Recycled 6700K Silent Build

[afrumpy]

SO I built this machine, which is almost 2 (!) years old now, and I'm bored of it:

CPU: Intel - Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£284.99 @ Aria PC) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  (£51.83 @ CCL Computers) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£109.48 @ More Computers) 
Memory: Kingston - HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  (£119.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£131.94 @ Aria PC) 
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£109.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card  (£149.99) 
Case: Corsair - 100R Silent ATX Mid Tower Case  (£50.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Power Supply: be quiet! - 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£50.00) 
Total: £1059.20

 

I'd like to spend up to £750 (GBP) sprucing it up a little. 

The only things I'm absolutely set on recycling in this new build is the processor, the memory, & the power supply. I'm basically happy to get rid of the other parts.

 

Parts I was thinking about & would like some advice on:

- Most important: Less noise, preferably an inaudible PC. My WD Black 2TB is so unbearably noisy. I want to completely get rid of it & get a Seagate Firecuda or something. Unless anyone has other suggestions?

- 2nd most important: New smaller/cube case under 420mm height (if there are any hot new small cases anyone's found lately, please send links!). I like the look of this silverstone case. 

- New micro/mini ATX mobo to fit in a smaller case. I was thinking of the Asus ROG Strix Z270I gaming mini ITX. Good choice?

- Can someone please suggest to me a GPU (1060 or 1070) which is basically fanless/inaudible unless needed for gaming/rendering? (I have a 1080p monitor)

 

So I'm sitting in my room now & while it's pretty quiet, I can really hear the general whirr of the case fans, CPU cooler, GPU cooler & PSU fans. And I don't want to hear any of it. 

I've worked a lot in recording studios & my reference point is the Mac Pro from many years ago, which, even if you go right up to it, it's still completely inaudible when idle. I'd like to get as close to that as possible. 

Maybe I sound insane but I basically want a PC which I can neither hear nor see. (as far as that's possible)

 

thanks all

 

 

 

[Droidbot]

Drop the PSU, get a good unit like EVGA G2 or RMx from Corsair. If you want 100% silence go for a 460W Seasonic Prime Fanless unit. 

 

Get a bigger air cooler like an NH-D15. 

 

Keep with ATX or MicroATX if you want something smaller, ITX is loud unless you have watercoolers. For MATX, take a look at the Corsair AIR 240. 

 

For a silent card, take a look at a tri-fan unit like the ASUS Strix or ZOTAC AMP!