Need Advice on quiet/silent i7 system

[BluepointVance]

I am attempting to build my first "quiet" PC and was hoping to get some opinions on my choices so far. This will be my primary system, used for Photoshop/flash CS4/5, occasional 3d work (C4d, Vue), and general office-type stuff (MS word, etc.) I'm going to be running windows 7. (I was actually planning on building this PC at the beginning of the year, but work took-over/got-in-the-way and I had to postpone the whole thing. Trying again with modified component list!)

The plan as it stand now:

CASE: SilverStone Fortress FT02B (I realize this might be overkill for what I'm doing, but I really like having easy access to the back of the MB.(USB 3.0 ports there) -- Should I also be considering the Antec p183? Would that provide more noise damping?)

CPU: i7 860 (or 875k, not sure if it makes that much difference)

CPU FAN: Gelid Tranquillo (Never used one in my life, but people around here seem to like it.)

MB: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4 (Also considering the ASUS P7P55D-E Pro, but I have heard of complaints about a "whining noise" coming from this MB unless you turn C-State off(Anyone know about this???))

RAM: 8GB Kingston ValueRam (4x2) (Honestly, I know next to nothing about ram. Hope this is a good choice)

GPU: ASUS ENGT240 Silent GeForce GT 240 1gb (don't *think* I'll need much more power, photoshop apparently doesn't make use of GPU power beyond basic OpenGL 2.0)

POWER: Seasonic X-650

SSD: Crucial C300 128GB SSD (these are supposed to run well in windows 7 systems(trim). Anyone have any experience with that? OCZ better??)

HDD: Not sure. Think I'll be running the OS/Applications off the SSD. So this will mainly be for data (maybe a scratch disk or Virtual Memory?))

I'm looking for something reasonably powerful, and reasonably quiet. I tend to keep my computers for quite a while (typing on 8 year old PC now!) so I'd like the components to be built to last. I have zero interest in overclocking, but would like the option to upgrade the video card(s) in the future if I need to. I understand this motherboard has limitations when running dual videocards and SATA 6gb at the same time -- just don't know of another 1156 motherboard that handles USB 3.0/SATA 6gb that much better (suggestions?)

I'd also gotten previous advice on this forum that the Seasonic x-650 might be overkill for my needs. Would a Seasonic 400 fanless be a better choice? (even if I might upgrade the GPU in the future?)

And finally, I want to make sure I'm not barking up the entirely wrong tree. Should I be looking at an i7 900 series?

Any thoughts, comments, advice greatly appreciated. I got really helpful feedback at the beginning of the year (my first attempt!) and wanted to say thanks to everyone for that.

[CA_Steve]

I came across this little white paper at adobe analyzing RAM vs image processing speed with CS5. My take-away is that 8GB is the sweet spot, unless you are working with really big files. The analysis was done using MacOS 64-bit, but similar results should apply to Windows 7 64-bit.

The GT 240 only consumes 40-45W at load. The i7-860 TDP is 95W... Honestly, I don't think you'll see 170W at the PSU running your apps. Even if you pop in a gts 450, that's only a 40W load add to the above. So, not a harsh load for either PSU and both will be silent.

Anandtech's benchmark of the 860 vs other cpu's in CS4. There are some 3D benchmarks later in the article. It's a mixed bag on i7 8xx vs 9xx. Not a lot of difference for Photoshop, can be a difference for some 3D rendering. Here's Anand's Bench for CS4 Retouch test. You can change the test to look at the various 3d results.

Regarding Gigabyte mobo, dual video cards and sata 3...Yes, the mobo dials down the PCI-e lanes on the second card to implement SATA 3, but you don't push enough bandwidth through these non-gaming video cards to worry about it.

SSD for OS/Apps: the 128GB Crucial with the Marvell controller has gotten decent reviews. Don't drop to 64GB version as they half the number of write channels, dropping it to 75MB/s from 150MB/s. The Sandforce controller in the OCZ has some issues, most notably slowing down with any compressed/archival files.

Other drives: I've heard, if the primary purpose of the PC is to run Adobe (or similar) tasks, you want 3 drives. One for OS/Apps. One for scratch/cache, and the third for data storage. <shrugs> Maybe a recent release WD Black for the scratch/cache and then a large capacity WD Blue for the data. If you want to throw money at it. get two 128GB SSDs and then 1 HDD for data storage.

[tim851]

CASE: SilverStone Fortress FT02B (I realize this might be overkill for what I'm doing)

It's overkill in the way that it has 3 180mm fans and with the modest system you're proposing I'd reckon you don't need any of them.

CPU: i7 860 (or 875k, not sure if it makes that much difference)

Definitely the 860. As has always been the case for choosing a CPU, find the model line that suits your needs (in your case 8xx) and get the cheapest one. The 'k'-versions have an unlocked multiplier, which makes overclocking a bit easier, although it's not exactly magic with a fixed multiplier, as evidenced by the millions doing it.

