Build Quote Request - Quiet i7-14700K

[Aeris]

I'm looking to have a new PC built and would appreciate a final review and a quote from the OCUK team. My main priority, besides performance, is for the system to be as quiet as possible during non-gaming use.

Purchase Timeframe: ASAP

Budget: Approximately £2200 (including build/tuning service and Windows)

Main Usage: The PC will be used for Python development. My apps can be compute-bound and i/o-bound I also do a bit of gaming on a 49" widescreen monitor, aiming for a stable 60fps in modern AAA titles.

Proposed Hardware Specification:

• CPU: Intel i7-14700K
• Motherboard: Asus TUF Z790-Plus WIFI
• CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black
• RAM: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo EXPO RGB 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 6000MHz C30
• SSD: Crucial T700 4TB Gen5
• GPU: Gigabyte RX 7700 XT Gaming
• Case: Fractal Design North Chalk White Mesh
• Power Supply: Seasonic Focus GX-850 ATX 3.1
• Operating System: Windows 11 Home DVD

Key Build Priority: Quiet Operation & Tuning

• My primary goal is for the system to be near-silent at idle and during light loads like software development.
• Could you please tune custom fan curves in the BIOS to achieve this? The aim is for fans to run at their lowest possible RPM or use zero-RPM modes when temperatures are low.
• I would also like to request a stable CPU undervolt to reduce heat and noise. I understand this is a custom tuning service and am happy for it to be reflected in the build cost.

Current Hardware:
I already have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

Peripherals Needed:
None.

Special Needs/Requirements:
The system must have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities.

 

[Rroff]

You'll need to contact customer services https://help.overclockers.co.uk/hc/en-gb to get a quote from the OcUK team.

Your choice but personally I wouldn't pair a Asus motherboard up with the Intel 14th gen CPUs as they seem to exacerbate the potential degradation issues - if you aren't familiar with the potential degradation issues with Raptor Lake CPUs I would read up on that before purchasing - though a lot of the tech media have massively overblown the problem.

 

[Aeris]

I assumed OC would:

1. Update the BIOS: Flash the motherboard to the latest, safest version as a standard part of their process.
2. Select the Correct Profile: Select the "Intel Baseline Profile" during setup to guarantee the long-term health and stability of your CPU.
3. Perform Custom Tuning: They can apply the safe baseline profile and then perform a custom undervolt within those safe limits to further reduce heat and noise.
   

?

 

[Craig_d1]

a 49" ultrawide , if 1440p is 5120x1440, or 7,372,800....that only just behind a 4k screen of 8,294,400 pixels(3840x2160). Wanting to play AAA title I'd get something beefier. Also, forget the 7000 series amd gpu's..their a generation old and fsr3 isn't good. Look at a 9070xt (just over £600), or if that's too much a 9070 (£500)current gen intel cpu's are arrow lake so look at an intel ultra 7 265k maybe, though reading for python work, AMD can be just as good now as intel leads in single core performance but amd catches up with it''s multicore performance

you'll want xmp ram, not expo(as that's for amd). so something along the lines of below if you want the chalk white case,,the the window version rather than mesh might actually be quieter..the coolermaster cpu is slightly cheaper than the noctua, but is up there in performance and quieter from review
you can get a copy of windows cheap, and have ocuk build the pc for you(might have to go down to the 9070 not xt, as they probably charge around £300 for the build), and then put windows on yourself..they should be able to put it on, and you just put your own key in to activate

you could drop to the t500 gen 4 drive..it's still very fast and will save £85, go for something like the lian li 216 white for £95.99 with dual rgb 160mm fans on front(large fans so spin slower for same airflow..so quieter..that'll save £45 also...or the lancool 217 in white also for £110

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x OcUK Gaming Z87 Bundle - Intel Ultra 7 265K - MSI Z890 (SKU: PRO-INT-05764) = £449.99
• 1 x Cooler Master Master Air MA824 Stealth Dual Fan 8 Heat Pipe CPU Cooler (SKU: HS-092-CM) = £99.95
• 1 x Crucial T700 4TB NVMe PCIe Gen5 M.2 Solid State Drive (CT4000T700SSD3) (SKU: HD-07E-CR) = £324.94
• 1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 XT Hellhound Spectral White 16GB GDDR6 Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-PWC-04825) = £650.00
• 1 x Fractal Design North Chalk White Mesh Mid Tower Case - White (SKU: CA-0AW-FD) = £139.99
• 1 x G.Skill Royal RGB XMP 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-51200C32 6400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Silver (SKU: MEM-GSK-02542) = £229.99
• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 850W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - White (SKU: POW-PHK-02520) = £114.95

Total: £2,009.81 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[Craig_d1]

and with a t500 and lancool 217, and white 140mm peerless assassin...save £185 over above, or £375 below budget...def enough for build cost

