I wrote a similar thread in the GPU section, but I figured I should ask for some advice here as well. I am planning on doing a complete upgrade of my old Core 2 silent system. I am gonna keep my fanless PSU if it can handle new hardware, my passive CPU cooler, and my SSD disks, but I am gonna get a new motherboard, CPU, RAM and video card.

Now, since my system is totally quiet except for two super silent fans that I cant even hear from a meter a way, stuff like coil whine gets really noticeable. And its also the type of noise that really gets on my nerves... much more than any low fan hum.

So... whats new in the computer world? Does new motherboards and CPUs also whine just like many modern video cards seem to do?

My old ASUS P5LD2-SE and Core 2 Duo doesnt seem to make any noise at all that I can hear, and definitely no high pitched whine. What about modern stuff? When googling some people do seem to complain about motherboard noises... so... anyone know what I should / should not get if I want to keep my system whine-less?

I don't build enough systems to know for sure. I think its improving?

I built an i5-750 based system 3 years ago (Asus P7P55D PRO), it had some whine, but it went away when I disabled some of the C-states in the bios. I don't hear any whine anymore - but my fans are only borderline silent.

I then "supervised" 3 builds for family members, based on Sandy Bridge Core i5 2500k, ASUS P8P67 (2 Pro and 1 Non-pro). 2 of these builds were built for silence, they are real sleepers - no coil whine to complain about. Now if only HP's inkjet printers didn't whine on idle...

So I guess it's a lot of YMMV, but I think for the most part its getting better (I hope?). I also helps that these builds were on P183 cases, which I think plays a role in dampening noise. I bet if stop all the fans and stick my ear in the case I'm bound to find trace amounts of something, but I don't, and I have no reason to. I'm picky, so when I don't notice anything over a long period of time (1 month?), it's probably good enough. Example: My cellphone charger idle whine I notice immediately.

I would go nvidia on the GPU based on this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP73edpQwgc