Silent Upgrade to Silent Modern Build

[MuffinDealer]

I have been slowly upgrading my PC (replacing components that failed) threw out past years, and came to a point where my rig limits the capability of certain components namely SSD, so here I am with a request for a bit of help. I would like to upgrade my current rig with components listed below to something that is silent and somewhat capable of using current standards.

 

0. Current "Rig"

MB: P5QL Pro (from 2010)

CPU: Intel Core2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz

GPU: Radeon HD 6790 1Gb 1GHz

Ram: 4GB DDR2 Samsung 800MHz

Storage: Samsung EVO SSD 250GB + seagate HDD 500GB

PSU: Corsair CX600

Case: some cheap 6yo Spire ATX size thing with side fan bump (can't find more details about it but can provide photos upon request)

 

1. Budget & Location

I am "across the pond" in Europe, Slovenia =)

Any items from amazon.co.uk or amazon.de can also be delivered here.

• Budget 1 "mission: reducing noise":  50€ for cooling 
• Budget 2 "mission: silent upgrade": around 300€-400€ (keeping as many things as possible/for best solution)

 

2. Aim

System is going to be used mainly for Web development, audio recording(podcasts & screencasts), gaming and occasional screen recording/video editing .

Gaming was a big part of this PC history but it is becoming less and less important due to lack of time (growing up is though.. =P)

 

Sample of newer games that will be played; Skyrim, Dragon Age(all of them), Counter Strike:Global Offensive, Dark Souls, The Witcher 2, Killing Floor 2, Dawn of war 2, Deus Ex:Human Revolution, X-COM, Crysis 2 (the rest are less demanding/older games)

*due to fairly low res monitor mentioned below I'm fine with not running everything at max since some things are not that noticable.

 

Expected upgrade:

• some sort of pci-e card with USB3 on the back and a SATA3 connector inside
• after market CPU cooling (if possible one that could be reused on new build)
• things that help making things silent

Expected reuse:

• PSU
• SSD
• Storage
• GPU
• Case (if possible)
• 1x 120mm out blowing "case" fan

3. Monitors
I currently use Samsung SyncMaster T220(non-hdmi) with 1680x1050 resolution. I might upgrade to a wider and higher res. screen or one with freesync at some later point but it is not the main concern of this build.

4. Peripherals
I have the whole set already; Logitech Wave Keyboard, MX518 mouse and 2.1 speakers, Blue Yeti USB microphone, USB Wi-Fi Adapter, 2x USB2 external storage drives 
*I have also kind of used up all my back ports and am using usb splitter

 

5. Why are you upgrading?
I want to transform my current rig to a silent (form 37db to about 27db) multi purpose PC capable of using things like USB3 and SATA3(internaly) by changing as few parts as possible/needed. 

 

6. Additional info

• I have changed the PSU and graphic card as well as changed the case fan with a larger silent fan that is connected to CPUs pwm so I have some experiences with upgrading.
• I have done a bit of research and found PCI-E SATA3 adapter as an option to solve the SATA2 bottle necking my SSD but am unsure about my MB support for booting (Windows 7 Pro) from PCI-E. (my MB does not have enough PCI-e lanes to support this)
• Blue Yeti USB microphone uses it's own sound card for recording (dooh )
• I have some old cheap PCI-E Wi-Fi card that is 4-5x worse than USB adapter in use that I was hoping to use for AD-HOC with my PS Vita (can't use the same USB wi-fi adapter for this since it can't handle Vita->PC & PC->Router at the same time) so it is taking one slot on MB but can be thrown out (for upgrade having enough PCI-E slots to try this out would be nice)
• I am using Adobe programs which if I am not mistaken can utilise NVIDIA cards better, that did not stop me on my first switch to Radeon but I'm willing to pay up to 10€ more for nVidia GPU of the same performance if this is true (Damn you Adobe Premiere rendering!  )
• If changing the CPU cooling will not decrease the noise enough I'll go after changing GPU cooling as well

Thank you for taking your time reading this & helping me out. =)

 

*Edited the title and added more topic tags

** Added photo of the case

*** Corrected the GPU

**** updated post to reflect current status
 

[TheBudi114]

I have been slowly upgrading my PC.......................................................

What does the case look like at the moment? And what size is that motherboard? Also, do you want to continue using Intel as your CPU?

[MuffinDealer]

What does the case look like at the moment? And what size is that motherboard? Also, do you want to continue using Intel as your CPU?

PQL5 Pro is ATX size, case is a black box with a bump on the side if changing MB I am up for something that can use DDR3 Ram, I did not notice any CPU based performance issues in my current use so I am unsure about changing this component.

Which components become unusable with a newer MB besides RAM and CPU(because of other socket)?

[TheBudi114]

PQL5 Pro is ATX size, case is a black box with a bump on the side if changing MB I am up for something that can use DDR3 Ram, I did not notice any CPU based performance issues in my current use so I am unsure about changing this component.

Which components become unusable with a newer MB besides RAM and CPU(because of other socket)?

Whats your budget?

[MuffinDealer]

Whats your budget?

its mentioned already in the original post 

[MuffinDealer]

Beacuse my current case(47cm x 44cm x 19cm) has very limited space/options for CPU coolers and case fans it might be time to get something less limiting. 

 

I found Fractal Define R5 case as a good option to switch to but am unsure if 100€ is worth it in the making my rig silent mission or would getting someting like Cooler Master Silencio 550 and a CPU tower be better for the same price.

 

Any advice on how my upgrade path should look like?

[MuffinDealer]

Update from my upgrade. Added a few photos from my old case (that my grandma now uses) and new Define R5.

End result after I replaced the case and got the space to fit in Hyperx EVO212 was quite good managed to decrease from about 42dB to 32db on idle.

Notice that ghetto SSD setup... I didn't have any mounting solution for it and the cables were a pain to deal with so I just taped it to the case.

Also took myself the time to clean the old thermal paste from GPU and CPU and do the cabling right in the new case(it was my first time) which took me entire night to do it perfectly... OCD all the way but at least I managed to connect everything.

 

Note to self: Don't cheap out on PSU and get the modular version.