Quiet 4K Gaming PC Build Guide

[CA_Steve]

The Antec true quiet 140 fan might be what you want to use instead. From what I've read on the forums it can drop to inaudible rpms when controlled by PWM and it's performance isn't too terrible. Check the 140mm fan reviews. Alternatively, Noctua still sells the SPCR references 140mm fan as a redux version.

Didn't catch this earlier. Antec True Quiet 140 is a 3-pin voltage controlled fan. I found it to be extremely quiet at 460rpm (near it's minimum start up voltage). If you use s/w based fan control that starts fans at higher voltage and then lowers it to a preset value (like Asus Fan Xpert), you can get it down to 200rpm or so. It is inaudible at 400rpm.

[quest_for_silence]

Didn't catch this earlier.

And besides, of which links lb_felipe is talking about?

[lb_felipe]

In the article.

It points to Amazon. The model there it is the HP II, not HP.

Caution.

[quest_for_silence]

In the article.

It points to Amazon. The model there it is the HP II, not HP.

Sorry felipe, I don't get you: I don't see any link in the article.

Perhaps are you referring to some form of automatic, content-related advertising?

[lb_felipe]

Luca, by being italian maybe you can get me a little better. I express mysellf very bad, therefore I apologize for all of you in this community. I can read easier, but write cannot.

The links are those ones across the entire article.

Specially, when you see the table on the last page, you can click on the PH-F140 field and are linked at Amazon. I do know whether it is automatic advertisong, but I guess it is not because it has no google standard with underline etc.

Anyway, the models of Glidestream and F140HP are not the good ones aproved by SPCR standards. Instead of blue label, Amazon has the purple one (PWM model), and for Phanteks, intead of "HP 1", it has the "HP 2", whose review by SPCR was relacted by me above.

If you did not get me still, let me know. I want to make me understandable for you how many times it is needed. Sorry for my English.

[quest_for_silence]

Specially, when you see the table on the last page, you can click on the PH-F140 field and are linked at Amazon

Ok, I understood: it's some form of automatic script filtered by my AdBlock Plus.

Instead of blue label, Amazon has the purple one (PWM model), and for Phanteks, intead of "HP 1", it has the "HP 2"

Ok, I was eventually able to check, and you're right.

But whether the Phanteks link is a major issue (and I hope Lawrence Lee may correct it), the Scythe's one is a minor annoyance: the blue label fan is the custom one bundled with some of their heatsinks, while the purple label fan is the retail one and it's perfectly fine.

[lb_felipe]

Luca, a thing else that make me puzzle is that PH-F140HP from new batches are PWM ones now apparently. According to commentaries from Amazon, brand website etc and looking pics I wonder.

[quest_for_silence]

Luca, a thing else that make me puzzle is that PH-F140HP from new batches are PWM ones now apparently.

As far as I recall, the F140HP were PWM since the beginning: and if I remember correctly, the 3 pin variant was the almost identical, now discontinued PH-F140TS. What I don't know for sure is whether the F140HP can be also smoothly voltage driven, as I expect (a not uncommon occurrence with PWM fans).

[lb_felipe]

See the article. The TS is old. It has two pads for corner, blades like shark fin, etc. The fact they never are in SPCR labs. Always it was the HP (1). These have o-ring pad in each corner, smoother blades design etc.

Firstly, they had a adptaer for PWM (instead of in the motor, there was a cable with PWM CI). But it seems now they are purely PWM.

PS.: Really Phanteks made that confusion because intially, bundling PH-TC14PE, it came with a PH-F140TS. Then it turned to come with PH-F140HP, but it was labled as PH-F140 (without sufix) and, AFAIK, and Ph-f140ts WRITTEN IN THE cardbox.

PS.: What I meant is, there IS PH-F140HP with 3 wires (non-PWM).

[quest_for_silence]

PS.: What I meant is, there IS PH-F140HP with 3 wires (non-PWM).

AFAIK no.

[nster]

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Phanteks_PH-TC14PE
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1345-page4.html

The fan in both reviews look like they are 3 pin with a 3 to 4 pin adapter. The fans they sell now are 4 pin

[lb_felipe]

This.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Phanteks_PH-TC14PE
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1345-page4.html

The fan in both reviews look like they are 3 pin with a 3 to 4 pin adapter. The fans they sell now are 4 pin

And the inteke FANS used in the article IS 3-pin! It is the PH-F140HP.

