Home PC advice

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sinLog
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue May 03, 2011 1:02 am
Location: Montreal, Canada

Home PC advice

Post by sinLog » Tue Feb 21, 2012 2:43 am

Here is my build project:

Case: Solo 2 with the supplied fan only, top vent closed
PS: Seasonic X-560
CPU: i7-2600K
Mobo: Asus P8Z68-V PRO/Gen3
HSF: Noctua NH-U9B SE2
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile CML16GX3M4A1600C9B (4x4GB, height: 26.25mm)
SSD: Crucial m4 128 GB
HDD: Caviar Green WD20EARX (2 TB) suspended
BD: Asus BW-12B1LT (writer)
OS: Windows 7, 64-bit
Monitor: ?

I'll use the computer for media conversion, very light media editing, plus general usage (other hobbies might add in the future, who knows). I want power and silence.

I'll try to overclock a little bit, as long as I can keep the computer silent. I have no experience in OC. Furthermore, last time I built a system was about ten years ago, using parts I got at flea markets. So that I have very little experience. I hope I can get some advice from the knowledgeable people here. For instance:
- Would the fanless X-460 be a better choice ?
- Can I use only one of the 2 fans supplied with the Noctua (to reduce the noise sources) ? Or maybe the U9B isn't good enough for my build, even with both fans, and I should move to the C12 ?
- Is it necessary to get the low profile ram, or should I go for the regular Vengeance CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B ?
- Can someone suggest a reliably silent matte 23" monitor ? I have followed a thread on spcr about whining and buzzing monitors (in fact, I read it twice), but I am no better off : the large majority of the posts are about brand new monitors. But what happens after 3 months or a year ? (I should mention that I won't leave the brightness at 100%)
- I suppose that getting the Caviar Black instead of the Green is out of the question ?
- The Lian Li A04 appeals to me more than the Solo 2, but I skipped it because I think I can't silence it. Any chance that I am wrong ? PS: I am still keeping an eye on a related thread: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=63878&p=555159#p555159

boost
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Location: de_DE

Re: Home PC advice

Post by boost » Tue Feb 21, 2012 4:09 am

sinLog wrote:- Would the fanless X-460 be a better choice ?
It will hardly make a difference, the x560's fan should stay off 99% of the time.
sinLog wrote:- Can I use only one of the 2 fans supplied with the Noctua (to reduce the noise sources) ? Or maybe the U9B isn't good enough for my build, even with both fans, and I should move to the C12 ?
Yes, you can use only one of the fans. If you overclock it might be quieter to use both because the single one needs higher rpms for the same temp.
What about the Ninja? You know from the other thread it fits.
sinLog wrote:- Is it necessary to get the low profile ram, or should I go for the regular Vengeance CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B ?
With one fan definitely not, not sure if that's true with both fans attached.
sinLog wrote:- I suppose that getting the Caviar Black instead of the Green is out of the question ?
The green is fast enough for all storage. If you need more room for OS and programs you have other options like Intel smart storage.
sinLog wrote:- The Lian Li A04 appeals to me more than the Solo 2, but I skipped it because I think I can't silence it. Any chance that I am wrong ?
If you suspend the hard drive and use silicone bolts for the fans you can eliminate aluminum hum, or at least greatly reduce it. I think it will be very quiet that way.

sinLog
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue May 03, 2011 1:02 am
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: Home PC advice

Post by sinLog » Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:46 pm

Thank you for your quick reply.

In view of your comments, I am satisfied with my choices for the PS, the HDD and the low profile Vengeance ram.

The Ninja 3 weighs over a kg. I know that many people use heavy heatsinks, but I wouldn’t be at ease with that. I am now considering the Noctua NH-U12P SE2.

As for the Lian Li, I’ll have to check it again. The monitor is still an unknown.

kuzzia
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Re: Home PC advice

Post by kuzzia » Wed Feb 22, 2012 2:46 am

Seems like a very good built you've got there.

IMO I believe the Seasonic X400 is more than adequate if you don't use a dedicated GPU. I don't think the CPU will even consume 200W and you don't have any other power hungry components. Also, I believe the WD black would be too loud for your needs. As long as you have the SSD (great one by the way) for your OS then the Green should do just fine.

boost
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Location: de_DE

Re: Home PC advice

Post by boost » Wed Feb 22, 2012 3:47 am

sinLog wrote:The Ninja 3 weighs over a kg. I know that many people use heavy heatsinks, but I wouldn’t be at ease with that. I am now considering the Noctua NH-U12P SE2.
That's 770g vs 1080g. Both coolers are mounted with a backplate. I don't think the extra weight is a problem, unless you move your computer around frequently.
The Noctua is a high quality cooler and you won't be disappointed, just a bit prey.
Did you consider the Thermalright HR-02 Macho? It costs the same as the Scythe Ninja 3, mounts with a backplane, weighs only 860g and is very good with a very low RPM fan. It will fit in the Solo II, but probably not the Lian Li A-04.

Falkon
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Location: Canada

Re: Home PC advice

Post by Falkon » Wed Feb 22, 2012 4:47 am

Why not use something like the Noctua NH-C12P SE14? It weighs only 730g with a fan and has the added benefit of some airflow spilling over to the RAM and North bridge/VRMs.

I use one in conjunction with an i5 2500, X-560, and WD10EARS inside a Solo and it's incredibly quiet!

sinLog
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue May 03, 2011 1:02 am
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: Home PC advice

Post by sinLog » Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:33 am

Thank you everyone, your help is much appreciated.

