Silent but Power build

[ToxicFire]

Any pointers on the the build, aim is silent(ish, sub 30db low load sub or just around max 40db under high load) but with some reasonable power for both a mix of graphics/media work and gaming

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£239.99 @ Amazon UK)

CPU Cooler: Be Quiet DARK ROCK ADVANCED C1 50.5 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  (£44.42 @ Amazon UK)

 

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£164.68 @ Amazon UK)

 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 CL10 Memory  (£153.48 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card  (£389.00 @ Amazon UK)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case  (£82.98 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: Corsair AX 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£139.00 @ Amazon UK)

Lil bit overkill power wise but want expansion possibly including sli.

Storage will probably end up been either a pair of samsung 840 evo's or 840 pro's sized @ 250 or 500 gig versions in a raid 0

with probably 4 x 1 or 2 TB WD red's in a raid 10 (or i might scrap that and just have a WD Black 3TB as storage) Though its likely to be added over time rather than instantly.

 

Case fans will probably get swapped out for 140mm pwm's either noctua's or bequiets silentwings 2

 

Biggest concern is cooler and height clearance for the ram (especially if i add in more ram) (hence the choice of Dark Rock Advanced Over Dark Rock 3 anyone with experience there able to clarify would be appreciated) I would have originally gone for a noctua NH-U14S but i've seen reviews and tests that put it as a noisey CPU cooler which suprised me because I've always considerd noctua to be extremely quiet (certainly existing noctua fan stuck on top of the heatsink is)

[ZetZet]

No need to swap out the fans they are silent enough, but you might want to add  some to keep it cool. 

For the ram, you can always get low profile ram... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-BLS2C8G3D1609ES2LX0CEU-1600MHz-Ballistix-Memory/dp/B00A14ZT8I/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1391791343&sr=8-4&keywords=crucial+ballistix+vlp

I don't think you need that high clocked ram anyway...

[Osmium]

I don't know why but I love the grammatically incorrect title.

 

"Silent but Power!"

 

Jokes aside if you are too concerned about RAM clearance an AIO liquid cooler might do the trick. And the stock fractal fans are good don't bother with new ones.

[brob]

Based on http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/bequiet-dark-rock-pro-c1_6.html it appears that the Dark Rock Advanced C1 cooler is far from a good performer. You might want to consider something like the Noctua NH-U12S instead.

 

You might want to read http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-raid-benchmark,3485-13.html before settling on using SSD in RAID. I would suggest you consider a 1TB Samsung 840 EVO for your main drive and go with a single 2 - 4 TB Red or Barracuda for the secondary. Having the large SSD will let you use the drive for swap and scratch files which will really speed things up.

 

Don't bother replacing the case fans unless and until you determine that they are noisier than you want.

[ToxicFire]

Based on http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/bequiet-dark-rock-pro-c1_6.html it appears that the Dark Rock Advanced C1 cooler is far from a good performer. You might want to consider something like the Noctua NH-U12S instead.

 

You might want to read http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-raid-benchmark,3485-13.html before settling on using SSD in RAID. I would suggest you consider a 1TB Samsung 840 EVO for your main drive and go with a single 2 - 4 TB Red or Barracuda for the secondary. Having the large SSD will let you use the drive for swap and scratch files which will really speed things up.

 

Don't bother replacing the case fans unless and until you determine that they are noisier than you want.

 

 

I had a look at the xbitlabs review(not first time i've seen it) but taken in the light of other reviews http://uk.hardware.info/productinfo/115948/be-quiet!-dark-rock-advanced-c1#tab:testresults and http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/cases-cooling/cooling/bequiet-dark-rock-advanced-c1-1041434/review and http://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/henry-butt/be-quiet-dark-rock-advanced-cpu-cooler-review/5/ and http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/be_quiet_dark_rock_advanced_review/1 the figures seem a bit higher than the average review, the notua u12s would probably be ideal except it seems to push my max db threshold a bit too much. Cooler is certainly something i keep coming back to and havent made a firm decision on yet though

[brob]

I had a look at the xbitlabs review(not first time i've seen it) but taken in the light of other reviews http://uk.hardware.info/productinfo/115948/be-quiet!-dark-rock-advanced-c1#tab:testresults and http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/cases-cooling/cooling/bequiet-dark-rock-advanced-c1-1041434/review and http://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/henry-butt/be-quiet-dark-rock-advanced-cpu-cooler-review/5/ and http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/be_quiet_dark_rock_advanced_review/1 the figures seem a bit higher than the average review, the notua u12s would probably be ideal except it seems to push my max db threshold a bit too much. Cooler is certainly something i keep coming back to and havent made a firm decision on yet though

 

The X-Bit article notes that their ambient was on the high side which likely accounts for the higher readings.

 

One consideration is that more efficient coolers can run their fans at lower speeds to achieve the same level of cooling as a less efficient unit.

