shhhh. spec me.

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Right folks. Almost ready for an upgrade. Feels like the moon on a stick but ideally I'm looking for a reasonable amount of grunt but whisper quiet. An all rounder that doesn't blow through movie scenes. I don't need monitor keyboard mouse or ssd/HDD. I do need OS, I would like a modular PSU that is capable of running high end current GFX card. Never gone the nvidia route but open to suggestions. Not a hardcore gamer as such but still play portal 2 and plenty of Indies. Max budget 1200 but ideally as thrifty as possible. Looking for a future proofer so probably the i7 4970k as CPU but mainly it's got to be as quiet as possible.
 
Getting a system quiet is not very difficult these days... My 4790K idles below 5W. I run it undervolted but still allow 4.4 on all cores. Big idle powersave was to allow the CPU Cache to drop to 800mhz too at Idle. (The asus impact keeps it at 4GHz permanently by default)

All my fans run below 400rpm at idle, GPU and PSU are passive under low load.

Use my sig as a starter?

Fans are 2x Parvum 120mm and 1x Bitfenix pro 200mm - Pressure optimised fans work a LOT better through filter mesh.
 
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get a noise optimised case like a nanoxia or fractal define. I have a define xl, and its stupidly quieter than my htpc, even though my htpc technically has quieter components, as well as having 16 less hard drives
 
What else are you using the computer for?

£1200 is a lot for occasional Indie gaming. And the likes of a Fractal R5 or Cooler Master Silencio with a Z97/G3258 inside would play many indie games just fine if your not maxing out four cores or 8 threads on a regular occurence and don't feel 15 seconds saving on a computer task is worth £200 more on the CPU.

I have had recent bad luck with a Cooler Master product, but their Nepton 240M is one of the quetest AIO coolers I have heard. I also recommend Noctua.

If I was after a general PC with silence in mind, a Fractal R5 with no window would be 1st on my list.

Something like whats below would be pretty quiet and still capable of the odd game, but of course you may need better components if video editing etc.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter CT512MX100SSD1) £162.95
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280 Gaming 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Silent 500W Fanless "80 Plus Platinum" Power Supply - Black £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02733) £84.95
1 x Gigabyte Z97P-D3 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £62.99
1 x Intel Pentium K Anniversary G3258 Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £55.99
1 x Noctua NH-U12S Ultra-Quiet Slim CPU Cooler with NF-F12 Fan £52.99
1 x Cooler Master Silencio 452 - USB 3.0 ATX Case - SD Card Reader £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Savage Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX324C11SRK2/8) £46.99
1 x Samsung SH-118BB/BEBE SATA 18x DVD-ROM (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £785.82 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
I was thinking more grunt like so. Probably buy a fractal define r5 although did come across AceModders rant on another site with the fractal rep

I am looking to be able to comfortably run games on the Philips 4K 40 inch monitor in say the next 12 months and watch media etc.

Anything here that won't work together ?


YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Vapor-X OC 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11226-11-40G) **OcUK WorldWide Exclusive** £379.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 - Devils Canyon Core i7 4790K CPU & Motherboard Bundle **£25 Saving** £373.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 16GB (4x4GB) PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Quad Channel Kit (KHX16C9T3K4/16X) £109.99
1 x EVGA SuperNova G2 750W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £94.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £77.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Black Heatpipe CPU Cooler PWM - 120mm £19.99
Total : £1,056.94 (includes shipping : ).

 
YOUR BASKET
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C11 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD316G2666HC11CDC01) £113.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 16GB (2x8GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX324C11T3K2/16) £109.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Savage Red 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX324C11SRK2/16) £95.99
Total : £329.57 (includes shipping : £8.00).



RAM using 2 sticks, leaving two free slots, cheaper and faster speeds.

If you do value silence I can attest to that Noctua being awesomely quiet, it also has 100% RAM compatibility so the taller RAM kits you see above wont pose an issue.
 