MB: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4 (Also considering the ASUS P7P55D-E Pro, but I have heard of complaints about a "whining noise" coming from this MB unless you turn C-State off(Anyone know about this???))

I have an MSI Board that whines too. Not always, but often. I'm not sure if any board can be guaranteed to be free of it.

RAM: 8GB Kingston ValueRam (4x2) (Honestly, I know next to nothing about ram. Hope this is a good choice)

RAM used to be voodoo, but generally, get the cheapest one. The times of generic memory not running in half of all mainboards are over, no large e-tailer carries rubbish brands. Kingston ValueRam should be decently priced. G.Skill is another budget brand.

SSD: Crucial C300 128GB SSD (these are supposed to run well in windows 7 systems(trim). Anyone have any experience with that? OCZ better??)
HDD: Not sure. Think I'll be running the OS/Applications off the SSD. So this will mainly be for data (maybe a scratch disk or Virtual Memory?))

You should definitely run the virtual memory and OS/Apps off the SSD, anything else would be madness
With a lush 128 gig capacity, you should also put the scratch disk there.

I'd also gotten previous advice on this forum that the Seasonic x-650 might be overkill for my needs. Would a Seasonic 400 fanless be a better choice? (even if I might upgrade the GPU in the future?)

Any ATX-Power Supply will technically be overkill, since your measly little system will probably never exceed 150w. There are people who run systems like that on a Pico PSU! You should consider the X-560 though. It's a bit cheaper. The fanless Seasonics seem to be redundant, seeing as the fanned X-Series models will run fanless unless you being to stress them with monster o'ced CPUs or performance graphics cards, at which point the PSU will most likely be overshadowed by their noises.

And finally, I want to make sure I'm not barking up the entirely wrong tree. Should I be looking at an i7 900 series?

No. The 9xx series offers no tangible performance benefits. Socket 1366 will live a bit longer than 1156, which is a dead socket walking. But for your update intervals, that matters not. Even if you halve the time between updates next time and buy a new PC in just 4 years, you will definitely require a new mainboard. So just go for the better bang for the buck right now and get the 1156.

[oston]

I came across this little white paper at adobe analyzing RAM vs image processing speed with CS5.
Anandtech's benchmark of the 860 vs other cpu's in CS4. There are some 3D benchmarks later in the article. It's a mixed bag on i7 8xx vs 9xx. Not a lot of difference for Photoshop, can be a difference for some 3D rendering. Here's Anand's Bench for CS4 Retouch test. You can change the test to look at the various 3d results.

Thanks very much for these references. I found them really helpful because I'm also thinking of building a replacement for my current quiet computer with uses similar to Vance's. After seeing the benchmark reports, I might just wait until we see some motherboards based on "Sandy Bridge"

Jim

[CA_Steve]

For grins, here's another interesting link for you - a Mac performance guide focusing on Photoshop speed optimization. A lot of the suggestions apply to Windows.

[BluepointVance]

CASE: SilverStone Fortress FT02B (I realize this might be overkill for what I'm doing)

It's overkill in the way that it has 3 180mm fans and with the modest system you're proposing I'd reckon you don't need any of them.

Got it. Thanks... Could I run those fans at the lowest setting or should I just go with something like the Antec P183? Or the Antec Solo? Would those be quieter/better? Any other thoughts?

CPU: i7 860 (or 875k, not sure if it makes that much difference)

Definitely the 860. As has always been the case for choosing a CPU, find the model line that suits your needs (in your case 8xx) and get the cheapest one. The 'k'-versions have an unlocked multiplier, which makes overclocking a bit easier, although it's not exactly magic with a fixed multiplier, as evidenced by the millions doing it.

After posting this, I actually found the i7-875k for less money than the i7-860... Overclocking aside, the 875k is essentially an i7-870. So, a little faster.

I came across this little white paper at adobe analyzing RAM vs image processing speed with CS5. My take-away is that 8GB is the sweet spot, unless you are working with really big files. The analysis was done using MacOS 64-bit, but similar results should apply to Windows 7 64-bit.

Anandtech's benchmark of the 860 vs other cpu's in CS4. There are some 3D benchmarks later in the article. It's a mixed bag on i7 8xx vs 9xx. Not a lot of difference for Photoshop, can be a difference for some 3D rendering. Here's Anand's Bench for CS4 Retouch test. You can change the test to look at the various 3d results.

That was actually really helpful, thanks!

Regarding Gigabyte mobo, dual video cards and sata 3...Yes, the mobo dials down the PCI-e lanes on the second card to implement SATA 3, but you don't push enough bandwidth through these non-gaming video cards to worry about it.

Good point. Doubt I'll run in to the problem with what I want to do.

Thanks again for all the tips everyone.

