Help with a new build (Case & Cooling)

[Snowh]

Hi. This is my first build and I am rather inexperienced. I would like http://pcpartpicker.com/p/h6P8Bm this build to run as quietly as possible. I am looking for suggestions for the case, and suggestions for the cooling setup in said case. What I have planned currently is the Corsair Obsidian 750D, but there is probably a better option. I'd prefer for the case to be <200$. Any other tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

[CA_Steve]

Welcome to SPCR.

Before drilling down into part selection, could you describe your uses/apps for this PC as well as the monitor resolution/speed? That will help to optimize the component list.

Also, if you aren't driven to immediately build this PC, Intel's Skylake CPUs are out/on the way. It could be worth waiting 2-3 months (for bugs to appear/be fixed and drivers/firmware updates to settle down) and doing the build then.

[Snowh]

Welcome to SPCR.

Before drilling down into part selection, could you describe your uses/apps for this PC as well as the monitor resolution/speed? That will help to optimize the component list.

Also, if you aren't driven to immediately build this PC, Intel's Skylake CPUs are out/on the way. It could be worth waiting 2-3 months (for bugs to appear/be fixed and drivers/firmware updates to settle down) and doing the build then.

I'm using this PC for mainly gaming, and some video editing, Photoshop, audio editing and so on. What do you think of the 6700k? I am not going to build this PC Intel Christmas/spring 2016, so I am open to changing the core components, if a better alternative releases. What I would like to do in the meantime is figure out all of the stuff that won't be changed from a few months, ie. power supply, case, cooling.

[CA_Steve]

The i7-6700K gives a slight bump in performance over the i7-4690K. More interesting are the improvements in the motherboards/chipset. Lots more PCIe lanes, broader availability of USB 3.1, NVMe SSD support, potential for better idle power (dependent on the mobo model's features, etc). More to be revealed in the next week+...like the rest of the SKUs and their speeds, TDP buckets.

cooler: I don't see a benefit to liquid cooling unless you plan to overvolt the CPU as part of overclocking?

mobo: not worth talking about until Skylake board reviews are more prevalent.

SSD: Crucial MX200 is a little slower, but has better data protection. I like the Samsung 850 EVO for the Magician toolkit s/w.

HDD: 7200 rpm HDD will be noisy. If it's just for data storage, go slower...and go bigger for backups. WD Red 2TB for example.

AMD R9 390 has a 275W TDP. It can double as a toaster oven for your lunches. Take a look at the Nvidia cards for similar performance at nearly half the load power. Less power -> less heat -> less cooling needed -> quieter. Again - what's your monitor resolution and refresh rate?

Case - it's fine. I like the Fractal R5 better.

PSU: settle on the gfx card, first. Then, there will be better PSUs to choose from...probably in the 500W range.

fan controller: all mobos have fan control now.

[fyleow]

I tweaked your build a little. The kotetsu cooler is much cheaper and quieter than an AIO and I've removed the fan controller because it's unnecessary. The case has one built in and putting the stock fans at low is enough. I also swapped the power supply for a seasonic which is known to be quiet.

A big change is the video card to a 980. This will give you better performance and it's quieter. The 390 does stop the fan at idle but from what I've read it starts to spin up rather easily from low loads like browsing. You can also drop down to a 970 which will perform slightly worse than the 390 depending on the game and resolution but is much quieter and the build will be $150 cheaper

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2CTFkL

Here's a different build that trades overclocking capability and a slightly louder power supply for double the ssd and hdd storage

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bVxThM

[Snowh]

The i7-6700K gives a slight bump in performance over the i7-4690K. More interesting are the improvements in the motherboards/chipset. Lots more PCIe lanes, broader availability of USB 3.1, NVMe SSD support, potential for better idle power (dependent on the mobo model's features, etc). More to be revealed in the next week+...like the rest of the SKUs and their speeds, TDP buckets.

cooler: I don't see a benefit to liquid cooling unless you plan to overvolt the CPU as part of overclocking?

mobo: not worth talking about until Skylake board reviews are more prevalent.

