Suggestions for a [quieter] DAW?

[Seedmuse]

Dear beloved silentpcreview forum,

Here is what I have:

Case: Lian Li PC-V351B-U3 HTPC Desktop Case (Aluminum frame and bezel cube)
PS: OCZ600MXSP
MB: ASUS P8Z68-M PRO
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz
RAM: 2 Patriot 4096MB sticks (8192 Total) DDR3-1333
GPU: SPARKLE Computer NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (SX560T1024D5MH) 1 GB GDDR5
HD: 1 Samsung SSD 850 EVO 500GB, 3 Samsung HDD 1000GB/7200rpm and 1 Removable Bay
Optical Drive: Plextor PX-891SAF
Sound Card: RME Hammerfall DSP PCI Interface Card (Half Rack)
Display: Dell UltraSharp U2312HM 23" Monitor 1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz

Here is where it lives:

Acoustically treated (Fiberglass traps from RealTraps) dormer studio in a private home
where I record and compose music.

Here is what I did:

After reading the beginner forum, I manually stopped all the fans and immediately removed the overkill
video card (I'm not a gamer), started using the integrated graphics and unplugged the case fans. I
think the power supply is also overkill. I am keeping an eye on the temps with the ASUS AI Suite.
As long as I remove one of the side walls of the case permanently the temps stay low, otherwise I
have to turn the case fans back on.

I would like to make a silent (even fanless) PC using my existing hardware (without video card) if possible.
I am comfortable with this hardware in terms of my DAW needs. If I have to scrap this setup for a
new one I'm okay with that, with the caveat that I need to keep this half rack PCI audio card and
I'd like the same performance from the new setup.

Thank you for any and all suggestions!

[CA_Steve]

Welcome to SPCR.

Is that a Scythe Big Shuriken cooler on the CPU?

Yes, the PSU is overkill. A stock i7-2600 with the rest of your components (sans gfx card) will use ~150-170W under stress load.

Here's the likely big noise sources:
- 3 spinning hard drives. If you use the SSD for OS/Apps/scratch disk during recording and the HDDs only for data storage, then you could have Windows spin down the drives after initial boot/use. (control panel->power options->edit plan settings->change advanced power settings->hard disk (turn off hard disk after xx minutes)). If you neeeeeeed a hard drive during recording (VMEs not loaded to scratch disk, whatever), then you might consider replacing it with a slower speed 5400rpm one.

- Case fans: are you using Asus' Fan Xpert s/w utility or controlling the fan speed in BIOS? If so, what fan rpm are you seeing in idle and load conditions?

- PSU: do you hear the PSU fan with the case fans disabled? Yeah, the wattage is overkill, but at your loads, the fan speed might be low enough to be inaudible.

- CPU cooler: what fan rpms are you seeing at idle and typical load and how are you controlling the cpu cooler fan? A cheap fix would be to replace the thin scythe fan with a std thickness (25mm) one for better airflow at lower rpm. Typically, audio recording doesn't take a lot of cpu horsepower unless you orchestral quantities of tracks/VI's.

[Seedmuse]

I think it is a Scythe Big Shuriken. I didn't build this PC but from the looks of it and my research on the internet it looks like it might be.

One HDD is in a removable bay which has a power off switch so that takes care of one. I did as you recommended (turn off hard disk after xx mins) and it helped! I do use samples when I am orchestrating and those need to be on a separate drive, before they are loaded into ram, but then the HDD spins down. I have always recorded projects onto a separate drive (not the os) so I will have to research that or I could buy a dedicated recording SSD or maybe, now that we use SSDs the old worry about bottlenecks in recording are a thing of the past and I can record onto the same drive as the os drive?

I unplugged the case fans altogether which seems to be just fine. I am using Asus' Fan Xpert and am amazed. At idle I'm at 32C with the CPU fan at 830RPM. Even with the largest projects I can barely get the CPU over 35C and the CPU fan to 850RPM. It really is quiet. I hear the buzzing of my power amp over the fan noise of the computer now. My room is at 70F. Removing the graphics card has done wonders for my sanity.

You are right about the PSU fan, I can barely hear it. The CPU fan is louder than the PSU fan. As you note, it must be that the loads are so low the fan is barely moving.

[CA_Steve]

I don't think you'd have an issue with storage bandwidth using the OS SSD as the scratch disk. But, if you wanted to play it safe/get rid of a spinning disk - take a look at the Crucial MX300 525GB. It has plenty of speed for your use case and is often in the $120 range in the US.

Ok, sounds like you should replace the 12mm thick cpu fan with a 25mm PWM one for slower speed/inaudible during recording. Something like the Noctua NF-S12A PWM.