Even though there seems to be more clearance for the ram, the height of the Macho is worrisome. I wasn’t aware of the NH-U12P SE14: that’s the one I’ll get. Thanks for that. I prefer the X-560 to the X-400. The fan should stay off most of the time, and it’s like an insurance. I’ll forget the Lian Li, I prefer comfort to aesthetics…

About ram, I realised that the white low profile Vengeance is rated 1.35v, while the blue and grey are 1.5v. The latter come in 4x4gb, while the whites come in 2x4gb only. So, I’ll try to buy 2 sets of whites, except that these are back orders in the only store that sells them here in Montreal (Canada Computers). I hope that they can get them from Ottawa, otherwise I’ll have to settle for the blues. Of course, I could order them on the web, but I’ve never done that. Is the voltage difference worth the trouble ?

So here is my new list:

Case: Solo 2 with the supplied fan only, top vent closed
PS: Seasonic X-560
CPU: i7-2600K
Mobo: Asus P8Z68-V PRO/Gen3
HSF: Noctua NH-U12P SE14
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile CML8GX3M2A1600C9W times 2, or CML16GX3M4A1600C9B
SSD: Crucial m4 128 GB
HDD: Caviar Green WD20EARX (2 TB) suspended
BD: Asus BW-12B1LT (writer)
OS: Windows 7, 64-bit
Monitor: ?

boost
Posts: 661
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 10:29 am
Location: de_DE

Re: Home PC advice

Post by boost » Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:21 am

sinLog wrote:About ram, I realised that the white low profile Vengeance is rated 1.35v, while the blue and grey are 1.5v. The latter come in 4x4gb, while the whites come in 2x4gb only. So, I’ll try to buy 2 sets of whites, except that these are back orders in the only store that sells them here in Montreal (Canada Computers). I hope that they can get them from Ottawa, otherwise I’ll have to settle for the blues. Of course, I could order them on the web, but I’ve never done that. Is the voltage difference worth the trouble ?
No, current CPUs aren't optimized for low voltage ram. There is no performance benefit and no power benefit. I bought the regular Vengeance with the large black heatsink @ 1,5V.
sinLog wrote:Even though there seems to be more clearance for the ram, the height of the Macho is worrisome. I wasn’t aware of the NH-U12P SE14: that’s the one I’ll get.
The Antec Solo II has 174mm room for the CPU cooler. The HR-02 will fit easily. The Noctua is a great heatsink, very good performance and great build quality. You get equal performance from the HR-02 for quite a bit less. Other than the higher price, there's nothing wrong with the Noctua.

sinLog
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue May 03, 2011 1:02 am
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: Home PC advice

Post by sinLog » Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:52 am

Boost, the HR-02 sells for can$80 at the local store, and the NH-U12P SE14 is can$70: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_ ... _id=032884
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_ ... _id=031388
In any case, I like the Noctua. Thank you for all your valuable advice.

The Solo 2 is out of stock. I’ll report back in 2 or 3 weeks.

Falkon
Posts: 115
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:59 pm
Location: Canada

Re: Home PC advice

Post by Falkon » Fri Feb 24, 2012 6:27 am

sinLog wrote:Boost, the HR-02 sells for can$80 at the local store, and the NH-U12P SE14 is can$70: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_ ... _id=032884
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_ ... _id=031388
In any case, I like the Noctua. Thank you for all your valuable advice.

The Solo 2 is out of stock. I’ll report back in 2 or 3 weeks.
I'm not sure if you meant that you wanted to use the HSF I recommended but in any case I should point out that there is no NH-U12P SE14.
There is a NH-U12P SE2 which is a tower cooler and a NH-C12P SE14 which is a downblowing cooler - the one I use and recommend for your application.

Also, the NH-C12P SE14 can be found for $60 CAD here.

canyouhearit
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2012 7:46 am

Re: Home PC advice

Post by canyouhearit » Fri Feb 24, 2012 7:54 am

I went with Asus P8Z68-V PRO/Gen3 & Noctua NH-U12P SE2
Found to my cost that the M/B can only use PWM to control fans, and the Noctua supplied fans cannot be controlled via PWM. So the fans run but at a fixed speed regardless of cpu temp.
This incompatibility is not mentioned in the Noctua compatibility list but their support dept are aware of the problem.

kuzzia
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Location: Denmark

Re: Home PC advice

Post by kuzzia » Fri Feb 24, 2012 11:11 am

Have you tried using FanXpert in ASUS Ai Suite? You should try downloading the ladder, either it's version 1 or 2 doesn't really matter.

sinLog
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue May 03, 2011 1:02 am
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: Home PC advice

Post by sinLog » Fri Feb 24, 2012 4:13 pm

Falkon, it’s a good thing you pointed that out to me. The clerk at the store didn’t notice the discrepancy and put the NH-U12P SE2 on my quotation. The one I want is the NH-C12P SE14, the downblowing one, which is also $70 here. The second link on my last post should be:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_ ... _id=031929
At the online store you referred me to, everything is cheaper than on my list. I’ll make a comparative list and then decide. The advantage in going with a real store is, if I am not happy with an item, I can return it within 14 days and pay only the 5% restocking fee (no fee in case of a defect): no RMA, no mail, no delays.

I don’t know much about FanXpert, but it says here that version 2 “will enable the use of 3-pin fans as well”:
http://rog.asus.com/78012012/guides/dis ... fan-xpert/
I hope I am right in believing that the fan will be unaudible at fixed speed with the ULNA in my system.

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