Hello all,

I always remembered the best computer/build advice I ever received was from here, so I found myself needing to return again for some help with my new year 2013 build.

Usage: Office work, Graphics Design and Photo Editing (Photoshop, Illustrator), HD Video Editing (Premiere Pro), Web design (Dreamweaver), Multiple Virtual Machines (VirtualBox/VMware) for software/application testing/development, Gaming (2560x1440), Blu-Ray ripping and authoring.

Site preference: Amazon.co.uk, Ebuyer, CCLonline. Budget: £1500, but flexible.

CASE - Antec P280 / Corsair 550D / Fractal R4
I was certain on the 550D until I did a recent build for my friend, it had some great touches but felt no where near as solid as my P182. I wondered if the R4 build quality was similar to the 550D or if there were any other favourites knocking about?

MOBO - ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe
This board had all the features required, didn't feel the need to go any higher or adding thunderbolt at this point in time.

CPU - Intel i7 3770K
K for overclocking to at least 4ghz, hopefully higher

CPU Cooler - Prolimatech Megahalems Rev C / Noctua NH-D14 / ???
Last time I did a build the Megahalems was 'it', with the release of so many new coolers it's hard to keep up.

RAM - Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 16GB (2 x 8GB)
Open to suggestions, figured if I go low profile there would be no clearance issues with any CPU cooler.

GFX - Asus 2GB GeForce GTX 670 DCU II / EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW Signature 2
Started off as a 660 Ti, but I bumped it up a bit. So I narrowed it down to these 2, but I am open to suggestions.

PSU - Seasonic X-650, Corsair AX760, AX760i
Love my current X-650, but there seems to be less stock going around and the Corsair AX series (of Seasonic origin) seems to be popular at the moment. My only requirements are passive cooled, not fanless (but quiet), and fully modular.

SSD - Samsung 256GB 840 Pro
Just wanted a single drive with good reliability and performance.

HDD(s) - 6 x 2TB WD Green.
Which I own already, but they need to fit the case. Other storage on another PC and NAS.

FAN(s) - Basic Nexus 120mm / Noctua NF-S12B / Scythe Slip Stream 120mm / ???
Nexus has been my favourite fan since I found SPCR, but I am sure there must have been advancements in the past 5ish years right?


2 years ago my build was very easy, P182, Megahalems, Seasonic X series and Nexus fans. This time around I've been reading as much as I can, going back and forth on various components and I hit a point last night about 4am where I just couldn't watch another youtube unboxing/review.

I am in desperate need for advice/opinions on:
1. CASE (capitalised because I am really stuck on this one)
2. CPU Cooler + fans
3. PSU
4. Case fans
5. Graphics card
6. Any other recommendations and/or substitutions

Really appreciate any advice, experience or opinions you can give me on this build and for taking the time to read my post. Apologies for the length, I was trying to be thorough

Cases are all a matter of opinion, I find that my preference in cases tends to be very basic and somewhat easy to please.

I don't like flashy things, while years ago I liked having a window, as of late, I don't want to see it. I started off liking black, now I find white to give a cleaner look (though the finishes are generally much less durable). I'm very capable of sticking something absurd into something unsuspecting, consider the NZXT Source 210 Elite. It's nothing special, but does have some very nice features going for it. It could use a Matte finish clear coat (or 3) for protection, as the finish is somewhat cheap for what I'm used to from NZXT. I used to really like the Cooler Master Cosmo, but now I can't ever possibly say I would do a build in it.

I do an immense amount of HD video editing with Premiere Pro for school, so while my semester starts on Tuesday, it seems that your usage workload may be similar. More RAM, and toning the graphics down just a hair will balance it out well. 32gb of RAM is better for a lot of editing, and will help with the VMs. I don't really use VMWare anymore, but it did consume just about all of my RAM.

Between the two GTX cards you listed, I would opt for the Asus. Better stock cooler IMO.

What's wrong with your current PSU? Is fully modular a deal breaker for you? No need for more than 550W though. My system is only using a 750W because I had it lying around, and figured I would rather spend the money elsewhere.

I believe you could continue to use the Megahalems with a new retention kit if you're moving to a different socket, there's only so much that can change about such a massive cooler, it should still be more than capable of working for you.

For the RAM, Samsung Low Profile RAM is really good, and is 30nm. Not sure if that makes a difference for most people, but I do love using that RAM in my customer builds as of late. I haven't seen a single one come back in 8 months, so that means they're still running quite well.