[Infu5ed]

What is the recommended fan threshold setup for this? I've purchased a similar setup and would like to configure it to be quiet (without melting it), currently it sounds a bit like a jet engine.

Thanks for any help!

[quest_for_silence]

I've purchased a similar setup

What does similar mean?

[Infu5ed]

I've purchased a similar setup

What does similar mean?

It's the same setup, bar a different SSD and the MSI 980 Ti

[CA_Steve]

Welcome to SPCR.

Page 5 of the article shows the fan speeds.

CPU and rear exhaust fan at 700 RPM, intake fans at 650 RPM

Brief session of testing at 1080p with the case fans running at the minimum controllable speeds revealed that under normal gaming conditions, the GPU fans would run anywhere between 1200 and 1900 RPM under stock fan control while the GPU clock rarely dipped below 1418 MHz. I found that the remaining fans running at 650~700 RPM (not much higher than the minimum allowable) while also reducing the GPU fan speed manually (just enough not to lower the clock speed) generated the lowest overall noise output.

That'll get you to a base level. You'll want to tweak to optimise for you.
- Run Fan Xpert's fan calibration utility. Then set up a profile as you like for the CPU and case fans.
- Run MSI's Afterburner utility to set up a profile for your gfx card.

Play a game while monitoring temps and fan speeds. Adjust as needed.

[twitch]

I tweaked the suggested 4k gaming PC build to incorporate the new nvidia gtx 1080:

Case:
Corsair Carbide 600Q - US$150 (only 2 drive bays, swap case fans)

CPU:
Intel Core i5-6600K - US$255
Intel Core i7-6700K - US$370 (alt if on sale)

CPU Cooler:
Scythe Mugen MAX - US$50

Motherboard:
Asus Z170 Pro Gaming (m2 slot further away from for better cooling) $154
Gigabyte Z170x ultra gaming or designare (coming soon)
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 7??

Power Supply:
Corsair RM650i - US$120 (semisilent- manually control fan via usb header)
EVGA Supernova G2 550W or 750W (semi silent) - why not this?

SSD:
950 pro 512gb $317 (M.2 2280 form factor) *slow boot unless installing win 10 in UEFI / WHQL mode ?heat spreader; throttles when hot
pcie ssd? samsung PM961 or SM961 (coming 2H 2016 but oem only)
Samsung 850 EVO 1TB - US$330 (if on sale)

RAM:
Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-3000 16 gb (2x8GB)
(if on sale) Kingston HyperX Fury 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-2666 - US$110
(if on sale) G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3000 $70

FANS:
Phanteks PH-F140HP x 2 US$35
Scythe GlideStream 120 - US$10

GPU
Asus nvidia 1080 GTX $599 (?no fan w/o load)

EDIT: Own this samsung 10bit 32" 4k display: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UHD-Profe ... B00ND1KVM0:

[raftimes]

Scythe Mugen MAX recommended in this built, is incorrectly linked to Scythe Mugen 4 and the priced displayed ($50) in the article is also for Mugen 4. Mugen Max costs currently around $80. I'm not sure which is the typo. I'd like to know which cooler is actually recommended here.

[CA_Steve]

Welcome to SPCR.

Either would work. What's your CPU and do you plan to OC/OV? If a stock 65W CPU, I'd recommend the Kotetsu. If OC'ed/Overvolted i7, then consider the Ninja 4.

[raftimes]

For my new build I'm planning 6700k paired with Asus Maximus VIII Hero. I've been told that also Noctua NH-U12S cooler is a good choice and it's very quiet.

[CA_Steve]

If you aren't overclocking, any of these would work well.

[Silent1]

Great guide. Thx!

[mcw918]

Hi I want to build a similar system and I need a 980Ti for hackintosh.

What components would you guys suggest to change based on previous comments about fan and psu?

Thanks in advance!

[quest_for_silence]

Hi I want to build a similar system and I need a 980Ti for hackintosh.

What components would you guys suggest to change based on previous comments about fan and psu?

About PSU, why would you want to change it?

About fans, how does MacOS control fans?

