SPCR

Hi everyone,

I`m new to this forum, so please excuse if I may do wrongs, like bad subforum to post!!!

So, to the topic, I will build my first silent pc, keeping parts of my present rig and buying others new (as time to upgrade has come and my age gone up, silence is now much apreciated...)

What I will keep:

ASRock H97 PRO4
i5 4690 (non-k)
2x 4gb xfury beast 1600
2x hdd (1TB + 500GB Seagate) - needed as of now
1x dvd-rw asus (needed, as I write 5-10 disc/week)

What I am in doubt to keep:

PSU Sirtec High Power 500w (in doubt because maybe too old, maybe too noisy, maybe not enough power) - NEED ADVICE!

What will I buy:

Fractal Design Define R5 - I choose it after this site silent build. Do I have better options? For the same money? or for less?
GPU Gigabyte gtx 970 G1 - or - Asus gtx 970 strix (OC or non OC) - or - MSI gtx 970 gaming - or... PLEASE give advice as what gpu would better match the chosen case (or adviced case) and the ideea of silence...
SSD samsung 850 evo 500gb

Now, the tricky part: cooling...

The reason I upgrade, even though my present card handles ok games (gtx560ti from msi, twinfroznII OC) is heat: practically I can`t run furmark, as before it gets 90% (in the 1 min test) system shuts down, gpu temp is 100c. Well, this is a case issue (open case lower temp by 4-5 degrees) but also gpu, as I understand this card should handle much lower temps.

So, with the new build, silent as I want it, cooling is of equal importance. So, PLEASE, advice good ways to cool the case with extra vents.

Practically, all above components ar merely starting points, you get the ideea what I want, please feel free to advice considering me noob, no pun will be taken. Budget is relative, as where I live, ROMANIA, prices ar a bit (20-30%) higher than US, extremly volatile and unstable. Just advice for components, let me handle the wallet...

Sorry for long post, thankyou for helping!!!

Welcome to SPCR.

gfx card: Before you throw the card away...maybe it's salvagable.
- Is this a card you've had for a long time and it's slowly gotten worse for temperature under load? It could be a build up of dust on the gfx card fans and heatsink as well as the case fans. You could try assembling the motherboard and gfx card outside of the case (with the motherboard on a non-conductive surface (wood table, for example) and see what temps you get for the gfx card idle and load. Then, get rid of the dust build up and see what happens.

case: The R5 is a great case. Maybe you could list it's local price as well as other case vendors/models.

PSU: Looks like a China OEM bronze efficiency. How old is it?

Yes, there is some dust in it. But these temps are quite normal since I bought this card. Reason For not returning it was at the time I had my baby born and olaying was not an issue. In the meantime, my girl goes to kindergarden, I have more free time and so Skyrim modded, total wae and europa universalis are back in town. Plus some crysis 3,bf4,or gta5. Yes, I guess changing case and cleaning hardware would give me some 7-8 degrees less, but right now I already get 85c in fifa16. This is not ok. Even 75 should worry me, isn t it?

So, gpu would eventually leave and new one will take place. Well, maybe not curent gen, maybe next gen cards, but I want to figure out how you guys in here consider silnt gpus and build.

R5 sells at my favorite online retail at aprox. 145 dollars.

Sirtec psu has more than 7 years. Maybe more than 8. At the time it replaced a deluxe psu, a practically crap psu. The sirtec one was highly acclaimed at the time by my friends. Even now, sirtec is seen as a very quality psu for litle money (an 80+ bronze 750w is now on sale for aprox. 70dollars)

eperdos wrote:What I am in doubt to keep:

PSU Sirtec High Power 500w (in doubt because maybe too old, maybe too noisy, maybe not enough power) - NEED ADVICE!

I never found a good Sirtec PSU, I'd use something different for sure, like a 400W be quiet sStraight Power E10.

eperdos wrote:What will I buy:

Fractal Design Define R5 - I choose it after this site silent build. Do I have better options? For the same money? or for less?

For a single GPU setup on this kind of enclosure, probably no, but it mostly depends of your local pricing: may you order from Germany?

eperdos wrote:GPU Gigabyte gtx 970 G1 - or - Asus gtx 970 strix (OC or non OC) - or - MSI gtx 970 gaming - or... PLEASE give advice as what gpu would better match the chosen case (or adviced case) and the ideea of silence...

I'd avoid to buy a GTX 970 just some months before the Nvidia Pascal release. Absolutely.

eperdos wrote:Now, the tricky part: cooling...

Did you miss a CPU heatsink?

Ok, psu considered for upgrade. I will come with solutions and wait fir aproval.

I alsi think in waiting for new gen gpus.

It would be complicated buying from Germany. But I must ask, what would be the offering if i would buy from there?

Should I understand r5 ia a good choice? What about cooling the case?

Cpu has the stock cooler on it.