Fans are a tough pick, I have a Scythe Slip Stream 1200RPM 120mm PWM fan as my exhaust, soft mounted. Grill was cut out and I have some custom U-Channel covering the sharp edges. The Slip Stream runs very quietly, and I have also been introduced to NoiseBlocker fans, and I have a pair for my CPUs, and I am absolutely amazed by their quality and sound. I'd definitely buy them again, without a second thought at all.

Thanks for the quick response bonestonne! I knew I forgot to mention something! I am still making use of my existing PC, so it has to keep all it's current parts (Seasonic, Megahalems etc). I am thinking of offloading software which I don't actually want on my main PC but I need from time to time (iTunes, VMware etc).

The source 210 Elite looks like a very nice case, very simple and clean. I wouldn't mind have a window on the case, but I haven't known any case windows that don't leak noise. How is the Source 210 Elite for sound dampening? The P280 is a monster in size and I'm having a tough time justifying the size, 550D is still in the mix even though it is made like some metallic/plastic peach, scratching and denting very easily, need to hunt down some Fractal R4 owners although their view might be a little biased

I was leaning towards the Asus card as well, but I would need to go for a ASUS GTX 670 DCU II Top model to compare with the FTW sig 2 or maybe I save myself some cash and go for the standard GTX 670 no OC or Top model. Any advice on the overclocked models?


Nothing wrong with it, it's just staying in the current PC I do find it hard to go back to non modular or even semi modular, but I can be flexible if the PSU is right.


I want to keep my Megahalems in the current PC as it has served me well, but I thought there must be something better out there by now and I've been hearing good things about dual fan CPU coolers.


Love it! At first I was like no heat spreader? Then I looked closer at the reviews and saw the great OCing potential of it, and that is some serious low profile! I was thinking of offloading the VMWare stuff onto another PC so 16gb of RAM should be fine, plus I could only find 4x4gb sets of this particular RAM.



Ok looks like I've narrowed it down a bit, if I use a dual fan CPU Cooler with 2 x NoiseBlocker M12-S1 or 2 x Scythe GT 800rpm (although proving harder to find). Then replacing all case fans with NoiseBlockers as well, would that be a good idea? Maybe a Scythe GT 120mm 1150rpm as an exhaust? At least I am getting somewhere with the fans

Case: The NZXT Source 210 Elite would probably not be the ideal choice for noise dampening compared to the 550D and the R4. But it could be argued that a quiet case relies primarily on quiet components and that the case only has minimal effect on the noise level. Simply take a look on my build (can be seen in the signature). The Fractal Design Core 3000 is similar to the NZXT Source 210 in terms of features and price. It ships with three fans (opposed to two in the NZXT) but I've read in a review somewhere that there's very little room behind the motherboard tray for cable routing.

My brother owns the R3. If the R4 has only evolved from the R3 then the R4 would be a good choice. It doesn't have any flaws IMO. The R3 lacked room behind the motherboard tray but the R4 is wider, probably making more room for cables behind the motherboard tray.

The Antec P280 doesn't have any option to block off the top fan vent. According to some users, much sound leaks out from here.

GPU: The ASUS Geforce 670 card was reviewed a little time ago here at SPCR and I recall that it received the Editor's Choice award. So choose the ASUS one.

PSU: Kingwin also makes quality PSU's that rival the ones made by Seasonic. SPCR have reviewed two units if I remember correctly and they both received the Editor's Choice award for having great acoustical and electrical performance.

SSD: The Samsung 840 Pro is probably a bit overkill. You could probably save some money by going with a Crucial m4 or an Intel 335 SSD. These have an excellent track record when it comes to reliability.

Case fans: I prefer Scythe Slipstreams because the starting fan speed is very low, meaning that they will run reliably at extremely low fan speeds (around 300-400 rpm, unlike the Nexus Real Silent (approx. 600 rpm). They are also quite cheap. A 500 rpm is very nice, or an 800 rpm at 5 V. BUT! I would really advise you to try out the stock fans first.

CPU cooler: Apart from Prolimatech, Noctua, Scythe, and Thermalright have also been known to make good CPU coolers.

RAM: According to this Anandtech review, any RAM speed above 1600 MHz is usually overkill:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sand ... est-ddr3/8

Personally, I'd just go with the cheapest, standard-height 1333 or 1600 MHz RAM from a reputable brand since I won't appreciate the difference from standard speed (1333 MHz) to high speeds such as 2100 MHz. But I don't know if RAM speed is relevant for your applications.

Motherboard: Perhaps you could choose a cheaper motherboard. The Deluxe is quite expensive. Have you checked whether a cheaper motherboard from ASUS has enough featuresfor you?