[BluepointVance]

So, as a follow up -- I finally put this system together. Still tweaking it, but this is where I ended up:

CASE: SilverStone Fortress FT02B
CPU: i7 870
CPU FAN: Gelid Tranquillo (replaced stock fan with Noctua NF-S12B flx)
MB: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4
RAM: 8GB Kingston Ram (2x4)
GPU: GigaByte radeon HD 5750 Silent
POWER: Seasonic X-650
SSD: Crucial C300 128GB SSD

So, I've got all the bottom fans on the case set to low. Got the Noctua running at it's lowest speed (600 rpm I think.) I stress tested with prime 95 and and the CPU temp tops out at about 62c... Seasonic fan never even turns on... All in all I'm quite happy. But...

Any thoughts as to what I might do to make this thing a little quieter..? It's pretty quiet already... But I was wondering if it might help to replace the 120mm stock case fan that comes with the FT02. Is there something dead silent I could use in there instead? Honestly, I'm pretty sure I could run without that fan altogether. The bottom three 180s and the CPU fan are pushing a heck of a lot of air already...

Any hints or suggestions would be appreciated!

And thanks again to everyone here for all their help. Without it, I'd have been totally lost!

[danimal]

the three 180mm fans might indeed be too noisy, as tim stated, it's overkill for what you needed, and whatever noise is inside the case gets vented out the top, instead of the back... you could try unplugging the 120mm fan, see if that makes it any quieter.

you could also unplug one or two of the big fans, and the cpu fan, try to locate the true source of the noise.

[tim851]

The front 180mm is completely unnecessary for you. It is supposed to cool the hard disks. You only have an SSD and they don't need any cooling.

The middle 180mm fan is providing the airflow to your passive 5750, that one is vital. (Assuming you have plugged it into the 1st or 2nd slot.)

The rear 180mm fan might be superfluous too. You have a fan on the Tranquillo.

On top of that, you could additionally try to stop the top 120mm fan too. The way the case is build, convection could suffice to remove the hot air.

Experiment! Nothing bad is gonna happen if you unplug ALL fans and let the PC sit for a while to monitor the temps. It's the best (and actually: only) way to find out the minimum required airflow for your setup. The absolute minimum would be passive, that means all fans off. And then you watch. If any temp is gonna get serious, start up the fan most likely influencing it the most. etc...

[rotor]

Any thoughts as to what I might do to make this thing a little quieter..? It's pretty quiet already... But I was wondering if it might help to replace the 120mm stock case fan that comes with the FT02. Is there something dead silent I could use in there instead? Honestly, I'm pretty sure I could run without that fan altogether. The bottom three 180s and the CPU fan are pushing a heck of a lot of air already...

I have a close to identical system:

CASE: SilverStone Fortress FT02B
CPU: i7 875K
CPU FAN: Gelid Tranquillo with stock fan, motherboard controls the fan speed, I can't hear it at idle
MB: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4
RAM: 8GB Crucial (2x4)
GPU: MSI R5770 Hawk
POWER: Seasonic X-650
SSD: Crucial C300 128GB SSD

I replaced the top 120mm fan with a Noctua NF-S12B FLX running at the middle speed, and it's much quieter than the stock fan. The 180mm fans are all running at their low speed.

The computer is under my desk, and basically I can't tell the difference between off and on -- the loudest thing is the power supply relay clicking when I turn it on.

[BluepointVance]

you could try unplugging the 120mm fan, see if that makes it any quieter.

you could also unplug one or two of the big fans, and the cpu fan, try to locate the true source of the noise.

Experiment! Nothing bad is gonna happen if you unplug ALL fans and let the PC sit for a while to monitor the temps. It's the best (and actually: only) way to find out the minimum required airflow for your setup. The absolute minimum would be passive, that means all fans off. And then you watch. If any temp is gonna get serious, start up the fan most likely influencing it the most. etc...

Thanks, gonna try this tonight... Just go through and see what makes it sound best.

I have a close to identical system:

Actually, I saw you post about your system earlier -- and basically just stole the setup from you.

CPU FAN: Gelid Tranquillo with stock fan, motherboard controls the fan speed, I can't hear it at idle

I replaced the top 120mm fan with a Noctua NF-S12B FLX running at the middle speed, and it's much quieter than the stock fan. The 180mm fans are all running at their low speed.

I actually just replaced the tranquillo stock with the same Noctua (which means no motherboard speed control.) Maybe I should switch. Put the stock Tranquillo fan back on the cpu cooler and stick the Noctua on the case... I'll give it a shot!

[jridge]

I have a close to identical system:

CASE: SilverStone Fortress FT02B
CPU: i7 875K
CPU FAN: Gelid Tranquillo with stock fan, motherboard controls the fan speed, I can't hear it at idle
MB: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4
RAM: 8GB Crucial (2x4)
GPU: MSI R5770 Hawk
POWER: Seasonic X-650
SSD: Crucial C300 128GB SSD

I replaced the top 120mm fan with a Noctua NF-S12B FLX running at the middle speed, and it's much quieter than the stock fan. The 180mm fans are all running at their low speed.

The computer is under my desk, and basically I can't tell the difference between off and on -- the loudest thing is the power supply relay clicking when I turn it on.

rotor-
have you tried overclocking the 875k? If so, how far did you get and how did the overclocking effect noise and heat with your setup?