SSD: Crucial MX200 is a little slower, but has better data protection. I like the Samsung 850 EVO for the Magician toolkit s/w.

HDD: 7200 rpm HDD will be noisy. If it's just for data storage, go slower...and go bigger for backups. WD Red 2TB for example.

AMD R9 390 has a 275W TDP. It can double as a toaster oven for your lunches. Take a look at the Nvidia cards for similar performance at nearly half the load power. Less power -> less heat -> less cooling needed -> quieter. Again - what's your monitor resolution and refresh rate?

Case - it's fine. I like the Fractal R5 better.

PSU: settle on the gfx card, first. Then, there will be better PSUs to choose from...probably in the 500W range.

fan controller: all mobos have fan control now.

Here's my updated list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DkxThM
First off, thanks for the advice. Second, I've changed it a bit since then. The Fractal R5 is an excellent case; I switched out the 750d for it.

I already ordered my SSD so I can use it now, and port it over to the new build when I get it.

The HDD is the one I have now that I use for all of my storage. I'm not sure if I want to spend the money to get a new one, seeing as I already have it. I am going to stick with it for now, if I notice it is a problem in the new build, then I will probably get another.

I chose the R9 390 over the GTX 970 due to it's slightly better performance. I'll reconsider though, taking into consideration what you said. My monitor resolution is 1080p, and refresh rate is 60hz. I don't really plan on playing anything other than 1080p, but after I finish my PC, I will invest in a better monitor.

I'm planning on 5 fans inside the case. 2 SP-120/140's in the front, 2 SP-120/140's on the top, and 1 AF-140 in the back. What do you think I can do to keep a good airflow, but keep it quiet? The corsair AF/SP fans are pretty good from what I've read in terms of noise, what do you think?

Cooler. I am a noob to overclocking as well. I figured that I might as well go with a good cooler, just in case in the future I do want to do some overclocking, and not have to get a new cooler because the one I hypothetically get, is insufficient. In terms of non-liquid cooling, what do you suggest?

[quest_for_silence]

The corsair AF/SP fans are pretty good from what I've read in terms of noise, what do you think?

They're not "pretty good", Fractal stock ones are, more probably that not, better sounding.

In terms of non-liquid cooling, what do you suggest?

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1462-page6.html

[Snowh]

I tweaked your build a little. The kotetsu cooler is much cheaper and quieter than an AIO and I've removed the fan controller because it's unnecessary. The case has one built in and putting the stock fans at low is enough. I also swapped the power supply for a seasonic which is known to be quiet.

A big change is the video card to a 980. This will give you better performance and it's quieter. The 390 does stop the fan at idle but from what I've read it starts to spin up rather easily from low loads like browsing. You can also drop down to a 970 which will perform slightly worse than the 390 depending on the game and resolution but is much quieter and the build will be $150 cheaper

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2CTFkL

Here's a different build that trades overclocking capability and a slightly louder power supply for double the ssd and hdd storage

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bVxThM

Thank you very much. Interesting cooler, I'll look into it. I also like the idea of the 980 very much, I'll do some research on that.

[CA_Steve]

I advise looking at the benchmarks for the typical games you play. Only the most poorly coded game (I'm looking at you, Witcher 3) would require more than a GTX 970 at 1080p/60 and for nearly all the rest, the GTX 960 is great.

fans: With the R5 you won't need more than 3. Two front and one back. Top fans will just open up the top cover and provide a noise path.

[Snowh]

I advise looking at the benchmarks for the typical games you play. Only the most poorly coded game (I'm looking at you, Witcher 3) would require more than a GTX 970 at 1080p/60 and for nearly all the rest, the GTX 960 is great.

fans: With the R5 you won't need more than 3. Two front and one back. Top fans will just open up the top cover and provide a noise path.

Unity, Fallout 4 (Heavily modded when the time comes), GTA 5, Witcher 3, Shadows of Mordor, Dying Light, Arma 2 Dayz mod, CSGO, and probably a few others I am missing. The GTX 980 is certainly sufficent, and more, for all of these games. Same with the 970, but less so, and as you said it can't do Witcher 3 fully maxxed 60fps. The deciding factor will probably be if I want to spend the extra 150$.

