Updated 12/2/2011

Please feel free to critique, or recommend better parts. I don't have a budget.

Simply put, I want a powerful system, with good cooling, and as silent as possible.


Case(s): SilverStone MicroATX Temjin TJ08B-E
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6811163182

Case Fan: 1x120mm Rear Noctua NF-S12B
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6835608009

Motherboard: Intel MicroATX P67
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6813121512

Power Supply: Kingwin 500W Fanless
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6817121083

GPU: Galaxy GTX 580
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6814162073

CPU: 2600K
http://www.newegg.ca/Shopping/ShoppingI ... 6819115070

Heatsink: Thermalright HR-02 Fanless
http://thermalright.com/products/index. ... data&id=95

SSD: Crucial 128GB SSD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6820167042

Memory: G.Skill 16GB DDR3
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6820231442


Thanks in advance.

Why the K CPU, if you're not overclocking and have a graphics card?

Most of your parts are picked wisely. No one can fault the Kingwin PSU and I believe the Accelero is also very quiet.

As scrooge mentions, there's no need for the 2600 "k", since you won't be overclocking (but why no overclocking? It has never been as easy & safe). That makes both the Z68 and P67 completely useless compared to the H67 which costs significantly less, so perhaps you should consider these.
Intel motherboards almost always lack the usual bells and whistles that mainboard makers include, e.g. fan controlling, UEFI etc. Just read a review like this:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5123/inte ... ault-x79/8

So perhaps an ASUS with a H67 chipset?

As I understand the P280 includes three of the new Twocool fans which are well-known and well-regarded here at SPCR:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1218-page5.html
A single fan can be run at 12 dBA/1m when set to "low", but three fans together will probably emit more noise. Nevertheless, those are good stock fans, and you will probably not need more than three fans.

The Noctua NH-D14 was "recommended" by SPCR, but didn't receive the Editor's Choice. Why? Because the fans are a bit too noisy to be considered silent. When the two fans are run at the minimum voltage, they emit 14,5 dBA/1m. The 2600k does not run very hot, so you can easily use other heatsinks and quieter fans. May I suggest a Scythe Mugen 2 or 3 whose PWM fan can be run at 300 rpm (very, very quiet).
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6835185168

Or you could also couple another heatsink with a scythe PWM fan. For example

fan:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6835185144

heatsink:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6835242001

You're right, I'll just buy a regular 2600. I've overclocked my 4 year old E8500 duo core, from 3.16Ghz to 4.00Ghz, the day I bought it and I felt no improvement with regards to performance within gaming, such as Call of Duty 4. Thus, I decided to clock back down to the original speed.

Imagine if I noticed no improvement with an E8500 back then, that it would be absolutely pointless to overclock the 2600 (for my purposes, which involved FPS gaming, watching movies, and web browsing).

Since, I won't be overclocking, and because the 2600 runs natively cool, I'm going to go passive. With either a Thermalright (similar to/or an HR-02), or the Megahalems you showed me.

I've seen several people cool their 2600 with a passive HR-02, however, I have yet to see someone passively cool their 2600 with a Megahalems, is it possible, or has it been done? Also, which of the 2 heatsinks are better? Price is not an issue for me.

For the case, I'm going to wait for the Antec P280, as it looks promising, and the case optimized for silence, especially with the sound poorfing material the put inside the case.

I may also purchase the Kingwin 500W Fanless PSU.

The machine will then only have 4 fans altogether. Two Noctua 120mm's on top of the case, one 120mm at the back, and the other fans being on the GPU.

Depending on temps, I may remove some case fans.

My current build is an E8500 Duo Core, with a 9800 GTX+. There's only one fan in my case, and that's on the GPU. I have no case fans.

I'm currently cooling my E8500 with an HR-01, and temps idle at 30c, and reach up to 60c under load (not too bad). I must admit the E8500 runs pretty cool for a 45nm.

Also, I'm using a Seasonic X460 fanless.

When I'm not gaming, the case is virtually completely silent. When I game, I turn up the fan on the GPU to 100%, and once I'm gaming I don't hear it since my headphones are on.