+1 for the above posts, plus:

PSU: Seasonic X 560, Seasonic G 550, Kingwin LZP-550 (aka Superflower Gold King), and Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 550 are all good candidates and their model series are reviewed here.

GPU: There is also the MSI PE/OC Twin Frozr IV.

Thanks kuzzia and CA_Steve for your input, my spec is slowly coming together now


I think I am going to remove the P280 from the options, just too many minus points vs plus points. I think the R4 is in the lead now, but I am exploring NZXT for any other options.


My only problem is availability, Kingwin/Superflower are hard to find over here. I am going to check to see what is available and get back to you guys with a list. Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 looks interesting, I will check it out CA_Steve, am I right in thinking the fan doesn't stop like some other passive units so it is not "100%" silent.


Might be a little overkill, but I do love having fast write speeds as well as read speeds


Cool, I will definitely try out the stock case fans first. Although I have never had a build where I have stuck with the fans that came with the case.


Yeah I have moved away from what little 3D work I did, so I figured 1600 MHz RAM with some nice timings would be sufficient. I was a bit concerned if I got standard height RAM and say a Noctua cooler it wouldn't fit, hence the low profile preference.


I think the price difference between the Deluxe and the Pro was around £35, and it had all the bells and whistles I could want without going over the £200 mark. I have gone the budget route before then ended up adding a plethora of PCI cards and RAID controllers to match functionality that I required a year down the line, so I don't mind with this little bit of extravagance

-> Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 looks interesting, I will check it out CA_Steve, am I right in thinking the fan doesn't stop like some other passive units so it is not "100%" silent.<-

Silence is relative. The PSU won't be heard over the idling GPU nor will it add significantly to the system baseline noise.

Very true CA_Steve, I shall add it to the ever growing list

My current GPU is the Gigabyte 660ti OC, and to be perfectly honest, it's a GPU that's faster than the first PC I ever had (P3 Celeron). I needed support for the Mercury Playback Engine first and foremost (my computer is not used for gaming at all). GPU speed only has to be capable of rendering and rendering fast. I could have gone for a beefier card and it would be faster, but the fact of the matter is that the 660TI is such a huge step over my previous build, that I'm satisfied by not emptying my bank account to have something just a little bit faster, where it's entirely possible I wont notice a difference in performance at all.

The Source 210 is not a case for dampening at all, as kuzzia mentioned. That said, there's nothing stopping it from being a silent case, it simply involves picking the right components to go inside. With the system fans soft mounted, and PWM controlled, the fans are not loud, and taking out the stock fans made the single biggest difference in noise. Cutting out the grill would be equally important, especially with tight grill spacing in the 210.

I would honestly forget about dual CPU fans for your use. You likely will not see any difference in temps, and you will hear a difference only having one. I would use a Slip Stream 1200RPM PWM version fan for the rear exhaust. In addition to that, you can use the NoiseBlocker M12-S1 for the CPU fan (note: singular). The PSU and GPU will have their own cooling fans, so there's no reason to change that unless you're going to change the GPU cooler entirely. Depending on the cooler, I would add an 800RPM Scythe Slip Stream for the cooling on that. I would leave it at that. There's no reason to stick 4 or 5 fans into a system with so little heat output. My Dual Xeon workstation will have 4 system fans (2x CPU, 1 rear, 1 top) and the dual fan GPU cooler (stock cooler) and the PSU fan. There's no reason to stuff extra fans in there, because the existing ones do the job quite well. Given you're spec'ing out a machine with less heat output, I really have to emphasize that I don't think you're going to need more fans than are in my computer, especially if you're looking for silent operation.

I'm also going to second CA_Steve with his mention of the MSI Twin Frozr models, they are very exceptional cards, and I have used several in customer builds, and they are all very happy with them.

If you're building an ATX system, I would look at some Antec cases. For example, I have some Antec 300 cases lying around at work. I remove the front fans, swap out the rear fan for something soft mounted and quieter (slip stream usually, but something quiet that's available) and I look to seal off the top vents. Minimize the necessary components that need fans spinning, or use large tower heatsinks with slow RPM fans and even a simple case like that will be significantly quieter than it was out of the box. Any case can be silent, it's mostly about how far you're willing to go to make it silent.

Also, have you thought about going mATX? The Silverstone PS07 is probably the best mATX case I have ever used, and I can't say enough good things about it. I know you're looking to have 6 drives internally, but what about reducing that number? If you really max it out, I see room for 5 total hard drives in a PS07 without modifying anything. Introduce some creative engineering, and you could change that. Even with the PS07, I would not use any front intake fans, I would just use a good exhaust fan (800-1200RPM) and it would be able to cycle plenty of air through the case, keeping everything very cool (yes, even 6 drives + SSD).

