Sandy bridge game rig

Jeroenlol · **Joined:** Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:41 am **Posts:** 45

Helloes

I am about to order for a new gaming rig, wanted some advice and maybi rule out some mistakes.

CPU : I5 2500K
Motherboard : Asus P8P67 Deluxe
Gfx : Asus 6850 DirectCu
Ram : 2X4 DDR3 1333/1600
Case: Antec P183 or Antec solo
PSU : Seasonic X650

Cooling:

Debating between nh d14 or megahalems...

the thing is I don't know if undervolting the fans that come with the noctua will be silent enough while providing enough airflow (lets say I would run them at 5v both the 140MM and the 120MM). Don't know wich fan I would run on the megahalems either.

So as you can see my biggest problem is that I don't know what cooling setup I want for good temps but still getting the system silent as possible.

MikeC · **Posted:** Thu Jan 20, 2011 5:42 pm

Get the stuff and try it. Only way you will find out. Fans are easily replaced later if necessary.

Jeroenlol · **Joined:** Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:41 am **Posts:** 45

I dediced to go with the P183 and use Scythe fans, one exhaust slipstream and pwm slipstream for a megahalem.

Should I be using an intake fan at low RPM aswell?

I will also try a low rpm fan on top fan if it makes to much noise I might block the top vent will have to see.

danimal · **Posted:** Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:11 am

those noctua fans are significantly louder than the ty-140's on the silver arrow, but some people are complaining about a ticking noise on the sa fans, and others can't get the sa to fit right in the p183.

maybe replacing the d14 fans later is indeed the best way to look at it... i would not go with the megahalems, unless ease of fitment is the priority, it's obsolete by a couple of degrees, over these latest gen cpu coolers.

ultimately the video card will be the biggest source of noise, depending on how hard you push it.

boost · **Posted:** Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:22 am

Check out the Thermalright Silver Arrow. It comes with two great fans and is usually cheaper then the Noctua.
Also, you should check out the MSI R6850 Cyclone. It's way quieter under load than the standard model and you can flip a switch on the card to set the fan to whisper quiet.

Jeroenlol · **Joined:** Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:41 am **Posts:** 45

I will look into the GFX options thanks!

For now my real debate is , Noctua nh-d14 with either 2 low slipstreams on it or maybi even 1 pwm would be enough for the I5 2500K its not a really hot chip. I really think undervolting the noctua fans wont be enough maybi if I use them both at 5V... I tried one of them once at 7V and wasnt really silent really needed 5V to become unaudible

OR

Go megahalems with 1 scythe PWM fan. Danimal any reason why you wouldnt go with the megahalems? I know that the nh-d14 is better but its not signifcant! Maybi like 2/3° over the nh-d14...

Jeroenlol · **Joined:** Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:41 am **Posts:** 45

So to sum it all up :

Antec P183 + Noctua NH-D14 -> Replace noctua fans to scythe ? slipstreams? no pwm or pwm? dont know yet

And for casefans I wanted to use Slipstreams 800RPM undervolt (5V), maybi block top vent if to noisy will have to see that.

tim851 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 21, 2011 4:01 am

I'd get the Megahalems. It cost less than the Noctua. The difference is about twice what a Blacknoise/Scythe/Nexus fan will cost you and these are known to be quiet. Cooling performance is pretty much equal anyway, it's not that one degree here or there is gonna make any practical difference and the SB CPUs are not the hottest chips in the world to begin with.
The D14 and the Silver Arrow are designed to be 2-fan-solutions and that is one more fan than you'll need.

Jeroenlol · **Joined:** Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:41 am **Posts:** 45

I got my friends Noctua NH-D14 wich he bought for a new rig.

I got to play with it a little, both the 140/120MM at 5v you can't hear unless you put ur ear next to it. I think it will be far superior then any cooler to put 2 fans on this or even the noctuas and undervolt them to 5V!

Will put it into an I7 system later ton8 and see what temps I get with undervolt to 5v

Might go for 2x slipstream 800 and undervolt 5v on the nh-d14 seems like the ultimate cooling!

twitch · **Posted:** Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:57 am

I got the prolimatech mega for my gaming rig for $50 on sale and slapped on a scythe slipstream pwm fan and relatively pleased. Not completely silent but I suspect that is more the fault of the noisy radeon 5850 video card with stock cooler.

Jeroenlol · **Joined:** Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:41 am **Posts:** 45

Do you guys think I should add an intake fan in the P183? and block the top vent?

twitch · **Posted:** Sun Jan 23, 2011 5:37 pm

Jeroenlol wrote:

Do you guys think I should add an intake fan in the P183? and block the top vent?

I blocked the top vent and currently and don't have inlet fans (yet). it warms the hdd to about low 50s / upper 40s. I think I need a fan in the bottom bay

Jeroenlol · **Joined:** Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:41 am **Posts:** 45

What did you use to block it? Im thinking of making a plate myself in Plexi.

twitch · **Posted:** Tue Jan 25, 2011 6:02 pm

Jeroenlol wrote:

What did you use to block it? Im thinking of making a plate myself in Plexi.

puget system sells one.

Sandy bridge game rig

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