However, I know with this new build in mind 2600+GTX580, that I may need to add a case fan or two, but we shall see. You've all said the 2600 natively runs cool, and we'll see how the accelero cooling kit is on the GTX580 (my only concern).

It's possible that you might run across a game that will benefit from the 8MB of cache on the i7-2600(K) over the 6MB i5-2500(K), it's less likely that you'll come across one that will make use of the 2600's hyper threading. I'd say, save $100 and go for the i5-2500(K). Your other apps certainly don't need the horsepower of the 2600.

However, some games are more CPU driven than GPU, so getting the K is worth the few extra bucks. It's a nearly free fps bump when you need it.

It's hard for me to recommend spending $180+ on a sound card that sits inside a PC. Diminishing returns on fidelity given the EMI soup it's residing in...and that particular card doesn't look like it has any shielding... Go for something like the Xonar DX for $90 or look at some audiophile external solutions that work off the mobo's optical output...or just run the toslink out to your home theatre receiver.

Really comes down into what you plan to do with the PC, i find sound cards less desirable today than in the past, for movies, Intel HD 2000 can handle 1080p, and the GTX580 will be overkill, but if you game recent titles is a great buy (not minding the huge price). Now on the sound card, for pure movies.... both the Intel HD3000 on the 2600K and HD2000 on the 2600, and the GTX580 can do bit streaming and send the audio/video to a receiver via HDMI, for games.... i just don't care that much, realtek does the job fine, for pure gaming purposes maybe XFI would be a better choice... in the past i did invest on dedicated sound card... today in my case i don't see a huge benefit.

Now on the CPU, i prefer the K versions even for the resell value, i think would be much more attractive for buyer that the CPU can be OC. For pure gaming there is little difference on hyperthreading thus i agree with CA_Steve, into the 2500K being a better buy. Now if you do a lot of encoding/transcoding/editing, and your software benefits from hyperthreading... then i would go with 2600K, personally i think the none K versions are so close in price that i would take the extra cost $$$ just having better resell value or more people interested when i sell my parts.

On the CPU cooler, the NH-D14 is still at the top of the cpu cooler with the Thermalright Silver Arrow, but if you are not OCing.... idk if its worth it, i would favor the HR02 Macho or Mugen 3 as both are cheaper, and will have not trouble cooling a 2600k, both come with good PWM fans and good prices for what they offer. Check for compatibility of either on you choice of mobo.

On the memory be sure to check as some intel mobos are very picky with memory i would probably go with something that someone else is already using, or check intel for an approved list of memories.

On the PSU, i would go with Seasonic X-560, cheaper and its been reviewed by a lot of places with good postive feedback, including top psu places like HardOCP, Jonnyguru, Hardwaresecrets, im about to buy one for a HTPC/semi gaming build im doing for the HT room. I own the X660 and under light load the PSU is passive and even under load, still very quiet.

Abula, I agree. I'm going with the 2600K. An extra $30 isn't going to make a difference, especially when you consider the price of the entire system.

Abula, I look at your 2500K build, you have the HR-02. Would you consider going passive with the HR-02? Or did you overclock your 2500K?

I'm considering going passive on the 2600K, since I do not plan on overclocking. I'm going to add an HR-02, or something similar and passively cool the 2600K.

The reason, I'm opting for the Kingwin PSU, is because I'm going to get the 80 Plus Platinum fanless 500W. Seasonic offers the X460 fanless, but I'd rather have 500W, over the 460W.

I didnt tried nor consider fully passive gaming setup, its way to risky imo for high end cpus, i have the fans running at much lower speed than what they are rated, almost silent at idle and under load (prime95) i reach around 50c on all cores. I had OC to 4.2ghz and my temps were already on the 60s but the games i play with only 1 gpu i dont see much gain, and fans do climb much more with oc cpu, so for now im back to stock clocks, as i said didnt see much gain on games i play (mostly SC2), so i prefer the fans not ramping much and having the cpu in much lower temps.

