Quiet R9 Fury FreeSync build

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EasyRaider
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 12:35 pm
Location: Norway

Quiet R9 Fury FreeSync build

Post by EasyRaider » Sat Apr 30, 2016 7:57 am

Time for an upgrade, my old i3 3.1 Ghz has been on the weak side for quite some time. I hope this build will last 5 years with a graphics card swap some time in the future.

Case: Fractal Design Define R5
Already ordered.

Graphics card: Sapphire R9 Fury Tri-X
This is currently available for a good price here in Norway. I need FreeSync for my chosen monitor (LG 34UC88-B), so I don't see any other choice.

PSU (edited):
  • Be-Quiet Straight Power 10 modular 500W or 600W
  • XFX 520F-XTSX 520W (fanless, a little more expensive) or
  • (Enermax Platimax 500W)
  • Corsair RM550x or RM650x
This is the one point I really could use some help to decide. (Maybe I just should have posted in the PSU sub-forum.) I have my doubts about trying to use my Seasonic 460W another 4 or 5 years, especially considering the power hungry Radeon Fury. If it just stops working some day, that would be all right, but I worry about instability or damage to other components. As for the choices of new units, fanless sounds like the way to go, but if it buzzes or whines, maybe one of the fanned units would be the better choice.

CPU: i5 6600K
I'm planning a modest overclock (+400 MHz?). Also considered a Xeon E3-1270v5 3.6 Ghz with ECC RAM since I'm a professional developer and would like the peace of mind, but I doubt it would make a worthwhile difference.

CPU cooler: Scythe Kotetsu
Will consider a fan swap if it turns out too noisy for my liking. I could be talked into a bigger cooler, but my impression is that would be getting into greatly diminishing returns.

Motherboard: MSI Z170-A Pro
I would like a motherboard where slot 6 is PCI-Express, in case I want an internal sound card at some point (currently using SoundBlaster X-Fi USB). That doesn't leave me with much choice in this price range. Integrated sound so good I don't need a separate sound card would be nice, and worth paying considerably more for, but I'm skeptical.

RAM: Kingston 16 GB (2x8) Fury DDR4-2133 CL14
I've read good things about the low error rate of Kingston (mostly from Puget Systems IIRC). It's also on MSI's list of supported memory. CL15 would probably be fine, but the price difference is negligible.

Primary storage: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB
Already ordered.
Secondary storage: Will keep using my WD Green 2GB for now.
Last edited by EasyRaider on Sat Apr 30, 2016 2:28 pm, edited 5 times in total.

EasyRaider
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 12:35 pm
Location: Norway

Re: Quiet R9 Fury FreeSync build

Post by EasyRaider » Sat Apr 30, 2016 9:18 am

I found another PSU option: Enermax Platimax 500W

Decisions, decisions...

(edit)
After seeing the insane power draw of the Sapphire Tri-X in Furmark, I have decided I need more headroom. 500 watts at the very least.

CA_Steve
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Re: Quiet R9 Fury FreeSync build

Post by CA_Steve » Sat Apr 30, 2016 10:54 am

Looks like a good selection of components. Before you spend $500+ on a gfx card...Next gen AMD cards are due out in the 2H of the year with significant performance improvement in terms of fps/watt. So, you might consider limping along with your current gfx card or getting a cheaper card for the interim and reselling.

PSU: Both the be Quiet! and Enermax are decent choices. I'd lean toward the former just because it's a newer design.

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: Quiet R9 Fury FreeSync build

Post by Abula » Sat Apr 30, 2016 11:08 am

EasyRaider wrote:PSU (edited):
Be-Quiet Straight Power 10 600W modular
XFX 520F-XTSX 520W (fanless, a little more expensive)
Enermax Platimax 500W
This is the one point I really could use some help to decide. (Maybe I just should have posted in the PSU sub-forum.) I have my doubts about trying to use the Seasonic another 4 or 5 years, especially considering the power hungry Radeon Fury. If it just stops working some day, that would be all right, but I worry about instability or damage to other components. As for the choices of new units, fanless sounds like the way to go, but if it buzzes or whines, maybe the Be-Quiet or Enermax would be the better choice.
The XFX 520F-XTSX seems exactly the same as the X520 that was reviewed by SPCR Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520W PSU, worth mentioning that some have had issues with coil noise on seasonic platinum, i personally own mutliple PSUs from them and they all been perfect. On the BeQuiet, i heard good things on their darkpro series, never really tried it, be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 550W or 650W is what i would consider. Enermax has done some of the best PSU in the past, but recently i don't know, i haven't tried anything from them since i switch to seasonic. Another PSU that are worth looking in case they are available to you are the EVGA Supernova P2 650W and Corsair RM650x. Personally i would suggest to go with a fan, you already will have fans running from the case fans and gpu, so i don't see much point going into a fanless PSU.
EasyRaider wrote:CPU: i5 6600K
I'm planning a modest overclock (+400 MHz?). Also considered a Xeon E3-1270v5 3.6 Ghz with ECC RAM since I'm a professional developer and would like the peace of mind, but I doubt it would make a worthwhile difference.
Another advantage on the xeon is you are getting hyperthreading, if the price difference isn't too much and you are fine with 3.6 and will use the hyperthreading, i would say its a viable option, but you should crosscheck the motherboard supports it.
EasyRaider wrote:Motherboard: MSI Z170-A Pro
I would like a motherboard where slot 6 is PCI-Express, in case I want an internal sound card at some point (currently using SoundBlaster X-Fi USB). That doesn't leave me with much choice in this price range. Integrated sound so good I don't need a separate sound card would be nice, and worth paying considerably more for, but I'm skeptical.
If you are looking for a motherboard that has the bottom as PCIe 1x for the sound card (im kinda looking for this also), i would suggest you also look into,
ASRock Fatal1ty Gaming Z170 Gaming K4 (careful with D3 as its ddr3 version).
ASRock Z170 Pro4

