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Making a family budget PC as quiet as possible

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I'm sorry, I didn't see your reply until now. The ducting seems to be too much of a hassle so I just recommended a Noctua casefan to replace the front intake casefan with. We will most likely also be covering the inside of the case with the acoustic pyramid-foam and some foamboard in an attempt to minimize the noise from the fans. The final build :http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/bestelkosten/692703.
 
It seems like you're going to a lot of effort to ensure a quiet computer...and then I see the Antec 380 PS and my ears start hurting...

Recommend you spend a little time over at SCPR. Here's their (limited) Approved PS list: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article699-page1.html

They reviewed the Seasonic G360 and gave it pretty good marks:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Seasonic_G360

For a budget PS, consider the Cooler Master V550. Has a quiet fan profile.
TechPowerup review:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/CoolerMaster/V550S/3.html

Personally, I would never consider the little Antec in a 'quiet' build. It's a decent budget PS, but not a silent one. It will be the loudest fan in your system - 10-15 dB louder. Or you could void the warranty and replace that 80mm ADDA with a Noctua and peace and quiet would be restored.
 
Thanks for your reply ClockHound. Luckily, we didn't order anything yet. I looked at the CM V550 and V450, but they're both really expensive so they're not an option. I checked silentpcreview.com and both the Seasonic SS-300SFD and Seasonic G360 both look like valid options. The Seasonic SS-300SFD is cheaper at €40,50; the G360 is €54,-. What do you think? Is the G360 worth the €13,50 extra?
 
I would say the extra money is worth every Euro for the G360. As a power supply it is superior - a more modern design with better electrical performance - the SS300 design is over 10 years old.

Acoustically, with your system the G360 below 200 watts is going to be 6-8dB quieter than the SS300. That's a very audible advantage.

So, yes, the G360 is the better choice. Even JohnnyGuru says so. And he doesn't give out 9.5/10 ratings very often.

Don't skimp on the power supply - it's like it supplies the power for your whole system. Oh, wait, it is the power supply. ;-)
 
Thank you, you've convinced me haha, the G360 it is! Any other points you can see some improvement in by chance? Otherwise, we will order the parts tomorrow :thumbsup:
 
nubki11a said:
Thank you, you've convinced me haha, the G360 it is! Any other points you can see some improvement in by chance? Otherwise, we will order the parts tomorrow :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I've posted a lot recently about evaluating a 650W Seasonic against my hardware, which includes 2x GTX 970's. I also mentioned a 2013 analysis of PSU "brands," showing the relationship between "designers," "manufacturers" and "branders." There are two companies which make PSUs for several "branders" and one of those two is Seasonic. Nobody else makes Seasonic PSUs but Seasonic. period.

So if the G360 is "more than adequate" for the other components, it's a good bet.
 
nubki11a said:
Thank you, you've convinced me haha, the G360 it is! Any other points you can see some improvement in by chance? Otherwise, we will order the parts tomorrow :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention the other stuff....generally the MX100 is well regarded...but recently people have been reporting lockups/drive disappearing at random. See this thread:
http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Crucial-SSDs/MX100-will-not-boot-sometimes/td-p/158815

The consensus is that it's unlikely Crucial will release a firmware update now that they have released the BX100 and MX200 to replace the MX100/550 series. I have a 256GB MX-100 - such a great deal - haven't seen this issue - however, it's not installed as an OS drive.

Don't want to make you 2nd guess every piece, but maybe consider either the BX100 250GB (uses the Silicon Motion controller rather than the Marvel in the MX100 and should be a little cheaper) or the Samsung 850 EVO or the Sandisk Ultra II series.
 
ClockHound said:
Funny you should mention the other stuff....generally the MX100 is well regarded...but recently people have been reporting lockups/drive disappearing at random. See this thread:
http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Crucial-SSDs/MX100-will-not-boot-sometimes/td-p/158815...
Click to expand...

You know, I actually did have this problem when first installing the drive on my desktop. Happened twice. On my third SATA cable and haven't had this happen in months. Why is that? Because I have old cables I have accumulated over the years, so finding one that can handle this type of bandwidth isn't as easy as it was with hard drives. My two Lenovo laptops have had no issue with this model drive.

Honestly, threads like that Crucial link open the floodgate for people with any and all issues, who want to blame the latest purchase. I won't say there isn't an issue with some drive, I will let the engineers at Crucial determine that, I will just say that there is less of an issue here than that thread is portraying.
 
Hope you're correct and it's a small issue that affects a tiny fraction of users.

I haven't experienced it with my MX100, however, Crucial does have a checkered history regarding firmware updates - got smacked in the M4 fiasco...
 
. . . Otherwise, it's high-tech capitalists force-feeding digit-heads who are addicted to a throw-away mentality for elec-tron-ic sechshual devices.

