How's this build?

[Harreh]

Hello, fine internet travellers of tech power up! This is my first post here, so hello!

I would appreciate some input on a build I have in the works.
Here, I have for you, after some rigorous (yet incomplete) research a machine designed to balance acoustics with intense performance (but without being too silly).

I'm a dev, musician and gamer. So I need a machine that isn't slow with large Visual Studio projects, or ProTools projects and of course the usual collection of games.

Now the last machine I've built used an AMD Sempron @ 1.6GHz, and an ATi Radeon 9800 pro. So I've had to catch up a bit. Since I built that one, I've had laptops and this one's showing it age a bit.

So anyway, check the attachment to see what I've come up with. It's a tad rushed and incomplete perhaps.

A brief outline of my thoughts:
It needs to be damn quiet. Really quiet.
I can get pretty high-end stuff without too much hassle as it's not like I'm throwing away old parts to get there. Plus it might as well be good so it can last.
As far as money goes, it's fairly open ended and theoretical at this moment.. but why waste money on a Titan or whatever?

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Pretty solid build really. The case barely fits the height of that CPU cooler though. The listed CPU cooler clearance and CPU cooler height are both 170mm. Normally you don't want the cooler actually touching the side of the case, but since the case has dense noise absorbing padding on the inside of the panel, it might actually serve to eliminate rattles and even help keep the cooler's weight from stressing the MB as much as it normally would.

Other than that the Green model HDD is a bit slow, but if you only use it for storage and let the 250GB SSD handle programs, it won't really be an issue.

If I were to choose an Nvidia GPU, that's the one I'd go for, although if you can wait it might be wise to see how the equivalent AMD 8000 series card compares to it.

The PSU is good, but overpriced IMO. Don't be fooled by the name, there are other PSUs that are virtually inaudible, esp when you consider the triple fan GPU and the open vent on the side of the case. I'll attach the conclusion of the jonnyGURU review of the 550w model for perspective.

Overall a really solid build though.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=291

 

[RCoon]

By the 4700k I assume you mean a 4770k
Dont get that PSU, buy a different one from a better OEM like a Corsair, Seasonic, Antec, NZXT Bronze rated as a minimum spec.
Get a better CPU cooler, like an AIO - H80, Cooler Master Seidon - If you intend to overclock.
If you dont intend on overclocking, go down to a Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo. An epic cooler at an insanely low price, and will keep turbo temperatures down.
Everything else looks fine, although WD Green HDD's are kinda slow, look into a standard Blue or faster Black.
I personally dont like the case, but thats down to opinion.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

It's not that it's a lemon PSU, it's just overpriced and not quite as good ripple specs as some of the high end units. There's also no reason to believe the CPU coolers you've mentioned are any better, esp the H80 and Hyper 212.

Thermalright's Silver Arrow performed on par with the venerable Noctua NH-D14, and this one is likely pretty close to it with the added advantage of plenty RAM clearance. Since he's using 16GB RAM, for his purposes it's almost ideal. I'll add that the aluminum fins of tower HSs are a lot easier to clean and MUCH more durable than the paper thin rad fins used on units like the H80 (I have an H50 myself).

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?285662-Thermalright-Archon-SB-E-X2

 

[Harreh]

The case barely fits the height of that CPU cooler though. The listed CPU cooler clearance and CPU cooler height are both 170mm. Normally you don't want the cooler actually touching the side of the case, but since the case has dense noise absorbing padding on the inside of the panel, it might actually serve to eliminate rattles and even help keep the cooler's weight from stressing the MB as much as it normally would.

If I were to choose an Nvidia GPU, that's the one I'd go for, although if you can wait it might be wise to see how the equivalent AMD 8000 series card compares to it.

Hah, I'm not surprised the cooler's too big. Wasn't something I checked to be honest.
Coolers have gotten bigger for sure. Not sure I'd be willing to test out how the foam fares against a hot chunk of metal

RCoon: Yeah I need some more research on PSU's, HDD's and cooling. Am I in the right wattage area? Seems reasonable to me after checking out the usual 'wattage calculator'.
I think I'm set on the case.. it's one of the quietest and I quite like how it looks

As for waiting... yeah it may be a month or two before I actually fully commit to this. More research, fine tune the build, get some more cash etc. I'm in no rush by any means to get this done.

