Quiet ITX gaming build - advice are welcome )

[Gamer388]

Hi,
I'm planning to build a new computer. I want it to be small and quiet / indaudible in idle
The main goal is to replace my Vaio laptop which is way too loud while gaming or when balanced/performance mode is on.
I want it to be in a small case so it's easier to carry it around with me than a big tower which will weight 9 or 10kg.

Here's the list of what I planned to buy :

• Silverstone RVZ01
• ASUS H110I-PLUS
• GTX 960 gigabyte (gv-n960wf2oc-4gd)
• i5 6600 Skylake
• G.Skill 8Go (2x4Go) DDR4 2133Mhz
• Corsair SF600
• Noctua NH-L12
• WD Caviar Blue 1To WD10EALX

I'm not sure about the CPU cooler.

Here's a little list of some other good CPU cooler than can fit in the RVZ01 case :

• NT-06 PRO
• Thermalright AXP-200 Muscle
• BE QUIET shadow rock LP

Any advice to get a nice small form factor computer and quiet ?

Here's the link of my build : http://pcpartpicker.com/list/P83v6X

[CA_Steve]

Welcome to SPCR.

Just to dial in your specs a bit...What games do you play and at what resolution?

Go with an SSD like the Samsung 850 Evo instead of a HDD for OS/Apps. Boot time and gaming loading time can't compare.

[edh]

Here are my comments:

Case: An unusual internal configuration, can work out quite well but don't expect absolute silence with such high power components in it. Quiet maybe but not silent.

Motherboard: Maybe a bit cheap compared with the CPU and graphics card. You are missing out on some features like M.2 which is valuable if trying to build a small system. If you are going for such components a Z170 would be a better match I would think.

Graphics card: When are you planning on purchasing? GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 cards are out, GTX 1060 might be a couple of months off but if you can wait, hang fire. You might want to try internal graphics for a while and see how you get on as they may be sufficient versus the laptop you are coming from.

CPU: I assume this price is around what you want to spend, again how long are you looking at until you purchase as Kabylake is due later this year and may cause a bit of a rejig in prices.

RAM: Not sure what model this might be, make sure it doesn't have huge heatspreaders which will interfere with heatsink placement.

PSU: 600W is excessive for such a configuration (under heavy gaming use power draw might be around 200W) and though it may have a fanless mode, when that little fan starts up you'll hear it. Consider using an SFX-L PSU as the 120mm fan will allow it to be quieter, eg. Silverstone SX-500-LG.

CPU cooler: I haven't done any detailed research into such a case but basically given the tight restraints the largest cooler you can fit will be best.

HDD: Use an SSD as Steve suggests. If you are going small there are M.2 SSDs if you go for a compatible motherboard.

[mikeb]

PSU: 600W is excessive for such a configuration (under heavy gaming use power draw might be around 200W) and though it may have a fanless mode, when that little fan starts up you'll hear it. Consider using an SFX-L PSU as the 120mm fan will allow it to be quieter, eg. Silverstone SX-500-LG.

I've read several different places(though I can't recall where) that the Silverstone SFX are a bit noisy, specifically that they tend to click, and that the corsair's were higher quality and quieter even with the slightly smaller fan. Here's a review on the corsairs I thought was quite good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0axQrpRGrOA

I know there's also some new Lian-Li's as well as a brand new silverstone 700W on the market as well.

What's the current best silent option on the market for SFX this sort of system that draws ~300W maxed out cpu and gpu?

[quest_for_silence]

Consider using an SFX-L PSU as the 120mm fan will allow it to be quieter, eg. Silverstone SX-500-LG.

Our fellow xan_user reported it as noisy due to an odd behaviour of its semi-passive fan controller.

[quest_for_silence]

What's the current best silent option on the market for SFX this sort of system that draws ~300W maxed out cpu and gpu?

Hard to say, maybe the Corsair SF450, though there's a bunch of new options seen at Computex 2016.

[quest_for_silence]

• Corsair SF600

From the very few reviews I saw, oddily the smaller SF450 should be quieter.

[boost]

Here's a little list of some other good CPU cooler than can fit in the RVZ01 case :

NT-06 PRO
Thermalright AXP-200 Muscle
BE QUIET shadow rock LP

I bought a Raijintek Pallas, but I haven't received it yet. It's supposedly a little better than the AXP-200. As its only 68mm tall with a 13mm fan, I can replace the fan with a regular 140mmx25mm Noctua fan. in the RVZ01 there's enough room to do the same. This cooler doesn't work with RAM that has tall heatspreaders that extend past the PCB!

[Gamer388]

The ram I want to put has no big heatspreaders.
Here is a photo of the RAM kit. It's like raw RAM lol.