I think the HR02 could be capable of running passively, even with 2500k/2600k, but it will really depend on the airflow of the case. The HR02 macho comes with TY140 which is a very good PWM fan, so i would use it, but you could try passive and active and see what compromises you get on temperatures/noise. I can see the gain of running everything passive as there will be virtually no noise, but once you add a fan to your setup, its just about undervolting it to unaudible levels, and to have good airflow, so i would probably just use the TY140 or the mugen with Slipstream PWM.

From Silverstone TJ08-E Owners Club, there is somone that its using the HR02 passive with 2500k, here is his post, and in a later post he talks about his temps,





Good luck,

Double post, sry

Thanks.

I definitely will consider doing a passive on the 2600K. I don't see an increase in terms of cooling when its fan vs passive, when the CPU is at stock speeds. Might as well go passive.

Couldn't find his post on that page though. It redirected me to some guy with a corsair liquid cool.

Maybe you should check twice, as those 280's ones would not look like the very same fans which you are pointing at, kuzzia.

Aren't these the same?

http://www.google.dk/imgres?imgurl=http ... Bw&dur=431

Feel free to go for the Kingwin, the semi-passively cooled version (Lazer) received the Editor's Choice Award.

CPU clocks only affect games that are much dependent on it. Tak for example Starcraft II:
http://www.techspot.com/review/305-star ... age13.html

Currently I don't think that actual TwoCool fans are the same (the same TruQuiet ones you're pointing at).



We can't even check the relevant specs (up to now there aren't any on the Antec site I checked), but it may worth to note that even the 140mm TwoCool and TruQuiet are actually two very different fans.

Ahh, I see now. I think the pre-release version of the P280 got me fooled. They are indeed the old Twocool fans:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Antec/P280/4.html

What a pity, I would much prefer the Truequiet fan.

Ah, the regular 2500 runs at the same speed as the 2500K. It also has all the virtualization toys enabled, should the OP ever wish to play with that. The price difference is small, but even at the same price I'd take the VT over overclocking and HD3000 graphics, if both will never be used.

Abula that is a nice build.

I may go the same direction you went, except I'm going to passively cool my CPU. Also, going passive PSU Kingwin 500W fanless.

That GTX 580 looks awesome with the Accelero kit.

I'm not sure what case I'm going for though, that Silverstone looks nice, or I will wait for the P280 it depends.

I updated my original build, see the original post.

Silverstone FT03.

Fanless CPU (HR-02)

Fanless PSU (Kingwin)

Sparkle GTX 570.

I think you should spend just a bit more on the GTX 570. The Sparkle is bog standard, for only a few dollars more you could have the MSI Twin Frozr III http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127582 which would be more in line with the rest of your build. And you get a copy of Batman Arkham City free, although for now you will have to run it in DX9 mode.

I was toying with the idea for using the FT03 for HTPC, but after reading SPCR FT03 and REDUX, i drop it off my list. Like the looks and design.... but end up going with a SOLO II.

On the TJ08-E you might be fine, as i posted before somone already did it, on the FT03... im not sure.

For going fanless you will need to have some airflow still on the PSU to help it cool itself, in most cases the case fans are enough as long as you have good airflow you should be fine. On the FT03.... the PSU is mounted on the bottom, not sure if any of the fans are going to help it. I would go with PSU like Seasonic X560 if you want to persue the FT03, since its still passive under light load, but has a fan in case you need it, specially since you are going with a high end gpu.

I would invest a little more on the Galaxy GTX580, its a card that comes 30% fan speed by defualt, and wont ramp up from that speed until 70C+, i seen some flash the bios to use it at 20% speed and have only +5C on idle over what i have, which is fine also. In the case you were gaming and not care much about the noise, you can still use MSI Afterburner and chose the way you want it to ramp based on the temps of the gpu.

Is the FT03 too loud?

Maybe I'll go SOLO II, first time I've seen it.

Bump.

As I'm on the pursuit of building the best overall (silence, cooling, and power) -- once again, I updated my original post.

Inspired by Abula's recent recommendations.

These are the significant components:

Case: Antec Solo II
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6811129177

Power Supply: Kingwin 500W Fanless
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6817121083

GPU: Galaxy GTX 580
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6814162073

CPU+Heatsink: 2600K (not overclocking) + Thermalright HR-02
http://www.newegg.ca/Shopping/ShoppingI ... 6819115070


Originally I wanted to build a MicroATX, however, it will be easier to work with an ATX Mid-Tower (cable management), such as the SOLO II, and should provide better cooling (more space).