Thanks for the input

 

[RCoon]

Hah, I'm not surprised the cooler's too big. Wasn't something I checked to be honest.
Coolers have gotten bigger for sure. Not sure I'd be willing to test out how the foam fares against a hot chunk of metal

RCoon: Yeah I need some more research on PSU's, HDD's and cooling. Am I in the right wattage area? Seems reasonable to me after checking out the usual 'wattage calculator'.
I think I'm set on the case.. it's one of the quietest and I quite like how it looks

As for waiting... yeah it may be a month or two before I actually fully commit to this. More research, fine tune the build, get some more cash etc. I'm in no rush by any means to get this done.

Thanks for the input

650w is a perfect wattage. You never mentioned if you were overclocking or not?

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Well, I really doubt the very top of that cooler would get hot enough to actually melt or even deform that foam. That's a pretty massive unit.

On wattage, a 770 by EVGA and MSI recs needs around 600w and 42 amps. The PSU you speced kicks out around 52 amps.

 

[Harreh]

Possibly.. I don't see why not with the motherboard I've chosen. I'm no OC junkie though.
Plus OC'ing looks way easier than in '04. I remember giving it a go on my AMD Sempron which was total crap for OC'ing.

 

[buildzoid]

Get a cheaper PSU in at the same or higher wattage from Seasonic Antec Corsair or XFX as the be quiet! PSUs are overpriced.
The CPU cooler is fine touching the noise absorbtion foam as the cooler won't usually get past 50C° at the top unless the fans fail.
Get a WD caviar Blue the Greens are slower and more expensive.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Saw a pretty good combo deal on a MSI Z87-G43 MB with i5-4670k with Corsair 750w PSU and 8GB G. Skill RAM (just buy another kit of the same RAM) if you're willing to forgo the HyperThreading.

This bundle plus the RAM kit above saves you about $280 and I doubt you'd even notice any difference. This would allow you to get a 780 or probably 8970 when they come out, and you'd have over $100 left over.
Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, L...

HT doesn't really help much in gaming, and I question how much you'd use it elsewhere unless doing a lot of video encoding or such.

 

[ne6togadno]

+1 to those 2 type writers above me
but ...
if you want really quite rig then go custom water cooling. this however will cost like 300-500 more.
i would change ssd with 256gb version like 840 pro, ocz vector or something equivalent.
psu corsair ax760i (platinum), ax750 (gold), seasonic etc
ram get at least 2133mhz. kingston's beast is ok, also good choice are corsair vengeance and g.skill tridentX.
hdd +1 on WD black. it will suit better to ssd. or if money arent problem and you have home network 2 bay nas is also good solution (will remove slow and noisy hdd from your pc to remote location somewhere around your house, will cost a lot however)
case dont listen raccoon. he has shown before not very good taste . case is very nice and stylish but if you go custom WC you may need bigger one.

 

[Harreh]

From what I vaguely remember... to unlock the multipliers on the Sempron you had to solder a resistor onto the chip...

Seasonic look like a good bet as they do combo'd passive/active cooling I think. Will checkout the others too.

 

[Harreh]

And the newegg deals... I'm in England
Besides I don't think I'll be hastily jumping on any deals here.. there will always be deals.

RAM, HDD & SDD's were very rushed but gave me an idea of price when combining it all together.
Not sure I'm brave enough for water cooling, although there are some nice simple solutions out there

Then for water cooling... something like the Corsair Hydro series? I'd like this to be damn quiet so not to interfere with any mixing in ProTools/Ableton/Cubase whatever. Putting music on quietly and not have the thing be louder than the music is nice.

As for hyperthreading.. not sure. ProTools might make use of it... dunno.