Is there any big perk to buying case fans in this situation?

[CA_Steve]

Is there any big perk to buying case fans in this situation?

Nope.

It's all about heat load and airflow. Even with the GTX 980, your total stressed load is around 300W and I'd expect a heavy gaming load closer to 260W. It's not that hard to move 260W of heat out of the R5. Two fans would suffice, three should be great. You might wait until you try out the included two fans and see if you like their performance / noise signature before you go for a third / opt to replace the two with others.

1080p performance culled from reviews:
-You'll see 40-50fps for Witcher 3 in High setting with the GTX 970.
-GTA V normal textures works fine with a GTX 960. If you want high texture (needs more than 3GB VRAM), then GTX 970 is 50ish, 980 is 68.
- Mordor @ Ultra gets 74fps on a 970. Also needs 3GB of VRAM.
- Fallout has been light on resouces in the past. Don't know about the new one.
- Assasin's Creed Unity on Ultra is also a pig. 38fps on a 970, 48 on a 980.

If your next monitor is 1440p, then don't bother with the GTX 970.

[Snowh]

Is there any big perk to buying case fans in this situation?

Nope.

It's all about heat load and airflow. Even with the GTX 980, your total stressed load is around 300W and I'd expect a heavy gaming load closer to 260W. It's not that hard to move 260W of heat out of the R5. Two fans would suffice, three should be great. You might wait until you try out the included two fans and see if you like their performance / noise signature before you go for a third / opt to replace the two with others.

1080p performance culled from reviews:
-You'll see 40-50fps for Witcher 3 in High setting with the GTX 970.
-GTA V normal textures works fine with a GTX 960. If you want high texture (needs more than 3GB VRAM), then GTX 970 is 50ish, 980 is 68.
- Mordor @ Ultra gets 74fps on a 970. Also needs 3GB of VRAM.
- Fallout has been light on resouces in the past. Don't know about the new one.
- Assasin's Creed Unity on Ultra is also a pig. 38fps on a 970, 48 on a 980.

If your next monitor is 1440p, then don't bother with the GTX 970.

http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-XL2411Z-24-I ... 3547806011 Is my first choice for my monitor.

I found that the 970 got about 40-55 fps on ultra from some benchmarks. It got 50-60 fps OC'd with hairworks. Anyway, I think I'd be just fine playing 50-60 fps on high.

Not to make this too confusing, but my friend is getting a computer upgrade and he might give me his old 970. If he doesn't, then I'll probably just go for the 980.

If I were to OC my CPU & GPU, would a 550w psu be enough for the 970?

[CA_Steve]

Yep. You can't push it far enough to affect the PSU.

Here's the basic math: Power is proportional to (V^2)*f. So, if you raise the clock freq 10%, you increase the power use 10%. If you raise the core voltage 0.1V on a 1.0V baseline, then the power use goes up 21%. So, the easiest cooling solution is to just OC up to the point where you don't have to raise the core voltage. Once you start messing with voltage, then you really have to watch your temps/fan rpms.

Also, if you are looking to save some bucks, there's very little (if any) difference in performance for gaming moving from an i7 to an i5. If you do tons of video editing, then sure, it adds value.

[Snowh]

Yep. You can't push it far enough to affect the PSU.

Here's the basic math: Power is proportional to (V^2)*f. So, if you raise the clock freq 10%, you increase the power use 10%. If you raise the core voltage 0.1V on a 1.0V baseline, then the power use goes up 21%. So, the easiest cooling solution is to just OC up to the point where you don't have to raise the core voltage. Once you start messing with voltage, then you really have to watch your temps/fan rpms.

Also, if you are looking to save some bucks, there's very little (if any) difference in performance for gaming moving from an i7 to an i5. If you do tons of video editing, then sure, it adds value.

Thank you for the explanation.

I do do some video editing, and plan to do more in the future, so I think i'll stick with the i7.