Hello , Im a first time poster .

Looking to build a ''semi quiet '' Gaming/general use computer .

so far ive selected :

1. Fractal Desing R4
2. Intel i5 3570k (will overclock)
3. Gigabyte zzzx-ud3h (not sure about this, maybe asus v-pro , better fan control ? )
4. Noctua u12p-se2 or D14 (Im under the impresssion that the u12p is quietter , I could be wrong) open to other sugestions.
5. ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU II ( might be overkill using a 1680*1050 screen ) I play FPS games, so more fps is always good. Is directcu II the quietest of stock coolers for this card ? MSI PE ? Might also upgrade the screen ...
6. Crucial m4 or samsung 830 SSD (seems like a toss up ) 256gb
7. Seasonic x760 or x660 (overclock and probably SLI when the GPU price goes down) still to much power maybe ?
8. Weastern Digital caviar blue or green ( to store Flac and Mp3 . videos and other files....) how slow is the green vs blue ?
9. G.skill ripjaw 2x4 8gb ( height problem with CPU cooler ? )
10 Asus DRW DVD ...

Alot of questioning stil on my selections . but this is about the level of performance im looking for.
I will be doing some research and reading reviews ect... Any Comments and Recommendations would be verry welcomed

Thanks.

Hiya.

If you figure out the gaming part, especially the monitor resolution, everything else falls in line from that. Yes, the GTX 670 is overkill for 1680x1050. I've been recommending the 660 Ti for 1920x1080. Take a look at the video card reviews/benchmarks for the fps games you like. Look at both the min and average frame rates. Most monitors refresh at 60Hz, so a lot of fps beyond that is pretty useless. I can't imagine a reason why you'd need SLI at 1680x1050 in any case...

Both Asus Direct CU and MSI Twin Frozr cards are good choices. Here's links to 660 and 660 Ti reviews.

Motherboard: I'd go for the ASUS V because of FanXpert 2 (unless it cost much more than the Gigabyte). The P8Z77-V has FanXpert 2 so there's no need to buy the "Pro".

SSD: I find them both reliable so just pick the cheapest one. You won't be able to notice the difference in performance anyway so this shouldn't be a criterion when buying an SSD.

HD: A WD Green is easily fast enough as storage. It's only as a OS drive that it lacks in performance compared to a 7200 rpm HD. So for quietness, choose the WD Green, especially when you have the SSD to handle the OS, programs, games etc.

RAM: I don't know much about this, but does an overclock require fast, overclockable RAM? If not, why not go with standard RAM without a heatsink. Or perhaps RAM with a very low heatsink. Like these perhaps:

http://www.jmsinfo.com/images/Kingston_HyperX.jpg

PSU: KingWin also makes quality PSU's that are comparable to Seasonic X PSU's in terms of efficiency, noise, electrical performance etc.

1. R4. Good case evolution from SPCR Recommended R3. Quite large though, but that's what you get if you have to go full ATX. (why not mATX?)
2. 3570K. Good value for overclocking, good for gaming, wouldn't hesitate.
3. Gigabyte has had poor fan control so far. I would go Asus for Fan Xpert 2 or Fan Xpert+, as pointed out earlier.
4. Noctua U12P SE2 will be plenty, alternatively I would suggest the Thermalright HR-02 Macho. Great value, beats the D14 with dual fans, no RAM issues, excellent for low airflow (silence).
5. GPU definitely overkill for such a small resolution, the 660 Ti is much more appropriate, as pointed out earlier, and since cost is apparently not a problem.
6. I have the m4/128. Love it. I've built rigs with the Samsungs and they have been lovely as well. Crucial's firmware updating has been slightly easier.
7. No SLI necessary, Ivy Bridge CPU, overclocking... no more than 500/600 W PSU (go Gold or Platinum, since money is not an issue)? See this chart here for reference - the overclocked 660 Ti with overclocked Sandy Bridge EE (130 W TDP vs 77 W for the i5-3570K) CPU was pulling 434 W only in a real-world heavy gaming scenario. Maybe the recently SPCR reviewed Enermax Platimax or Kingwin/Superflower LZW? I like Seasonic, but have had buzzing samples from them.
8. Green. No contest. Blues are legacy drives with no real advantages between Blacks and Greens - and now Reds.
9. Ripjaws fit fine with the Noctua U12P SE2, had some in my old setup, should fit even better with the Macho. I use Snipers (low voltage) from G.Skill now. For overclocking, the faster the better, but the price cutoff (value) comes around DDR3-2133 or so.
10. If you have it already, why not. I like Pioneers best, smooth rumble instead of buzzsaw.

Why not go mATX? If you only have SLI (although it would be a waste of money for you at that resolution), you'll have two cards, and you can get SLI boards in mATX. Compact cases are lovely to live with, and these days they're clever enough not to hinder the assembly process or maintenance. I absolutely love my Define Mini (after using a P180B for many, many years), even if it's not the smallest example.

I would agree on uATX. This will reduce cost a bit and may actually benefit cooling quietly.

How certain are you that you'll go for SLI? It rarely makes economic sense nowadays to upgrade to SLI at a later date. Cards don't go down in cost by much during their production run and then the next generation comes along and is substantially faster anyway. Unless you can pick up a card 2nd hand later on, the price won't make sense.

I agree with Das_Saunamies and edh about m-ATX. It's much more practical in real life and it's usually a bit cheaper. But I know of no mother boards with Fan Xpert2. But Fan Xpert and Fan Xpert+ are also very decent at controlling fan speeds.

Maximus V Gene has Fan Xpert 2. The Asus page for it doesn't list it, but you can find verification via the manual.