Sanity check for a workstation/home studio/light gaming PC
Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 1:59 pm
First of all, hi everyone. I'm new here.
I'm trying to build my first quiet PC, and after days of research into the topic, I've come up with a rough idea of what I'd want. However, before I spend a big chunk of my budget on hardware, I though it might be a good idea to have some experts look at my shopping list, and see if I've made any wrong assumptions or other mistakes. Or if anyone is interested in hearing my review once I buy and test it.
1. Requirements/Use Cases:
- Programming (CUDA, OpenCL), rendering, 3D modeling, video and audio editing. I'm a PhD student in Computer Science (virtual reality), and I'm writing my own game engines, graphics engines, physics engines... and occasionally doing other gamedev related things like 3D modeling in Blender.
- Home studio - I'm recording gaming sessions (online tabletop roleplaying games), and thinking of recording video tutorials and maybe let's play series. I don't want the noise from the PC to be recorder by my microphone, even when the system is under heavy load. Sure, I can edit the noise out, but it lowers audio quality.
- Light gaming. Games get better as they get older
My favorite games include: Factorio, Kerbal Space Program, Minecraft (all heavily modded, I've run with 100+ mods sometimes), Heroes of Might and Magic 1-5, Civilization 1-5 + freeciv, the X-Com series, various city builders... yes, including Dwarf Fortress...
As far as MOBA/MMO games go, the only ones that caught my interest are Heroes of the Storm and Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Most of the titles I play seem to be CPU/RAM heavy, but light on the GPU. I don't mind playing on lower details or with lower FPS (<30 FPS doesn't hurt in turn based strategies), but CPU-limited games tend to slow down when simulating things, and that's worse.
- Linux. I'm buying the computer for myself, not for Microsoft's nefarious world domination plans, thank you
Currently my distro of choice is Linux Mint, with the MATE environment.
I'm living in rather quiet suburbs, far away from main roads etc. so the ambient noise is probably quite low. When the PC is off, I can hear birds chirping, wind blowing outside, and often I can't really hear anything. As such, any noise the PC makes stands out easily even when idling.
Worst case scenario, I might want to leave the PC overnight, making some CUDA/OpenCL computations on both the CPU and GPU... while I'm trying to sleep 1.5 meter away. So yeah, if I can make it practically silent even under heavy load, that would be great.
Ok, with that out of the way... let's get to the good part:
2. System:
CPU: i7 7700k
Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 (single tower, not the pro version which is dual tower)
GPU: Palit GTX 1050 Ti KalmX
PSU: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11, 550W
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 5 rev. B
Fans: 3 x 140mm Nanoxia fans (included with the case), 3 x 140 mm Nanoxia PWM fans (purchased separately), 2 x 140mm be quiet! SILENT WINGS 3 on the CPU cooler - I'm going with the assumption that many, big, slow fans are much more quiet than few, small, fast fans would be. So having 8 (9 if counting the PSU) 140mm fans, all set to never exceed 800 RPM should do the trick.
Mobo: MSI Z270 SLI Plus
RAM: 2x8 GB DDR4, any brand, will probably upgrade in the future. I could buy 2133 MHz to save money for future upgrades, although there are some 3000 MHz at just a 10% premium, so maybe I should pick those? And I guess I should go for low profile sticks without heatsinks, so they don't conflict with the CPU cooler?
Drives: system, home directory = ADATA SP900, big files = TOSHIBA DT01ACA300 - that's actually what I'm using right now. I may upgrade in the future, but it's not a priority. The HDD is rarely in use, so I can spin it down when recording/sleeping. In fact, I'm mostly using external HDDs for backups, but since my old mobo has only USB 2.0 support... yeah, I think it's time for an upgrade.
Peripherals (for anyone interested, since I'm just taking them from my old system):
Monitors: Dell 1703FP (my older monitor) and Dell P2416D (my newer monitor)
External sound card: Sound Blaster X-Fi HD
Headphones: AKG K271 MkII
Microphone: Samson C01U Pro
Keyboard: a quiet one I don't know why someone would want a loud keyboard
3. A few other important tidbits:
- I'm not planning on overclocking just yet. It sounds fun, but since it may void the warranty, I'll likely wait until the warranty is over before attempting anything of that sort. I might in fact decrease the voltage, since I've heard 7700k works stable at lower voltages, which should reduce the heat and prolong the processor's life I suppose?
- I think building PCs that look good inside is an interesting challenge, so that's part of the plan. I'm not going to sacrifice performance or silence for the looks, but I might be willing to spend a bit extra on parts that are sufficient, and look good. (as such, Noctua fans are no go, they're ugly :/ ) That's my reason for the Dark Rock 3 cooler - should be sufficient, and looks good.