 

[ne6togadno]

well i stole my G.Skill 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 2400MHz TridentX Memory ... for 103GBP on stale from ebuyer now they are 120

 

[Frag_Maniac]

And the newegg deals... I'm in England
Besides I don't think I'll be hastily jumping on any deals here.. there will always be deals.

RAM, HDD & SDD's were very rushed but gave me an idea of price when combining it all together.
Not sure I'm brave enough for water cooling, although there are some nice simple solutions out there

Then for water cooling... something like the Corsair Hydro series? I'd like this to be damn quiet so not to interfere with any mixing in ProTools/Ableton/Cubase whatever. Putting music on quietly and not have the thing be louder than the music is nice.

As for hyperthreading.. not sure. ProTools might make use of it... dunno.

I figured you were in the UK as the PSU you speced isn't even available in North America yet. It was only an example of how much you can save with bundle deals, and I'm sure Newegg.uk and Amazon.uk have similar deals.

As I said I have an older model Corsair (H50). They don't exactly supply ultra quiet fans with their sealed WC units. With a good air cooling unit you can get both better temps and lower noise. Trust me, that CPU cooler you speced would be quieter than the majority of factory made sealed WC units. Even a lot of custom WC loops have fans that could be louder as you need lots of static pressure to push through rad fins vs loosely packed large heatsink fin stacks that air coolers use.

You should also try and think ahead and visualize what each type of cooler involves come cleaning time. Sealed WC units typically have bolt on fans, while the air coolers often have clip on fans. Every now and then you need to take off the fans and clean the dust out of the fins. It's quicker and zero risk of damaging fins with an air cooler. Not so with a rad cooler.

That said, on noise levels you have to realize the CPU fans are going to be PWM controlled anyway, meaning for things like music and movies they will be at idle speed and much quieter than at load. What this really comes down to is how much noise you can tolerate while your CPU is working hard, like for gaming or CPU intense programs.

 

[d1nky]

moonpig has a few good things for sale, especially that PSU

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103080

 

[thebluebumblebee]

A brief outline of my thoughts:
It needs to be damn quiet. Really quiet.
I can get pretty high-end stuff without too much hassle as it's not like I'm throwing away old

Quiet costs a lot. For your consideration:
PSU: Seasonic Platinum (SS-xxxXP) series USA link (sorry) The 660 watt version should be all you need.
Someone recommended a AIO water cooler. The only one that I could recommend is the 2013 version of the H60. An air cooler has its fans inside of the case so it's harder for the noise to get out. Noctua NH-C14, with one of the lower power adapters should do nicely. ookay, now that I wrote all of that, I went and investigated what you listed. If you can get the SB-E X2 to fit, go for it)

 

[ne6togadno]

I figured you were in the UK as the PSU you speced isn't even available in North America yet. It was only an example of how much you can save with bundle deals, and I'm sure Newegg.uk and Amazon.uk have similar deals.

As I said I have an older model Corsair (H50). They don't exactly supply ultra quiet fans with their sealed WC units. With a good air cooling unit you can get both better temps and lower noise. Trust me, that CPU cooler you speced would be quieter than the majority of factory made sealed WC units. Even a lot of custom WC loops have fans that could be louder as you need lots of static pressure to push through rad fins vs loosely packed large heatsink fin stacks that air coolers use.

You should also try and think ahead and visualize what each type of cooler involves come cleaning time. Sealed WC units typically have bolt on fans, while the air coolers often have clip on fans. Every now and then you need to take off the fans and clean the dust out of the fins. It's quicker and zero risk of damaging fins with an air cooler. Not so with a rad cooler.

That said, on noise levels you have to realize the CPU fans are going to be PWM controlled anyway, meaning for things like music and movies they will be at idle speed and much quieter than at load. What this really comes down to is how much noise you can tolerate while your CPU is working hard, like for gaming or CPU intense programs.

frag there isnt such thing newegg.uk and at uk amazon prices are almost the same as normal hardware shops.
cpu cooler isnt that much noisy as those 3 fans of windforce will be.
in custom wc radiator can be oversized and lower rpm fans to be selected. it is also possible to pick 2x240 rads so it be easier to fit em in case. or just video to be water cooled.
i dont think dust is big issue in uk. with their 365 rainy weather there isnt much dust to spread

PSU: Seasonic Platinum (SS-xxxXP) series USA link (sorry) The 660 watt version should be all you need.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-034-SS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2383

this one is good too
Cooler Master Vanguard V700w Psu - 80plus Gold Fu...