[Seedmuse]

Thank you, I will move forward with your suggestions!

As to the Crucial SDD, I see that there are different sizes at different price points. Is the 525GB in the sweet spot for price vs size or does that matter?

Also, while I'm at it can you recommend a silent (maybe fanless?) PSU that will suite my needs?

[CA_Steve]

Size for SSD - as memory gets denser, it takes less chips to populate an SSD for a given capacity. However, you need a certain number of chips to feed the memory controller channels to provide the maximum read and write speeds. In the MX300's case, this is at 525GB. If you drop to 275GB, the random read speed drops significantly. However, it's still in the range of your spinning drives, and I don't think your DAW use will hammer the SSD with random reads, anyway.

tl;dr: Buy the size that suits you. I mentioned the 525GB bacause it's the sweet spot for price and performance.

PSU:
- What's your home country? Need to narrow down the vendor list.

[Seedmuse]

Home country USofA (Long Island, NY)...

Thank you.

[CA_Steve]

Based on current pricing, I'd get the Corsair RM650x at Newegg. It's $80 after MIR. Yes, it's power overkill but it'll be as efficient as a lower wattage PSU I'd recommend. Plus, it's passive at your workload.

[quest_for_silence]

Based on current pricing, I'd get the Corsair RM650x at Newegg. It's $80 after MIR. Yes, it's power overkill but it'll be as efficient as a lower wattage PSU I'd recommend. Plus, it's passive at your workload.

A cheaper alternative for not oc'ed IGP rig: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817256097 (obviously it's a lesser product than the RMx, but it's quiet).

OTOH some slighly better/slightly more expensive PSUs (than the RM550x is) are: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817438095 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817438091

[CA_Steve]

I guess I'm an efficiency snob that can't recommend a Bronze unit like the Silverstone...on the other hand it's power loss appears to be about the same as the RMx at the OP's loads. Does the Silverstone come with the required SFX->ATX bracket?

[quest_for_silence]

Does the Silverstone come with the required SFX->ATX bracket?

Yes, it does.

[Seedmuse]

Update:

I installed the crucial MX300 525GB and the Noctua fan as well as a EVGA SuperNOVA 550 G3 whose fan is completely off (it does ramp up occasionally but then turns off again). I am so happy I can't tell you! Thank you for the suggestions.

The next issue is tackling the somewhat sluggish monitor response with the iGPU on the ASUS P8z68-m Pro. As you can see from the picture I often work in portrait mode and while with 27+ staves of music I should be congratulating the notation program (Sibelius) for performing so admirably I wonder if there might be a way to improve the response on the hardware side.

What is the fastest GPU you can buy on a motherboard? Is there a fanless video card solution that beats the Intel HD Graphics 2000 on this motherboard, that will also not increase the heat in the case (ie. no more fans!)?

[CA_Steve]

Let's dive deeper. Maybe it's an interface problem as driving a 2D app doesn't take much gfx power.

What's your monitor model/resolution and how are you driving it (what kind of connection - displayport/HDMI/etc)?

fyi: no upgrade path for the mobo and graphics. You'd either have to replace the CPU/mobo/RAM or get a gfx card...I have been meaning to ask. Do you have any DPC latency issues? SandyBridge mobo's weren't that great for it.

[quest_for_silence]

What is the fastest GPU you can buy on a motherboard?

Intel IrisPro 580 (extremely expensive).

Is there a fanless video card... that will also not increase the heat in the case...?

No, there isn't.

[Seedmuse]

Monitor: Dell UltraSharp U2312HM 23" Monitor 1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz via DVI

I have no DPC latency issues as reported by DPC Latency Checker V1.4.0.

[CA_Steve]

What is the fastest GPU you can buy on a motherboard?

Intel IrisPro 580 (extremely expensive).

Ok, no pragmatic upgrade for your CPU

[CA_Steve]

1080p, huh? Should be no problems driving that monitor. I lean toward it being a CPU loading issue...but...let's check out both sides. Download GPU-Z and run on the sensors tab. Load up Task Manager's (ctrl-alt-del) performance tab. Run them while doing your typical DAW work and occasionally check in to see the loading.

[Seedmuse]

Of course you are right, it has to be CPU loading! I had no idea how much crap was running at the same time. I think I am going to have to do a fresh install. The list of running processes is overwhelming.

[CA_Steve]

Might be getting a tad full on the RAM, too.

[Seedmuse]

Yeah, I saw that too...

And so to the question. What memory would you recommend?

[CA_Steve]

RAM: Go to your mobo's support page and get anything from the qualified vendor list that's also low profile/doesn't conflict with the cooler.