A "quiet" rig to run the new Elite game

Snowbullet

Snowbullet
If you're looking for quiet components for your new rig, here are some tips:

The best place to look for noise output of various graphics cards is at:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/

Personally I choose between the quietest AMD R9 and Nvidia GTX 700 generation cards. These are the two I choose between:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GeForce_GTX_760_TF_Gaming/26.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_270X_HAWK/25.html

Going up in graphics performance some other cards that may be quiet enough for you (certainly quiet at idle at least):
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_770_TF_Gaming/25.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_TF_Gaming/25.html


If however you really want the best and never want to give up silence you might want to look at the "ASUS GeForce GTX 680 DirectCU II OC":
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1288-page5.html

Its performance is similar to the GTX 770 and it has gotten Silentpcreview's "Editor's Choice" award. It actually takes up three slots since its cooling solution is massive. It does come in at 27~28 dBA at 1m with CPU & GPU both under load, however bear in mind that this is with the fan set to auto. Set to manual (1200 RPM) the noise hits 17~18 dBA at 1m and is truly silent, so this card is a true winner and is cool enough at this setting but still requires descent cooling of the case.

Also remember that SPCR has a much quieter testing environment so the noise output can't be compared with the one from Techpowerup. And there's a large portion of cards not tested so we don't know the full scope of quiet video cards.


Info on more quiet components at SPCR can be found at these websites (takes some time between updates though):
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_PSUs
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page5.html (Cases)


I'll be in the first round of the Beta and personally I went with the "MSI R9 270X HAWK 2 GB" and a used Core 2 Quad 2.66GHz to replace my Core 2 Duo and have a recommended CPU cooler and a recommended PSU from SPCR's site. I will however eventually go with a mini-itx system with new hardware except for PSU & VGA. A "Bitfenix Phenom Mini-ITX" or "Bitfenix Colossus Mini-ITX" and install the same case fan as the "SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E" has - a 180mm one.
 

Erimus Kamzel

Erimus Kamzel
Welcome Snowbullet. :smilie:

Thanks for the info. Noise levels and temps is something I've been looking at recently since I too will be going for a mini ITX system, and I think both are really important considerations.

This is the build I have penciled in at the moment..

Intel Core i5 4570
Gigabyte H87N-Wifi
8GB Corsair 1600mhz Vengeance
Toshiba 128GB SSD
AMD Radeon R9 280X 3GB
Coolermaster Elite 120 Advanced
650W Corsair VS

Couldn't make my mind up over the 280X or the GTX770 but I think the 280X has edged it. Although the 770 is the slightly cooler and quieter card, the 280 has that extra GB of memory and is cheaper.

One other change I've made is dropping down to a Coolermaster Elite 120 case instead of the Fractal Design Node 304 I originally planned, mainly because I don't see any real benefits the more expensive 304 has over the Coolermaster - apart from it looks better, but costs £40 more!
 

Crystles

Crystles
If my opinion is of any consequence, the DB levels of various components should be taken with as much consideration as the way your case is setup internally. Yes, they are louder, but a good case setup will reduce the noise level as much as anything else.

I've found that even with components that go up to 60dB, the noise outside the case could still be whisper quiet, simply because your components arnt working at the threshold where they start to become loud and irritating. Looking at airflow, and thinking about how the air will move through (not just into) the case will drop the noise level by as much as half. Some intelligent design goes a long way here.

Further, liquid cooling isnt necessarily quieter (anymore). Even custom loops are on average 10dB louder, thanks to the pumps/radiator fans, otherwise theyre doing little more than a fan could on its own (and be ridiculously cheaper). Mind you were talking a difference of if some one is whispering, one would be indiscernible and the other barely audible.

Last note, from a custom rig builder... Size matters. haha yes yes, but seriously. You can only get 2 of 3 things. Small. Quiet. Cool. Smaller cases have lower airflow, and dont absorb sound very well. If they do, its generally either because of padding, or seriously sacrificing airflow with low RPM fans which heats the system up considerably, or powerful fans that force air through the case. Full towers can accommodate both while retaining high airflow, AND padding which makes them the quietest solution.

My system currently radiates <20dB at 5 feet, pretty much inaudible, so long as its idling (my fridge sitting next to it is louder). When the CPU starts to work, the fans adjust accordingly to keep my temperatures under 80C, at which point the noise will crank up to over 60dB, somewhere around normal talking volume. For whats under the hood, its pretty good. The entire noise source are the high head pressure radiator fans on my liquid cooled CPU. They actually will turn off if I just dont need them which is most the time, making my CPU a passive liquid cooling rig. I've found this to be my best solution since its inaudable when i dont need it, and still quieter than my headphones when I'm running under full stress.


Just some thoughts from an enthusiast...
 

Asp Explorer

Asp Explorer
The last completely silent gaming rig I built eventually died of heat stress :( I had a laptop do the exact same thing.