Building a silent PC will require you to make trade offs over what you really want and what will work in a silent configuration.

The only reason I upped it slightly was for gaming at >1080p and/or if I was running across multiple monitors. 660 Ti would be enough for my work side for sure, but maybe not for play as well.


I also believe my ambient noise levels would make pushing for an absolute silent PC obsolete, but if I aim for as quiet as possible I will be more then happy.


Already forgotten Ok so I am looking at single fan coolers to fit a NoiseBlocker M12-S1 and a SlipStream 1200rpm PWM as the exhaust. I agree about the number of fans, ideally I would like 1 exhaust at the rear, 1 on the CPU and 1 or 2 at the front all going in the same direction towards the rear of the case. And I need to seal up the top of the case, I use to get a lot of dust and noise in my P182 and I don't want that to happen in the new PC. I will try out the stock fans first, but I'll pick up a NoiseBlocker for the CPU.


Ok I am sold on them, MSI GeForce GTX 670 PE/OC 2GB Graphics Card. Now just to find them for a good price!


I do have a soft spot for Antec, I think every case I've had over the past few (10+) years have been Antec. I don't mind doing a bit of tweaking here and there, but I am not overly into case modding where you can't recognise the case after you are done with it or it takes you so much time and effort where you could of spent a little extra and you get a much more capable case out of the box. My thinking is if I get quiet components and stick them in a quiet case it's like the best of both worlds, instead of sticking loud components in a quiet case or quiet components in a standard/loud case.


I did actually do a funny dance between ATX and mATX, so you can imagine how many times my spec kept changing. I just had to make a decision and go for it, then after a few more revisions I had to post on here because I was beginning to go a bit crazy. I think next time around I will go for mATX especially after seeing how thin and compact they are getting, but this time round I better stick to an ATX build or I will go around in circles for another month or so, bigger case with loads of room to move around and when I do replace it I can make it into a server for storage.


I can easily live without silence, like I mentioned there are so many other things around that make noise. Late at night however it would be nice if I could work or play and not have to listen to all the fans in my case as they try to cool the hard drives or when I am gaming.

There's also the Corsair Carbide 200R and the Fractal Arc Design Midi to consider. They are somewhat comparable to the NZXT Source 210 Elite.

Around five years ago, Antec was perhaps no. 1 in building good enthusiast cases. The P183 or the P180 Mini for example innovated the entire industry with the focus on quietness and the bottom-placed PSU. But lately they haven't kept up the innovative work compared to newcomers such as Fractal Design, Corsair, Silverstone etc. The Solo II hasn't improved much from the Solo I (from 2006) and the P280, the successor to the P183 is decent, but not spectacular.

Do you want the front fan in order to create a positive pressure airflow inside your case? Because, if not, then placing the extra fan another where, let's say on the side, would have a much greater impact on the temperature of the CPU & GPU:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/0 ... igation/10

I am a bit simplistic when it comes to airflow I thought if I opened up the side it would give me another outlet for the heat but also an outlet for more noise and potentially dust to get in when not in use. I could try it both ways and see which gives better results in terms of cooling and noise? I normally have a fan at the front just to get some air over the hard drives because that's what I have always done, but I am open to any suggestions on the fan orientation.

Here is the updated purchase list, I know it looks high especially when converting from USD. I know we get ripped off, but that's ok. Settled on the Fractal R4 for this build, CPU cooler I collected some of the most popular mentioned, but I wasn't sure if I could use a dual fan CPU cooler with 1 fan or if that was not a good idea. Samsung RAM was over £100, so I went lower with the Ballistix Sport not sure if they are ok. So now I've narrowed down the Case, it's really just the CPU Cooler and the PSU to go. Thanks guys for all your help so far

Fractal R4 (£85)
Intel CPU Core i7 3770K (£245)
Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE (£180)

Prolimatech Black Megahalems (£50) / Noctua NH-U12P (£45) / Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E SE (£56) / Thermalright HR-02 Macho Rev.A (£38) / Scythe Mugen 3 Rev.B (£40)
Noiseblocker M12-S1 (£15)

Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (£63)
Samsung 840 Pro 256GB (£170)
Be Quiet Dark Power Pro P10 550W (£110) / Seasonic X-Series 650w (£100) / Corsair AX760 (£140)
MSI GeForce GTX 670 PE/OC 2GB (£310) / Asus GTX 670 DirectCU II 2GB (not TOP) (£315)

Optional addons...
Scythe Slip Stream 120 PWM (SY1225SL12LM-P) (£11) - I think this is the right one, right?

