Doing my every 2-3 year upgrade.

Here is what I have picked out so far:

ASUS P8Z77-V LX
Intel 3770K
Crucial Ballistic Tactical Tracer ddr3 1600 - 2X4GB (8GB)
Corsair AX850 PSU-
ANTEC p183 case
WD 1 TB mass storage
Already have an INTEL 510 series SSD 120GB
Already have an LG DVD writer

Need fan advice.
Here are the fan choices at AVADirect for their QUIET Gaming build:

SCYTHE Mugen 3 (3000 or 3100)
various Noctua NH variants
Thermalright silver arrow SB-E
Promlimatech Megahelams

I am not familiar with any of them. Just want one that is quiet and does the job.

I am thinking of also maybe just buying the parts from Newegg and doing my own build (have done a few of them over the years), but the price difference
for AVADIRECT to put it together is not much more than the parts alone- maybe an extra $100.


Any thoughts welcome. I am going with the integrated graphics for now. May add a video card later, but honestly do not do any gaming anymore.

Thanks for your help!

The job?

Some general ideas; The i7 doesn't really add anything beyond some special workloads like for instance video editing or server use. An i5-3570K might be a better choice.
The PSU is vastly overpowered/expensive although I'm guessing it's also pretty quiet. They appear to have the Seasonic X-400 and X-560 models for instance.
Get a 2TB drive, the price should only be barely higher. And make it a 5400 RPM drive for noise control. One could always thrown in another SSD if more "performance space" is required.
Even if not necessary I might thrown in 16GB of RAM because it's so inexpensive today.
Either of those CPU coolers will be fine.

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry- I should have indicated the primary use of the machine.

Basic daily tasks like word processing/browsing.
The heavy lifting is with some Music Digital Audio Workstation processing and recording tasks and some video editing.
Kind of in the Prosumer range.
I also like to have lots of headroom in my systems as I do not upgrade that often (every 2 years or so).
The Ram idea is a good one- I actually have a couple VST plugins that use as much ram as you can give them.


Is there a Noctua NH version that is better liked among these by folks here?

Noctua NH- U12p/C12p/D14/C14


Thanks.

These are all good heatsinks. I would start out using their stock fans. If that isn't good enough try swapping in some undervolted Nexus reference fans.

I use the NH-C12P SE14 and love it. With the single 140mm fan on the ULN adapter it's silent in my environment. I like it's low height compared to a tower cooler, the spillover cooling for the motherboard and great RAM clearance. It's not cheap but worth the price in my opinion. Also, the mounting system was very straightforward and is very secure.

You can save some bucks by going with a lower wattage PSU. Your build with integrated graphics will use ~120W under heavy load. A mid-ranged gfx card like the HD7850 will only add another 150W.

Consider a 500-550W PSU if you want headroom for a gfx card and still quiet under load. Seasonic x560, Kingwin LZP-550, etc..

Thanks for the input everybody.
Made a few adjustments based upon the info provided.


Here is where I am at now.

ASUS P8Z77-V LX
Intel 3770K
Crucial Ballistic Tactical Tracer ddr3 1600 - 2X4GB (8GB)
Corsair AX750 PSU
ANTEC p183 case
Intel 520 series 240 GB SSD
Samsung SH222
Noctua Dh-14 fan

Get a PSU from this list. The Seasonic X-650 is what I would recommend.

=============

Oops, forgot this link
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_PSUs

Why buy Antecs p183?

It's pretty old and has some flaws. Nothing to serious, but it isn't out-of-the-box quiet without some mods. If you like the looks, check out Fractal Design R3 or R4.

If you want to stay Antec, then look at Sonata II or P280.

Thanks. It is my understanding that the Corsair AX750 is based upon the Seasonic X series?
Could be wrong.

Dunno. I looked at the Fractal Design series. Will look at those again.
Thanks!

OK. Changed my final order to use a Fractal Design Define R4.
I liked the USB 3.0 port headers on it and the 140mm fan options.

Thanks.

Well, ended up going for a complete DIY job with parts from Newegg instead of doing the choose parts/they build it at AVAdirect.

AVAdirect would not change cases from the Antec p183 to the Fractal Design R4. Have no idea why.
I priced everything at Newegg and will save over $250 to DIY. Have built quite a few systems so should be OK.

I decided on the Noctua NH-U12P SE2 fan instead of the NH D14 to make the install a little easier.

Thanks for all of the input here.

Should be fun to build it too. Return with some pics when it's done.

Update for those that are interested.

The build went off without a hitch.
This mobo is easy to work with. The FanExpert software seems to work well.
The R4 case is best I have ever used. Well built quality case.
Comes with 2 stock fans (front and back).
The Noctua CPU heatsink and 2 fans installed nicely.

Overall very happy. Quiet powerful system.
CPU temps are 28c idle and up to 33 C under load.
Thanks for the help!

Nice. I assume the included case fans were good enough then. Any noticeable clicking noise from them?

None. Two large 14" fans. One intake and one exhaust.
I am not using any side fan or top fan or another front intake.

I have 4 hard drives in the unit (two HDD and two SSD). Two external hard drives.
The intake fan draws some air over the them and through the case.
The Power supply fan is facing down and exhausts air out of bottom of case which has a grill opening.
No dedicated video card (the Intel integrated graphics are good for my use right now).

The ASUS FAN EXPERT software has the two case fans running at lower speeds than maximum. Dead quiet.
I bumped them up to max to hear them (they are audible then). No clicking that I noticed, but louder than I would want.

As is, this thing is the most quiet system I have ever built and the CPU and Mobo temps are great so far.
Will see how the temps are in extended CPU intensive audio or video processing work.