Hi everyone,
I'm building myself a new PC, and I'd really like a second opinion on my choices. I want this to be a relatively quiet computer, but I've never put together a PC with noise in mind before. This is a High End Performance computer, mainly used for Rendering, Digital Painting, Audio Recording/Processing, and maybe some gaming. Here are the parts I've selected so far.
MOBO (ASRock Z68 EG3G): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813157271
CPU (Intel i5 2500k): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115072
RAM (2x8gb DDR3 1333): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231486
GPU (nVidia GTX 560 TI): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130623
HDD (Seagate Barracuda TB): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148697
SSD (Crucial M4 CT 128GB): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820148442
PSU (CORSAIR TX850M 850W): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139029
CASE (COOLER MASTER Silencio 450) : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811119250
DVD-RW (ASUS OEM): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827135204
SOUND CARD (ASUS Xonar DX): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6829132006
TOTAL : $1,306.90 without rebates.
There's a good amount of power here, but I don't think there's much in the way of quieting the system down other than the case. It's also a bit expensive, but that's not a huge concern. I'm thinking of dropping the SSD to trim a bit of fat, but also upgrading the CPU to an i7 2600k for more processing. I'm also debating between the Case I've selected against the Antec Sonata Solo II, which seems to be getting decent reviews. Please let me know what you think.
Building a Quiet Video/Audio Production Machine
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Building a Quiet Video/Audio Production Machine
Last edited by Katai on Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Building a Quiet Video/Audio Production Machine
Welcome to SPCR!
First off, 850W PSU is overkill. You'd only need that for an overclocked SLI GPU rig. Your system will draw perhaps 300W on heavy GPU load (gaming), more likely in the 200-250W range with your stated apps. Consider moving from the 80+ Bronze rated Corsair to an 80+ Gold PSU at a lower wattage. Less waste heat => less fan rpm => less noise.
Seasonic SS-460FL fanless, X560, X650, and the Corsair version AX650 are all in the $100 to $150 range.
Here's a benchmark comparision of the i5-2500K vs the i7-2600K. The i7-2600K wins out on apps that can use the extra threads. But if the choice is spend the money here or on getting the 128GB M4 vs the 64GB M4, I'd opt for the larger SSD. The extra read/write channels means a significant performance improvement. Plus, the larger drive means you can use the SSD for your scratch disk/work disk instead of the HDD.
Your newegg links were truncated, perhaps you can edit/repost.
Some DAW/DVW s/w can use the video card for acceleration using Open CL, Open GL, and/or CUDA. So, doublecheck your apps and see what they say. Photoshop uses the video card to accelerate display processing (zoom, rotate, etc)...but that doesn't need a high end gpu to do it.
Haven't seen a review yet for the Silencio 450.
First off, 850W PSU is overkill. You'd only need that for an overclocked SLI GPU rig. Your system will draw perhaps 300W on heavy GPU load (gaming), more likely in the 200-250W range with your stated apps. Consider moving from the 80+ Bronze rated Corsair to an 80+ Gold PSU at a lower wattage. Less waste heat => less fan rpm => less noise.
Seasonic SS-460FL fanless, X560, X650, and the Corsair version AX650 are all in the $100 to $150 range.
Here's a benchmark comparision of the i5-2500K vs the i7-2600K. The i7-2600K wins out on apps that can use the extra threads. But if the choice is spend the money here or on getting the 128GB M4 vs the 64GB M4, I'd opt for the larger SSD. The extra read/write channels means a significant performance improvement. Plus, the larger drive means you can use the SSD for your scratch disk/work disk instead of the HDD.
Your newegg links were truncated, perhaps you can edit/repost.
Some DAW/DVW s/w can use the video card for acceleration using Open CL, Open GL, and/or CUDA. So, doublecheck your apps and see what they say. Photoshop uses the video card to accelerate display processing (zoom, rotate, etc)...but that doesn't need a high end gpu to do it.
Haven't seen a review yet for the Silencio 450.
Re: Building a Quiet Video/Audio Production Machine
You should definitely consider an aftermarket heatsink for your CPU. Especially for an overclocked Sandy Bridge CPU. Stock heatsinks are almost never quiet enough for users at SPCR.
The Silencio 450 only supports CPU heatsinks with a height up to 156.5 mm. That's not a lot. For example, the Scythe Mugen 3 is 158 mm high. You will need to be aware of this height.
A cooler that would fit is the Scythe Grand Cama Cross.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1048-page1
The Silencio 450 only supports CPU heatsinks with a height up to 156.5 mm. That's not a lot. For example, the Scythe Mugen 3 is 158 mm high. You will need to be aware of this height.
A cooler that would fit is the Scythe Grand Cama Cross.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1048-page1
Agreed. Enermax also sels quiet PSU'sCA_Steve wrote:Welcome to SPCR!
First off, 850W PSU is overkill. You'd only need that for an overclocked SLI GPU rig. Your system will draw perhaps 300W on heavy GPU load (gaming), more likely in the 200-250W range with your stated apps. Consider moving from the 80+ Bronze rated Corsair to an 80+ Gold PSU at a lower wattage. Less waste heat => less fan rpm => less noise.
I'm a big advocate of SSD's. They make for a significantly smoother user interface! I'd go for the Antec Solo II. For such a high-end built, it would be a waste not to spend some extra money for a good case with elastic suspensions of harddisks, superior stock fan (SPCR have high regards for the Antec stock fan, and I have personally had bad experiences with Cooler Master fans, they make annoying ticking noises even at low speeds) and a superior construction (again, personal experience from a Sileo 500).Katai wrote: I'm thinking of dropping the SSD to trim a bit of fat, but also upgrading the CPU to an i7 2600k for more processing. I'm also debating between the Case I've selected against the Antec Sonata Solo II, which seems to be getting decent reviews. Please let me know what you think.
Re: Building a Quiet Video/Audio Production Machine
The noisiest parts of the computer are going to be:
1) GPU, so get a decently silent cooler. Or go reference and replace cooler with a good after market cooler.
2) CPU HS, easy to fix: http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks
3) HDDs, try to prevent vibration getting into the case
and have a case that has some noise dampening materials
1) GPU, so get a decently silent cooler. Or go reference and replace cooler with a good after market cooler.
2) CPU HS, easy to fix: http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks
3) HDDs, try to prevent vibration getting into the case
and have a case that has some noise dampening materials