SPCR

This is a fairly wide open request. I am inclined to go w an Intel system, that's about it. I have all the monitors, keyboards, etc, am just building a new box, would like to stay near $1000 (a bit over is fine). Main uses are MMORPG and some video editing. I do use dragon naturally speaking a lot. I am wondering how much difference a SSD would make to that. I am using 2 monitors now, at 1920x1200, and am thinking of adding a 3rd. I've been out of the PC market for a while, about 3-4 years, so what I know is out of date, last system I built had an 8800GT and those were new. Have stuck with WinXP so far, but am considering 7 (you could not pay me to use Vista!) So please throw some ideas at me for a near silent build. thanks

p.s. the system in my sig is the one I am looking to upgrade out of...

Does it have to handle 3D gaming? Will you type of gaming do fine with the 2d hardware acceleration that will be available under Windows 8?
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=64800

If so can you live with Ivy Bridge HD4000 integrated video capability and forgo a video card?

I found a pretty usable list of system base configurations. The people editing this list have picked reasonable quiet parts. It's a german side however and i suppose that some of the parts might be difficult to get elsewhere.

But i'm not aware of a list like this one from an english source.

http://forum.silenthardware.de/index.ph ... opic=36173

Not really given any thought to 3d gaming. I did just get a projection TV that will do 3d. Have it set up with a 120" screen. Not tried 3d on it yet. Speaking of, I would like an HDMI output in the system.

Any reason I couldn't go with the integrated video for now and add a card later if I find the need?

Will the integrated video support 2 or 3 monitors at 1920x1200 (in 2d)?

Ivy Bridge can support three monitors only if two of them use DisplayPort. Otherwise, it'll support 2 monitors. Here's why. That said, I don't know of any motherboards with 2 DisplayPorts. Maybe it's time to queue Yossarian.

So, if you want to move to 3 monitors, you'll need a video card. Chances are, you'd want a new video card for your MMORPGs anyway. The 8800GT was a lovely card in its' day. By today's standards it a slow, power hungry pig. If you list your likely games, I can better answer the video card question.

DNS doesn't take much computation. Any MMO will use more horsepower.

Win7 is recommended. All of the XP squirrely-ness went away when I transitioned over to Win7. An SSD for the OS and Apps and a slow/quiet HDD for data works well.

There's a world of difference between a HD and an SSD. With SSDs things just open much faster. Applications such as Word, internet browsers, e-mail programs open almost simultaneously, Windows open much faster, and games should also open much faster than a traditional HD. The difference is very noticeable indeed!

HDMI is widely supported by video cards, even many motherboards have HDMI ports. You can always wait to buy a video card and use the iGPU from Intel.

For the CPU, you should look for an Ivy Bridge based CPU. Sandy Bridge is still a viable option since no dual core Ivy Bridge CPU's have been released yet. For motherboards you should look for chipsets such as Z77, H77, or Z75. These are the newest chipsets from Intel. The Z-chipset allows you to overclock (modern Intel processors only let you overclock CPU's with a K-suffix.. Sadly). Ivy Bridge does support three monitors. However, the motherboard most have a DisplayPort!

Definitely go for an SSD if you can afford it. Intel SSD's are known for their reliability. So are Samsung and Crucial M4.

PSU: The expensive but good ones are: Seasonic X, Kingwin. Then there are PSU's from Enermax, Nexus, Cooler Master Silent Pro M.

Cases: there are many options. Do you want a small case or a big case? m-ATX or ATX? Please specify your needs.

I am planning a whole new system, no hardware is being kept from the old one.

My only concern on the case is how quiet it can keep the system, there are no size constraints.

From what I have been told so far here I am leaning towards ivy bridge at the start and worrying about 3d support and/or a 3rd monitor later.

I am not planning on overclocking as I wish to go with as much passive cooling as practical.

I remember reading something about some chip sets support SSD integration better than others?

bburk wrote: My only concern on the case is how quiet it can keep the system, there are no size constraints.

