Help my convert/upgrade my rig to a near-silent PC

[fuzzybabybunny]

I've got a old desktop. Case is an Antec aluminum all hacked up to take a home built watercooling rig with tubes sticking out and a Chevelle heatercore. I want it to be quieter and I think I'm ready to drop watercooling altogether. Just not worth the trouble.

I'd like to get something that's compact and stylish. Maybe mATX? A quiet powerhouse. Budget of $500 maybe to replace case, CPU, MOBO, and HSF?

CPU -> I have an Intel Q6600 -> Upgrade to some kind of i7/i5

Motherboard -> Upgrade to one that supports i7/i5

Case -> Want a quiet case that can take a couple DVD drives and a few HDDs.

RAM -> I think I still have DDR2... goddamn it ><

Video Card -> Radeon 6870 - I want to keep this

PSU -> FSP 700W - do I need to upgrade this?: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104015

Hard Drive -> will be adding a SSD to replace my shitty rotaries.

Fans -> which ones?

Cooling/HSF -> which ones?

 

[Ken g6]

Hi, Fuzzy,

In order to best help you, we need you to answer the questions in [thread=80121]this stickied thread[/thread]. For instance, because I know you (though I could have looked at your sig), I know you'll likely use this computer for photo work. But there's still lots I don't know, like will you overclock?

You mention "case, CPU, MOBO, and HSF" at the top, but then you mention a SSD. Will all of this stuff have to fit in your $500 budget?

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Thanks. I'm using it for photo work and gaming as well. I compiled this list. What do you think?

http://amzn.com/w/2RNX3RFAQIW1K

Total is about $550, but this is without a PSU or SSD. How does it look? This does not include ultra quiet fans. I don't think I'll be overclocking. If I am, it'll just be a mild one. I've had too many systems get buggy on me with overclocks. I want a quiet, compact, stable system.

Gigabyte Intel Z68 Micro ATX LGA 1155 Motherboard (GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3) by Gigabyte
$114.99

Intel Core i5-2500 Processor 3.3GHz 6 MB Cache Socket LGA1155 by Intel
$209.99

Corsair XMS3 8 GB (2 x 4GB) 1333 MHz PC3-10666 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 by Corsair
$47.99

Antec Mini P180 Case Offered by The Price Pros by Antec
$115.79

Gelid Solutions Tranquillo 2nd Revision CPU Cooler Offered by VirtualSim by Gelid Solutions
$39.98

SilverStone 21-Inch x 15-Inch 4mm Thick 2-Piece Sound Dampening Acoustic EP0M Silent Foam SF01 (Black) by Silverstone
$13.95

EDIT: My FSPGroup 700W PSU shows (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104015)

1 x Main connector (20+4Pin)
1 x 12V(4+4Pin)
6 x peripheral
6 x SATA
2 x Floppy
2 x PCI-E

So I guess I won't need to upgrade the PSU right?

 

[lehtv]

Alright a couple of things. 1. With a non-overclockable CPU you wouldn't benefit a lot from a Z68 board, might as well go with a H61/H67 board. 2. 2500K is just $10 more, one or two lunches isn't a bad price for a 40&#37; overclocking headroom . 3. The P180 is a decent case but does it have to be so compact? P183 is cheaper on newegg.

Here's what I'd pick for $500:

CPU: i5-2400 $190 or i5-2500K $220 (with Z68)
Sink: Stock
Mobo: Biostar H61 $50 or Asrock Z68 Pro3 $105 (with 2500K)
Case: Antec P183 $110
Fans: 2x Scythe Slip Stream 120mm 1200RPM $36
Ram: Mushkin 2x4GB $50 ($40 AR)

That's between $436 and $531 depending on CPU/mobo choice. The stock cooler should be quiet enough, especially inside P183 and without overclocking. If it disappoints, consider this or this. The Noctua cooler should allow a decent OC on the 2500K without sacrificing quietness.

The Antec case comes with two TriCool exhaust fans which means they are attached to the PSU and controlled with their integrated low-mid-high switch. The front fans would attach to the motherboard, or if you want you can buy a splitter cable and a voltage control cable and attach the fans to your PSU.

You should be fine with your PSU as long as it's quiet. (And as long as the cables are sufficiently long. If they're not, the P180 should be good.)

The graphics card will make noise at load, obviously, so the system is going to be near silent only at idle and only if you make sure the GPU fan spins at quiet enough idle RPM (use MSI afterburner).

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Alright a couple of things. 1. With a non-overclockable CPU you wouldn't benefit a lot from a Z68 board, might as well go with a H61/H67 board. 2. 2500K is just $10 more, one or two lunches isn't a bad price for a 40&#37; overclocking headroom . 3. The P180 is a decent case but does it have to be so compact? P183 is cheaper on newegg.