I specced this:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 - Devils Canyon Core i7 4790K CPU & Motherboard Bundle **£25 Saving** £373.98
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Tri-X OC 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11226-17-20G) £329.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Savage Red 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX324C11SRK2/16) £95.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £89.99
1 x SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 650W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - White £85.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £77.99
Total : £1,063.52 (includes shipping : £8.00).




The graphics card is a slight step down but I've specced an AIO cooler.

Those are my 2p anyway :)

Edit - deleted Noctua cooler, don't know how I missed the socket compatibility :rolleyes:
 
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That Noctua is only for Socket 2011.

I suggest you learn to read before posting such tripe. Noctua will fit any current CPU out there, and if they have a bracket you don't have but need, they send it asap at no cost. One of the best customer services available.


For the OP, you really only need 550w to 650w for a single graphics card, a passive Seasonic Platinum Fanless I am sure would power an Nvidia 970 or 980, which is a quiet and efficient GPU.
The BeQuiet case is rather large and monolithic, but their fans are reasonably quiet. But then again, so are after market noiseblockers etc. Something like an NZXT grid+ would help reduce fan speed and noise further.
The CoolerMaster Nepton 240 is a very quiet AIO, it's fans are nice and quiet. But the Fractal cases with no window are probably one of the quieter options with a lot of system potential.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 980 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £449.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 - Devils Canyon Core i7 4790K CPU & Motherboard Bundle **£25 Saving** £385.98
1 x Seasonic 520w FANLESS '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply £124.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Savage Red 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX324C11SRK2/16) £95.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £77.99
1 x Noctua NH-U14S Ultra-Quiet Slim CPU Cooler with NF-A15 Fan £62.99
1 x Samsung SH-118BB/BEBE SATA 18x DVD-ROM (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £1,221.52 (includes shipping : £8.00).



As for cases, looking up quiet atx cases on google shows some contenders, but these look comparable to a Factal R5.

YOUR BASKET
1 x BeQuiet Silent Base 800 - Black £99.95
1 x Antec P280 Super Midi Tower Case - Gun Metal Black £94.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 330R Ultra Silent Midi Tower Case - Blackout Edition £85.99
1 x Cooler Master Silencio 652s Midi-Tower - Black £84.95
1 x Antec P100 Mid Tower Silenced Computing Case £62.99
Total : £461.93 (includes shipping : £27.55).




YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 970 OC Silent "Infin8 Black Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **Promo** £299.99
Total : £309.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 
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I'd drop that passive PSU for a Superflower Leadex. They are passive at low load. At high load something else is bound to make more noise.
 
I'd drop that passive PSU for a Superflower Leadex. They are passive at low load. At high load something else is bound to make more noise.

Possibly, my Seasonic X-650 makes no noise even under load it is one of my quietest components, and is passive for the majority of it's use anyway. My HTPC used a Corsair HX-450w modular and it was never heard unless gaming and then it was the CPU cooler that made the noise. The Superflower is a nice power supply, but it is not any quieter than a Seasonic gold or platinum, passive or with fan. Even a BeQuiet psu is pretty quiet, my son uses a bequiet CPU cooler and power supply, the only thing that makes any noise is the Silverstone 180mm fan on the case.

But if the OP is using a single GPU, the Seasonic is as good as Superflower Leadex in many ways but not overspecced, and is completely silent. And I doubt he would draw enough power from the wall to tax that while gaming on a new Nvidia card.

I would have faith in the Superflower Fanless Platinum, or the Seasonic Fanless Platinum, because they have been build with high end single GPU's in mind, hence the PCI-E connections, though to be honest, I am a little more tempetd by the Superflower below for a silent system. That said, the Superflower is £75 for the Leadex 650w right now, a good price.

YOUR BASKET
1 x SuperFlower Golden Silent 500W Fanless "80 Plus Platinum" Power Supply - Black £89.99
Total : £99.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).



I have a Phanteks Mini Xl right next to me, Seasonic X-650, Noctua 12S cooler, stock case fans, Gene VI controls the fans. It's quieter than my TJ08B was, I sometimes need to put on the LED or look in the window to see if it's off.
 
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