The Galaxy GTX 580 has the accelero cooling kit, and after rebate it'll only cost $350!

Once again, as previously mentioned, I have no intention of overclocking the 2600K, thus the HR-02 should be more than adequate.

I hope to emulate the following build viewtopic.php?f=14&t=62128. Except with a slightly larger, but more modern case, and the addition of a GPU.



Thoughts?

I think all the choices are good, specially the GTX580 @ 350 is good deal imo, on the size i think ATX is always better than Micro ATX, much more choices and expanding for the future, but it really depends on what you want, i wanted to build on micro atx i wanted to try the form factor, and im pretty happy with the results.

Now on the cases i would recommend to research more, not saying the solo II is bad, nor the TJ08-E, nor the 280, i think all of them are good, but you should buy according to your needs of the build. Personally i want to try the solo II thus im building a new htpc on it, but all my hardware will be lower end than yours, idk how would a solo II handle a GTX580 and passive PSU and Passive CPU cooler, and probably no one knows as its too new... way to many variables and high end hardware, not saying it wont work good, just that its risky, its a new case that's barely been reviewed, so read more on it. Btw here is a sneak peak of my HTPC, just waiting on the Antec Solo II and X400 to arrive (still on boat).

Once again, it looks like a lovely build Abula.

Could you post pictures once its built?

Bump. Today, Dec. 2, I updated my original post yet again.

Abula, and others, I need a suggestion here.



I need to choose one of two cases:

The Silverstone MicroATX Temjin TJ08B
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6811163182

or

The Lian Li MicroATX PC-A04A (Silver)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6811112315
The second link is for the same case, but in black, however it holds more reviews (24)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6811112316






Here are the Pro(s) for each case, and the specifics about my hardware.

Specifics:

Passive Kingwin 80PLUS Platnium 500W PSU

Passive CPU Heatsink HR-02 for the 2600K



Pro(s)
Silverstone Temjin TJ-08: passive PSU Mounts on top, near a vent.

Lian Li A04A: If it doesn't matter that the passive PSU mounts on the bottom, then I would go for the Lian Li, as I prefer the Silver finish much more than the Silverstone.



My main concern: Is there a preference as to where a passive PSU is mounted; top (near a vent), or bottom?

Abula since you have the TJ08, I know this may be a bias answer for you, but which case do you honestly think is better, and why?

Both are great cases, and I'll be happy with either decision.

Thanks in advance for the replies all!

From a newegg review,
The hr02 is 162mm tall, 4mm more than coolermaster 212, so might not fit. The case seems narrower, to what i can see, the back has a 80mm / 92mm fan not like the Solo II, P280 or TJ08 that have a 120mm on the back, i dont own it so its hard to say for sure, but my guess is that the HR02 macho wont fit or wont allow the door to close. Another downside of the lian li is that it has the hdd cages in front of the intake fans, so air is partially blocked, this might be important since you want to use HR02 passive. On the TJ08-E if you were to only use a single 3.5 hhd and single 2.5 hdd you can remove the hard drive cage and let the air go directly to the heatsink (some say the cage helps with temps so you can leave it also but empty).

Now on the TJ08-E not all is perfect, there wont be much air on the top chamber where the PSU is located, it will relay on the PSU to passivly dispose the heat, it does have a top vent so thats what i would do.... but hard to say if would be enough. The TJ08-E also has a very noisy frontal fan, specially at 1300rpm, even at the low setting (using the built in switch), its way to loud for my liking, but if you undervolt it to around 600rpm becomes decent, still at this rpm is moving a decent amount of air, on the post i prevouly did, you can see he runs the frontal fan at 400rpm or so with still safe temps. I say this as if you go this route, be prepare to undervolt the fan, so get a zalman fanmate 2 or any controller of your preference to be able to undervolt the fan.