PSU wise I think you can tone down the wattage quite a bit. The Corsair unit in particular wouldn't make sense as you'll be using less than a half of it maximum. Getting another Seasonic as you already have one and like it would be logical.

Good call, and the Seasonic seems to be the easier to get my hands on. I think the Be Quiet has £10 P&P on top of that

Any reason you are going for ATX and not uATX?

I think personal preference, I like bigger boards with more space to work. There are a couple of features that I could add with cards and dongles, but it's a lot easier to have them on-board. Plus if I go back to mATX I will be here for another month debating parts, and I am looking to finish this by the end of the week

Bluetooth, Wireless, dual LAN for running one direct to my server, more then 6 USB ports without running more cables for hubs. Just the little things to make my life easier.

What are you going to do? Climb in the thing? MicroATX does not take away from the depth of a motherboard normally so the important area of the CPU and RAM does not change. Lower down the board you do lose 3 expension slots and the space that goes with it but the reduction in useful area is very small.

Lol, yeah I was thinking of renting the space out

Wouldn't a mATX board look a bit weird in a large case like a R4 though? Kind of like a child board that hasn't grown up yet!

I think Karkee's suggestion was actually about both motherboard and case. The Define Mini is the MicroATX version.

So the Asus P8Z77-M Pro and Fractal Mini is a potential option, I can definitely see the attraction of a smaller build. So size and price aside, are there really great benefits on noise and cooling by going smaller?

I have been in the same boat, in the end I opted for the mATX build with fractal define mini & Asus Gene V.

Going to assemble it this weekend, will keep you updated if you want

But I also saw you want to overclock, I don't know if its that smart to put it into a mini or even an R4. For a mild OC I guess it should be np, something like 4ghz:D
I just find it akward to use ATX with only using 1 slot for the VGA, thats why I went for the mATX build with the mini.

Haha yeah, I would love you hear how you get on with the build!

I just love the wide open space inside the case to move around, managing cables etc without feeling like I am working inside a shoe box. Especially with the size of CPU cooler and graphics cards these days!

Actually I think the mini with my components will be quiter then the R4 or 550D.

Some months ago I assembled a similair system in a 550D for a friend and while the system was really quite it had this "holo sound" to it. I never had that in my antec solo.

Anyway I will let you know how it goes, I am going to assemble it first without my GPU as I havent made up my mind there yet.

I think so too, your build looks very focused on low noise and with a focused usage as well.

I wonder if that "hollow sound" was from the fans, my friends 550D has a similar sound until we started switching around fans and different parts. It still needs a little refining, because the fan consistency was really bad in his case. 1 fan made a clicking noise, 1 fan makes a humming sound when the speed is lowered and the last fan is near silent when the speed is lowered.

A smaller case with less internal volume will cycle the air quicker than a larger case. Whether this will directly translate into lower temps is a different question. The temps may be within 1* C between mATX and full ATX, there are a lot of other variables to take into account (fans, hot components, etc).

Unless you're really tied to a full ATX system, I would think about mATX instead. As edh said, you're not going to lose any critical working area. Nearly all of my customer builds are mATX or ITX now, there's no point to get big hardware anymore, just takes up more space for nothing.

I got to sit down with a Fractal Mini and Fractal R4 (finally!), and there is not a great deal in it in terms of size. The mini was just a touch shorter then a Sonata which takes a full ATX board, so it's weird how a lot of mini cases are actually quite substantial in size while regular cases have just gotten bigger and bigger. When it came to purchasing I just found it easier/quicker to stick to my full ATX build, all my parts in stock for next day delivery and price wise the saving would of been about £60 (case and mobo). The other thing I noticed was the space behind the Mini was quite tight, so my friend's friend was a bit hesitant to remove the side panel because it was so packed full of cables it was really hard to get that side panel back on after removing it.

I can definitely see where the space would be saved on a mATX build and when I retire this one as a file/media/backup server packed full of hard drives, I will be back looking for more advice (probably on smaller CPU coolers!). Really appreciate your help bonestonne, kuzzia, CA_Steve, edh and karkee, you (forum) guys do not get enough credit! Thanks for all your advise and opinions, I found them invaluable in achieving my goal of a quiet but powerful PC.

Just finished off my build and I am delighted with level of sound especially from the Noiseblocker, and even the stock fans (exhaust and front) on 5v are very very quiet. Temps are good too, but I need to run some stress tests tomorrow.