Quiet build project log.

alexakasloth · 26 Dec 2019 at 16:37

Background:

So this is a project log/ build page for my recent (budget Ryzen) upgrade, I had focused on adding some cooling components to eliminate noise previously and intend to keep that going, it's quite nice having not having fans whiring in the background when concentrating on doing coursework, editing photos or gaming. Hopefully if anyone is interested in using some of the components that I have used it will provide some insight into how they perform.

The specs of my previous PC were:

Intel i5 4590s (65w TDP)
8GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3
MSI 2GB 750ti originally (60w TDP), upgraded to XFX 4GB RX-570 a few months ago (120w TDP).
Asus H81M-K motherboard
BeQuiet System Power 8 450w PSU
Bitfenix Nova Case (black, side window).

Photo:

I started with making the GPU passive as the 750ti had a single fan cooler and was far from quiet. As it is only powered through the PCIe slot I used an Arctic Accelero S3. The backplate to cool the VRM's did not fit with this motherboard so I made do with VRM heatsinks and thermal tape.
Then I found a suitable cooler big enough to passively cool the CPU, a Raijintek Ereboss core edition, which looks great in black.
Temperature wise using System Stability Test for the CPU it reported 84c under load, I managed to bring that down by adding a 140mm BeQuiet Silent Wings as an intake to 67c under load (33c idle). The GPU was stress tested using furmark and was also 67c under load (37c idle).

Wanting to keep this going with a recent upgrade I made a point to keep an eye on the TDP of the components knowing that this set up works.

Graphics card:

I started with the Graphics card, choosing to replace the 750ti with an RX-570. Knowing that the Accelero S3 would not cool well enough for the higher TDP through some research I chose the Raijintek Morpheus II core edition as a replacement cooler. Bonus - it comes in a matching black to the CPU cooler.

I stress tested this with Furmark but found random crashes were occuring after replacing the cooler that did not happen previously. I added a 120mm Apache Black PWM fan with Noctua low noise adapter which stopped these. I'm unsure what the temperatures were as I cannot find screenshots or notes from then.

With the added fan the GPU was at 81c after a benchmark and 89c under load for a longer period of time. I usually play CS:GO and the temps are in the lower 80's.

Photo of the cooler and fan:

I would like to replace this fan with a BeQuiet silent wings 3 PWM or similar Noctua, as they are quieter fans and would eliminate the need to add in the LNA.

The installation of this was quite straight forward, a bit of planning is needed to see what heatsinks can be used on the VRMs without getting in the way of the heatpipes. Several different sizes were provided and the tape has held them on well. Being aluminium they are not heavy so I shouldn't expect them to dislodge anytime soon.
There are clips to support 2x120mm fans (13/25mm thickness).

alexakasloth · 26 Dec 2019 at 17:03

CPU:

I found some good deals on upgrading the rest of the build, and went with the following parts:

Ryzen 7 1700 (65w TDP)
MSI B350 Tomohawk
16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4

I recieved these parts in the last couple of weeks and recieved a brucey-bonus for Christmas - a 256GB NVMe drive.

I started about installing the new components and shifting across the CPU heatsink.

Comparison between old and new motherboard:

I like the design that MSI have here, there's a red LED strip around the back which is quite subtle but a nice feature. I will have to see what temperatures are like with the NVMe drive, as it will be behind the GPU, I am thinking that the fan from the GPU will create some airflow along the NVMe drive to stop it overheating.

New CPU and RAM:

Cooler on new motherboard:

The change of platform meant ordering a new AM4 bracket for the Ereboss Core cooler as it did not come with it as standard, it's only £2. The installation is quite simple, and the cooler comes with a screwdriver that is very long to reach the two screws required to clamp the cooler down to the mounting brackets. Overall it's 6 screws to install and fairly painless.
A point to note, the CPU power pins are best connected before installing the motherboard, it's a narrow squeeze to reach them once it's installed with this size of tower cooler.

LuckyBenski · 27 Dec 2019 at 00:19

This is interesting to see, I've done similar in the past. My quietest PC was an i5-3470s with Scythe Ninja passive giant heatsink. At one point I had a Radeon HD7870 with Arctic Accelero S1

Actually I found that graphics cooler worked brilliantly with a 120mm and a 92mm fan fitted, both driven off the PWM signal on the card. Dead quiet and really cool.

It's nice to see it done with more current components and proper graphics!

alexakasloth · 27 Dec 2019 at 08:25

@LuckyBenski That Scythe cooler is a beast, 12 heatpipes in total?
The s series of i5 chips were/are quite effective for low noise solutions, I'll be keeping my old components for a home server (plex & back up) because of this.

I'll continue with updating this when I get back from visiting family tomorrow as I have it all installed for testing. Then I can see about making any necessary tweaks and adjustments.

alexakasloth · 27 Dec 2019 at 09:35

Got a bit of time free this morning:

Ran Furmark for just over 10 minutes, GPU is reaching 69c under load, 32c idle, still very quiet with the LNA on the GPU.

