What are my options for a quiet build and gaming at 1440p?

Associate
Joined
26 Nov 2012
Posts
937
I'm thinking about a new build for next year based around Navi and 1440p gaming. I really like how quiet my current build is which I guess is half down to the PSU never spinning up and half down to the quiet GPU and CPU cooler.

I'm open to case design although I've come to realise my current case wouldn't fit a Vega56/64 which isn't ideal if Navi is anywhere near this size. Not a problem if it's more like a 590 in size I guess.

I don't really care about LEDs or parts being colour coded.

Budget is flexible but I imagine £1000-1200, excluding monitor, keyboard, mouse. I'd probably sell my current parts so nothing to take over.

Thoughts welcome, thanks!
 
Last edited:
@davidmt83

Aimed at Ryzen based system without GPU ...

Quietest as can be without solid panel

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,003.47 (includes shipping: £11.70)

Though x570 is out Q2 , can't give date out aloud I'm afraid

Getting Vega 64 in , dropping to b450 board and 2600x

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,191.94 (includes shipping: £14.10)


Push MSI b450 AC WiFi if you can , extra £25​
 
Last edited:
Cheers @orbitalwalsh, that's exactly what I was looking for, appreciate the input. Looks like AMD is the way to go then. I've never had an AMD build before so it's a brave new world! Are you supposed to overclock them like Intel chips?

Is x570 looking like it's worth the wait? Comparable pricing? As I'm waiting on Navi hopefully they'll come out around the same time. Although ideally it'd be Sapphire/Powercolor Navi so not sure how long after reference Navi comes out that they'll release their versions.

Cheers!
 
X570 switches to pcie4 I believe , should be on show for computex 2019 .

Nitro/plus and Powercolor PCB weren't actually good , not much of a bump on stock to be honest, Asus and gigabyte PCB were far better, but Strix had aweful cooling on their VRM .
Gigabytes are 12+1 phase design Vs the others 6/7+1

I know Asus coming out with 12 phase design B450 board, shows that x570 should step up phase count and hopefully memory channel design
 
Nitro/plus and Powercolor PCB weren't actually good , not much of a bump on stock to be honest, Asus and gigabyte PCB were far better, but Strix had aweful cooling on their VRM .
Gigabytes are 12+1 phase design Vs the others 6/7+1
Cheers - Gibbo @ this thread gave the thumbs up to Sapphire and Powercolor - guess we'll have to see how the dice rolls for Navi designs :D
 
Cheers - Gibbo @ this thread gave the thumbs up to Sapphire and Powercolor - guess we'll have to see how the dice rolls for Navi designs :D

Their coolers are pretty slick, and also don't have to pay same price as gigabyte , MSI and Asus since they also sell Nvidia chips , so normally are cheaper at lunch or get their products in first :)
 
The Alpenfohn Brocken 3 Dual Fan is coming in at virtually the same noise levels as the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4, but at £20 cheaper. And £8 off the non-pro version. Choices choices.

True .

DR4 is single fan , 6x 6mm pipes and 200w tdp , AB3 is dual fan , 5x6mm and 200w tdp - and double the size for the cash .

Both good options to be honest
 
Interestingly running the DRP4 part passively, without the front fan, but keeping the middle fan, makes no difference to the temps, no thermal throttling, but removing the middle fan too causes BSOD. Which makes me think they should have made the non Pro version with a middle fan and not a front fan as I guess it'll spin louder for the same temp as the pro version.

Or maybe that's common sense versus business sense ;)
 
Interestingly running the DRP4 part passively, without the front fan, but keeping the middle fan, makes no difference to the temps, no thermal throttling, but removing the middle fan too causes BSOD. Which makes me think they should have made the non Pro version with a middle fan and not a front fan as I guess it'll spin louder for the same temp as the pro version.

Or maybe that's common sense versus business sense ;)
Well the Dark Rock 4 is a solid heatsink rather than a split tower design, so it'd behave quite differently with a single fan than the DRP4 with a fan only serving one half of the stack. I can see why the DR4 works well with just a middle fan though.

Edit: I wouldn't take a cooler designed for 2 fans' passive performance too seriously. There are alternatives for that use case
 
If you can find a 1080 cheap second hand, I’d really recommend it. I got mine for £330.

Mine runs my x34p great, which is harder to drive than 1440p. OC’d nicely too.

Also, if you’re interested in silence then watercooling could be a possibility. You can save a lot second hand, and it’s great fun. It would take you well over budget, but it could be something you do later down the line. My pc remains almost completely silent under full load, and I’ve overclocked pretty far.
 
Last edited:
From what I'm reading it sounds like it'd be worth upgrading the Pure Wings case fans to the Silent Wings 3 fans for improved noise reduction.
 