The case doesn't have a major impact on the noise level. It primarily depends on the components that you choose. A good all round case would be the Fractal Design Define Mini (m-ATX). Or the Fractal Design Define R4 (ATX). I usually recommend these cases because they don't have any major flaws and have all the features expected from a modern case (easy to work in, room behind motherboard for cable management, cut-out in motherboard tray for tower CPU coolers, fan controller, two decent fans, good thermal performance, good dampening of hard drive vibration etc.). If you don't intend to use two or more video cards then get the Define Mini. m-ATX has come a long way since the last decade so you can be completely safe with that form factor.

bburk wrote: I remember reading something about some chip sets support SSD integration better than others?

Perhaps you mean SATA II vs. SATA III? Most SSD's are faster than the limited imposed by the SATA II interface. Therefore, only SATA III can fulfill their true potential. But modern chipsets from both Intel and AMD support SATA III so you shouldn't worry about the SATA interface, if that's what you have been reading about.

Never looked at fractal design cases, will have to do so. Are the fans in them as quiet as a Noctua NF-S12B? Have used antec solo cases in the past. The suspended HD system has worked well, but had to replace antec's "tri-cool" fans, too noisy. In one older comp I had a case with a removable MB tray, that was the easiest system to put together.

SATA III SSD, or maybe one that goes in a slot, am blanking on the slot name atm, whichever is faster w/o being uneconomical.

bburk wrote: I remember reading something about some chip sets support SSD integration better than others?

Intel chose to put different "goodies" into different chipsets (Z71, Z75, Z77 etc.) see: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5666/a-br ... therboards

TLDR; Taking a Z77 board will net you everything, buying Z71 or Z75 or Zxx will give you some of them. But in daily use you'll probably miss none of those "SSD" functions.

bburk wrote:Never looked at fractal design cases, will have to do so. Are the fans in them as quiet as a Noctua NF-S12B?

No, most probably not as quiet as Noctuas. But running them on 9/7/5v could turn out acceptable, give them a try. You could always swap them later.

bburk wrote: Have used antec solo cases in the past. The suspended HD system has worked well, but had to replace antec's "tri-cool" fans, too noisy. In one older comp I had a case with a removable MB tray, that was the easiest system to put together.

Antec has presented the SOLO 2 http://www.silentpcreview.com/antec-solo2. Corsair D550 is said to be an equally suited case. As kuzzia pointed out: Silent computing is not about blocking any noise inside of your case, it's about not generating any noise in the first place. So even complete mesh cases (e.g. Antec Lanboy Air) could be kept acceptable quiet even while gaming, if you pick the right components and mod a thing or two.

So if you plan on adding a single gpu only, i would look at m-ATX boards and cases. With a m-ATX board you could save some bucks while still retaining max. functionality.

According to the SPCR review, the fans in the Fractal Design Define Mini are very quiet when undervolted with the included fan controller.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1230-page5.html

For the Mini you could buy an aftermarket suspension system like this:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/3038/ ... g7c113s209

You can perhaps find a similar device cheaper. If you live in the EU I can give you a look where it's very cheap.

The Solo II would also be a very good option but I would have preferred some room behind the motherboard tray for cable routing. That seems to be a mandatory feature for cases in the 100 USD price range.

So any specific recommendations for MB & CPU & RAM? I am not interested in overclocking. Is SSD caching worth having? thanks

CPU: i-5 3XXX
MB: Z77
RAM: cheapest on Mainboard compatibility list if any

GPU-wise an ATI6870 should be powerful enough to game at 1080p and if using 3 monitors you might play your mmo on all 3 monitors with reduced graphics settings.

SSD: A must for a new build. Aim for a 120GB-Modell for system. Add a HDD for files and storage. If more money involved, the ssd could go bigger. And you should use win7/8, as XP will come to end of support.

In my opinion, SSD caching is less desirable than having things in the SSD. If youre building a new system, and all your programs + OS can fit in the SSD, then go for the SSD. With a Z77 you also have the opportunity for SSD caching if you want to try that some time in the future, but my advice would be: put programs + OS in an SSD.

