Possible to build silent gaming PC?

nibbler · Post by **nibbler** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:56 pm

I would like to build a very quiet gaming PC for only $1800. That's $2200 here in Australia.

I need the case, PSU and everything that goes in it.

How quiet could it potentially be? I would like to use a 8800GTS.

Thanks.

dnoiz · Post by **dnoiz** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:02 am

nibbler wrote:I would like to build a very quiet gaming PC for only $1800. That's $2200 here in Australia.

I need the case, PSU and everything that goes in it.

How quiet could it potentially be? I would like to use a 8800GTS.

Thanks.

That's pretty easy to do with today hardware choices I think.

Get an Antec SOLO or P182 case (depends how much hardware you want to put in it). Get a Corsair HX PSU. I replaced (and added) the standard fans in the SOLO using the PWM enabled Artic Cooling fans (http://www.arctic-cooling.com/fans1.php) which are controlled using Speedfan.

Get HD's and OD's from Samsung (all SATA).

I'm a fan of Asus mobo's (get one based on the new P35 chipset - fanless ofcourse) and GFX cards.

Get a E6600 cpu (best value for now) or quad-core after the summer once Intel drops the prices again. Get one of the CPU coolers from the recommended list by SPCR (like the Scythe Ninja) and OC the E6600 to 3ghz which is VERY easy to do.

Not many details but this surely should give you an idea on what is possible and very quite.

As a last note, check out all recommended lists of SPCR and you're all set. The budget you have is more then enough for a VERY powerfull system. Just make sure you need all that money spend or not (I don't think so).

R.

ps. check the specs in my signature as a possible config

nibbler · Post by **nibbler** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:00 am

Thanks for your reply.

Are the Samsung HDD's quieter than Seagate ones?

pputer · Post by **pputer** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 4:19 am

nibbler wrote:Thanks for your reply.

Are the Samsung HDD's quieter than Seagate ones?

That's what the consensus is, I think. Seagate is often mentioned as being one of the louder drives. I'm wondering where Hitachi fits in the quiet group.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 4:49 am

http://www.storagereview.com/Testbed4Compare.sr
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page1.html

My Seagates are annoying mostly because of the vibrations. Got Barracudas, 2x7200.8 and 1x7200.9. Switching to Western Digital drives next as friends have had Samsungs quit on them.

pputer · Post by **pputer** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:42 am

Which one, DS?

I just bought the Samsung and now I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I came across a Hitachi 500GB for cheaper and a WD 500GB drive even cheaper than both. I am wondering if the AAKS is a good drive. People have compared the Drives but is the AAKS model worth trying?

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 7:25 am

Read the Recommended page here on SPCR. Then read Storagereview's table for generic guidelines. Then browse the forums. The quiet HDDs have been discussed in length. The AAKS is the KS without the 4-pin molex for oldschool power if memory serves, and it is quiet. That's my model of choice.

I could bet my friends just manhandled the Samsungs when moving to and from LAN parties, so it's not like they're absolute bombs like Maxtors, but I'd rather bet on the manufacturer that hasn't failed us yet and has been found to be consistently good.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 11:45 pm

some component recommendations that I believe in:

1. 8800gts 640 meg version. at high resolutions with image quality settings turned up, its faster than a 8800gts 320 and the heat usage is basically the same. same clock speeds for gpu and ram but vid memory is a nice way to get a few more frames without pushing wattage. (im buying this card this summer myself) I like evga, I dont know what is good around you though.

2. Samsung 500gb T series drive. it is decently fast, rated quiet on here and has 16megs cache. Plus, its cheap. Much success with four samsung drives so far, silent idle which is the most important I feel.

3. If you can, a system of your beef could use a Corsair 520 watt psu. It was reviewed on here. I can say that any psu reviewed on here is 100% accurate in its depiction.

4. ddr3 boards are like 100 dollars more than you need to spend. 965 intel chipset is a fantastic chipset that is very mature and runs super fast. I dont think I would bother with ddr3. its 2x as expensive, the boards are more expensive, but worse, worse than anything, All of the ones that looked feature rich and not kiddie crap only take 4 gigs max. 8 gigs total if you used ddr2 and 3.... er... yeah.... everyone should be aiming for 4 gigs as a minimum for futureproofing. 2 gigs on XP gets maxed out on games. some of my games use 1.3 gigs of space when they are in midgame..... vista needs more... just thoughts.

cooling wise, its pretty simple. you get a Reserator2. youll have so much cash left over, you could buy two of those watercooling systems.

Possible to build silent gaming PC?

Possible to build silent gaming PC?

Re: Possible to build silent gaming PC?