Quiet Gaming PC (Late 2018)
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:31 am
My dear acoustically-minded friends in kind,
I am struggling with how proceed. Ideally I would like my PC to be so quiet that I don’t even know it’s on. The Calyos NSG-S0, the Compulab Airtop 2 Inferno are promising concepts that have failed to come to market. The HD Plex H5 Fanless gaming PC offers only a GTX 1060 (perhaps understandably so). And the inconvenience of a large external heatsink outweighs any potential benefits.
I am thus prepared to martyr my hopes for a truly silent/fanless gaming PC. And so one must ask. Air cooling vs Custom loop water cooling? For a gaming PC, under load, I feel that it is the GPU that will always be the limiting factor. I am thus tempted to go for a liquid cooled build, but I keep hearing from others for some reason than air cooling is quieter…
Cases: NZXT H series vs Fractal Design Define series. I know Fractal Design is the logical choice. But NZXT H series is so much nicer to look at. I just wonder how much case sound insulation and a non-windowed side panel can really make.
Here is a list of proposed components:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/7QLt9J
I have used the GTX 1080Ti in that list, in reality I intend to use an RTX 2080Ti when it releases in the coming weeks.
The builds I am considering with the above listed components, all with the largest radiators that each case supports:
1. Build 1 - H700i
2. Build 2 - H500i
3. Build 3 - Fractal Define Nano S
4. Build 4 - Fractal Define R5
My questions are as follows:
1. Air cooling vs Custom Loop?
2. Fractal Design Define vs NZXT H series - Would the sound difference be noticeably different?
3. Does radiator config matter? whether it's Slim 240 + slim 120 vs two 360mm radiators?
If anyone has any recommendations, advice or input, it would be thoroughly appreciated. Thank you for your time
I am struggling with how proceed. Ideally I would like my PC to be so quiet that I don’t even know it’s on. The Calyos NSG-S0, the Compulab Airtop 2 Inferno are promising concepts that have failed to come to market. The HD Plex H5 Fanless gaming PC offers only a GTX 1060 (perhaps understandably so). And the inconvenience of a large external heatsink outweighs any potential benefits.
I am thus prepared to martyr my hopes for a truly silent/fanless gaming PC. And so one must ask. Air cooling vs Custom loop water cooling? For a gaming PC, under load, I feel that it is the GPU that will always be the limiting factor. I am thus tempted to go for a liquid cooled build, but I keep hearing from others for some reason than air cooling is quieter…
Cases: NZXT H series vs Fractal Design Define series. I know Fractal Design is the logical choice. But NZXT H series is so much nicer to look at. I just wonder how much case sound insulation and a non-windowed side panel can really make.
Here is a list of proposed components:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/7QLt9J
I have used the GTX 1080Ti in that list, in reality I intend to use an RTX 2080Ti when it releases in the coming weeks.
The builds I am considering with the above listed components, all with the largest radiators that each case supports:
1. Build 1 - H700i
2. Build 2 - H500i
3. Build 3 - Fractal Define Nano S
4. Build 4 - Fractal Define R5
My questions are as follows:
1. Air cooling vs Custom Loop?
2. Fractal Design Define vs NZXT H series - Would the sound difference be noticeably different?
3. Does radiator config matter? whether it's Slim 240 + slim 120 vs two 360mm radiators?
If anyone has any recommendations, advice or input, it would be thoroughly appreciated. Thank you for your time