Sure, I made the joke, but I'm serious about most of it. Who keeps a cell-phone for more than 3 years?

I'd want to get the expected life out of my SSD with the subsequent unexpected glitch.
 
Thanks for your input guys. I've asked my dad and he agreed with Ketchup79's point of such a thread being a floodgate for all complaints, so he's willing to take the risk of buying an MX100. Apart from the MX100, we also looked at the BX100, which we can get for €90,- (as opposed to €97,- for the MX100). Still, it seems that the BX100 is a bit slower, thus making the MX100 the more attractive choice. However, I read somewhere else that the M550 might also be a good option if I can get it for a good price. I found it for €102, would that be the best option, or is the MX100 actually faster (read this somewhere else on a vague website)?
 
Here's the Anand benches between the M550 and MX100:
http://anandtech.com/bench/product/1144?vs=1221

Pretty close, with the 550 winning most. Day-to-day usage, they'd feel identical. I'd be more comfortable with the 550, says the MX100 owner. It has the more durable 20nm nand. ;-)

Don't write off the BX100, however. The StorageReview noted that it beat its pricier siblings in a number of tests. The Silicon Motion controller is faster than the Marvell. Of course, the Marvell has way better comic book characters.

Here's another comparo: http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Crucial-MX100-256GB-vs-Crucial-BX100-250GB/2317vs3145
 
Thanks for the links, I don't really know enough about SSD's to know whether or not there are any significant differences. If I look at this comparison though, it looks like the M550 is worth the €12,- extra. But then again I don't know a lot about it, do you think the differences will be noticable?

EDIT: The MX100 is the same price as the BX100 now. It has also got 3yrs warranty, in which case the boot-problem would be easily fixed by sending it back :hmm:
 
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I wonder if you are making this too hard. Not trying to be mean, just honest. Pick a day you are ready to buy. Buy the one with the best price for the warranty. Get your data on it and enjoy. As it's your first SSD, you are going to be hard-pressed to "feel" a performance difference among any of the models discussed here.
 
ketchup79 said:
I wonder if you are making this too hard. Not trying to be mean, just honest. Pick a day you are ready to buy. Buy the one with the best price for the warranty. Get your data on it and enjoy. As it's your first SSD, you are going to be hard-pressed to "feel" a performance difference among any of the models discussed here.
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You're right ketchup, good point. I get obsessed with finding the best option sometimes haha. A big thank you to everyone who contributed 🙂
 
I agree with ketchup79 - get which ever you feel is within your budget on the day you choose to make the purchase. My only advice would be this: higher capacity almost always trumps more expensive models, as the added parallelism increases performance. But in general, any modern SSD is going to feel fast and responsive in day-to-day use. I'm still using a rather old Intel X25-m 80GB in my laptop, and it doesn't really feel any slower than the 250GB Samsung 840 PRO in my desktop. Just don't get the Samsung 840 EVO, as it's fundamentally broken.

Also, I've been researching PSUs for two upcoming PC builds, and I wholeheartedly second the choice of the Seasonic G-360. It seems like a perfect candidate for a low-power, silent PC, and getting 80+ Gold for that price (and in that wattage range at all) is amazing. Go for it.

Other than that, I'd consider trying a smaller form factor for the build - there is simply no reason in this day and age for an office/home PC to be that large. There are loads of great mini-ITX or mATX cases out there, and motherboards are also readily available. The BitFenix Prodigy is roughly the same price as your case (at least here in Norway), and perhaps half the size, but you'll need a mini ITX motherboard.

Both of the motherboards you list are mATX, so you'd can easily find a more compact case without looking for a replacement. The Fractal Design Define Mini should be a great option - the Define series has great soundproofing, and the Mini is a perfect shrink of the otherwise great R4. It also has a fan controller for up to 3 fans - great for making a quiet case - good airflow, easy to clean fan filters on all intakes, covers over unused fan openings (improves airflow and reduces dust build up, the latter is crucial if the computer isn't going to be maintained with any regularity), and fantastic overall build quality. It's marginally more expensive than your case, but totally worth it.

Other than that, it looks like a great build. The CPU is far more than you need, but that's good for longevity - with the G-360 running things and a well filtered case like the Define Mini, this should be a (nearly) zero maintenance build for home/office usage for years to come.
 
The size of the system isn't a factor for my dad - it'll just sit under a desk with more than enough space. The only reason to switch the case to another one (FD Mini) would be better noise levels. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a lot of websites that have reviews on both cases aside from anandtech, which only shows the 200R reaching 34dB under load whilst the Mini stays at 30dB.

On another note, the Mini is €80, whereas the 200R is only €55,-. If I remove the Noctua fan from the build, which I was going to use to replace the front fan from the 200R with, the Mini is still €10 more. Do you think the Mini will still be a better option taking into consideration these points?
 