The waterpump failed, the AMD x2 4400 and SLI 6600's kept going, and going, and then thermal shutoff. The first thing I knew about it was weird checkerboards appearing on the display, so stupidly enough I started checking the monitor cables. Then it progressed to random coloured lines across the screen. After pulling the plug, it wouldn't boot - no POST, no nothing.

The thermal expansion of the copper waterblock had actually bent the motherboard visibly, there was a definite curve in it. I eventually managed to get it working again after replacing lots of boiled caps and resoldering a couple of traces, but I don't ever want to have to do that again.

A big fan or two at low speed will be nearly silent, and keep enough air moving so you won't have to go through the same situation as me :)
 

schmerg

schmerg
Snowbullet said:
If you're looking for quiet components for your new rig, here are some tips:
Click to expand...

I've always gone for quiet components where I can, so I typically ran a low TDP CPU and a passively cooled video card or integrated graphics.

Obviously that's not so great for gaming, but ED will be my first PC game since I got a PS2 back in 2000.

I chose a Gigabyte Windforce GTX 760 for the upgrade - it's supposed to be quiet, in that it has 3 big fans and seems to have stayed pretty close to silent during the 3D benchmarks I was running (see the user-spec spreadsheet thread).

Similarly, I have a cheap but effective huge-chunk-o-metal CPU cooler (Arctic Freezer 13CO) so the CPU fan rarely goes above ~1200RPM, meaning it's pretty well silent.

And I've now got Corsair RM550 PSU that will run fanless when it can, so coupled with the fan controls of the m/board (I've got 3 large case fans spinning at about 600RPM) the buzzing of the backlights on my old LCD monitor is about the loudest noise in the room.
 

deusx_ophc

deusx_ophc
Snowbullet said:
If you're looking for quiet components for your new rig, here are some tips:
Click to expand...

this is my main aim, too. this is the rig for now (needs testing with a few diferent setups)

midi tower - Cooler Master Silencio 550
(standard fans swapped with 2 noiseblocker eloop b12-1)

power - Seasonic P-520 fanless

mainboard - GIGABYTE GA-H87-HD3

cpu - Intel® Xeon® Prozessor E3-1270V3 (1230 suffice but hey)
cpu cooler - prolimatech samuel 17 + eloop b12-ps

gfx - MSI N780 TF 3GD5/OC
gfx cooler - Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme III (custom built)

ssd - Samsung 840 EVO 2,5" 500 GB

ram - Corsair DIMM 16 GB DDR3-2400

i will order the msi twin fozer snowbullet has mentioned also as 760 and further try the setup in another tower, the much acclaimed fractal design define r4 pcgh-edition. then cool both cpu / gfx with prolimatech megahalems / mk-26 with eloops just to feel (hear) the difference in noise.

this is not for everyone as you loose the guarantee on the gfx with a custom fan but hey, no pain no gain :D


ps: no links added as i buy from a german site and could not find all pieces on a uk/us site
 
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Spore

Spore
Silent PC Rig

I built myself a new PC rig back in September. My goals was quietness without sacrificing performance and also going small using an mATX case. I'm very happy with the results I've met all my goals and then some.

CPU
INTEL I7 4770K

Graphics Card
MSI GTX 760 TF IV OC 2GB - Totally quiet at idle

Case
Silverstone SST-TJ08E - Had been ogling this case for a year, clean cut looks and great airflow

CPU Heatsink
NOCTUA NH-D14 - Pretty expensive and tricky to fit in my mATX case but is just an amazing cooler

Motherboard
ASUS MAXIMUS VI GENE - For mobo's it's pretty much personal prefs, I've always been an ASUS fan.

PSU
Corsair Professional Series HX650 - I now own 3 Corsair HX PSU's (I have PC's in every room) Fantastic PSU's totally silent.

Hard Drive
Samsung 840 PRO 256GB

Memory
G.SKILL RIPJAWSX 16GB (2X8GB) - Wanted to get 8GB sticks to allow room for future memory upgrades

I use ASUS AI Suite to automatically throttle the fans when under load, even when playing demanding games it doesn't get all that loud not even noticable over game sounds.

After I first built the system I was panicking as it was totally quiet no fan noise at all, soon learnt after monitoring temps that it just doesn't need the fans running when not under load :) I did find that the huge fan at the front of my case makes a strange noise when ASUS AI suite trys to stop it, I resolved that by setting it not completely stop spinning.

I was just stunned at power usage at idle... 51 Watts! my old system was about 130

Another thing that shocked me was the Passmark bench mark tests, my 760 is apparently faster than a 680

Passmark results
http://i.imgur.com/FGcJuJc.png

Temps
http://i.imgur.com/VVe3XUz.png

Hope all this helps anyone else currently thinking of upgrading
 

Snowbullet

Snowbullet
Erimus said:
Welcome Snowbullet. :smilie:

Thanks for the info. Noise levels and temps is something I've been looking at recently since I too will be going for a mini ITX system, and I think both are really important considerations.

This is the build I have penciled in at the moment..

