HDPlex H5 or UMX1/2

[chrisp7]

I have been running a 'silent' setup for many years - using a Steacom FC8 Fanless chassis combined with a Sapphire HD 7750.

I however, recently upgraded my monitor from an old Dell 2407 to a 4k Philips Monitor - my old HD7750 just cant cope (as suspected) and the fan is continually running - I miss the old 100% silence so need to upgrade specific parts to achieve this. As far as I see it there are 2 routes to take - 100% Passively cooled case or a larger case with minimal fans, Id also like to be able to do a little gaming but not much so these are my options after much research.

Larger, fan cooled case

• Cooltek UMX1 OR UMX2 - Will the UMX1 be large enough to passively cool my 65W TDP PSU?
• MSI 960 GTX 4Gb
• 400W Passive Seasonic PSU
• NH-U12P OR CR80EH Heatsink (depending on wether or not it can fit my ITX Motherboard) - both passively run

Passively cooled case

• HDPlex H5 Case with GPU silent heatpipe
• MSI 960 GTX 4Gb underclocked OR 950 GTX and wait to upgrade to Nvidia Pascale next year
• 400W Passive Seasonic PSU

Anyone got any advice/thoughts? My issue is that a 950 GTX isnt a huge upgrade over my HD 7750 (given the money I am spending on this upgrade). Id like to go totally silent with the HDPlex H5 But it probably means sacrificing GPU grunt - or even risking the 960 which I am prepared to do... And the UMX setup - just isnt silent, or is it a decent enough setup to be quiet enough??

[Abula]

4k gaming with a mid to low end GPU will be very hard, but old games might run lowering settings.

Now if you want a very quiet GPU, i would suggest a GTX750Ti, i never heard my MSI while i owned it, but it doesnt have display port so you wont get 60hz on 4k. There are other versions like Asus GTX750Ti STRIX that does come with Display Port, so it should in theory display 4k @ 60hz, that said to me Asus coolers a little more noisy on load, but there are options like Accelero S3 now there is even a fan mount for it, S3 Turbo Module. But it will still be a a low to mid end card that will struggle at 4k.

My suggestion would be at least a gtx970, and get a big cooler like Prolimatech MK-26 Multi-VGA Cooler, if it cooled very hot gpus like GTX480, it should have a breeze with a low tdp gpu like GTX970, get a couple of your favorite 120mm fans and run them at very low rpms to make it inaudible, just crosscheck its compatible with the gpu, as lot of manufactures use custom PCBs and vrm designs. Still a single GTX970 will struggle with 4k content, but in some games should be decent, like LOL or WOW, newer games don't expect to be able to run them not even mid settings.

Now if you want high settings on 4k you will need a SLI, depending on the games you play and quality you want to run them... you might need very powerful GPUs. To me we are not in the era of a single GPU for 4k, the gtx980ti is getting there, but to me one still struggles in some titles. I expect Pascal high end gpu to be able to run 4k, but until then.... you have to adjust.

[chrisp7]

Great thanks - regarding the CPU Cooler if I was to go down the UMX1 or 2 route as I have an ITX motherboard options are also limited - the CR-80EH would be my preference but any idea what the next best cooler would be (limit 150MM height)? The NT01-PRO??

[atmartens]

If you're willing to pay a premium, and would prefer to keep the case small, the Fury Nano does well. It has a better sound profile than the small 970s.

[quest_for_silence]

The NT01-PRO??

Not even by mistake: moreover it needs a generously spinning rear exhaust fan close to it to work properly.

If you already have the case, you may check whether the 158mm Zalman FX70 may fit (5-10mm of further clearance are not uncommon over declared specs): I don't think it would be really preferable to a CR80, temp wise, but it can sport a slow spinning 120mm fan, in case of.

If I may take the liberty, I think those UMXs, though tiny and gourgeous, seem to have an appalling lack of airflow (to run fanless coolers inside), so I am curious to see your outcome.