Anything under 80C is great for a gfx card. Next gen cards are due sometime mid 2016 if you can wait it out.

R5 is a fine case.

Stock Intel cooler is crap for i5 4690. See if the Scythe Kotetsu or Mugen 4 is available.

Lots of stuff available from Germany. How about amazon.de?

I watched prices in amazon.de but it looks just a little less than my online retailer, so it doesn`t worth the extras for shipping and the more hassle with warranties.

Ok, so we add cpu cooler scythe kotetsu to the build (price is around 45$)

What about this PSU: Corsair RMx Series RM650x 650W, 80+ Gold (130$) or this one: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GS (140$). Evga is not curently on stock, but just for the sake of information, what would be better, as quality and silence?

eperdos wrote:It would be complicated buying from Germany. But I must ask, what would be the offering if i would buy from there?

Well, I hadn't any specific offering in mind, I just thought that perhaps those retailers I usually buy from (for instance: amazon.de, caseking, pc-cooling, alternate.de) might offer you lots of competitive options for somewhat reasonable shipping charges.

eperdos wrote:Should I understand r5 ia a good choice? What about cooling the case?

The R5 is fine, their two GP14 fans are often fine too at cooling such a rig.
If you are concerned about having the lowest temps, come hell or high water, you might opt for a different kind of case (like a Phanteks Enthoo Pro).

eperdos wrote:Cpu has the stock cooler on it.

Avoid: pick a good cooler paired with a good sounding fan. If you can allot a comprehensive budget, then it might be easier to advice for each and any part.

eperdos wrote:What about this PSU: Corsair RMx Series RM650x 650W, 80+ Gold (130$) or this one: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GS (140$). Evga is not curently on stock, but just for the sake of information, what would be better, as quality and silence?

The Corsair is the best between those two PSUs, and by far: by the way, a 550w unit is more well suited than a 650w one, and the already adviced be quiet E10 400W is more probably that not even quieter than the Corsair (quality wise the RMx is better).

At any ate: NO retailer all over Europe has a better warranty service than Amazon.

Ok, lets go down to budget path

So I need:
Case + extra fans
PSU not less than 650w
SSD aprox 500gb
Gpu no less than gtx 970 (no amd)
Cpu cooler

Lets establish the budget to 800 euros for european market and roughly 25% less for us market.

Again, goals are silent, cold and performat rig.

Ok, I ll check further for how amazon.de work, like shipping rates, custom taxes (though EU should be tax free) and how warranties work.

eperdos wrote:and how warranties work.

In 2014 I was in Paris and needed a vacuum cleaner. I didn't find on Amazon.fr so I ordered it from Amazon.it with international shipping from Italy to France.

In 2015 that vacuum cleaner broke, within the warranty period: given that vacuum cleaner was no more in stock, Amazon.it refunded me the full price I paid in 2014 along with the return shipping charge from France to Italy (about 40 euros more) for the broken item, in just one week.

I call that a great service.

And did you prove the vacuum was broken? My concern for warranty is not just for when parts broke but for when they aren t working as advertised. Ex. Noisy gpu cooler, hot gpu, case front audio or usb broken, etc. Do I pay for return shipping? With local retailers, things are clear and fairly cheap. Though amazon might have better service it could cost you more.

But anyway. At given budget, lets go back to building a silent rig and annalyze it. Tnx!

eperdos wrote:And did you prove the vacuum was broken?

No.

eperdos wrote:My concern for warranty is not just for when parts broke but for when they aren t working as advertised.

It's the same thing: btw, given that Amazon policies are the same all over Europe, you may give a read on Amazon.co.uk to warranty and after sale services (in english, I mean).

eperdos wrote:Do I pay for return shipping?

Did you read what I wrote about return shipping? At any rate, you don't have to buy there: in Germany you may just find what you would not be able to find in Romania.

eperdos wrote:But anyway. At given budget, lets go back to building a silent rig and annalyze it. Tnx!

For instance:

Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (should have a small temp edge over the R5 while costing about a 15% less)
extra fans: depends of your actual motherboard
PSU: Be Quiet Straight Power E10 400W - Super Flower Golden Silent 430W (you don't need a 650W PSU, your expected power draw in real life scenarios is probably under 250W,something above 300W with a Titan X 12GB or a GTX 980TI 6GB: a 650W PSU is for three GTX 970 cards, maybe four, not just 1 like you, and Pascal is expected as twice as efficient than Maxwell)
SSD: Crucial BX100 / MX100 / MX200 - Samsung 850 EVO - Toshiba THNSNJ HG6 - OCZ Arc 100 - Intel SSD 535 - Plextor PX-512M6S+ (pick the cheapest)
Gpu: just thoroughly clean your 560ti, re-apply fresh thermal paste and wait the summer coming with Pascal
Cpu cooler: Scythe Kotetsu

ok, thanks. advices apreciated.