Hi,

I'm building a new quiet system. I was hoping to gather thoughts on my "shopping list". I've spent a few days reading about a lot of the individual components, but I don't have a good sense for how they might or might not fit or work well together.

Any thoughts would be appreciated with respect to noise levels, temperature, compatibility or even difficulty of assembly!

I included links to where I'll be buying them so you can see the exact model / specs and the price I'll probably end up paying.

Case
SilverStone Temjin TJ08B-E
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163182

Power Supply
KingWin Lazer Platinum LZP-550
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121080

Processor
Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge (3.4ghz, not the "K" version)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502

Processor Cooling
Arctic Cooling ACFZI30 (120mm)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186058

Motherboard
ASUS Maximus V Gene (micro ATX)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131830

Graphics Card
Sapphire Radeon 7750 Fanless (part #11202-03-40G)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102980

Hard Drive
Crucial M4 256gb SSD (2.5", SATA III)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443

RAM -- already purchased this (was on sale for $80 w/ shipping)
2x G.Skill Ares 16gb (2x8gb) DDR3-1600 (PC3 12800), part number F3-1600C9D-16GAR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231606

Monitors -- already purchased this (was on sale for $180 w/ shipping)
2x LG IPS231B-BN 23 inch e-IPS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005240

The build looks really good though I would really recommend you to spend an extra 5 for a Scythe Mugen 3 (cpu cooler):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835185175

The fan is great (same as in the Mugen 2), and if the performance is anything like the Mugen 2, then choosing the Mugen 3 should be a no brainer.

Also, depending on your perception of quietness, the 180 mm fan in the Temjin is regarded by many at SPCR as being a bit too loud, even when undervolted. That's problematic, because what if you don't think it's quiet enough? What if the fan develops an annoying clicking noise? Then there are virtually no available 180 mm after market fans.

So why not consider the Silverstone Precision PS07? It's the same case as the Temjin, but the 180 mm fan has been replaced buy two front 120 mm fans (which means they are replaceable in case you don't like their acoustics). The SPCR review showed that the fan setup (two front fans) doesn't perform well at all. But you could place one of the fans in the rear as an exhaust fan. The Antec Solo II has proven how a single rear fan can cool components neatly. The other fan can be kept as a front fan, or you could strap it on the GPU via zipties. This has proven to be a VERY effective way to cool a passive GPU. If you do this, the GPU will be easily cooled and the CPU (remember, only 77 W TDP) will have a good Mugen 3 and a exhaust fan. So in this way, the PS07 won't suffer from the mediocre thermal performance, and you will still benefit from the features of the Temjin TJ08-E.

And lastly, are you only going to use an SSD?

What apps require the HD 7750 over the IGP?

CA Steve:
I heard that the IGPs don't perform great on multimonitor setups, and eventually I want 3 screens. Things as silly as the UAC "darkening screen" apparently have lag. I also might do a bit of a casual gaming. So I figured a discrete card would be good, but a fanless, relatively inexpensive one would do the trick.

Kuzzia:
I'll take your advice on the Scythe Mugen 3 -- looks great!

In terms of storage, I would like to add a large hard drive as well, but to be honest, I wasn't sure what the "quiet" approach to a mechanical drive is (I read about soft / rubber mounts or hanging with elastics, but it seemed a bit complicated!). Any tips would help, I'm open to advice!

As for the case, I read the review as well on the case and it scared me a bit (didn't seem to cool nearly as well). You suggested that the PS07 would be better if I modify the stock fans. I'm not sure I fully understand how to modify it though. A few questions about it:

1. I think the idea of modifying the fans / moving them around is a cool idea. To make sure I get this, you are suggesting that I take one of the two fans and place it in the rear, and take the second fan and either leave it in place at the front, or attache it to the GPU (with zip-ties -- will they melt?)
2. Either way, what fans would you recommend I use instead of the ones that come with the PS07?
3. Is it relatively straight-forward to swap out fans (just need a regular screw-driver? or does stuff get interesting / more complicated and require more tools?)

Many thanks!

You could take a 2 or 3 TB WD Green (the quietest 3,5" reviewed here at SPCR) and suspend it in the 5,25" bay using elastic cords. There are tons of photos of suspend hard drives here at SPCR for inspiration. But if you don't fancy a DIY suspension system, there are after market solutions.



1: That's exactly what I am suggesting And no, the fan won't melt. The GPU will only reach ~70 C during stress testing (Furmark) with a very low rpm fan. And that's shouldn't be enough for plastic to melt.
2: Try the stock fans first (you might need to undervolt them). If you don't like them, then come back and ask the forum for suggestions.
3: It's a very straight-forward proces! A regular screw-driver is all it takes.

Yep, 3 monitors = need a discrete GPU. Nice selection of components. +1 on Kuzzia's recommendations. Oh, 3770...do you have apps that will make use of hyperthreading? If not, save the $'s and go for the 3570.

I would suggest the Cooler Master Hyper 212 plus instead. Its cheaper and performance will be just as good. SPCR even has a review on it.

Its unfortunate the Thermalright HR-02 Macho isn't on newegg. Would have been the best choice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835103099

You'd have to buy an aftermarket fan for the Hyper, unless the fan on the Hyper 212 EVO has been improved since the Hyper 212+.

If you plan on using the hdd cage that comes with the TJ08, then you would have to look for a cpu cooler that fares well with a single fan in pull configuration, because the hdds will not leave enough room for the fan to be mounted in push position.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

I'm thinking of making the following changes.

1) Using the SilverStone SST-PS07B case instead of the TJ08B-E. I plan to make two modifications:
1.1) Take one of the fans from in front and put it on the rear of the case. Hopefully that will cool things well enough. If not, I'll take the second fan from the front and zip-tie it to the GPU heat sink.
1.2) Remove the hard drive cage above the "combo drive cage". I'm hoping that the RAM I use will have a low-enough profile that without the hard drive cage there, I can leave the CPU cooler on the left hand side of the processor (I think that's "push" configuration).

2) I'm going to stick with a Samsung 830 Series 256GB SSD (~$200). I plan to use NAS for additional storage (media files, etc.) and that will be in another room, so then I won't have to worry about noise.

3) I'm going to use the Scythe SCMG-3100 (Mugen 3) as the CPU cooler

I'm hoping to start ordering the parts on Wednesday or Thursday, so if anyone has suggestions (or notices something bad/wrong), by all means let me know!

Thanks again for the help!

Looks very good. I wish you all luck with your system