- My previous system lasted 7 years. And the main reason I'm upgrading is noise, otherwise I could probably use if for a few more years. As such, I'd be happy if the new build lasted 10 years or longer, with probably some upgrades along the line, but I'm not one to buy a new PC every year or two
- Still, having room for upgrades is nice... what if I decide I need dual graphics cards in SLI at some point? Or if I decide to go with a custom watercooling loop to keep the thing quiet when I do start overclocking?
I've never done overclocking or watercooling, but it sounds fun, so I might try it at some point in distant future... and that's why I'm buying some parts with the future in mind. Such as the case which I won't have to replace even if I purchase a larger motherbaord, or go with a custom watercooling loop. And the mobo and PSU, which shouldn't need upgrades if I decide to go dual GPU at some point.
So... does anything seem out of place? Will the cooling be enough? Will I run into RAM clearance issues? Is anything not future-proofed? Is anyone interested in a review of the results? Anything I should keep in mind if I'm thinking of overclocking and building a custom watercooling loop in the future? Or any other comments?
Any suggestions for Linux software to test/control temperatures, fan speeds, voltages, clock speeds etc? My old motherboard doesn't support most of those things, so I never looked for good software. Now things will change
My friends suggested I should look at the Ryzen processors. My impression is that they make good server/mainframe CPUs because of all the cores, but for a desktop/gaming CPU they are likely worse than Intel's. Considering my "requirements" I suppose Ryzen could be better for some of them (like rendering, compiling, etc.) but the large majority of things I do will not utilize that many threads. Also, high end Ryzen processors (1800x) according to some reviews draw considerably more power than 7700k does at full load. While it's true 7700k (unless delided) with it's poor heat dissipation can overheat easily... it doesn't affect cooling much. The cooler still has the same amount of heat to dissipate, whether the TIM is good or bad. It just means the CPU will be hot, while the radiator will be much colder. However if Ryzen generates more heat, it means more heat for the cooler to dissipate. As such, I'd expect Ryzen to be louder in practice. Or am I missing something? Is there any point in setting the CPU fans to higher RPMs to blow at that cold radiator as much as possible, just because the CPU is poorly transferring heat to the radiator?
... if I have to ditch Intel for a Ryzen I'll have to redo a lot of my shopping research... :c
I'm trying to build my first quiet PC, and after days of research into the topic, I've come up with a rough idea of what I'd want. However, before I spend a big chunk of my budget on hardware, I though it might be a good idea to have some experts look at my shopping list, and see if I've made any wrong assumptions or other mistakes. Or if anyone is interested in hearing my review once I buy and test it.
1. Requirements/Use Cases:
- Programming (CUDA, OpenCL), rendering, 3D modeling, video and audio editing. I'm a PhD student in Computer Science (virtual reality), and I'm writing my own game engines, graphics engines, physics engines... and occasionally doing other gamedev related things like 3D modeling in Blender.
- Home studio - I'm recording gaming sessions (online tabletop roleplaying games), and thinking of recording video tutorials and maybe let's play series. I don't want the noise from the PC to be recorder by my microphone, even when the system is under heavy load. Sure, I can edit the noise out, but it lowers audio quality.
- Light gaming. Games get better as they get older
My favorite games include: Factorio, Kerbal Space Program, Minecraft (all heavily modded, I've run with 100+ mods sometimes), Heroes of Might and Magic 1-5, Civilization 1-5 + freeciv, the X-Com series, various city builders... yes, including Dwarf Fortress...
As far as MOBA/MMO games go, the only ones that caught my interest are Heroes of the Storm and Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Most of the titles I play seem to be CPU/RAM heavy, but light on the GPU. I don't mind playing on lower details or with lower FPS (<30 FPS doesn't hurt in turn based strategies), but CPU-limited games tend to slow down when simulating things, and that's worse.
- Linux. I'm buying the computer for myself, not for Microsoft's nefarious world domination plans, thank you
Currently my distro of choice is Linux Mint, with the MATE environment.
I'm living in rather quiet suburbs, far away from main roads etc. so the ambient noise is probably quite low. When the PC is off, I can hear birds chirping, wind blowing outside, and often I can't really hear anything. As such, any noise the PC makes stands out easily even when idling.
Worst case scenario, I might want to leave the PC overnight, making some CUDA/OpenCL computations on both the CPU and GPU... while I'm trying to sleep 1.5 meter away. So yeah, if I can make it practically silent even under heavy load, that would be great.
