First time poster, very impressed with this forum!

Tired of working off my laptop, I'm putting together a new desktop for productivity (mostly software development) and moderate gaming at home, as well as a bit of video encoding and general internet surfing. After building my HTPC taught me the potential of silent computing, I'm a bit fixated on silencing this build as much as possible without sacrificing performance. I'm hoping you can provide a little expertise.

My parts:

Case: Fractal Design Core 3000 (ATX Mid-Tower)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V LE Z68
CPU: Sandy Bridge i5-2500
GPU: EVGA GTX 560 Ti 2GB
PSU: Seasonic S12II 620W
HDDs: Crucial 128GB SSD and Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB.
Memory: Undecided, 4GB
Optical: Undecided, Blu-Ray R/W 12x+

The GTX 560 has a good reputation on noise overall, but will be driving two 1080p monitors. This apparently prevents normal idling behavior, creating a lot of additional heat.

I want to keep a high volume of fresh, filtered air circulating. The case comes with three fans from Fractal Design's Silent Series (140mm top exhaust, 120mm rear exhaust, 140mm front intake). If this is not enough, I will keep the exhausts, move the front 140mm to the side panel (cooling the GPU), and install two new low speed, low noise fans (120mm and 140mm) for front intakes.

I plan to cool the CPU with a Scythe Big Shuriken, fitting an aftermarket Gentle Typhoon if necessary. The GT looks to have higher static pressure/air flow at lower speeds/noise levels than the Slip Stream Slim that comes with the Big Shuriken.

My questions:

1) Will the Big Shuriken be up to the task of staying reasonably quiet when the CPU is under load? The stock Big Shuriken is very effective at managing my i3 during long periods of video transcoding, but it works hard to do it and this is quad core. I'm hesitant to try some of the larger, heavier coolers, as it seems like it could be putting a lot of uneven weight on the board when the case is upright.

2) Other than that, am I doing anything silly here? General advise or warnings about this approach, ideas for alternatives?

Thanks for your help.

Another option is a 92mm tower, such as the Xigmatek HDT-SD964.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article818-page6.html

Compared to the Big Shuriken here:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1049-page7.html

I have an i5-2300, a 2.8GHz quad-core without HT.
I use a SD964W with a fan swap for a Scythe Kama Flex PWM 92mm fan. The combo is quiet and effective.

My guess is that either a good 92mm tower, or a Big Shuriken, would be fine with a fan swap.

Forget about the Shuriken. As soon as there is any need of higher airflow through those fins it'll start making serious noise, and an i5 is a different beast than the i3's. There are other top-down coolers should you want that type for whatever reason.
The front of the Core 3000 is so open that I would do without a side fan, but you could always try both ways and compare the result.

Both of you, thanks. It's exactly the kind of feedback I'm interested in.

Another question, since Worker control mentioned the i5-2300. As popular as the i5-2500 is, I'm really not convinced that I need it. (In fact, I'm not convinced that I need quad core at all since my favorite games perform perfectly well on i3 and my rendering/encoding requirements are fairly limited, but I guess the future is now.) I'm also not sure if the Z68 chipset will do me any good, since I wasn't planning on running Virtu and I am probably never going to overclock.

At this point, I'm trying to finalize my build and shave the costs down where I can. It looks like I could do this with the i5-2300 for about $25 USD less. (Maybe I could spend it on a better cooler.) I'm wondering if there's any meaningful benefit beyond the raw clockspeed. I'm also wondering if I really want a Z68 board or if I should spend some more time browsing the H and P boards just to be sure.

I think the price difference was greater when I was looking. I'd go ahead and get the 2500, and a 92mm Xigmatek tower, and a nice fan.


If you're not overclocking, or using the SSD hybrid stuff, I don't think you need the Z68 -- I'd just get a cheap board from a reputable company (Asus or Gigabyte are my usual ones). MikeC has mentioned that he thinks the Asus BIOS fan control is the best out there.

One more note: if you're using a 64-bit OS, I'd get more RAM -- it's under $10/GB now. I put 16 GB into my recent build. At least get 2x4GB, rather than 2x2GB, so you have the option of expanding later.

I'll probably go ahead with 2x4GB, and the Xigmatek recommendation is great. I'll probably use them quite a bit in the future.

I think I'm going with the Xigmatek Loki SD963, probably with two Noiseblocker BlackSilentPro fans for a very quiet push-pull configuration: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 1683523308

(Separately, I'm also considering the Xigmatek Durin D982 as an alternative to the Big Shuriken in an upcoming low-power mATX i3 build: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835233059)

One other thought: I received the Fractal Design Core 3000 today. The case is very nice, but now that it's actually in the space intended for it, I'm wondering if this wouldn't be better as a mATX build in a Fractal Design Core 1000, just something a bit smaller: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811352009

It would mean my components were a bit closer together, but I'd have the GPU, top-mounted PSU (with an intake fan pulling out of the top of the case), and 92mm exhaust fan, one front 120mm intake fan, and possibly one side 120mm intake fan. According to the specification, it supports the Xigmatek Loki SD963. I would stow excess PSU cables in the empty external 5.25" bay. From this thread's photos, it seems OK to me, but I'm not sure: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=62537

What do you think? Should I be able to keep it nice and cool without turning it into a vacuum cleaner?

I doubt you'll need the second fan, especially if there's an exhaust fan behind the CPU socket.


Can't comment on the Durin. I bet the Shuriken would work just fine in that build. In general, I think Scythe ships nicer fans with their HS than Xigmatek does, though of course the Shuriken has a slim fan.


Can't comment on the cases either, sorry. I just keep building Solos like it's 2007.

Z mobo - I don't think you need it. If, however you plan on doing a lot of video encoding, then get an H67 board that supports Virtu in order to use Quick Sync.

Probably not since air will be forced out and almost directly into the exhaust, but I'm trying to plan for the worst as far as cooling requirements go.



My only beef with it is that it's so wide that it can apply pressure to whatever's in the nearest memory slot in a mATX. Otherwise, I think it's a great product (deadly silent until it starts pushing top speed, plus it's almost mandatory in my HTPC, a Lian-Li PC-C37B with very little overhead clearance). Regardless, if I have the room (and I will in this one), I think something a little taller and not so wide could be a happier fit.



Sure, but how is the Solo Mini with airflow and a hot discrete video card, or are we talking full ATX only?



What do you think of Virtu? Are there any issues with leaving it in d-mode at all times, any software that behaves improperly, etc?

We're talking full ATX, and with no hot video cards. In fact, I tape over the vent in the back by the slots, to make sure that all intake goes through the front filters.

I think I'm going to go ahead and order the Core 1000, see how things fit, and if it isn't right for me, I will repurpose it for the other mATX build with no discrete video.

Thanks again for your time. This has been instructive.

I don't have direct experience with it. My take-away from reviews (~3 months ago) was that it was a work in progress. Best case, it works well for you and you get the benefit of Quick Sync and your video card. Worst case - it's crap, so you remove the s/w and still have your video card, but don't have Quick Sync. I think it's worth getting an H67 card over the P67...as you have the potential benefit and no downside (as you aren't OC'ing).