[WoodenMarker]

30-40db is very, very quiet. Measure the ambient noise in a room and I'm pretty sure it will be more along the lines of ~40-50db.

Caviar blacks can be a bit loud and wouldn't help the system be quiet.

Budget?

[ToxicFire]

30-40db is very, very quiet. Measure the ambient noise in a room and I'm pretty sure it will be more along the lines of ~40-50db.

Caviar blacks can be a bit loud and wouldn't help the system be quiet.

Budget?

Measured ambient noise around midday on two devices (one been an iphone other been a more dedicated sound meter) iphone came up around 35-36 db with existing system off and the sound meter claimed ~42db with system off, versus system on which iphone reported 38-39db and sound meter reported ~43db at around 10cm from any fans, when i start my system up I can hear it from anywhere in the room but working distance is probably about half a meter from my existing rig.

Budget i'd like to keep under or just around 1200 but don't include storage in that budget

 

If those figures for ambient noise are on the mark im more likely to look favorably at the NH-U12S I can always limit the top end speed with the LNA if it gets anoyying, though there seems to be a shortage of supply of them atm... wonder why.

 

Given the articles i've now read on SSD's in raid 0 im gonna stick to a single 250 or 500 ssd depending on where the cost of the rest of the rig eventually ends up. As for the carviar black... what is the noise profile like, intermitent, continuous because if its noisey when its spun up but not too loud i'd probably be ok with it as it would probably only get used for heavy storage media, games etc, but if its going to be at it regularly it would just get anoyying.

[KamiKatze]

No need to swap out the fans they are silent enough, but you might want to add  some to keep it cool. 

 

I literally just changed out the two stock fans on the define R4 for some Aerocool Dead Silence fans, and the difference is quite striking. The aerocools aren't as silent as the bequiet SW 2, that i alrady have in my system but the stock fractal fans are rubbsih! After half a year of usage they still make a loud wooshing noise and now also have rattering coming from the bearing. If you want a bit more show than the bequiet or especially the noctua, while still maintaining great silence, i can really recommend the aerocool DS, but they don't win a silence award. That crown still bounces between bequiet and noctua,

 

so @OP: swap the fans with either bequiet SW 2 or noctuas, as you originally planed

 

Edit: For storage you could go with SSDs only and add a NAS later if you need the mass storage. That would outsource a lot of vibrations and noise. Also: did you think about liquid cooling? The graphics card for example is okay-silent but not the greatest. The MSI twin frozr is more silent and has a more humble noise, from my experience. Another option would be something like a Prolimatech MK-26, which allows you to spread out the head more + lets you use custom fans, which could then again be noctua or bequiets. The prolimatech would limit you in SLI capability though, that's where liquid cooling would be the better choice.

[WoodenMarker]

Measured ambient noise around midday on two devices (one been an iphone other been a more dedicated sound meter) iphone came up around 35-36 db with existing system off and the sound meter claimed ~42db with system off, versus system on which iphone reported 38-39db and sound meter reported ~43db at around 10cm from any fans, when i start my system up I can hear it from anywhere in the room but working distance is probably about half a meter from my existing rig.

Budget i'd like to keep under or just around 1200 but don't include storage in that budget

 

If those figures for ambient noise are on the mark im more likely to look favorably at the NH-U12S I can always limit the top end speed with the LNA if it gets anoyying, though there seems to be a shortage of supply of them atm... wonder why.

 

Given the articles i've now read on SSD's in raid 0 im gonna stick to a single 250 or 500 ssd depending on where the cost of the rest of the rig eventually ends up. As for the carviar black... what is the noise profile like, intermitent, continuous because if its noisey when its spun up but not too loud i'd probably be ok with it as it would probably only get used for heavy storage media, games etc, but if its going to be at it regularly it would just get anoyying.

Alright.

What kind of content are you working on? Why such large ssd's and hdd's in raid?

[ToxicFire]

Alright.

What kind of content are you working on? Why such large ssd's and hdd's in raid?

mix of media work inc 3d rendering and graphics, some programming and web development plus I want a good gaming experience. As for size of ssd's/hdd's I tend to run multiple os's either as multi-boot or vm's eventually i'd probably move most of the media storage off to a nas.

[WoodenMarker]

mix of media work inc 3d rendering and graphics, some programming and web development plus I want a good gaming experience. As for size of ssd's/hdd's I tend to run multiple os's either as multi-boot or vm's eventually i'd probably move most of the media storage off to a nas.

Why would you multiboot? 

[ToxicFire]

Why would you multiboot? 

multiboot for gaming, vm's usually for testing purposes when doing some development tasks. I run linux mint as my primary OS usually

[WoodenMarker]

multiboot for gaming, vm's usually for testing purposes when doing some development tasks. I run linux mint as my primary OS usually

Linux Mint. Nice--my friend adores that os. 

I noticed you mentioned wanting to be able to sli. Wouldn't that be counter productive in trying to make a quiet system?