Silent gaming build

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Jerky
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Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:02 am

Silent gaming build

Post by Jerky » Thu Nov 26, 2015 5:05 pm

Hello guys :)

I've looking to build a pc for gaming for a few weeks but I was out of touch w/ the happenings in the computer parts area for a long while, so it takes time to catch up. I want a build that's silent and will run GTA 5 at at least passable fps, but I also want to transfer my Win XP install there and dual-boot to play my old games. There will be a bit of web browsing and Office, but who cares, anything will do that :wink: I'm looking for the least noisy alternative. I already have a noisy PC in the room, so I don't need this one to be totally silent, but I don't want it adding to the other PC's noise.

Here's what I've had in mind so far (from most to least sure about):

- it's gonna inherit the mouse, the keyboard, the speakers and two 1080p monitors
HDD: 1 TB WD Caviar Green
DVD: LiteOn IHAS-124
CPU: i5 4690, 3.5GHz, 84 W
RAM: 4×4GB Corsair Vengeance C9, DDR3, 1600 MHz
- maybe 2×8GB or a single stick might be better, I don't know anything about that
Mobo: Asrock Z97 Killer/3.1
- overkill probably for a simple gaming PC but USB 3.1 support seems nice, and if I decide to upgrade, this would be by far the hardest part to unscrew :D
GPU: thinking about two alternatives mainly
- MSI GTX 970, 4GB DDR5
- Sapphire R9 290x, 4 GB DDR5
- I was going to go with Sapphire R9 390 Nitro (8GB) but it doesnt seem to support XP :(
PSU:
- depends on what I choose above but GPU seems like a big power hog in any case
- I was thinking Fortron Raider 750W since Fortrons appear reliable, I don't really know which PSUs are more silent
Case:
- I originally wanted to go with Be quiet! Silent Base 800 but a friend who I generally trust told me it's a waste of money and recommended Zalman Z3+. Not sure what to make of that, although I'm a noob at silent builds.

Any help would be appreciated :D

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
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Location: ITALY

Re: Silent gaming build

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Nov 26, 2015 10:19 pm

Jerky wrote:I want a build that's silent and will run GTA 5 at at least passable fps, but I also want to transfer my Win XP install there and dual-boot to play my old games.

Is there anything more demanding than GTA V?

Jerky wrote:I'm looking for the least noisy alternative.
The least noisy alternative still gaming FullHD at passable fps (at least 50-75 depending on settings) is going with the GTX 960, but if you crank up texture quality and anti aliasing not even a Titan X 12GB SLI would max out a single 60Hz monitor.

Jerky wrote:HDD: 1 TB WD Caviar Green

A bit slow for desktop responsiveness, maybe also a bit noisy to use as main drive (it will often seek): can't you pair it with a 240/256Gb SSD or a caching solution?

Jerky wrote:RAM: 4×4GB Corsair Vengeance C9, DDR3, 1600 MHz
- maybe 2×8GB or a single stick might be better, I don't know anything about that

2 sticks for performance and future expandability: 8Gb is plenty for any gaming/office/browsing, Vengeance is a low quality RAM with pointless obtrusive heatspreader. Pick something low profile or regular (G.Skill Ares or Crucial Sport VLP come to mind, if you need to match the mobo colour scheme you may give a look to some Kingston Fury).

Jerky wrote:GPU: thinking about two alternatives mainly
- MSI GTX 970, 4GB DDR5
- Sapphire R9 290x, 4 GB DDR5
- I was going to go with Sapphire R9 390 Nitro (8GB) but it doesnt seem to support XP :(

Probably a waste of money, heath and noise, if playing FullHD with decent fps at GTA V with the lowest noise is your primary goal. If I didn't understand, or you need something different, let us know.

Jerky wrote:PSU:
- depends on what I choose above but GPU seems like a big power hog in any case

Well, not exactly: any high quality 450W PSU will be enough (Fortron Raider isn't exactly high quality).

Jerky wrote: - I was thinking Fortron Raider 750W since Fortrons appear reliable, I don't really know which PSUs are more silent

Appartently it isnt' a very good choice with reference to quality and sound: said that, PSUs market is strongly location-dependant, so stating your allotted budget and where you will buy (country/e-tailer) will help to advice.

Jerky wrote:Case:
- I originally wanted to go with Be quiet! Silent Base 800 but a friend who I generally trust told me it's a waste of money and recommended Zalman Z3+. Not sure what to make of that, although I'm a noob at silent builds.

It depends of your budget/location, as well as the PSU. A usual option for quiet builds is the Fractal Define R5/S, as it's a quiet all around for single GPU rigs.

Last but not least, you miss a CPU cooler: stock one isn't suited for silent gaming.

Jerky
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:02 am

Re: Silent gaming build

Post by Jerky » Fri Nov 27, 2015 8:34 am

Thx for the advice Luca :)
quest_for_silence wrote:Is there anything more demanding than GTA V?
Dunno, newer NFS games, Tomb Raider... I think it's all in the same class. I don't play FPS except some old ones. If it can manage 60fps on mid-level settings on those I'd be really happy.