Last edited:
So I think I've settled on this build:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £821.83 (includes shipping: £0.00)


I'll add in a Sapphire/PowerColor Navi GPU and swap out for a X570 mobo but otherwise I think I'm sorted. That should increase the total to about £1200 I reckon. Thoughts welcome, can I get quieter? cheers!

Also waiting on the following LG IPS monitor... Sounds like this, Navi and X570 should all be released Q2/Q3 2019 hopefully.

In the 27″ space is the forthcoming LM270WQA panel, with a 2560 x 1440 resolution and 165Hz refresh rate. This also offers a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 350 cd/m2 brightness, sRGB gamut. Originally it was not expected to go in to mass production until December 2018 but this looks like it’s been pushed back to Q2 2019 as the latest expectation. It is now listed with 1ms G2G response time spec, so perhaps the push for improved response times has led to some delay in mass production.
Source
 
Last edited:
So I think I've settled on this build:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £821.83 (includes shipping: £0.00)


I'll add in a Sapphire/PowerColor Navi GPU and swap out for a X570 mobo but otherwise I think I'm sorted. That should increase the total to about £1200 I reckon. Thoughts welcome, can I get quieter? cheers!

Also waiting on the following LG IPS monitor... Sounds like this, Navi and X570 should all be released Q2/Q3 2019 hopefully.


Source

Push the 801. Has 3 X 140mm pure wings .

Will save a bit of cash, okay not as top end as the silent wing 3 but still a £40 saving

Would also run the Bequiet 600w pure power 11 for £70 .

Savings will allow you to push Vega 56 for £300 odd maybe
 
Cheers orbitalwalsh and EsaT

Push the 801. Has 3 X 140mm pure wings .
Will save a bit of cash, okay not as top end as the silent wing 3 but still a £40 saving

I wasn't keen on the 801 and the 3 x 140mm Pure Wings 2 as the 140mm Silent Wings 3 are a better fan from what I can gather, quieter and better with air flow.

Would also run the Bequiet 600w pure power 11 for £70 .
Seasonic Focus Plus is £15 cheaper.
Antec with same insides little more, though that stamped fan mesh isn't as good for cooling.

I picked the Corsair due to it's
semi-passive fan mode that facilitates silent operation under light and moderate loads. Additionally, a relaxed fan profile helps minimize noise output under more taxing scenarios. Corsair paid a lot of attention to acoustics in its RMx and RMi families, and the result is impressive indeed: they're both some of the quietest PSUs in their respective classes.
Open to suggestions though if there are quiter ones out there with better passive performance.

Just having a quick look around I've found another PSU but it only matches Corsair's
Load for fan to turn on (%) 40%
and it's £34.96 more expensive:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £144.95 (includes shipping: £0.00)

Scythe Mugen 5 would be pretty much at same level with £20 cheaper price.

Yeah I was reading about the Scythe Mugen 5 on Kitguru, definitely an option for acoustics. It doesn't quite beat the DR4 though it seems:

 
Last edited:
I picked the Corsair due to it's Open to suggestions though if there are quiter ones out there with better passive performance.

Yeah I was reading about the Scythe Mugen 5 on Kitguru, definitely an option for acoustics. It doesn't quite beat the DR4 though it seems
Obviously fully passively cooled fanless PSU has the least amount of cooling noise... ;)
But with also 80+ Titanium efficiency it just surely costs luxury.
https://seasonic.com/prime-titanium-fanless
And PSU shroud fad would likely cause fanless PSUs to run hotter by hindering airflow inside case.

PSU cooling isn't some load based, but temperature based so higher efficiency is always good.
Otherwise lower cooling tends to mean higher temperature and more stress (and also wear) on PSU's components.
That small difference in efficiency makes fast notable relative difference in amount of heat produced by PSU at least with lower US mains voltage.
I think those producing 30W instead of 20W (50% more) waste heat at 300W load are 80+ Golds, while thebest are 80+ Platinum models:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/files/images/power-lost/Figure-3-16-PSU-load.png

Some manufacturers are more willing to risk higher component temperature than others and hold fan back longer, but that heat produced by PSU is basically the main factor in cooling need.
Seasonic Focus Plus has also semi-passive mode and 650W Platinum would be abotu price of that Corsair.


Here with 130W TDP 3930K DR4 lost to Mugen 5 and its dual 800rpm fan PCGH version:
https://www.nikktech.com/main/artic...ock-pro-4-cpu-coolers-review?showall=&start=5
Mugen 5 might also benefit from second fan (fan clips included) at lower fan speeds.

Anyway for very low fan speeds Thermalright ARO-M14 should be very good.
It has very loosely spaced fins with low airflow impedance.
 
Back
Top Bottom