Pappnaas wrote:CPU: i-5 3XXX
MB: Z77
RAM: cheapest on Mainboard compatibility list if any

GPU-wise an ATI6870 should be powerful enough to game at 1080p and if using 3 monitors you might play your mmo on all 3 monitors with reduced graphics settings.

SSD: A must for a new build. Aim for a 120GB-Modell for system. Add a HDD for files and storage. If more money involved, the ssd could go bigger. And you should use win7/8, as XP will come to end of support.

What he said. You should also consider which CPU cooler to buy.

I wouldn't recommend an HD 6xxx series card. The 7xxx series or Nvidia 6xx at 28nm provides much improved fps/watt. Mid-range cards @ 1920 x 1200 are 7850/7870. Nvidia GTX 660 Ti is to be released later this week.

i5-3570 is the cpu to get if you never plan to OC.

I like the current gen of Asus boards for the UEFI and fan control (Fan Xpert) that lets you set up fan profiles. Asus P8H77-M Pro or P8Z77-M Pro are nice micro ATX boards if you want that form factor. The P8Z77-V is a nice ATX board that also has Fan Xpert2..an upgrade that will let you turn fans off in the profile.

Caching is cool if you have a laptop and only 1 drive slot + a mSATA slot. In a desktop, better off with SSD for OS + apps.

RAM: Take a look at Samsung's low profile 1.35V DDR3.

So, ASUS P8Z77-V LE vs. ASUS P8Z77-V LE Plus, any comments? I am leaning towards the plus. No difference I would use now, but if I did want to try crossfire someday... I see the list different audio chipsets, but don't know what the dif is.

Would the GPU in a i5-3570K (the 4000 version of Intel's graphics) get the job done with 2 monitors at 1920x1200? Also, the monitors I already have are Hanns-G HZ281HPB, so no display port connection that I know of.

Any info out yet on noise levels of the Nvidia GTX 660 Ti ?

A passive CPU cooler is part of the plan, which are the good ones these days?

bburk wrote:So, ASUS P8Z77-V LE vs. ASUS P8Z77-V LE Plus, any comments? I am leaning towards the plus. No difference I would use now, but if I did want to try crossfire someday... I see the list different audio chipsets, but don't know what the dif is.

I think crossfire is just an opportunity to add more complexity/failure. YMMV. The Realtek 889 audio chip on the LE Plus has better SNR than the Realtek 892 on the LE....whether you'd notice depends on your audio set up. If you are driving a TV/stereo setup - the audio is sent via HDMI and the analog side of the audio chip doesn't matter.

bburk wrote:Would the GPU in a i5-3570K (the 4000 version of Intel's graphics) get the job done with 2 monitors at 1920x1200? Also, the monitors I already have are Hanns-G HZ281HPB, so no display port connection that I know of.

Your monitors have HDMI and DVI. The motherboards have these as well and can drive 2 non-display port monitors. Both the 2500 and 4000 IGPs can handle 2 monitors in 2D operation (ie: everything but gaming).

bburk wrote:Any info out yet on noise levels of the Nvidia GTX 660 Ti ?

nope.

bburk wrote:A passive CPU cooler is part of the plan, which are the good ones these days?

I don't recommend a passive cooler when you can have a slow rpm and silent fan providing much cooler temps. Have a case in mind? That'll set limits on the cooler height/dimensions.

This project was on hold for a bit, but I am getting back to it now. I am going to use a Sonata II case.

I have been happy with the Nexus VALUE 430W in my current build, is there any much reason to go with something like Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU instead?

The audio will go via fiber optic to my receiver, so the chipset is irrelevant.

The only thing I hear in my current system is the Samsung HD204UI 2TB drive. Even my old HD753LJ 7200rpm drive make less noise than that 5400. What in a 2TB or 3TB drive is most quiet? This is just for storage, the OS will be on an SSD.

Is there any info out there on the radeon hd 7770 ultimate silent edition GPU availability? I'd rather not get a 7750 & see this on the market 2 weeks later.