EasyRaider
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 12:35 pm
Location: Norway

Re: Quiet R9 Fury FreeSync build

Post by EasyRaider » Sat Apr 30, 2016 2:42 pm

Thanks!

I know this is not the best time for a new GPU, but I don't think I would be satisfied with a lesser card for driving a 34" monitor at desk distance.

Corsair RMx wasn't on my radar, seems like a good choice, and cheaper too. Not sure if the 550 or 650 would be quieter, I'm guessing the difference wouldn't be noticeable.
Abula wrote:Another advantage on the xeon is you are getting hyperthreading, if the price difference isn't too much and you are fine with 3.6 and will use the hyperthreading, i would say its a viable option, but you should crosscheck the motherboard supports it.
When you factor in a motherboard with proper ECC support and the RAM, it costs quite a lot more, over 150 Euro in total.

quest_for_silence
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Re: Quiet R9 Fury FreeSync build

Post by quest_for_silence » Sun May 01, 2016 4:52 am

EasyRaider wrote:After seeing the insane power draw of the Sapphire Tri-X in Furmark, I have decided I need more headroom. 500 watts at the very least.
It's just in FurMark: in real life you won't pass 330W, so that a 450-550W PSU is plenty: either a Corsair RM550x or a BeQuiet P11 550W would be my almost perfect choice, noise & quality wise I like the Platimax 500/600 also, but performance-wise it's a rather outdated platform (all in all it's a 2010 design), while among fanless unit I praise the Super Flower Golden Silent the most (these days I'd avoid the SF Leadex-based units like EVGAs G2/P2, as there are some doubts about them reliability-wise).

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: Quiet R9 Fury FreeSync build

Post by Abula » Sun May 01, 2016 6:23 am

quest_for_silence wrote:these days I'd avoid the SF Leadex-based units like EVGAs G2/P2, as there are some doubts about them reliability-wise
Hey lucas, care to expand more on this? I have done two builds with them (EVGA G2 750W and EVGA P2 650W) and been working perfect, i have no issues with coil and they run very quiet with the eco on.

EasyRaider
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 12:35 pm
Location: Norway

Re: Quiet R9 Fury FreeSync build

Post by EasyRaider » Sun May 01, 2016 6:47 am

I ordered the Corsair RM550x, the 10 year warranty and good reviews won me over. Any fan noise differences are most likely insignificant when considering the case and gfx card. Crossing my fingers I won't get any dud components. :)

quest_for_silence
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Location: ITALY

Re: Quiet R9 Fury FreeSync build

Post by quest_for_silence » Sun May 01, 2016 6:59 am

Abula wrote:
quest_for_silence wrote:these days I'd avoid the SF Leadex-based units like EVGAs G2/P2, as there are some doubts about them reliability-wise
Hey lucas, care to expand more on this? I have done two builds with them (EVGA G2 750W and EVGA P2 650W) and been working perfect, i have no issues with coil and they run very quiet with the eco on.

It's still currently under investigation from several reviewers.
There's the chance SF has possibly made a nasty trick to stretch the hold up time when AC is cut: the PSU wouldn't cut the power good signal unless the ATX spec (17ms) is cleared, but in the meanwhile the 12V rails would go out of spec.
Please take note: it's just a possibility at the moment.

dreamalittle
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Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2016 3:19 am

Re: Quiet R9 Fury FreeSync build

Post by dreamalittle » Mon May 23, 2016 5:15 am

about the sound card idea: it could just have been bad luck with my motherboards, but i've never had success with using on-board sound. any high powered speakers/monitors i've tried with on board sound cards end up having some sort of buzz or pop. external usb soundcards are so cheap and low latency now, too, so i generally recommend them. the behringer 202 for example is $50 and top notch. it even has a volume dial and headphones jack on the front!

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