[edit] Looking at the screenshot Furmark is showing the GPU to only be at 300mhz, this seems low and may not be pushing the GPU to it's full load.

How long is recommended usually for running stress testing applications?

Some more photographs of the build, please excuse the messy cables, it has just been put together for test purposes currently.

Layout without graphics card:

Layout with graphics card:

The Morpheus II cooler pushes into the HDD cage here by about 40mm (estimate), it's quite long!

The 1 and only case fan, a BeQuiet SilentWings 140mm PWM:

I feel that if needed I could remove the HDD cage for slightly better airflow as I will not be needing 3.5" drives, but would prefer to leave it be for now.

LuckyBenski · 27 Dec 2019 at 16:09

Yep, well, 6 heatpipes with 12 ends in the stack. Also massive gaps to allow maximum natural air convection. Just placing this in the path of case airflow was enough to keep an S series CPU below about 50-55°

When using Furmark, it's designed to generate maximum heat. The nature of this is that it tends to crush boost clock speeds as it exceeds TDP and power limits constantly. My 1070 that boosts over 2000MHz would be closer to 1500 under Furmark. Fine for stress testing the card itself and your cooling, but not a good indicator of boost clocks under load. I use Unigine Valley for that.

I tend to do stress/cooling testing until temperatures fully settle. The case will heat soak, etc. Generally full CPU and GPU load simultaneously so I can tune the maximum temperature against the loudest fan noise I'll tolerate.

Also worth checking that there isn't a section of the card getting too hot - maybe some VRMs or RAM that's not under the fan?

Also worth checking for hotspots in the case. With just one case fan you may get a dead spot where warm air collects. In a tower it can be at the top corners, exhaust fans help there. In a cube case with vertical graphics card I found a warm corner between the card and side panel.

Be interested to see how well your single intake works to push warm air out naturally, I had single exhaust in a tiny tower which was OK aside from aforementioned hotspot

alexakasloth · 6 Apr 2020 at 19:30

So i've made some changes recently to this set up as the CPU was overheating (90c+) when using Handbrake for extended periods of time. The new set up is as follows:

Intake: BeQuiet Silentwings 3 PWM 140mm
Exhaust: Noctua Redux 1300 PWM 120mm (in CPU header).
GPU: Noctua Redux 1300 PWM 120mm w/LNA

Heatsinks are the same Raijintek's as before.

Currently had Handbrake running for 20 minutes and have temps of 68c using a ramping fan profile set for the intake and exhaust fan. GPU stress tests TBC.

Next upgrade is the PSU to a Seasonic Focus GX-550 which has a passive mode up to 30% load and fully modular.

alexakasloth · 7 Apr 2020 at 11:29

After stress testing I have found a good balance using the previously mentioned set up for cooling/ noise, with a small change to the GPU fan profile in BIOS (it previously started at 50%), they all now start at 15% increasing to 30, 55 and 100% depending on temps. I ran the tests for 30 minutes as the temperature rise plateaued at that point:

Test 1: P95 (Small FTT's)

0:00 - 34.6c
30:00 - 73.9c

Test 2: P95 (blended)

0:00 - 36.4c
30:00 - 73c

Test 3: Furmark (1080 fullscreen)

0:00 - 32c
30:00 - 81c
GPU fan speed - 53%

The system remained very quiet throughout testing, I would describe it as a whisper so i'm please now with this as a good base line and now have to think about how it can be improved upon further.

My two thoughts are that:

I wish to stick with air cooling rather than water cooling as adding a pump is quite noisy.
I have some aluminium extrusion bar and connectors to build my own case with more directed airflow specific to this set up possibly just two fans. Also, the entire front of the case is empty as there are no HDD's or optical drives, so it's wasted space.

alexakasloth · 8 Apr 2020 at 15:30

So today I had a parcel arrive from OcUK containing the new PSU (and a couple of bags of haribo of course), perfect oppurtunity to also look at the (lack of) cable management going.

Before shot:

The fully cabled PSU (that will be donated to my home server) has all the cables bundled up at the bottom and in the HDD cage currently, which is both unattractive and blocks some airflow. The HDD cage also blocks/channels some airflow:

So the rivets were drilled out and it was removed, much cleaner.

With all the cables installed and routed round the back of the motherboard tray and the PSU in, it is now a much cleaner build:

Only 3 cables were needed here, showing how many were unneccesary:

The GPU cooler extends 30cm and just protrudes into the HDD cage.

And a closer look at the CPU cooler and exhaust fan, I like the contrast in colour that the Noctua's add. The CPU cooler is the largest that will fit in this case, it just touches the side panel when on.

Next step is to install the NZXT LED light strip.