Here's what I'd pick for $500:

CPU: i5-2400 $190 or i5-2500K $220 (with Z68)
Sink: Stock
Mobo: Biostar H61 $50 or Asrock Z68 Pro3 $105 (with 2500K)
Case: Antec P183 $110
Fans: 2x Scythe Slip Stream 120mm 1200RPM $36
Ram: Mushkin 2x4GB $50 ($40 AR)

That's between $436 and $531 depending on CPU/mobo choice. The stock cooler should be quiet enough, especially inside P183 and without overclocking. If it disappoints, consider this or this. The Noctua cooler should allow a decent OC on the 2500K without sacrificing quietness.

The Antec case comes with two TriCool exhaust fans which means they are attached to the PSU and controlled with their integrated low-mid-high switch. The front fans would attach to the motherboard, or if you want you can buy a splitter cable and a voltage control cable and attach the fans to your PSU.

You should be fine with your PSU as long as it's quiet. (And as long as the cables are sufficiently long. If they're not, the P180 should be good.)

The graphics card will make noise at load, obviously, so the system is going to be near silent only at idle and only if you make sure the GPU fan spins at quiet enough idle RPM (use MSI afterburner).

Thanks for the insight. I've changed the CPU to the 2500K and the DDR3 to PC3 12800. I guess I'll still go for a Z68 board and do a mild overclock. Might as well. I guess I'll ditch the stock HSF then if I'm overclocking.

I'd still like to stay with mATX. P180 with three 5.25" external drive bays and six 3.5" drive bays is more than I will ever need. I'm done with mid tower cases. I just don't need them.

HSF: why do you recommend those two and not the Gelid Solutions Tranquillo? FYI I'm taking my original build straight from the Puget Systems Serenity Mini, which uses the Gelid.

New List - all from Amazon, which means I enjoy free shipping and no tax (Newegg has tax).

Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD Platforms SDRAM CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 by Corsair
$49.99

Intel Core i5-2500K Processor 3.3GHz 6 MB Cache Socket LGA1155 by Intel
$215.06

Gigabyte DDR3 2133 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - GA-Z68M-D2H by Gigabyte
$104.99

Antec Mini P180 Case Offered by Computer Brain by Antec
$111.76

Gelid Solutions Tranquillo 2nd Revision CPU Cooler Offered by VirtualSim by Gelid Solutions
$39.98

SilverStone 21-Inch x 15-Inch 4mm Thick 2-Piece Sound Dampening Acoustic EP0M Silent Foam SF01 (Black) by Silverstone
$13.95

 

[fffblackmage]

You don't have to overclock just because you get a Z68 mobo, and the stock cooler is more than sufficient, even for mild overclocking.

If you still want a cheap, but decent cpu cooler, consider the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ or Corsair A50.

 

[lehtv]

The Gelid Tranquillo is actually a decent quiet cooler. I wasn't sure if the tower type coolers fit the P183 so I didn't recommend any. But if the 153mm high Tranquillo fits, this one might fit too: Thermalright HR-02 Macho $50 with shipping. 162mm high, easily superior to Tranquillo. Could use without fan. Still, fffblackmage is right that the stock cooler should be sufficient. I would first try the stock cooler out, and if it disappoints, then buy an aftermarket cooler.

The Vengeance RAM is quite high, an aftermarket cooler may block some of the slots. This instead, it'll perform the same: Corsair XMS3 1600MHz $50

It wouldn't be bad to go with 1333mhz either, the performance difference to 1600 is extremely minute, perhaps worth just that $5 or $10.

I'd also still recommend the intake fans. If you don't want to pay so much for the Scythe ones, get some cheaper ones... at low RPM, you won't really hear them but they will probably improve air flow enough to make a difference to GPU fan speed, and they'd also cool your hard drives and CPU.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Ok, revised again.http://amzn.com/w/2RNX3RFAQIW1K

Total is about $575.

Thermalright HR-02 Macho by ThermalRight
$49.99

Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12M - Case fan - 120 mm Offered by Platinum Micro, Inc. by Scythe
$11.79

Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD Platforms SDRAM CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 by Corsair
$49.99

Intel Core i5-2500K Processor 3.3GHz 6 MB Cache Socket LGA1155 by Intel
$215.06

Gigabyte DDR3 2133 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - GA-Z68M-D2H by Gigabyte
$104.99

Antec Mini P180 Case Offered by GizmosForLife by Antec
$112.59

What about the Fractal Design Arc Mini? Better than Antec P180?

