Help to choose components for my first quiet build

[filden]

Hello everyone!

Its time to upgrade my old 6 years old PC:
i5 660+stock cooler, 12 Gb DDR3, Radeon HD 6850, Seasonic S12II 430.
It is pretty loud, and I always had a dream to build very quiet PC.
New PC should be just good solid and quiet modern build. No overclocking, no SLI. Sometimes (very rare) need to play some 3d games(Witcher 3, Bioshock Infinite for example) on 720p (yes, don't need to change my 4:3 monitor. it's ideal for me). 90% of time are just Internet, Office, some old(3-5 years) Point&Click adventures. No need for ultra graphic. Higher priority is silence and low TDP.

So, already ordered:
- CPU+Cooler: i5 6600 + Scythe Kotetsu
- Case: Antec Solo II

Other things under question and I really need your suggestions.
1. GPU. I think, that gtx 1050 Ti 4Gb should be enough for my 720p Gaming. If so, then MSI 1050 Ti Gaming X - as I heard this model is the quietest. Maybe I should wait for GTX 2050...
2. Motherboard. Cannot decide. Maybe some z170 for a little faster memory, than 2133, and an option for little overclocking in the future. Second, I heard, that for example Asus with Z170 chipset has better fan control, than Asus with lower chipsets. Is it true? Please, give me some advice, what MB is good for CPU/Case fan control and overall for silent Build.
3. Case fans (if needed). I choose from
- Some Arctic F12 (cheap solution)
- Scythe Glide Stream SY1225HB12M-P fan, 1300rpm PWM
- Noiseblocker Multiframe M12 Rev 1.01 (maybe overkill for my build?)
- or something else, if needed at all?
4. PSU. Some good quiet modular semipassive or passive fanless PSU. Maybe
- SeaSonic 400 FL2
- Corsair RM550X
Or maybe something else?
5. RAM. 16 Gb DDR4. If z170 then which speed do you suggest? 2666 or higher? My personal favorites are always Corsair and Kingston. Are they ok?
6. Storage. Some m2 SSD, or maybe just Samsung 850 EVO. It is not so important, as it is 0 dB always.

That's all for my first post on SPCR
I would be very pleased if someone comment my thoughts and give me some advices.

[Fire-Flare]

1: If you can get a 1060, Actic makes a passive cooler you can attach to it. https://www.arctic.ac/us_en/accelero-s3.html

2: As the owner of an Asus Z97 board, I can confirm that Asus has great fan control on their higher-end models. I used to use Speedfan to control my fans from Windows, but now I can set custom fan profiles in the BIOS.

3: I'm partial to Nocuta's fans. They're pricey compared to others, but in addition to high quality they come with speed reducers and rubber mounts for additional silencing.

4: I've never used a passive PSU, but I've been using Seasonic's PSUs for years and they've proven to be reliable for me.

5: Corsair and Kingston are good, I like G-Skill and Crucial too. But best practice is to check your motherboard's website to see what RAM has been tested with it to ensure compatibility.

6: I use 4 Samsung 840s in RAID 0, and together they're almost as fast as a M.2. It's low on my upgrade priority list but I'd like to get a Samsung 960 some day.

Hope this helps and good luck to you!

[CA_Steve]

Welcome to SPCR.

1. GPU. I think, that gtx 1050 Ti 4Gb should be enough for my 720p Gaming. If so, then MSI 1050 Ti Gaming X - as I heard this model is the quietest. Maybe I should wait for GTX 2050...

720p with 4:3 ratio is one third the pixels of 1080 x 1920. So, take a look at this GTX 1050/1050 Ti review and Witcher 3 at 1080p. What you see there with Medium settings is close to what you'd see with Ultra setting on your monitor.

2. Motherboard. Cannot decide. Maybe some z170 for a little faster memory, than 2133, and an option for little overclocking in the future. Second, I heard, that for example Asus with Z170 chipset has better fan control, than Asus with lower chipsets. Is it true? Please, give me some advice, what MB is good for CPU/Case fan control and overall for silent Build.

Well, if you drop down into the H110 chipset, then the BIOS settings may get sparse..but the H170, and especially the H170 Pro Gaming, should be a similar feature set to the Z170 Pro Gaming. That said, the Z170 version is only $10 more.

3. Case fans (if needed).

Try the stock Antec fans and see if you like them.

4. PSU. Some good quiet modular semipassive or passive fanless PSU. Maybe
- SeaSonic 400 FL2
- Corsair RM550X
Or maybe something else?

A downside to the Solo II is the top mounted PSU. Most PSUs these days are expecting a bottom mount and thus intake from the bottom and exhaust out the back. With the Solo, you can mount an active PSU upside down, so the intake is on top and the exhaust goes out the back. Or, you can mount a passive PSU so some heat rises through the top. I like the Corsair RM550X. It should be passive throughout your load profile.

5. RAM. 16 Gb DDR4. If z170 then which speed do you suggest? 2666 or higher? My personal favorites are always Corsair and Kingston. Are they ok?

