I am proposing the following system:
Silent miditower:
Antec Solo Miditower
Silent, sufficient power:
Corsair 520W/620W?
Intel i965-based mobo with heatpipes:
Asus P5B Deluxe
Intel quad-core cpu:
Intel Core2 QX6700
Nvidia 8800-based graphics:
Gainward Geforce 8800GTS
2GB of ddr2 memory:
Corsair XMS2 6400 DDR2 1024MB x2
Best possible active CPU cooler:
Thermalrigth Ultra 120
Low-noise/low-airflow fans:
Noctua NF-S12-800 (1 or 2 of those)
An ok hd for system and data:
Maxtor DiamondMax 11 500GB
I am not asking wether one "really needs" these components, I am asking if they will fit nicely into the box, and if I am making sound choices as to minimum noise given the performance targeted.
Does the TDP of four cores + GPU mean that I should get the 600W PSU?
Are there suitable low-noise/passive coolers for the 8800GTS yet?
-k
Assembling a very high performance system, reasonably quiet?
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Hi knutinh, just a few thoughts:
The 520w PSU is enough, even if you went SLI 8800GTS.
The Thermalright Ultra-120 is great and as s775 is square there are no orientation problems. Personally I’d still go with the Ninja, even though SPCRs review had it beating the Ninja, no solid reason, just feeling/instinct!
Some suggestions that the 1200rpm Noctua fans run better with less motor noise/ticking than 800rpm when run at same speeds. Either way suggest some form of fan control, either fan mates, front mounted fan controller or possibly from the motherboard, should be able to setup to automatically vary fan speeds.
No idea about the Maxtor drive, I have DM10 and it’s OK, quieter idle would be nice though. Seeks are loud by default and very quiet with AAM on. The WD500KS was highly praised when reviewed. Without knowing usage profile of machine it’s difficult to say but looks like machine has reasonable budget so would suggest consider adding Raptor as OS / Apps drive and using 500GB drive as storage. The latest generation (16MB cache 74 / 150GB) models have surprisingly quiet idle and the Solo’s drive suspension will help with the fast/loud seek noise. Suspect would give significantly better feel to machine when booting up, opening large apps, games and other disk intensive work.
Seb
The 520w PSU is enough, even if you went SLI 8800GTS.
The Thermalright Ultra-120 is great and as s775 is square there are no orientation problems. Personally I’d still go with the Ninja, even though SPCRs review had it beating the Ninja, no solid reason, just feeling/instinct!
Some suggestions that the 1200rpm Noctua fans run better with less motor noise/ticking than 800rpm when run at same speeds. Either way suggest some form of fan control, either fan mates, front mounted fan controller or possibly from the motherboard, should be able to setup to automatically vary fan speeds.
No idea about the Maxtor drive, I have DM10 and it’s OK, quieter idle would be nice though. Seeks are loud by default and very quiet with AAM on. The WD500KS was highly praised when reviewed. Without knowing usage profile of machine it’s difficult to say but looks like machine has reasonable budget so would suggest consider adding Raptor as OS / Apps drive and using 500GB drive as storage. The latest generation (16MB cache 74 / 150GB) models have surprisingly quiet idle and the Solo’s drive suspension will help with the fast/loud seek noise. Suspect would give significantly better feel to machine when booting up, opening large apps, games and other disk intensive work.
Seb
They say the stock cooling is silent, but i guess it's not inaudible. If there's some way in software to turn down the fan to really low, i think you could get it inaudible in 2D.
Looking at these pictures, the stock heatsink is fairly big, an option might be to remove the cover and put a larger fan on top of that.
http://www.rage3d.com/reviews/video/nvi ... ex.php?p=3
I will also get an 8800 gts. If i can get it inaudible in 2D (or in low loads) that would be a good start. Silent in full load when the 147 watts is released, that's another issue
Looking at these pictures, the stock heatsink is fairly big, an option might be to remove the cover and put a larger fan on top of that.
http://www.rage3d.com/reviews/video/nvi ... ex.php?p=3
I will also get an 8800 gts. If i can get it inaudible in 2D (or in low loads) that would be a good start. Silent in full load when the 147 watts is released, that's another issue
I recently built a system with E6600, evga 8800gts, solo case, etc.
I used the supplied 120 rear fan on low, a ninja rev3 cooler with included fan and a seasonic energy 550w psu. In front, I mounted 2 scythe 100mm 1000rpm fans. In a deskside environment it is reasonably quiet, and the cpu stays cool enough.
I think a good brand 550w psu should be ok.
I use speedfan to monitor the temps, but I prefer to set the fans at a constant speed. To me, the peaks and valleys are more noticeable than a constant higher speed. The cpu never seems to get hot enough to throttle. If you overclock, all bets are off.
In front, you can mount one scythe kaze-jyu 100mm fan using the supplied 92mm holes. Actually, two will fit, but you must then relocate the mounting holes. These fans seem quiet to me because they are a bit larger, and spin at lower speeds. You can get them in 1000,1500, and 2000 rpm speeds. I picked 2 1500rpm versions, thinking I could slow them down if I needed to. The trouble with relocating the mounting locations made me wish I had installed just one 1000rpm unit.
The rear stock antec 120mm fan is reasonably quiet on the low setting. I would try it out first, you could always change it out later.
The evgta 8800gts fan goes to high at boot time, but it then quiets down and does not seem to get loud, even when under heavy use. I like how the cooler exhausts the vga heat outside the case, keeping it from getting to the cpu.
I used the supplied 120 rear fan on low, a ninja rev3 cooler with included fan and a seasonic energy 550w psu. In front, I mounted 2 scythe 100mm 1000rpm fans. In a deskside environment it is reasonably quiet, and the cpu stays cool enough.
I think a good brand 550w psu should be ok.
I use speedfan to monitor the temps, but I prefer to set the fans at a constant speed. To me, the peaks and valleys are more noticeable than a constant higher speed. The cpu never seems to get hot enough to throttle. If you overclock, all bets are off.
In front, you can mount one scythe kaze-jyu 100mm fan using the supplied 92mm holes. Actually, two will fit, but you must then relocate the mounting holes. These fans seem quiet to me because they are a bit larger, and spin at lower speeds. You can get them in 1000,1500, and 2000 rpm speeds. I picked 2 1500rpm versions, thinking I could slow them down if I needed to. The trouble with relocating the mounting locations made me wish I had installed just one 1000rpm unit.
The rear stock antec 120mm fan is reasonably quiet on the low setting. I would try it out first, you could always change it out later.
The evgta 8800gts fan goes to high at boot time, but it then quiets down and does not seem to get loud, even when under heavy use. I like how the cooler exhausts the vga heat outside the case, keeping it from getting to the cpu.