Quietest build possible?

[Dragonzeanse]

A friend of mine is looking to build a gaming PC, and has overemphasized that silence is a key factor. Budget is $1200, excluding peripherals. Custom loops are, of course, out of the question. Include case fans if you go PCPartPicker. Silenced cases are go (NZXT H-series, Define R4, etc.), and a power supply with an idle fan at low loads would be great, too.

[Rorgash]

fanless CPU cooler and one of those fanless GPU's

[Paralectic]

H100i with some quality quiet fans, in a Define R4 or a NZXT H4440 and a nice PSU from Corsair or Seasonic for example which are completly silent when under a small load.

[Paralectic]

fanless CPU cooler and one of those fanless GPU's

And a passive cooled power supply ( yes they do eixist ) :-D

[Dragonzeanse]

I'll reiterate: I'd like a full build. Rationale is a plus.

[SAV1OUR]

for psu i HIGHLY recommend corsairs RM series quiet as hell i love mine 

[dragosudeki]

You would just have to spend more on fans that are quiet and change all of them in your case with em. Then get a GPU that has effective cooling while staying quiet.

[lani100]

Define r4 h100i asus direct cu II card, I have this setup my pc is silent even with the case open.

[Shrubpig]

No fans, no mechanical hard drives. 

[Dragonzeanse]

Listed is a build I threw together.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($179.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($124.00 @ Amazon)
Memory:  A-Data XPG V1.0 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($129.99 @ TigerDirect)
Storage:  Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($73.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage:  Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($98.95 @ Amazon)
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card  ($239.99 @ NCIX US)
Case:  Corsair 550D ATX Mid Tower Case  ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply:  Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan:  Nexus D12SL-12 36.9 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($15.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan:  Nexus D12SL-12 36.9 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($15.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan:  Phanteks PH-F140HP_RD 88.6 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan:  Phanteks PH-F140HP_RD 88.6 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan:  Phanteks PH-F140HP_RD 88.6 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1193.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-04 10:30 EDT-0400)

 

I chose the Corsair 550D because it has good acoustic performance. While thermals could be better, the five included fans will be able to keep the system nicely cooled without being noticeably audible. I didn't pick it over the H440 because NZXT's case lacks 5 1/4" bays, and both cases perform very closely within one-another according to reviews on SilentPCReview and Anandtech. I might swap it out for a Fractal Design Define R4. DirectCU II coolers have a reputation for quiet operation. I was going to pick a Rosewill SilentNight 500w PSU - or its Kingwin parent, both of which have no fans - but opted out because I think my friend would appreciate the wattage headroom more. Not to mention, having a fan gives more peace of mind. I was skeptical about the RM series PSUs because they're not quite the most quality, but they're not too expensive either. WD Red drive is built with better vibration resistance and quieter operation. 212 Evo has surprisingly good acoustics and anything rivaling it would have been more costly or involved liquid (which makes my friend paranoid).

 

If there are any extra measures that can be taken to silence the system further - whether it be on the hardware or software side - please let me know.

[MoYo]

Don't get a h100i like some might suggest. AIO watercoolers are NOT quiet at all, I have one in my fractal R4 and The pump of the AIO is the loudest thing in my pc at idle. A quality air cooler will be much quieter.

[Dragonzeanse]

Don't get a h100i like some might suggest. AIO watercoolers are NOT quiet at all, I have one in my fractal R4 and The pump of the AIO is the loudest thing in my pc at idle. A quality air cooler will be much quieter.

212 Evo appears to be pretty quiet compared to the competition. Could you get away with using the stock fan on it if you're shooting for silence? I checked the acoustic performance and it looked pretty good compared to competition.

[Mr.Aries-Martis]

I can not really contribute in the sense of suggesting hardware. (due to lacking experience) 

 

But you could look into sound-dampening material for the case, i would say.

 

I personally am also looking into buying an RM650 PSU because of the rationale you mentioned btw,

[seiny]

Listed is a build I threw together.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($179.99 @ Newegg)

CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.99 @ Micro Center)

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($124.00 @ Amazon)

Memory:  A-Data XPG V1.0 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($129.99 @ TigerDirect)

Storage:  Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($73.48 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage:  Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($98.95 @ Amazon)

Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card  ($239.99 @ NCIX US)

Case:  Corsair 550D ATX Mid Tower Case  ($129.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply:  Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ NCIX US)

Case Fan:  Nexus D12SL-12 36.9 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($15.99 @ Amazon)

Case Fan:  Nexus D12SL-12 36.9 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($15.99 @ Amazon)

Case Fan:  Phanteks PH-F140HP_RD 88.6 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ Newegg)

Case Fan:  Phanteks PH-F140HP_RD 88.6 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ Newegg)

Case Fan:  Phanteks PH-F140HP_RD 88.6 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $1193.32

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-04 10:30 EDT-0400)

 

I chose the Corsair 550D because it has good acoustic performance. While thermals could be better, the five included fans will be able to keep the system nicely cooled without being noticeably audible. I didn't pick it over the H440 because NZXT's case lacks 5 1/4" bays, and both cases perform very closely within one-another according to reviews on SilentPCReview and Anandtech. I might swap it out for a Fractal Design Define R4. DirectCU II coolers have a reputation for quiet operation. I was going to pick a Rosewill SilentNight 500w PSU - or its Kingwin parent, both of which have no fans - but opted out because I think my friend would appreciate the wattage headroom more. Not to mention, having a fan gives more peace of mind. I was skeptical about the RM series PSUs because they're not quite the most quality, but they're not too expensive either. WD Red drive is built with better vibration resistance and quieter operation. 212 Evo has surprisingly good acoustics and anything rivaling it would have been more costly or involved liquid (which makes my friend paranoid).

 

If there are any extra measures that can be taken to silence the system further - whether it be on the hardware or software side - please let me know.

It looks good man

[Probenja]

R7 250 fanless

[Dragonzeanse]

R7 250 fanless

Now if only they could do that to the R9 290s.

[MoYo]

212 Evo appears to be pretty quiet compared to the competition. Could you get away with using the stock fan on it if you're shooting for silence? I checked the acoustic performance and it looked pretty good compared to competition.

My brother has the 212 Evo in his system and it is reasonably quiet with the stock fan in his corsair 350D. With a silence optimised case it will be difficult to be able to hear it.

[spwath]

i find the silverstone Ap 122 fan to be very quiet