SilverStone 21-Inch x 15-Inch 4mm Thick 2-Piece Sound Dampening Acoustic EP0M Silent Foam SF01 (Black) by Silverstone
$13.95

 

[Sunburn74]

As a builder of quiet PCs, I will tell you something I've found. You can pick almost any case and almost any CPU cooler. Those can be controlled by fan controllers. Get a good case fan controller and a mobo with a pwm cpu controller and you'll be fine. You're looking at like 40 dollars worth of aftermarket equipment.

What you will run into issues are with the gpu and the PSU. GPUs are getting much much better but you can guarantee good noise with an aftermarket gpu cooler or a gpu that has been tested and proven to be way quieter than the stock model. An aftermarket cooler can be 40-80 dollars.

The psu is where you are screwed. You absolutely have to spend money for a quiet PSU. There is no way around it because there is no way to temper or control PSU fan speeds. Even PSUs that are marketed as quiet often are not; they have the same design as every other psu and simply a different fan. The difference is often minimal. You need to buy a PSU that is either fanless or has a silent mode (where the fan will not spin at low draws).

 

[fffblackmage]

Thermalright HR-02 Macho by ThermalRight
$49.99

I missed the "near-silent" part earlier... Anyways, I got the HR-02 Macho a few days ago myself. I'm using it without the included 140mm fan (which is just about silent anyways), since the top and rear fans in my Antec 900 pulls enough air through the heatsink. The massive size of the heatsink and widely spaced fins really makes it an excellent "passive" heatsink.

What about the Fractal Design Arc Mini? Better than Antec P180?

I'm not too familiar with the Arc Mini, but just so you know, the P180 "Mini" is actually pretty close to the size of a typical mid-tower.

 

[Vincent]

silentpcreview.com has reviews of a bunch of components that might be helpful to you.

 

[lehtv]

I'm not all that convinced that the PSU needs to be replaced, noise-wise. The system doesn't consume a lot of power, and at lower power level the PSU fan should afford not to spin that audibly.

Fractal Design Core 3000 is another good microATX case but I can't find it on Amazon (can't find the Arc Mini either).

Make sure you get the low profile Vengaence RAM $50 (I didn't notice it was the same price as XMS3 earlier).

 

[biostud]

There's also the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E

http://www.silentpcreview.com/ss-tj08e

 

[Sunburn74]

at lehtv,

most psus have their fan speed fixed so regardless of load they spin at their max more or less. the ones marketed as silent often have expensive fans that allegedly are quieter but its very very hit or miss.

since you cannot control your psu with a fan controller (though thermaltake has recently released a very unusual model where you potentially can), the only way to miminize psu noise which is often the worst offender when it comes to noise is to pick a fanless psu or one with a hybrid silent mode. PSUs with hybrid silent modes are a fairly new development when it comes to psus.

 

[lehtv]

I'm pretty sure plenty of PSUs adjust fan speed according to load (or temperature). SPCR's PSU reviews commonly test out the PSU noise level over a range of load levels, in comparison to other PSUs. E.g. http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1073-page4.html. I'm not saying that the OP's PSU has a variable RPM fan, I just figured it's a pretty common thing.

 

[ElFenix]

The Gelid Tranquillo is actually a decent quiet cooler. I wasn't sure if the tower type coolers fit the P183 so I didn't recommend any.

i've got a mugen 2 with a 140mm scythe kaze maru perched on the back as the exhaust fan for the case. fits barely in my p183.

 

[Zap]

If you still want a cheap, but decent cpu cooler, consider the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ or Corsair A50.

No. For "quiet" the Hyper 212+ is barely passable because the included PWM fan favors higher speeds. The A50 (and A70 sibling) are HORRIBLY NOISY because they come with 2000RPM fans that are not PWM. Most motherboards in past couple years are unable to control them. They come with some resistor that can drop the speed down to 1600RPM, which turns them from HORRIBLY NOISY to just NOISY.

^This is from the perspective of a quiet system.

most psus have their fan speed fixed so regardless of load they spin at their max more or less.

No. Most reasonable quality PSUs have fans that automatically ramp in speed depending on temperature and/or output.

Thermalright HR-02 Macho

Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12M - Case fan - 120 mm

Corsair Vengeance 8 GB

Intel Core i5-2500K Processor

Gigabyte GA-Z68M-D2H

Antec Mini P180

What about the Fractal Design Arc Mini? Better than Antec P180?

SilverStone 21-Inch x 15-Inch 4mm Thick 2-Piece Sound Dampening Acoustic EP0M Silent Foam SF01

Looks like a good start. Either case would be good - go with what you like the looks of. I'd suggest trying the stock case fans (undervolted of course) before buying "quieter" fans, just to see if they are sufficient, and to have a point of reference.

