[-Fugu-]

After some years of using my previous build I'm in the process of making a new one. Until now, I've always managed to somehow botch my plans for a silent build and ended up with machines that make noise (although less and less). So now I'm again trying to make a new one.

The aim is to create a silent gaming rig. Below is a complete list of the parts I've thought of using. I would really appreciate any comments/suggestions/criticism you might have for this build. I'm willing to spend some more money to make it better.

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Arctic White) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power: Super Flower 650W Golden King Platinum
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-03 14:33 EST-0500)

 

[Legonut]

Get an HDD Silencer I used one for a while and they are fantastic.

Prolimatech Mk-26 Paired with the right fans, it's the best/quietest gpu cooler.

Nofan Cr-95C For the best fanless cooler I've heard of. That or the Swiftech Heligon HE01

There is a difference between "silent" and "solid state silent"

 

[-Fugu-]

Thank you for the tips.

The Nofan cooler looks interesting. If I can read their motherboard compatibility list right, it seems that it would even fit the Asus Z87-Pro. Although it could be that I would have to remove the extra head spreaders from the TridentX memories.

 

[maxvons]

If you really want silent, then just ditch the HDD altogether, and get an external one or something. The only thing I could hear in my PC (same case as you), was the HDD. I decided to disconnect it, as it was spinning all the time instead of "turning on" only when active.

And for PSU I STRONGLY recommend the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 650W. I have the 750W version, and it's just the best PSU I've ever encountered. I have yet to hear a single noise from it. I mean, there is 0, and i mean ZERO electrical noise, and the fan is so silent, you can't even hear it at max speeds. I have had about 3 other PSU's before this one, two from Corsair and one from XFX. One of them "blew up", the other one had a fan that spun up all the time and was making weird screeching noises and had some horrible coil whine with my GTX 780. The last one fixed most of the coil whine, but emitted a horrible high pitched noise all the time.. And the be quiet! one just fixed everything.

I can not recommend Corsair PSUs unless they've come out with a new series that have fixed all the problems. I think Seasonic PSU's in general have had huge problems in the last few years.

For CPU cooler, I can recommend the be quiet! Dark Rock 2 or 3. I have the 2, but I think there's a 3. version out now. You could get the Dark Rock Pro 3 if you want better performance and cooling, but for me the normal version is more than enough. I don't really do a huge amount of overclocking. The Noctua one you have there is probably just as good, but I think it's ugly as hell. I think the Dark Rock 3 Pro is just as good, but it looks way better IMO.

 

[-Fugu-]

Thanks. You have a good point about the HDD. I just checked the price for the 500 GB Samsung 840 EVO and it seems to be around the same than the 250 GB 840 EVO and the WD Red combined. I think I would just survive with the 500 GB SSD and store rest of the stuff on a NAS, which I already have. That would take one mechanical component out of the equation.

 

[Cybertox]

If you want a silent computer you should considering liquid cooling for the cpu as well as a quiet gpu.

 

[maxvons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cybertox

If you want a silent computer you should considering liquid cooling for the cpu as well as a quiet gpu.

I found liquid cooling on CPU to make more noise than my be quiet! Dark Rock 2 air cooler

 

[-Fugu-]

Well, I made the order now. I changed the SSD+HDD combo to a bigger SSD. So no need for a HDD silencer. I'll have to see whether or not I'll need a GPU cooler when the machine is up and running.

Thanks to all of you.

 

[dPaquin]

I don't think youll have to worry about the graphics card cooling if it's not using the reference design cooler. The fan speed will be able to be clocked down (I'd assume), but then again I haven't bought an ASUS graphics card before so I'm not sure what software comes with it.

The biggest thing for me was the NH-D14. Atleast that's what I think is making all the noise, I might go fiddle with that right now and put on the "ultra-silent" resistor thing.

If the case comes with any fans, I'd just unplug them after you check all the temps under a few load scenarios and confirm that it doesn't need additional fans.

That's my $0.02, I'll be back after I mess with the nh-d14!

edit: I added both of the ultra silent resistor things and I think it brought down the noise significantly. It runs a little hotter but I clocked it down cause I use this as an everyday computer...and the surface area of this baby is...large....

 

[maxvons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Fugu-

Well, I made the order now. I changed the SSD+HDD combo to a bigger SSD. So no need for a HDD silencer. I'll have to see whether or not I'll need a GPU cooler when the machine is up and running.

Thanks to all of you.

The GTX 7xx-series reference models don't need an additional GPU cooler. They're akready almost dead silent, even under loads. When I play BF4 , I can barely hear it without my headphones on. With headphones, I can't hear anything

 

[Playback]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legonut

Prolimatech Mk-26 Paired with the right fans, it's the best/quietest gpu cooler.

If OP decides to go for an aftermarket GPU cooler, I would also recommend the Alpenföhn Peter 2. It's huge, but it's among the absolute best there are, especially when taking silent operation into consideration. A quicker and almost as good solution would just be to get a card with a good cooler already mounted though. Gigabyte's Windforce 3x or Asus' DCII versions for example. It would be a lot cheaper too, seeing as you need to purchase additional (two 140mm or even up to four(!) 120mm) fans to go with it.

EDIT: Whoopsies, didn't notice you had already ordered the graphics card and that it was a DCII.