Ouch, that price difference is harsh. Here in Norway, the difference is quite a bit smaller (roughly NOK 600 vs. 700 (€70 vs. €81)). I'd still go for the Fractal - the layered side panels do a great job at minimizing noise, and as I said, build quality is excellent. Also, I can't see anything in the Carbide's specs about a PSU intake filter, which might make a difference both for noise and longevity unless you clean it out once in a while. But this is mainly my happiness with my Define R4 speaking - you might very well be very happy with the Carbide. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with Fractal's 120mm fans, so I can't compare them to my Noctuas. But Noctua fans are awesome, no doubt.
 
Thanks for the input! I'll check out if I can find any more information regarding the two cases. I'll also just ask my dad what he thinks about the FD and if it's worth the extra money to him :thumbsup:
 
Personally, I'd think it an interesting project to obtain an old Dell Opti-Plex, gut it and rebuild it IF the cooling solution would work with the OP's hardware and with the OptiPlex case as well.

I guess you might want to break out the Dremel, but you might not need to use it.

I've always thought something like an OptiPlex could use better ventilation. Otherwise, you wouldn't have so much the price and availability problem. Dell made compact systems.
 
I cut down on case fan noise by using rubber mounts for them (if there's room). I used these, not sure what your availability is.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And cases like my Corsair 330R and 550D have sound deadening built in (also available on smaller cases). The only thing that would sway me against the 200R is a lack of dust filtering on all those vents. I would block any vents that aren't used with wide tape. Dust drives up heat and fan speeds. I couldn't tell but hopefully there's a filter on the intake.

In my virtually silent HTPC I keep two low noise fans (140mm running at 75% via BIOS) as intake and one 120 out at 50% to allow for increased positive pressure. I checked the temps and run the CPU fan at a speed that allows it to go to the mid fifties at max load for my use (fan won't ramp up until 60C). That cuts down on CPU fan noise. And yes a big, fat cooler will allow you to run its fan slower. I've had great experience with Scythe and Noctua.
 
@C2bcool, definitely looks like an interesting option! The Silent version is about €65,- but the availability seems to be pretty bad atm (10+ days delivery times or 'preorder'). There was only one review I could find (http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2015/02/20/corsair-carbide-series-100r-silent-edition/4) and it basically says the case is good but the cooling is bad. For my setup this won't be a problem right? Unfortunately, it's unclear how the 100R Silent's noise compares to the FD Define Mini's. That would make the decision a lot easier...

@BonzaiDuck, don't think that's really an option worth considering in our situation, too much fuss whilst the benefits seems pretty mediocre to me. Would be an interesting project if you'd have the time for it though!

@bradly1101, don't the Corsair cases already have rubber fan mounts? Or can you use the fan mounts you mentioned in combination with the case's rubber fan mounts? If so, they seem like a buy since they're available for only €4,-. Thanks for mentioning them! IIRC, the 200R has two dust filters, one PSU intake and one in the front intake. The other vents are all completely open though, which is also one of the reasons why I've been strongly considering a different case lately. Finally, using the BIOS to keep the intake fans at a higher speed to create a positive pressure sounds like a good idea as well, thanks 🙂
 
nubki11a said:
Hi all,

I'm putting together a new build for my dad, it will mainly be used for browsing, emails, Excel and some other programs. He doesn't plan on overclocking so I know he doesn't really need an aftermarket CPU-cooler. He does want it to be as quiet as possible though, so that's why I'm thinking about buying him the Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2 to keep the noise down a bit. Now my question is, will this be a significant improvement over the stock cooler from the i5-4460 for €28,- extra? Furthermore, would it be worth it to buy quieter fans for the case or would that be total overkill?

The rest of the build thus far:
CPU: i5-4460
MB: ASRock B85M Pro4/Asus H18M-D PLUS
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R
PSU: Corsair VS450
RAM: G.Skill RipjawsX 8GB (reasonably high heatsink)
1TB HDD and 128GB SSD

Looking forward to what you guys think!
Click to expand...

That case is not a quiet one. I keep my 200r fans disconnected.
That config doesn't need additional case cooling.
Just look for a case with no or less venting holes(cases with too much venting holes are not silent) so you can fit a Scythe Mugen 4(probably one of the quietest cpu coolers around - http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1356-page7.html)!
Change ram, since silence is your main concern. High ram heatsinks are useless anyways, just for the show of it.
WD or ST green class hdd's are one of the quietest(or you can buy a 2.5" notebook class mechanical).
An overpowered cheap 500W 80plus psu should stay quiet since it is barely loaded to 25% on that config.
 
I really REALLY like the FD Mini... I have 2... One of which is my HTPC case. It sets within 8 feet of me with an i3 and 3 HDDs. The included fan controller allows me to set the fans at a nominal speed and forget about them.

I liked the case so much, I swapped my desktop out of a CoolerMaster case into one... With no regrets.
 
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