Any ideas regards a build that would be almost silent during regular operation, browsing & 1080p video playback from Blu ray,not too noisy whilst gaming at 1080p at PS4 plus performance in respect of textures and filter levels. Ideally a quiet but adequately cooled mini-itx with 2 ssd & 2 hdd compartments, also unpopular around these parts but i require a 5.25 ext bay for a bdrw. Budget is around £800 - 1000, with no requirement for a monitor just hdmi compatibility which may be a given these days? No massive gamer just want to get into Dayz amongst other games, my GPU budget is probably no more than £250. Please if anyone can point me in the right direction regards fans case cpu coolers etc 'd be much oblidged. Also are there any zero rpm cpu coolers? Or ways in which i could setup fans to only kick in at a certain temp, preferably from the bios as opposed to with software? Thanks in advance
For fanless CPU coolers, you need a lot of mass and a low TDP CPU. I would go with a bunch of quiet fans instead.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3FfYt
Quiet noctua fans all around. I also went with a power supply with more wattage than you'll ever need, so that it doesn't have to have to spin up the fan and make noise as often.
In general, the more powerful of a GPU you get, the more heat it outputs. You can probably get the GTX 770 if you want, but the GTX 760 is a pretty good card as well.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3Fk8J
This will a very quiet system thanks to noctua fans. This system will also be much more powerful than a playstation 3 and 4. The asus gtx 770 DCU cooler is also known for its silence.
don't forget the 80mm fan on the side.
I actually chose not to use the 80mm fan because smaller fans generate noise... even the noctua lol. I would rather have no fan there. I think the system will be cool enough without it.
I think the key thing is cable management to maximize the airflow to the CPU. Either way, it should be fine. The case is very open.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJaWR1Ro9qA
I did some research and found this video. These guys or guy, did a good job in their testing, I am 99% sure that the noctua cooler and noctua fans will be enough to cool this system more than adequately. You could add another fan in the case to pull the air past the HDD cage, but I dont think it is necessary.
**It is worth mentioning that the GTX 770 runs cooler than the old GTX 280's in the review. I would get this case with a single 120 fan and take out the 80mm side fan completely. If you find the fans are spinning up to maximum, then you can always easily add a fan later. I really think cable management is key here.
Fair argument.
You won't be able to get a silent Mini itx as it isn't very enclosed, the gpu will be very easily heard. It isn't loud as such but still you WILL hear it, if you add a noctua into the front of the cooler master 120 and use a low profile noctua heat sink it will be silent, except for the gpu. So instead of hearing all the fans you'll just hear one. Also if you want to save space you could get an asus maximus VI mini itx board because it has a built in m.2 sata connection, also if you got the maximus you could then get the cooler master 130 elite which is a bit better and you could also water cool it with a Corsair h80i.
The water cooler is actually louder than noctua cooler and a bit overkill unless the Op wants a high over clock. the coolermaster 130 isnt bad, but its a bit bigger than the 120. The asus DCU is as quiet as they come for GPU coolers though, and with direct access to outside air, it should say pretty darn silent (if not completely) unless under load, which it will possible get a little louder in games. I got a MSI gtx 680 which I cant hear in my case at all over my case fans (which my case fans aren't very quiet I admit... Older antec tricools set to medium.)
Anyway, The ASUS maximus is also over budget. The closed loop coolers are not as quiet as noctua air coolers either because the radiators generate a bit of noise when air is pressed through them.
the cooler master cases are the same volume i just checked to make sure. Yeah i was thinking about the budget but i though about how he's spending half the money on all 5 drives in the pc so i thought that he must be able to afford it, i haven't personally used the asus card, i use the windforce cars and i think they are only a bit louder but i can definitely hear them, if i put my finger on the front fan (i have the 130) and stop it i can hear the gpu, and then when i let go i can hear both. Also, the only problem with the noctua is finding a low profile one, but also something i didn't think about that you mentioned is the OC'ing, if he isn't gonna do it then he may as well just get a $15 silverstone one or something, i got one and i can't hear it, probably coz it's at the back. I guess he needs to say what the price of his drive drives are gonna be as that's gonna take up an unusual amount of budget :/
Thanks for ideas, Noctua fans are on the list now! I dont want the hassle/expense/noise of water cooling, i'm familiar with the dc2 asus range and it would seem the gtx 770 is ideal alright, if that was my loudest component that would be fine.
I would prefer to not overclock from a heat and noise perspective, Dayz at 60fps at 1080p with fairly high settings is the goal from a gaming point f view, 80% of the time the rig will be used for hd video watching, streaming, browsing ( i would like it next to silent for those activities) and occasional video conversion and rips. I had seen the range of coolermaster cases but they look like they could be noisy? Initially for the build it would only have to include one 240gb ssd i would add to that then, another hdd for data maybe 2, and another ssd in the future for further games/programs, as such i only need to buy the BDRW & one 240ssd right away.
Thanks for ideas, Noctua fans are on the list now! I dont want the hassle/expense/noise of water cooling, i'm familiar with the dc2 asus range and it would seem the gtx 770 is ideal alright, if that was my loudest component that would be fine.
I would prefer to not overclock from a heat and noise perspective, Dayz at 60fps at 1080p with fairly high settings is the goal from a gaming point f view, 80% of the time the rig will be used for hd video watching, streaming, browsing ( i would like it next to silent for those activities) and occasional video conversion and rips. I had seen the range of coolermaster cases but they look like they could be noisy? Initially for the build it would only have to include one 240gb ssd i would add to that then, another hdd for data maybe 2, and another ssd in the future for further games/programs, as such i only need to buy the BDRW & one 240ssd right away.
I like the idea of wifi and bluetooth onboard they are actually fundamental, being that its an itx build? i should have mentioned that! Why the xeon part? what advantages would that have? is it thermal?
Also would the samsung EVO be considered a very reliable and quick drive?
Yes, they are. They come with 5 year warranties and are there middle grade SSD behind their very expensive "pro" line.
As far as overclocking, I would just increase the multiplier until it is unstable, then back it down a notch. Keeping the voltage at stock will keep the temp down.
Also what are you going to be using the drives for? I don't think the case itself can be to blame for noisiness, just the fans and their implementation
I would go with a Bitfenix prodigy build, or anything else that will accept 200+mm fans, and then install some utterly ridiculous cooler, like a Prolimatech Megahalems cooler onto it. Those things are kinda utterly ridiculous. If you're looking for very low wattage, then you're looking for Intel, although the Megahalems should be capable, with adequate airflow, of passively cooling anything up to about 115W, or so, although it may get a little toasty in there. The most noise that you'll hear in just about any computer case will be from the GPU since those tiny fans are just really noisy. I'd recommend going with larger fans on the coolers, like the ones on the MSI gaming cards.
There are actually passive heatsinks already available, but not meant for an mini-ITX form factor.
Here are 3 that I know of:
- Thermalright HR-02 Macho
- NoFan CR-95C
- and ZeroTherm Butterfly BTF95