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Well, I really doubt the very top of that cooler would get hot enough to actually melt or even deform that foam. That's a pretty massive unit.

On wattage, a 770 by EVGA and MSI recs needs around 600w and 42 amps. The PSU you speced kicks out around 52 amps.

600w for a 770 and quad core? that's 400w MAX, GPU mfr's always overcompensate with recommended PSU's as a lot of cheap units have high wattage and low amperage but any good brand 500w+ would easily run that rig, 600w is a perfect balance.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

@ne6,
I've seen FAR too many custom WC users employ high static pressure fans to get the max efficiency out of their setups to be dismissing all of them as easily running low RPM, low noise fans. Rads are tighter finned than air coolers and clog with dust faster, exacerbating the problem. Besides, he's obviously comparing the cheap factory sealed setups that often come with loud fans and aren't even as good temp wise as many of the air coolers.

LOL on the dust. I live in one of the more cloudy, rainy cities in the US, trust me, we get plenty dust too, and indoors the dirt comes in the form of clothing and upholstery fibers, hair, all sorts of things.

@NdM,
Why is it so many people on forums go by the very least you need in PSU wattage/amperage vs a conservative amount like EVGA and MSI recommend? It's good to have a bit of overhead in something like a PSU for a high end gaming rig. What's odd though is you contradicted yourself in the end and agreed that 600w is perfect. That's exactly what MSI and EVGA recommend, as I said.

 

[cdawall]

Why is it so many people on forums go by the very least you need in PSU wattage/amperage vs a conservative amount like EVGA and MSI recommend? It's good to have a bit of overhead in something like a PSU for a high end gaming rig. What's odd though is you contradicted yourself in the end and agreed that 600w is perfect. That's exactly what MSI and EVGA recommend, as I said.

I bet you one of the silent fanless 460w units available could run that setup with an overclock for years on end without blinking an eye. A good powersupply can deliver 100-110% of its rating for an extended period of time that is why they are rated for a coninuous wattage. People often over buy powersupplies for these what if scenario's. If you don't plan on some crazy SLi setup a goot 400-500w powersupply can run what he has listed parts wise.

Hell up until this deployment I was running an SFX 450w with a 4ghz core i7 xeon and GTX 470 along with water cooling. No issues under load or even a quick blip into furmark (which is rediculous)

 

[Frag_Maniac]

People often over buy powersupplies for these what if scenario's.

You fail to point out that the quality of lower power unit you're talking about can equal the price of the mediocre ones rated at more output. It's all relative, you pay the money one way or the other.

The EVGA and MSI recommendations as mentioned are just a rough guideline to account for a range of PSU build qualities.

 

[cdawall]

You fail to point out that the quality of lower power unit you're talking about can equal the price of the mediocre ones rated at more output. It's all relative, you pay the money one way or the other.

The EVGA and MSI recommendations as mentioned are just a rough guideline to account for a range of PSU build qualities.

Yea and you are complaining he should buy a "quality" 600-700w unit. Why? You can get an awesome fanless unit for 400-500w that will operate his PC without issue and silently.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Yea and you are complaining he should buy a "quality" 600-700w unit.

LOL, give it a rest, you're the one comwhining, and I never said 700, just what EVGA and MSI rec, which is the same as you did in the end. Jeez, what a head case.

 

[cdawall]

LOL, give it a rest, you're the one comwhining, and I never said 700, just what EVGA and MSI rec, which is the same as you did in the end. Jeez, what a head case.

No I said a 600-700w quality unit is what you recommended, why bother when you can for the same money get a silent fanless unit that will work.