So I don't think that the RAM will be a problem for the CPU heatsink choice.
I know that with a case that small I won't get a perfectly silent PC.
But I would like it to be as quiet as it can be considering the size of the case

I wanted to go for a fanless GPU first like a GTX 750Ti from Palit.
But then I realized it wasn't maybe enough to play with high quality of texture, etc ..

On the vendor's site I found the GTX 960 from Gigabyte that claims to be only 24.8 dB at full load
I doubt it can be that quiet on full load. I like the fact it's a semi-passive GPU (fan will no start spinning on idle).

Here's a little list of some other good CPU cooler than can fit in the RVZ01 case :

NT-06 PRO
Thermalright AXP-200 Muscle
BE QUIET shadow rock LP

I bought a Raijintek Pallas, but I haven't received it yet. It's supposedly a little better than the AXP-200. As its only 68mm tall with a 13mm fan, I can replace the fan with a regular 140mmx25mm Noctua fan. in the RVZ01 there's enough room to do the same. This cooler doesn't work with RAM that has tall heatspreaders that extend past the PCB!

This CPU cooler is very interesting. The 140mm fan should move a lot of air.
The NT-06 Pro from Silverstone has a TDP of 65W in fanless operation but I guess going for fanless CPU cooler in such a small case is not a good idea lol.

I just looked the spec of the Rajintek Pallas and the max sound is 28dB. I was expecting it to generate less noise as it's a 140mm fan instead of 120mm fan.
The be quiet one (shadow rock LP) has a max sound of 25dB at full speed.
It seems that the be quiet low profile CPU cooler is quieter than the Pallas from Rajintek surprisingly.

Welcome to SPCR.

Just to dial in your specs a bit...What games do you play and at what resolution?

Go with an SSD like the Samsung 850 Evo instead of a HDD for OS/Apps. Boot time and gaming loading time can't compare.

I can't afford a Z170, the mobo in my list is like 80€ and the cheapest Z170 is like 150 or 140€.
I don't need M.2 drive, they're expensive and I prefer to rely on regular 2.5" SSD that are cheaper.

I want to spend max between 800 and 850€ for the case and all the stuff that go inside )
Because I'll need to buy a screen (maybe a 22") and a keyboard.

The games I play are borderlands 2, just cause 2, Starcraft 2, killing floor, battlefield 3, Chivalry

[CA_Steve]

H110 is fine and 2.5" SSD is what I recommend if you have the space.

22" monitor implies either 1050 x 1680 or 1080 x 1920. None of the games listed will need more than the GTX 960 and could run fine with the GTX 950 if you want to save some euros. Another possibility is wait until the Pascal/Polaris mid grade parts come out this summer/fall.

Noctua L12 will be a really tight fit in the case - like zero mm clearance with the Noctua top fan and removing the case fan. Might have to use the slim case fan instead of the Noctua. Otherwise, it's a great cooler. Another possibility is the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev B. I'd replace the slimline Scythe fan with a 25mm PWM and also remove the case fan.

[CA_Steve]

Also, not much value looking at a mfgr's "max dB" spec. It's not indicative of how well the device runs under your operating conditions. Better to look at things like minimum fan speeds. This is where a decent device will be running at idle/low loads.

[Gamer388]

Ok thanks for all the advice.
The shuriken seems to be a small cooler.
Isn't a big cooler better ? In terms of noise and cooling performance.

I can fit a cooler that has a height of 83mm max. The shuriken is only 58mm tall.
Nobody knows if the Be Quiet Shadow Rock LP is any good in such a tiny case as the RVZ01 is.
The shadow rock LP is 75.4mm in height.

[ggumdol]

You are absolutely right in understanding that, the bigger the cooler, the better the cooling/acoustic performance is. I haven't investigated RVZ01 ever but there are very few options that can fit into the height of 83mm. I have used both Scythe Big Shuriken Rev. 2 and Noctua NH-L12 (which does not fit your chassis) and the former is sufficient for cooling an i5 Skylake CPU, probably saving i5-6600K, which I'm using now in my main rig.

Unless you are very sensitive regarding acoustics, the Shuriken is a reasonable and inexpensive choice particularly in Europe. You could consider replacing it with a proper 120mm fan later because the slim version used therein creates unpleasant high-piched noise in very high rpms. Since you are planning to buy a HDD in your rig, I don't think you are as sensitive (in terms of acoustics) as some people in this forum.

Ok thanks for all the advice.
The shuriken seems to be a small cooler.
Isn't a big cooler better ? In terms of noise and cooling performance.

I can fit a cooler that has a height of 83mm max. The shuriken is only 58mm tall.
Nobody knows if the Be Quiet Shadow Rock LP is any good in such a tiny case as the RVZ01 is.
The shadow rock LP is 75.4mm in height.

[Gamer388]

No i'm not that sensitive to noise.
But I like when my HDD stops in my laptop

Let say I'm not ready bugdet speaking to go full SSD