Re: GPU
Are you sure about this? 960 is a big $$ saving compared to 970 & R9-290x -- for that price I could get a used HD 7970 over here. Tho I have a dying HD 7850 on another PC that's prob gonna need replacing in the next year, so if this turns out to be too weak, I didn't buy it in vain. What manufacturer do you think is the best/quietest? MSI, Gigabyte etc

Re: HDD
I've always had caviar greens, extra 100€ for a SSD is kind of pricy for something I've managed without all these years. FWIW the sort of noise that green makes is nothing compared to what I have with my current PC -- if that ends up the loudest thing in the new PC, that will probably be overkill for me :D

Re: RAM
OK, I'll get a Fury, they're much cheaper than the other two over here (Croatia).

Re: PSU
Well, I'm in Croatia, but delivery from Germany and Austria comes out only a little more expensive usually, prices are fairly similar. I was going to spend 1000-1200€ for the whole PC. Electronics are probably more expensive here than in your place, for comparison the stuff I proposed originally would go for 1100€ here

Re: case
Is there a big difference? R5 is about 30% more expensive than S in Croatia.

Re: CPU cooler
What do you think is best value? I've never bought one of these

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: Silent gaming build

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri Nov 27, 2015 9:07 am

Jerky wrote:Re: GPU
Are you sure about this? 960 is a big $$ saving compared to 970 & R9-290x -- for that price I could get a used HD 7970 over here.

I don't know whether a used 7970 may be preferable, by the way, check by yourself some performance preview:
Jerky wrote:What manufacturer do you think is the best/quietest? MSI, Gigabyte etc
On load MSI Gaming-series should have a clear edge, noise wise, and it run fanless at idle/low loads: that's how it performs with GTA V: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/08/ ... liLdL_zIqI

Jerky wrote:Re: HDD
I've always had caviar greens, extra 100€ for a SSD is kind of pricy for something I've managed without all these years.

Well, I'm using SSD since the venerable X-25M and I've never looked back, but do what you think best.

Jerky wrote:Re: PSU
Well, I'm in Croatia, but delivery from Germany and Austria comes out only a little more expensive usually, prices are fairly similar. I was going to spend 1000-1200€ for the whole PC. Electronics are probably more expensive here than in your place, for comparison the stuff I proposed originally would go for 1100€ here

How many years should that PSU/rig last?

Jerky wrote:Re: case
Is there a big difference? R5 is about 30% more expensive than S in Croatia.

If you haven't lots of drive, mostly no.

Jerky wrote:Re: CPU cooler
What do you think is best value? I've never bought one of these

The Scythe Kotetsu will serve you optimally.

Jerky
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:02 am

Re: Silent gaming build

Post by Jerky » Fri Nov 27, 2015 10:46 am

quest_for_silence wrote:I don't know whether a used 7970 may be preferable, by the way, check by yourself some performance preview:
On load MSI Gaming-series should have a clear edge, noise wise, and it run fanless at idle/low loads: that's how it performs with GTA V: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/08/ ... liLdL_zIqI
That looks good enough, I'll go with the MSI 960 :) Gambling with used is prob not worth it, since 60 fps is all I need anyway
quest_for_silence wrote:How many years should that PSU/rig last?
5-6 years ideally, PSU is a hassle to replace. fwiw I really don't think I'll be upgrading to something with a higher power draw.

EDIT: When you said GTX 960, did you mean the 2GB or the 4GB version? I just noticed that some of your links point to the 2GB, some to the 4GB version

quest_for_silence
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Location: ITALY

Re: Silent gaming build

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri Nov 27, 2015 3:17 pm

That one could be a german-based parts list: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/TLKc8d (it lacks the DVD RW drive because PC Parts Picker doesn't list them for Germany). Is it within your allotted budget?

Jerky
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:02 am

Re: Silent gaming build

Post by Jerky » Fri Nov 27, 2015 3:26 pm

Yeah that's great, thanks dude :)

CA_Steve
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Re: Silent gaming build

Post by CA_Steve » Fri Nov 27, 2015 9:53 pm

If you need an optical drive slot, get the Define R5, if you don't...and you only have one HDD, the Define S would work.
EDIT: When you said GTX 960, did you mean the 2GB or the 4GB version? I just noticed that some of your links point to the 2GB, some to the 4GB version
GTA 5 @ 1080p Ultra settings with normal textures uses less than 2GB VRAM and gets ~59fps. High textures uses more than 3GB VRAM and the 960 will go ~44fps (dialing down setting will kick this up).

quest_for_silence
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Location: ITALY

Re: Silent gaming build

Post by quest_for_silence » Sat Nov 28, 2015 3:30 am

CA_Steve wrote:If you need an optical drive slot, get the Define R5, if you don't...and you only have one HDD, the Define S would work.
Thanks for the heads up, Steve: sorry for the oversight about the ODD/case, Jerky

Jerky
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:02 am

Re: Silent gaming build

Post by Jerky » Sat Nov 28, 2015 8:52 am

Np, thanks guys, much appreciated.

Jerky
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:02 am

Re: Silent gaming build

Post by Jerky » Mon Dec 21, 2015 8:15 pm

Just wanna say thanks again! The PC took a while to arrive and I took a while to find time to assemble it but it's silent as a ninja, even during heaviest gaming :D I couldn't believe my external HDD is the loudest thing in the room :mrgreen:

CA_Steve
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Re: Silent gaming build

Post by CA_Steve » Mon Dec 21, 2015 9:09 pm

Enjoy your build. :)

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