Ok, with that out of the way... let's get to the good part:
2. System:
CPU: i7 7700k
Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 (single tower, not the pro version which is dual tower)
GPU: Palit GTX 1050 Ti KalmX
PSU: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11, 550W
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 5 rev. B
Fans: 3 x 140mm Nanoxia fans (included with the case), 3 x 140 mm Nanoxia PWM fans (purchased separately), 2 x 140mm be quiet! SILENT WINGS 3 on the CPU cooler - I'm going with the assumption that many, big, slow fans are much more quiet than few, small, fast fans would be. So having 8 (9 if counting the PSU) 140mm fans, all set to never exceed 800 RPM should do the trick.
Mobo: MSI Z270 SLI Plus
RAM: 2x8 GB DDR4, any brand, will probably upgrade in the future. I could buy 2133 MHz to save money for future upgrades, although there are some 3000 MHz at just a 10% premium, so maybe I should pick those? And I guess I should go for low profile sticks without heatsinks, so they don't conflict with the CPU cooler?
Drives: system, home directory = ADATA SP900, big files = TOSHIBA DT01ACA300 - that's actually what I'm using right now. I may upgrade in the future, but it's not a priority. The HDD is rarely in use, so I can spin it down when recording/sleeping. In fact, I'm mostly using external HDDs for backups, but since my old mobo has only USB 2.0 support... yeah, I think it's time for an upgrade.
Peripherals (for anyone interested, since I'm just taking them from my old system):
Monitors: Dell 1703FP (my older monitor) and Dell P2416D (my newer monitor)
External sound card: Sound Blaster X-Fi HD
Headphones: AKG K271 MkII
Microphone: Samson C01U Pro
Keyboard: a quiet one I don't know why someone would want a loud keyboard
3. A few other important tidbits:
- I'm not planning on overclocking just yet. It sounds fun, but since it may void the warranty, I'll likely wait until the warranty is over before attempting anything of that sort. I might in fact decrease the voltage, since I've heard 7700k works stable at lower voltages, which should reduce the heat and prolong the processor's life I suppose?
- I think building PCs that look good inside is an interesting challenge, so that's part of the plan. I'm not going to sacrifice performance or silence for the looks, but I might be willing to spend a bit extra on parts that are sufficient, and look good. (as such, Noctua fans are no go, they're ugly :/ ) That's my reason for the Dark Rock 3 cooler - should be sufficient, and looks good.
- My previous system lasted 7 years. And the main reason I'm upgrading is noise, otherwise I could probably use if for a few more years. As such, I'd be happy if the new build lasted 10 years or longer, with probably some upgrades along the line, but I'm not one to buy a new PC every year or two
- Still, having room for upgrades is nice... what if I decide I need dual graphics cards in SLI at some point? Or if I decide to go with a custom watercooling loop to keep the thing quiet when I do start overclocking?
I've never done overclocking or watercooling, but it sounds fun, so I might try it at some point in distant future... and that's why I'm buying some parts with the future in mind. Such as the case which I won't have to replace even if I purchase a larger motherbaord, or go with a custom watercooling loop. And the mobo and PSU, which shouldn't need upgrades if I decide to go dual GPU at some point.
So... does anything seem out of place? Will the cooling be enough? Will I run into RAM clearance issues? Is anything not future-proofed? Is anyone interested in a review of the results? Anything I should keep in mind if I'm thinking of overclocking and building a custom watercooling loop in the future? Or any other comments?
Any suggestions for Linux software to test/control temperatures, fan speeds, voltages, clock speeds etc? My old motherboard doesn't support most of those things, so I never looked for good software. Now things will change
My friends suggested I should look at the Ryzen processors. My impression is that they make good server/mainframe CPUs because of all the cores, but for a desktop/gaming CPU they are likely worse than Intel's. Considering my "requirements" I suppose Ryzen could be better for some of them (like rendering, compiling, etc.) but the large majority of things I do will not utilize that many threads. Also, high end Ryzen processors (1800x) according to some reviews draw considerably more power than 7700k does at full load. While it's true 7700k (unless delided) with it's poor heat dissipation can overheat easily... it doesn't affect cooling much. The cooler still has the same amount of heat to dissipate, whether the TIM is good or bad. It just means the CPU will be hot, while the radiator will be much colder. However if Ryzen generates more heat, it means more heat for the cooler to dissipate. As such, I'd expect Ryzen to be louder in practice. Or am I missing something? Is there any point in setting the CPU fans to higher RPMs to blow at that cold radiator as much as possible, just because the CPU is poorly transferring heat to the radiator?
... if I have to ditch Intel for a Ryzen I'll have to redo a lot of my shopping research... :c