Intel Core i5 4570
Gigabyte H87N-Wifi
8GB Corsair 1600mhz Vengeance
Toshiba 128GB SSD
AMD Radeon R9 280X 3GB
Coolermaster Elite 120 Advanced
650W Corsair VS

Couldn't make my mind up over the 280X or the GTX770 but I think the 280X has edged it. Although the 770 is the slightly cooler and quieter card, the 280 has that extra GB of memory and is cheaper.

One other change I've made is dropping down to a Coolermaster Elite 120 case instead of the Fractal Design Node 304 I originally planned, mainly because I don't see any real benefits the more expensive 304 has over the Coolermaster - apart from it looks better, but costs £40 more!
Click to expand...

I would then choose the "MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming" (Twin Frozr) - as you can see from my post I have three of five cards listed as MSI "Gaming Twin Frozr" cards, the 270X Twin Frozr Gaming is probably more quiet then the Hawk card I've choosen but personally I'm looking at both silence and as cool as possible (Hawk cards from MSI usually have fans with higher RPM then their Twin Frozr Gaming cards).

When it comes to the case however I would actually choose the Node 304 - it will then have four intake fans, two case fans and the two from the VGA card plus a large 140mm exhaust fan and the included fans are good enough and doesn't really need replacing. Also all intakes have dust filters (VGA, front intake and the PSU). If you do choose this case make sure your PSU isn't too big. Also you can use a tower cooler in the case as well for added silence.
 

Snowbullet

Snowbullet
Erimus said:
This is the build I have penciled in at the moment..

Intel Core i5 4570
Gigabyte H87N-Wifi
Click to expand...

...forgot to mention that for the Node 304 to fit a tower cooler the motherboard you've chosen will have the cooler to close to the VGA card - the "Asus H87I-Plus" would then be a better choice or the "Asus H81I-Plus" if you want to go for a cheaper board. I would especially go for Asus cards since they have "Fan Xpert" as fan controllers, the more expensive one has version 2 which is what I would want on my motherboard for the fans to be as quiet as possible.
 

Riedquat

Riedquat
I have a Digital audio workstation which I recently upgraded, but the case I bought several years ago now.

It is an 'Acousticase' by Quietpc , it comes with noise reducing foam panels that you fit on the inside of the case , it is very quiet.

http://www.quietpc.com/acousticase-c6607

I just checked their website and see that they have lots more products available now.
 

Erimus Kamzel

Erimus Kamzel
Snowbullet said:
When it comes to the case however I would actually choose the Node 304 - it will then have four intake fans, two case fans and the two from the VGA card plus a large 140mm exhaust fan and the included fans are good enough and doesn't really need replacing. Also all intakes have dust filters (VGA, front intake and the PSU). If you do choose this case make sure your PSU isn't too big. Also you can use a tower cooler in the case as well for added silence.
Click to expand...

I've actually ordered my pc now, it should arrive next week. Luckily I reverted back to adding the Node 304 to the build as I didn't like the way the psu sits above the motherboard in the coolermaster elite case (I watched a couple of youtube reviews of coolermaster case and wasn't impressed).

Glad to hear the Node 304 has adequate/good default fans. :) I won't be overclocking anything but still may add a better cpu cooler than the stock one that comes with the i-5 4670 - unless of course there's no need to?
 

Asp Explorer

Asp Explorer
The stock coolers on intel chips are, urm, adequate at best. They are not very big, relatively noisy, poor thermal paste, but they work. The spring mounting systems are actually quite good, they leave lots of room in the case, and they are easy to replace.

I put a Coolermaster V8 on my i5, it's enormous, basically silent, can sink nearly double the thermal output of my CPU, but it meant I had to take out my side case fan. It really is massive and spans nearly the entire case.
 

Slawkenbergius

Slawkenbergius
I built a near silent rig. The GFX card (MSI GTX 770) makes a whisper of noise at idle, and starts to be fairly audible after playing games. The rig also makes noise during midsummer.

It's definitely worth thinking about turbulence. My Noctua CPU cooler is supposed to have two fans, but I noticed that one of them was right next to the main case fan. I removed the fan from the CPU and the sound levels dropped considerably, without massively affecting the temps.

Once you've got nice quiet fans, spinning drives become the next most irritating source of noise, so SSDs are highly recommended. I have an external drive for data storage, which I turn off when not using.
 

Robert Maynard

Volunteer Moderator
Robert Maynard
Erimus said:
Glad to hear the Node 304 has adequate/good default fans. :) I won't be overclocking anything but still may add a better cpu cooler than the stock one that comes with the i-5 4670 - unless of course there's no need to?
Click to expand...

I built a mini-server inside a Node 304 - very quiet indeed and elegantly simplistic. I use a USB portable Blu-Ray drive for any optical disc requirements.
 

gordon

G
Well not sure myself about the sound levels, but my case is over 2 years old but is the Antec Dark Fleet Case. 3 fans to the front, 2 to the back and 2 on top. It weights a f@cking ton and is massive, which in my mind gives good circulation of air, prevent heat overload. Looks pretty good too. The 3 fans at the front also have filters on that can easily be removed to clean.

Roll on release day.
 
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