Pop open task manager and take a look at your RAM usage with your heaviest workload. Maybe 8GB is good enough. Maybe not.
Kingston is always a good choice. As far as speed goes, you really have to be hammering the system to get a benefit from higher than 2666 speed RAM. You won't be. RAM pricing is pretty flat out to 2666, so if you go with z170, then it's a good choice.

6. Storage. Some m2 SSD, or maybe just Samsung 850 EVO. It is not so important, as it is 0 dB always.

2.5" 850 Evo is my go to suggestion. The 960 Evo juuuust came out and Samsung resolved (prior) M.2 thermal throttling issues with a copper tape over the chips...but it's too new to recommend.

[Abula]

1. GPU. I think, that gtx 1050 Ti 4Gb should be enough for my 720p Gaming. If so, then MSI 1050 Ti Gaming X - as I heard this model is the quietest. Maybe I should wait for GTX 2050...

I think if you want to game now, go for it, the 1050Ti its not an expensive card, you can start with it and move on as your games demand them. I also like the GTX1060 more if you can spare the cost, Steve had a good offer for the MSI being at $240 which was pretty good imo.

2. Motherboard. Cannot decide. Maybe some z170 for a little faster memory, than 2133, and an option for little overclocking in the future. Second, I heard, that for example Asus with Z170 chipset has better fan control, than Asus with lower chipsets. Is it true? Please, give me some advice, what MB is good for CPU/Case fan control and overall for silent Build.

Are you overclocking? if so go with Z170, to me the Asus H170 Pro Gaming is a very nice motherboard for what it cost and offers, in all aspects, fan control is pretty good, nothing to envy a Z170, even bios is pretty solid (not as perfect as FanXpert though). Even the M.2 SSD placement to me its better, i like it more in the lower part of the mobo than beside the GPUs like a lot of motherboards have it. Either way, i would say if you are overlcocking go with Z170, else go with H170.

3. Case fans (if needed). I choose from
- Some Arctic F12 (cheap solution)
- Scythe Glide Stream SY1225HB12M-P fan, 1300rpm PWM
- Noiseblocker Multiframe M12 Rev 1.01 (maybe overkill for my build?)
- or something else, if needed at all?

As steve pointed, test what comes included, you can always upgrade later on. If you go with Asus H170/Z170 you can have a ton of flexibility, as their headers are switchable, thus you can go with PWM or 3pin for each header, you just have to enter the bios and check what settings is on each. Fans that i recommend for antec solo II are

PWM
Noctua NF-S12A PWM (favorite range of control)
Scythe Slipstream PWM
Scythe Glidestream PWM

3pin
Noctua NF-S12B 700rpm
Noiseblocker M12-S1 850rpms (favorite tone wise)

4. PSU. Some good quiet modular semipassive or passive fanless PSU. Maybe
- SeaSonic 400 FL2
- Corsair RM550X
Or maybe something else?

I would give a shot to Corsair RM550X, your hole setup is very low consumption, you wont need above this. Now if you want better, i would consider Seasonic Prime 650W or wait for the 600W fanless (that should be out shortly).

5. RAM. 16 Gb DDR4. If z170 then which speed do you suggest? 2666 or higher? My personal favorites are always Corsair and Kingston. Are they ok?

Memory to me its worthless to spend extra money, the gains are really small, but go with whatever you feel its good for you, just try not to go with tall heastinks, go with standard height.

6. Storage. Some m2 SSD, or maybe just Samsung 850 EVO. It is not so important, as it is 0 dB always.

M.2 is the fastest in syntetic benchmarks, i would gow ith 960 if i were to take this route, but honestly, to me any SSD give you the feeling of 0 latency, ultra responsiveness. So my suggestion go with something reliable and that has a good warranty, the rest is whatever you budget allows, Intel, Crucial, Samsung and Sandisk would be my picks for SSDs.

[filden]

Thank you, all, for your comments!

1: If you can get a 1060, Actic makes a passive cooler you can attach to it. https://www.arctic.ac/us_en/accelero-s3.html

This is too expensive solution, i think. And 1060 is overkill for my needs.

Well, if you drop down into the H110 chipset, then the BIOS settings may get sparse..but the H170, and especially the H170 Pro Gaming, should be a similar feature set to the Z170 Pro Gaming. That said, the Z170 version is only $10 more.

Ok, H110 is too weak. But is H170 Pro Gaming on same level of fan control as high-end Asus Z170?
And one question more. If i go H170 route, then what I miss with B150 chipset? For example same Asus B150 Pro Gaming?

I like the Corsair RM550X. It should be passive throughout your load profile.

I think that my choice is RM550x. Fanless SeaSonics can be buzzy and electronically whining.

Either way, i would say if you are overlcocking go with Z170, else go with
H170

Ok. But if H170, then Asus H170 Pro Gaming is best choice? Or some other Asus H170 is also good and stable?

[CA_Steve]

You can compare most of the Asus Mobo features at Newegg.