Looking at viewtopic.php?f=13&t=64739 for a cooler, or maybe another Ninja like I am using?

thanks for the advice.

Did you mean the Antec Sonata Solo II or the Antec Sonata III case? Two fairly different beasts

GPU: I can't recommend an HD 77xx series for 1920x1200 gaming unless you prefer gaming at 1680 or less. Also, I can't recommend going with the 7xxx series at all if you want to run more than one monitor on it. AMD doesn't downclock the memory when connected to two or more monitors. Nvidia does with the GTX 6xx. Look at the GTX 660 ($230) or 660 Ti ($300).

PSU: Figure <100W for i5 CPU/mobo/RAM, 150W max for the gpu (assuming GTX 660 Ti class) and another 30W for drives, etc. So, ~280W at stressed load....about 60W more than what your current system uses. If you are happy with the Nexus Value, then no reason to get something different, unless....you want something quieter, with higher efficiency, etc. The Seasonic fanless x400W would work, as well as the semi-passive X 560. They tend to be priced similarly.

Solo II, don't like the door on the sonata III

I'd heard that on the 7xxx series, I'd forgot, thanks. Which of the 660's is quietest?

I never hear the Nexus PS, so I will prob stick with it.

thanks

Probably the Asus DC II Top.

got most of the parts here now. Solo II case, Macho Rev A CPU cooler, Nexus Value 430 PS, Noiseblocker B12-1 case fan for the front. Just looking for suggestions on a few options.

Mount the PS with the fan facing up out of the opening at the top of the case, or with the fan at the bottom pulling air through the case?

Mount the fan at the front facing in or out?

Where to put the fan on the CPU heatsink?

I plan on setting the fan that comes with the case in the back at it's lowest speed.

Follow a front to back flow. Front fan in, CPU fan in front pushing, PSU fan up, rear fan out.

So mount the PS fan up so it is not part of cooling the system and only cools itself? This PS has a fan on one side that pulls air in to it and a vent at the back that lets air out, the other side is a solid metal plate. It can either mounted be fan down so it pulls air up through the system and out the back, or fan up so it pulls air in to itself only from the vent at the top of the case and then out the back. In my old system it is mounted fan down.

bburk wrote:So mount the PS fan up so it is not part of cooling the system and only cools itself?

Yep. Otherwise, you get no use out of the top vent on the Solo II. PSU will run cooler using ambient air instead of air heated up from CPU/GPU and thus it's fan should run slower/quieter at a given load. If it turns out the PSU fan is the noisiest component, you could try flipping the PSU and use the case to help block the sound. The airflow thru the case should be good enough to keep the other components cool.

Well, so far so good. System is up and running nicely. Just one thing I do not know about now, DisplayPorts. The ASUS GTX660 TI-DC2T-2GD5 has a batch of connectors on it, one of them a displayport. It's working just fine running 2 28" monitors at 1920x1200 on the DVI ports and an HDTV projector at 1920x1080 on the HDMI, all at once. So now I am wondering, will it run a 4th monitor on the displayport? I am mainly intending the 4th for web browsing, word processing, etc, so no gaming level graphic power needed. I want 1920x1080 for it. Could I, would I be better off putting it on the motherboard GPU?

If I do use the displayport, do I need a special cable to have more monitors working? I keep seeing talk about active or passive adapters. I am planning on a monitor that has a displayport input.

thanks

Yes, display port should work fine for a 4th monitor. You can get a display port-DVI adaptor which may help you in this.

So far, so good with this system. The GPU gets a bit warm under load and the fan starts kicking up over 50% and becomes audible. I keep adjusting the settings and can keep it at 83C and 51% fan speed, but would like it just a bit quieter. For the GPU longevity I would rather not let it get above 85C. Would getting a bit more air moving through the case overall lower the GPU fan load? If so, what is a good quiet way to do so? thanks

p.s. Borderlands 2 with everything set at near max is what I am currently getting these results with

You could try adding a second Noiseblocker B12-1 to the front.