200RPM drives for data storage?

If it is pure data storage and you are spending money on it, get a 5400RPM 2TB drive.

7. As for the sound card, I plan to setup a 2.2 speakers audio rig in the near future, so I was thinking.
SE-200PCI LTD -> Stereo Receiver -> Speakers/Subwoofers

Another question regarding sound card is that, would it help offload some work from the CPU and help improve performance in gaming? (like 2-3 FPS)

Any extra CPU cycles that onboard audio imposes on your system, real or imagined, would be so miniscule with such a fast CPU that you won't notice any difference. Some people can hear a difference, but that is subjective.

If you are going to a receiver, get one with SPDIF inputs and use the SPDIF outputs on your motherboard (make sure it has one on the I/O area, and with the same interface ie optical or coax). Digital stereo is digital stereo. I don't think up-scaling the bit rate will make games or MP3s sound any better, and unless you were recording in the higher bit rate...

8. Last but not least, I heard good things about the Intel CT NIC, so would including that help boost my internet performance? I guess since the Rampage III Extreme's on-board NIC is already Intel, it shouldn't make a big difference.

Yes, Intel NICs tend to be better than others. However, your "internet performance" is probably 70% your connection to the ISP and 30% how much traffic the site you are going to has at that exact time. Now, I just pulled numbers out of my ass, but here's one number that is more or less true.

Unless something is broken or something is eating bandwidth in the background (thus a QoS device like the Killer NIC), changing from one gigabit NIC to another gigabit NIC will have ZERO impact on your internet performance.

I forgot to mention. Would it be a good idea to open up the HX1000W and install a Noiseblocker 140mm fan so that it becomes more silent, as an alternative instead of buying a Seasonic X-750?

No, you void warranty and the PSU is already quieter than the video card (even newer ones). Until it inherits the position as the loudest part of your system, leave it alone.

I say buy everything but the stuff to deal with the noise. Don't get the aftermarket fans or padding or any of that stuff at first. Put your computer together, get it all running and then decide if it is necessary.

:thumbsup:

 

[mfenn]

I'm with everyone else above (forget OC, sell the vidcard, and get GTX460/68*0 or just go water!), but I'll further note that a soundcard is now a gigantic waste of money. HDMI (from your new vidcard) straight to an AVR will give you the best connection.

Good point. Pretty much all of the new GPUs with HDMI have their own audio hardware integrated. If you're going to a receiver anyway, there's really no point to getting a soundcard.

OP, listed to Cursethesky and Zap, they know what they're talking about. Don't be fooled by the bigger numbers that Intel puts on the 1366 parts.

 

[0roo0roo]

Enclosure: SilverStone TJ10B-W

bad case...
you need to start with good fundamentals to get quiet. that is a bling case with no engineering for silence, you need something like an antec p183 or 192. thin aluminum walls and filled with direct path fan holes is just a noise monster, the antecs are built with multi layered panels that are deadened, and air pathways that are baffled, and fans/drives that are suspended. silverstone is built for looks, you tap that case and it will ring like a bell like the cheap cases...antec will make a dull thud, as any case going for silence should. antec also make some special psu for the 182/92 series that have the fan orientated towards the back which is more efficient than the regular odd way of a fan blowing up against the top and trying to leave 90 degrees to the back, this setup makes them taller, and nonstandard size but will fit antec cases.

 

[CurseTheSky]

bad case...
you need to start with good fundamentals to get quiet. that is a bling case with no engineering for silence, you need something like an antec p183 or 192. thin aluminum walls and filled with direct path fan holes is just a noise monster, the antecs are built with multi layered panels that are deadened, and air pathways that are baffled, and fans/drives that are suspended. silverstone is built for looks, you tap that case and it will ring like a bell like the cheap cases...antec will make a dull thud, as any case going for silence should. antec also make some special psu for the 182/92 series that have the fan orientated towards the back which is more efficient than the regular odd way of a fan blowing up against the top and trying to leave 90 degrees to the back, this setup makes them taller, and nonstandard size but will fit antec cases.

The Antec Performance series (P180 and related) are decent for keeping things quiet, but NOT for keeping things cool. To really quiet them down, you either have to go with low RPM fans and starve your components for air, or go with medium speed fans and deal with a bit of noise.

My FT01-BW is much quieter than the P182 that it replaced, and it moves a ton more air thanks to the 2x180mm fans and better internal layout. My FT02-B, with 3x180mm fans, was nearly inaudible while making the P182 look like a joke for cooling. That P182 had all of the stock fans replaced with Yate Loon D12SL's, and while it was very quiet, the CPU idled at ~50C. The FT01-BW is as quiet or perhaps quieter than the P182, and the CPU idles around 44C at the same ambient temperatures. On the other hand, when I upgrade the P182's fans to Scythe S-Flex F's, the cooling was a bit better but the noise drove me nuts.

The PSU you mentioned is the CP-850W. It's a much taller form factor, and ONLY fits the Antec P183, P193, and Twelve Hundred cases. Meaning, if you get that PSU and one of those cases, then upgrade the case later down the road to something from Silverstone, Lian-Li, etc., you have to upgrade the PSU as well. There are a few other rear-blowing PSUs available in the normal ATX form factor, such as the Antec Signature series and PC Power & Cooling Silencer (if it's still available). You'd probably be better off with a Seasonic X-series, though.

 

[Karura]

At the very least, in addition to purchasing the main parts, I plan to buy Noiseblocker fans. I just have some quick questions regarding which model.

http://www.noiseblocker.de/en/Multiframe120.php

I see atleast two solutions:

1. 2 x M12-P 2000rpm PWM fans for CPU cooling, which are at 29dBA max (what Axon recommended.)
5 x M12-S3HS 1800rpm at 27dBA for case fans.

or I could go slightly less fan power, less noise

2. 2 x M12-PS 1500rpm PWM fans for CPU cooling, which are 23dBA, significantly less noise than the M12-P, but less performance?
5 x M12-S2 1250rpm at 19dBA.

Could someone look at the website and let me know what you think?

Basically I want to use my option 2., but would that be insufficient air cooling to cool a i7-950 (if I were to go i7?)

If not, I can suck it up and get the louder fans in option 1., but maybe option 2. is good enough?

Right now I am looking at video cards to replace my 9800GX2.

Also, I am planning to setup Wake on LAN (WAN, to be more specific) on this PC; however, after reading about it, it seems like only a few specific NICs support this function, and the Intel one does. Maybe the onboard ASUS Rampage III Extreme (which also uses an Intel controller) NIC works too, but I don't know. Perhaps I will try it out first before buying the NIC.

Also, I am ditching the RAM cooler. I just put it on the list so I could get some opinions on it. Seems like a bad idea.

Thanks again everyone, keep the insightful comments coming!

Edit: I am upgrading from a P182 which is completely demolished (the case is literally half way from being torn in half at the front "plastic section" of the case. I'm not talking about the door, but the WHOLE front section.) from lugging it around and riding the car. The TJ10B-W is a classy looking case, that is why I chose it. I thought maybe if I applied acoustic dampening to the thin aluminum side panels, it would be quiet enough.