• 1 x OcUK Gaming Z87 Bundle - Intel Ultra 7 265K - MSI Z890 (SKU: PRO-INT-05764) = £449.99
• 1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 XT Hellhound Spectral White 16GB GDDR6 Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-PWC-04825) = £649.99
• 1 x G.Skill Royal RGB XMP 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-51200C32 6400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Silver (SKU: MEM-GSK-02542) = £229.99
• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 850W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - White (SKU: POW-PHK-02520) = £114.95
• 1 x Lian Li Lancool 217 - White (SKU: CAS-LIA-04528) = £109.99
• 1 x Crucial T500 4TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-02889) = £239.99
• 1 x Thermalright Peerless Assassin 140 White Dual Tower CPU Air Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03289) = £29.99

Total: £1,824.89 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[Stelly]

@Aeris I would post in the Customer Support sub forum, they will be able to advise you about the build that you want

 

[Aeris]

@Aeris I would post in the Customer Support sub forum, they will be able to advise you about the build that you want

Apparently I don't have access to that?

 

[Aeris]

Thanks guys. I am definitely a noob here. Not only do I not know the ins and outs of building a PC, I can't even find my way around the site I think part of the problem is that I don't want a gaming PC per se - I want a quiet PC with a lot of grunt (but on which I can also play games). I tried using the configurator but most of the catgories are gaming PCs, I don't want an high-end (>>£2k) machine, and I am not a content creator.

I was told this was the right forum for pasting a custom spec, but now I think that was a mistake.

 

[Craig_d1]

Thanks guys. I am definitely a noob here. Not only do I not know the ins and outs of building a PC, I can't even find my way around the site I think part of the problem is that I don't want a gaming PC per se - I want a quiet PC with a lot of grunt (but on which I can also play games). I tried using the configurator but most of the catgories are gaming PCs, I don't want an high-end (>>£2k) machine, and I am not a content creator.

I was told this was the right forum for pasting a custom spec, but now I think that was a mistake.

This forum is just enthusiasts. If you want to get ocuk to buildyou a pc, best to phone them and explain what you want. They'll help you directly..or if you gave the spec you want they'll ask you to email the spec and send you the build cost. You'll get 3yes warranty etc
But if you just send in spec they'll just send you a build cost, doubt they'll go 'this is probably better'
This forum can help with that

 

[Threepwood]

ian li 216

reviews say that this is a noisy case

 

[Gray2233]

While I'm not a member of OCUK staff, I would recommend against the 14700K as that generation of processors has known issues with degradation. Intel's latest Arrow Lake chips do not have any such issues and perform very well in most production/workloads. You're also going to struggle to run AAA games at 60fps on a 7700XT, especially at the resolution you're likely to be running on a 49" ultrawide.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (Arrow Lake) Socket LGA 1851 Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-INT-03111) = £289.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance XMP 64GB (2X32GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C38 6000MHz Dual Channel (SKU: MEM-CRS-05105) = £164.99
• 1 x Crucial T500 4TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-02889) = £239.99
• 1 x Fractal Design North Chalk White Mesh Mid Tower Case - White (SKU: CA-0AW-FD) = £139.99
• 1 x Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 Black Dual Tower CPU Air Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03280) = £39.95
• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 850W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02519) = £104.99
• 1 x Gainward GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Phoenix-S 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-GNW-05399) = £679.99
• 1 x MSI PRO Z890-S WIFI (LGA 1851) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-03442) = £189.99

Total: £1,861.87 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

If you approach OCUK via their web form or over the phone with the above they should be able to build it for you, there will be a fee on top which (hopefully) should bring you to around your £2200 budget.

Note that the motherboard is a placeholder as I'm not totally confident in which are the better Intel boards, but they should be able to better advise and ensure whatever you get has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

It might be better to swap out the 5070ti for a 9070XT, I've listed the Nvidia card as they tend to be better with any sort of GPU accelerated non-gaming workload, but I've no idea if that's the case or not with your specific software.

With the case I've simply listed the one you initially chose, that said I imagine there might be better options for quiet running for the same or less money.

265K review: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-ultra-7-265k/

It's also worth noting that AMD is actually quite competitive when it comes to software development, that may be the case for Python but again someone else would need to weigh in on that.

OCUK contact information (Webticket and phone number):

Support | OcUK

Here at Overclockers UK, we are dedicated to delivering the absolute best experience for the customer. From the first click, we are here every step of the way.

www.overclockers.co.uk

 

[freddie64]

lian li 216

reviews say that this is a noisy case

I have the black non RGB 216 and once you set the fan speed it is a very quiet case.

If it wasn't for my monitor, keyboard and mouse you would think my PC was turned off.

 

[Aeris]

Thanks for info guys. I'm off to Customer Support now.