It is 100x better to not create the noise in the first place, than to try blocking/absorbing the noise after it is created. Thus, if the extra sound dampening foam is needed, you have already lost.

 

[lehtv]

i've got a mugen 2 with a 140mm scythe kaze maru perched on the back as the exhaust fan for the case. fits barely in my p183.

Mugen 2 is 157mm high, while Thermalright HR-02 is 162mm. Do you think the latter would fit?

 

[mfenn]

SilverStone 21-Inch x 15-Inch 4mm Thick 2-Piece Sound Dampening Acoustic EP0M Silent Foam SF01 (Black) by Silverstone
$13.95

You don't need this with an Antec P-series. The side panels are already metal, foam, metal sandwiches.

The rest of the build looks fine. You don't really need anything above DDR3 1333 with a Sandy Bridge CPU, but Amazon has really crappy prices on memory. Since you are going to be paying $50 anyway there, you might as well get the 1600.

 

[mfenn]

most psus have their fan speed fixed so regardless of load they spin at their max more or less. the ones marketed as silent often have expensive fans that allegedly are quieter but its very very hit or miss.

Not really true at all. Decent PSUs have been doing variable fan speeds forever (my old TrueBlue 480 from 2003 had it). Nowadays, pretty much any PSU is going to have that feature. Honestly, HDDs will be a bigger noise problem for most setups than the PSU because they are close to the front of the case (and thus usually closer to your ears).

 

[Sunburn74]

I'm pretty sure plenty of PSUs adjust fan speed according to load (or temperature). SPCR's PSU reviews commonly test out the PSU noise level over a range of load levels, in comparison to other PSUs. E.g. http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1073-page4.html. I'm not saying that the OP's PSU has a variable RPM fan, I just figured it's a pretty common thing.

I've bought at least 2 of those variable fan speed PSUs that weren't quiet enough from very reputable manufactuers; to be more clear, they were the loudest things in my case (a so called quiet psu from enermax and from corsair). It wasn't until I went Hybrid did I finally get real results. All I'm saying is to be safe you should buy a hybrid model where the fan completely turns off at low loads and to be even safer go fan less (if you can afford it)

Just my thoughts.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

make sure that the fans can pump out alot of air at low RPMs.

 

[mfenn]

I've bought at least 2 of those variable fan speed PSUs that weren't quiet enough from very reputable manufactuers; to be more clear, they were the loudest things in my case (a so called quiet psu from enermax and from corsair). It wasn't until I went Hybrid did I finally get real results. All I'm saying is to be safe you should buy a hybrid model where the fan completely turns off at low loads and to be even safer go fan less (if you can afford it)

Just my thoughts.

I'd be curious to hear what else you have in your case and what exact power supplies you used. Even a cheap unit like the 400CX measured 19dBA at normal desktop loads (<100W). That isn't very loud at all, especially compared to a moderate GPU (or even a 7200RPM HDD!)

 

[ElFenix]

Mugen 2 is 157mm high, while Thermalright HR-02 is 162mm. Do you think the latter would fit?

the 140mm fan sticks out about half a centimeter above the tops of the heatpips on the mugen2, and there's about a half a centimeter of clearance to the lip on the case from the top of the fan, so it looks like it.

 

[Sunburn74]

I'd be curious to hear what else you have in your case and what exact power supplies you used. Even a cheap unit like the 400CX measured 19dBA at normal desktop loads (<100W). That isn't very loud at all, especially compared to a moderate GPU (or even a 7200RPM HDD!)

Well lets see. I have a silverstone ft02. I run the 3 180mm fans on the lowest setting. My gpu fan is silent at idle and I use a program to ensure it doesn't ramp up at all. My cpu fan is silent as well. Right now my 180mm fans are the loudest thing in my case and I literally have to look at my pc to know if its on or not.

The PSUs i got rid of where an enermax 620w PSU (the fancy one that you see in reviewers machines all the time) and a corsair HX 750. Both were marketed as silent high quality psus. They were not. They were the loudest things in my case. The enermax I actually sent back for RMA because I was concerned the fan was dying. They sent a new psu back and it still was too loud. The corsair hx 750 was just plain too loud even at idle. It never spun down or spun up. Just the same level of noice regardless of load. Those dba measurements never tell the full story. Whats also important is the quality of the sound. Highpitched at 19dba vs low pitch at 19dba is way different. My enermax and corsair both got rave reviews for sound quality but when I actually had them installed, again I felt them to be the loudest things in my case.

I finally switched ot a seasonic gold 750 with a hybrid fan that does not spin until about 150W. My PC idles around 90 W. Finally I got the silence I wanted. It noticeably will spin up if I start something like prime95.