Quiet Gaming/Programming PC build

[Nightmare002]

Greetings everyone. As the title suggests, I am planning to do a quiet/silent gaming PC. After extensive research, I have arrived at the following list:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/s6FbRJ

 

Here are my justifications for the list:

 

I chose an aircooler and not a CLC because I read on multiple forums that a big air cooler is usually quieter. And I chose the NH-D15 in particular because of the quiet fans that it comes with and the ease of installation. 

 

I chose the Strix Z370-E motherboard for the fan controls implemented in the BIOS. I'm not that good with choosing a motherboard, any other suggestion is welcome.

 

The MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X was praised in many reviews by how quiet it was, and I think that this is due to the beefy heatsink and the two large diameter fans. This is one of the components that I researched the most, because the graphics card is usually the loudest component in a high-end configuration.

 

The Define R6 is known as one of the best noise-insulating cases on the market. I chose the one without a TG side panel for obvious reasons (both sides have noise-dampening foam). Also, the fans that come with the case (Dynamic X2 GP-14) are very quiet, according to this article.

 

Some might think that the PSU is way overkill for this configuration. But I purposely chose a high wattage PSU because that way the fan will not rotate at all (or rotate at a very low speed).

 

The only thing that I'm worried about is the HDD. I don't have much experience with Seagate drives, I only owned a 2TB Barracuda for about a year and a half, and I couldn't even hear that drive, there were other components in my previous system that made more noise. 

This was my previous configuration: ASRock Z77 Extreme4, Core i5 3470, Thermalright True Spirit 140 BW (rev. A), Sapphire R9 280X Dual-X, 2 x Be Quiet Pure Wings 2 140mm fans (in front), 1 x 140mm stock fan (came with the case), 1 x Noctua NF-S12A top, a Super Flower Golden Green 750W PSU (these are usually found in Europe, Super Flower is the OEM for EVGA; I live in the U.S. now) all inside a Phanteks Enthoo Pro Windowed version (replaced the front 200mm fan with the two Be Quiet fans). 

 

I would like to remain in the around $2,000 mark. Any suggestion is greatly appreciated. 

[Streetguru]

26 minutes ago, Nightmare002 said:

 

*and what's your monitor resolution/refresh rate? if it's only 1080p 60hz you don't need anything higher than an RX 570/580/1060 6GB


Ryzen is going to run 15-20C cooler with the soldered IHS and still have solid performance. Could upgrade to a 12 or 16 core potentailly next year with a higher end board. Bit of a gamble there.

 

If you're going to buy a 1TB SSD just get one of the best.

Hard to beat thermalright in sheer thermal mass, Newest Le Grand Machos will have AM4 brackets.

 

Could easily fit a Ryzen 8 core as well.

*EVGA also has a 1070ti that's 3 slots and focused on silence

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dfJgr6
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB FTW ULTRA SILENT GAMING Video Card  ($449.99 @ Amazon)
 

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Mjfn9J
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Mjfn9J/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  ($165.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright - Le Grand Macho RT 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler  ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 1.0TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi - Deskstar NAS 6TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($179.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB ACX 3.0 Video Card  ($449.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design - Define R6 Black ATX Mid Tower Case  ($119.68 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($88.04 @ Newegg)
Total: $1687.66

If you're going to run an 8700K or 8086 get it delidded, about $50 from silicon lottery. And probably go for one of the higher end EVGA Z370 boards

 

[Nightmare002]

Thanks for your help, Streetguru. I will indeed be using at first a 1080p 60Hz monitor (Samsung LC27F591), but will swap it in a couple of months with a 1440p 144Hz panel (Asus PG279Q or Acer XB271HU are my preferences). I know that at this resolution the CPU will be less of a factor, but are you sure that the Ryzen 5 2600 will have similar performance to the i7 at 1440p?

Speaking of delidding, I was also considering the service that Silicon Lottery offers in order to reduce the temperature of the CPU.

The Thermalright LeGrand Macho RT is indeed impressive, but I honestly had a very bad time trying to mount the fan on the True Spirit 140, because I had to mount the fan after installing the cooler, and those metal clips have to be forced in the tiny holes that the fan is in.

 

As for the EVGA motherboards, I remember in one of JayzTwoCents older videos that he had problems compatibility-wise with an EVGA x99 (or x299 can't remember exactly) motherboard, that's why I haven't considered them. 

 

I didn't know of that EVGA 1070 Ti model, but I read that the EVGA fans aren't really the quietest. Would it be suitable for the resolution and framerates that I'm targeting? I won't be setting everything at "Ultra" (maybe only less demanding games like Overwatch), I will mostly use High for the demanding AAA titles.

 

Edit: Also, when it comes to compatibility, the Z370 boards might be compatible with the upcoming 9-series CPUs.

Edited August 26, 2018 by Nightmare002

[Streetguru]

1 hour ago, Nightmare002 said:

 

Ryzen is going to do about 105fps in the average AAA game, Coffee lake 120fps+, but avoids having to bother delid it, and is possibly a better value, gap will shrink at 1440p.

For the 1440p 144hz monitor just grab one of the $400 free-sync IPS displays from Nixeus, wouldn't bother paying extra for G-sync.

Everyone's X99 boards had issues when it first came out

the 1070ti roughly equals the 1080 with a 2 minute OC to 1900mhz.

https://www.pcper.com/reviews/Cases-and-Cooling/Thermalright-Le-Grand-Macho-RT-Air-CPU-Cooler-Review/Installation-Process

 

 

Spoiler

 

[Nightmare002]

I have made a few modifications to the list:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HV4JpG

 

I have two reasons of choosing Intel over AMD: 

1. According to this video, the Windows experience on Intel is noticeably faster than the one on AMD. In the same video, he talks about if I am targeting over 100 FPS, then I should go with Intel.

2. From what I know (it might not be true anymore), the Intel motherboards have better quality components than the AMD ones (which can be observed in the price difference between most Z370 and X370 boards). 

Edit: About the EVGA that you linked, the guy is kinda critical of the board in the video.

 

While looking at the GPU prices, I noticed that the price difference between the better variants of GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 Ti is very little, that's why I opted for the GTX 1080. You mentioned that an overclocked 1070 Ti almost matches a GTX 1080, but I can also overclock the 1080 to get better performance out of it.

 

As for the PSU, the SeaSonic that you recommended has a 120mm fan, and the RM750x that I chose has a 135mm fan, which, if needed, will need to rotate at a lower speed.

 

Finally, when it comes to the monitor, if I have the budget for a G-Sync monitor, why shouldn't I get one? I have watched many monitor videos before making my decision, and basically all youtubers and writers said that these monitors (PG279Q and XB217HU; the AOC AGON AG271QG has similar characteristics) are the best for gaming. 

 

After checking out reviews of the Thermalright cooler, I have to say that I am impressed that a single-fan cooler can beat the NH-D15. As I feared, however, this cooler still has the same problem that I had with the fan on the True Spirit 140 BW (rev. A), but I decided that a bit of fiddling with it was worth it. I had no issues installing the heatsink, which went effortlessly, just with attaching the clips to the fan was a pain. 

Edited August 27, 2018 by Nightmare002