[mcw918]

Hi I want to build a similar system and I need a 980Ti for hackintosh.

What components would you guys suggest to change based on previous comments about fan and psu?

About PSU, why would you want to change it?

About fans, how MacOS control fans?

Thanks Luca,

I am going to dual boot macOS and Windows.
I majorly do programming and gaming, no OC is intended atm.

My concern about fans is whether these are the ones Mr.Lee used:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00FZM ... UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B008PZ ... UTF8&psc=1

For PSU, you mentioned the one Mr.Lee used is not the best. What's the reason and would Corsair HX750i be a good replacement?
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00M2U ... UTF8&psc=1

I am currently residing in Canada, so what would be good accessible replacements if the above does not perform well in SPCR reviews?

Thanks again!

[quest_for_silence]

My concern about fans is whether these are the ones Mr.Lee used:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00FZM ... UTF8&psc=1

Likely no (the Phanteks used by Lee was no more built/sold), and in case they're not worth to mention.

BTW there are several suitable 140mm fans, for instance a nice, flexible one is this (flexible because you can mount on both 120mm and 140mm holes): but as said there are many, so you'd better to understand how you're going to drive them before pick any option (IMHO, of course).

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B008PZ ... UTF8&psc=1

No but it's very similar: take note, it's a PWM fan.

But again, more than the fans themselves it mostly matters how you drive them: said differently, with Gigabyte boards (which are not of 200 series), and maybe with MacOS, there's a lot to be desired and to talk about.

For PSU, you mentioned the one Mr.Lee used is not the best. What's the reason and would Corsair HX750i be a good replacement?
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00M2U ... UTF8&psc=1

The reason is that Silverstone's performances and build quality are sub-par for the price.

Quiet wise it might be enough decent, but just because at 450W (typical max for gaming for an oc'ed i7 + 980ti) the GPU will scream like hell and maybe overdrown it. Said differently, there are much better options around, IMO, like that HX750i surely is (as well as the RM650x which mr. Lee pointed out).

Compare their fan profile on Aristeides Mpitziopoulos (crmaris) THG and TPU reviews (bottom pages table).

But if you're going to spend around 200 bucks for the PSU, this one looks a much better option.

I am currently residing in Canada, so what would be good accessible replacements if the above does not perform well in SPCR reviews?

I used NewEgg search engine JUST because it's more flexible (for my skills) than others: among these units there are several good options (money wise I think to the EVGA G2 650 or EVGA P2 650, for instance).

[mcw918]

My concern about fans is whether these are the ones Mr.Lee used:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00FZM ... UTF8&psc=1

Likely no (the Phanteks used by Lee was no more built/sold), and in case they're not worth to mention.

BTW there are several suitable 140mm fans, for instance a nice, flexible one is this (flexible because you can mount on both 120mm and 140mm holes): but as said there are many, so you'd better to understand how you're going to drive them before pick any option (IMHO, of course).

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B008PZ ... UTF8&psc=1

No but it's very similar: take note, it's a PWM fan.

But again, more than the fans themselves it mostly matters how you drive them: said differently, with Gigabyte boards (which are not of 200 series), and maybe with MacOS, there's a lot to be desired and to talk about.

For PSU, you mentioned the one Mr.Lee used is not the best. What's the reason and would Corsair HX750i be a good replacement?
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00M2U ... UTF8&psc=1

The reason is that Silverstone's performances and build quality are sub-par for the price.

Quiet wise it might be enough decent, but just because at 450W (typical max for gaming for an oc'ed i7 + 980ti) the GPU will scream like hell and maybe overdrown it. Said differently, there are much better options around, IMO, like that HX750i surely is (as well as the RM650x which mr. Lee pointed out).

Compare their fan profile on Aristeides Mpitziopoulos (crmaris) THG and TPU reviews (bottom pages table).

But if you're going to spend around 200 bucks for the PSU, this one looks a much better option.

I am currently residing in Canada, so what would be good accessible replacements if the above does not perform well in SPCR reviews?

I used NewEgg search engine JUST because it's more flexible (for my skills) than others: among these units there are several good options (money wise I think to the EVGA G2 650 or EVGA P2 650, for instance).

Thanks for the extremely helpful information, it's much appreciated!