Now on the new mobo your selecting, DP67DEB3, i have mixed thoughts, you are not overclocking, so i think you could save some $$$ just going with H67 mobo. Intel can lower pwm fans (i have only experience with scythe on intel mobos), to 300rpm on the cpu, at least on my DH61DL and DQ67SW, this is partially the reason im also using the solo II, as i will run 3 fan (maybe 5) at their lowest rpm setting, expecting the end result to be inaudible at 300-500rpm, but this i yet to do, as my case still on transit.

I sure will, but probably around Christmas.

I have the PC-9F which is kind of like the big brother to your Lian li choice. I love it but a few things you should be aware of.
- If you are just using an SSD i would remove the top rack and just use the bottom one, if you add a HD make sure that you suspend it in the 5.25inch bay since the cages are not very good for vibrations.
- You are going to be very limited in terms of coolers, according to Lian Li max height is 140mm so you will probably end up having to use 92mm tower coolers if you follow this. May be able to get by with a gelid tranquillo though based on the observations by the owner in the previous post. However since you are not overclocking the processor this should be fine for your heat generation, really you do not need to go fanless, a low speed fan is inaudible.
- I would block off the top fan vent (the 9f comes with an aluminum blank, not sure if the A4 does but you may be able to buy separately) and use a good, low speed 92mm at the back and go for positive pressure with 2 solid fans at the front. I found with my Lian li that the fans weren't great and the one I used started clicking after a while, I replaced them with noctuas/slipstreams.

If you enjoy doing a bit of tinkering then I would say go the Lian li since you seem to like the design better and the build quality is awesome. If you just want to do the build easily and not have to worry about changing much go with the Silverstone. Either way both are great cases.

Edit: Btw I did a build for my father-in-law in the Silverstone so I know both cases pretty well (assuming the A4 is like the 9F which it sure seems to be)

Abula, what I may do is opt for the Silverstone, remove the front 180mm fan (which you say is noisy), and add a silent Noctua 120mm in the rear.

Either,
the NF-S12B
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6835608009
or,
the NF-P12-1300
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6835608004

Any thoughts as to which fan is quieter?

PMcG, how would you say the quality of the Silverstone is compared to the Lian Li? Is the Lian Li much more superior in terms of finish, and materials used? I suspect the Lian Li is superior quality, however, I'd really like to add an HR-02 passive on my 2600K, thus, I must go for the Silverstone.



Once again, thanks for the replies. You've given me much knowledge once again. Had I not gotten any feedback, I might've ordered the Lian Li, and only to found out that the HR-02 would not fit.

Well Lian li is aluminum which is lighter but may flex a bit more. The silverstone has a better interior to work in but the fit is not a nice (ie side panel catches aren't well made, tray can flex a bit. They are honestly both good choices like I said the lian li is more work though.

Mmmm idk is that's such a good idea, rear fan is at the bottom, this isn't an issue because the frontal fan is massive, almost the size of the micro atx mobo, so the rear fan is optional.... But the frontal idk, with the rear being at the bottom. if you plan on doin this, i would instead go with the solo II if you want to go with 120mm fans, scythe slipstream pwm + intel mobo its really good combo, the mobo will drop the fans to 300rpm should be inaudible. Easily the loudest component will be the GPU.

lian li finishes are well above average, their painting is top notch and their cases are very light bieng made of aluminium, but not necesarly the quietest cases, I like more sylverstone and antec steel cases, the are much more rigid and feel more solid, and like the P280 / solo come even with noise dampening materials on the side pannels.

I too must concur that the Lian Li's texture is superb, however, the case(s) are not deep enough to fit a HR-02.

I saw the Antec Solo II, I don't like the finish at all. I much prefer the Silverstone.

If Noctua, or any other company makes a 180mm silent fan, that would be ideal, but I don't know of any.

However, I don't there will be an issue on the Silverstone with removing the 180mm front fan, and adding a 120mm rear. My PC will be located in my basement, which is very cold in the winter, and in the summer the temperature never rises above 18-20 Celcius/68 Fahrenheit.

At first, I'll try and get away without a 180mm front fan.

If I think I need it, I'll ad one of these three. However, I'm not sure if they are much quieter than the stock 180mm, but some come with controls.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductLis ... name=180mm