[nobe]

trying to build for photo editing with lightroom and photoshop, for some light FPS gaming, but specially to have the pleasure to do a first build from scratch.
My monitor resolution is 1920x1080.
Also, I'm going for something quiet.

But I cannot decide on memory
At this point the list is:
Case - Antec P280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129179

CPU - i7 3770k (want to overclock, although have little experience)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116501

HSF - Noctua NH-D14 (I'm also looking at Phanteks PH-TC14PE)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835608024
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835709011

MB - Asus P8z77-V Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131818

PSU - Corsair AX850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139015
Too much overkill here? Can I get away with "but it will be future proof whenever I want to add more components"? The aim is for good quality but also low noise.

GPU - Will have to buy later, no money now. But inclined to go for nvidia kepler in the future.



I already own hard drive, OS, keyboard, mouse, and monitor.

I just cannot decide about ram. Basically because I simply don't understand RAM. I believe 8gb would be enough, at least to start with.
I found that a lot of people seem to like these samsung 30nm memory and apparently they overclock very well.
http://www.overclockers.com/samsung-ddr3-1600-ram
But they are not in the QVL list of mb. Does anyone have experience with these on a p8z77-v deluxe?
Since I'm not a seasoned overclocker should I drop it and go with a more mainstream ram?
Does anyone have suggestions on which ram would go well with this build (it has to fit under a nh-d14)?

[mjw21a]

Considering that the P280 does not have a side window, why are you going with a black Phanteks when the orange version sells for $79.99 after rebate?

Just save some money and buy the orange one.

As for the memory, that Samsung will work just fine. Go for it.

[nobe]

Thanks for the help! Will be getting the samsung. They look amazing with that low profile.
I cannot find a 2x4gb kit, but I have been reading that it is unnecessary to buy them as a kit and I can simply get two 4gb that are sold separately.

Did not realize that the orange was cheaper. haha. But I'm really inclined to go for the nh-d14 se2011 and ask for mounts for 1155 (just to get the pwm fans).

[Cigarsmoker]

Most any brand high speed RAM is good. IMO, there's not a lot of performance difference. I just buy whatever is cheapest for the rated speed and size that I want.

If you're looking for quiet I'd also consider Seasonic or Kingwin platinum rated PSU.

[nobe]

I just realized I might have a minor problem with this build... I cannot find a i7-3770k to buy.
It is sold out on newegg, amazon, and ncix. And I don't have a microcenter close by.
I'm trying to buy this in the US. Are there other online stores that I can trust and that still carry the 3770K?
I just feel stupid for not checking the availability of such a minor component as the CPU...

[mjw21a]

Originally Posted by Cigarsmoker

Most any brand high speed RAM is good. IMO, there's not a lot of performance difference. I just buy whatever is cheapest for the rated speed and size that I want.

If you're looking for quiet I'd also consider Seasonic or Kingwin platinum rated PSU.

I'll second that Kingwin Lazer Platinum. The Fan doesn't spin up in these things until they hit a certain temp. With many users apparently they've neer gotten hot enough to spin up so an amazing unit for quietness. Being Platinum rated they're very efficient too

Whether you go with the Noctua or Phanteks you'll be happy. Both are great coolers. My personal preference tends to go with the Phanteks due to a combination of performance and price.


You're right, you're just fine getting separate modules. Matched pairs have more to do with marketing than anything else these days.

[TehYoyo]

The i7-3770k is the newest CPU, true, but it doesn't offer substantial advantages over the 2nd gen chipset. If you want pure computing power for, say, repousse or the other 3d Photoshop features (although I don't believe those are available w/ Lightroom), then I'd go w/ the Intel 2nd Gen Extreme chip or the 3rd gen chip, if you want to wait (probably a few weeks?).

[mjw21a]

Having said that, this guy seems to care about silence. Ivy Bridge outputs less heat than the older Sandy Bridge chips. Ivy Bridge would be his best bet.

While the chip itself runs hot, it's not because of power consumption or generation of heat. Rather its the density of the chip with less surface area for heat disipation + changes to the heat spreader.

[TehYoyo]

Originally Posted by mjw21a

Having said that, this guy seems to care about silence. Ivy Bridge outputs less heat than the older Sandy Bridge chips. Ivy Bridge would be his best bet.

While the chip itself runs hot, it's not because of power consumption or generation of heat. Rather its the density of the chip with less surface area for heat disipation + changes to the heat spreader.

Has anyone advised water cooling?

[mjw21a]

^^^Too much effort to go to if you're not overclocking. Ivy's not showing much benefit where water cooling is concerned either.

A shame you're not getting a new monitor. a 2560x1440 IPS screen would be much better for what you do. More accurate colours and higher res.

[TehYoyo]

Originally Posted by mjw21a

^^^Too much effort to go to if you're not overclocking. Ivy's not showing much benefit where water cooling is concerned either.

A shame you're not getting a new monitor. a 2560x1440 IPS screen would be much better for what you do. More accurate colours and higher res.

Has he mentioned what brand/age of monitor he has? It could still be a pretty respectable monitor...not a 27", sure, but I love my 23 which is the same res as his mentioned 1920x1080.

[mjw21a]

No, not so far.... I'm think more IPS vs TN screens though in terms of colour accuracy. Well, and resolution too....

[nobe]

Sorry to not give enough info in the beginning, and thanks everyone for the opinions, this is really helpful.

Originally Posted by TehYoyo

The i7-3770k is the newest CPU, true, but it doesn't offer substantial advantages over the 2nd gen chipset. If you want pure computing power for, say, repousse or the other 3d Photoshop features (although I don't believe those are available w/ Lightroom), then I'd go w/ the Intel 2nd Gen Extreme chip or the 3rd gen chip, if you want to wait (probably a few weeks?).

Originally Posted by mjw21a

Having said that, this guy seems to care about silence. Ivy Bridge outputs less heat than the older Sandy Bridge chips. Ivy Bridge would be his best bet.

While the chip itself runs hot, it's not because of power consumption or generation of heat. Rather its the density of the chip with less surface area for heat disipation + changes to the heat spreader.

I have not joined the "core i" bandwagon so far. I am now using a Core 2 Duo T7700. It is an Asus G1S notebook. It has done a lot for me and I really like this thing. But it is not silent. Really not. Adjusting pictures in lightroom and sometimes having to wait a couple of seconds to see the results while your computer screams at your face can get frustrating. Actually sometimes you are just trying to write a report and you have windows open everywhere with figures and you are running some data and trying to think and the computer is just screaming at you while the loading bars don't move. That drives me nuts...
I was about to go for SB and then heard of IVB coming out. I will want to do some overclocking, but probably not extreme stuff. And I figured that I should go all out if I'm going to get a desktop after so long and go for the latest.

Originally Posted by TehYoyo

Has anyone advised water cooling?

Originally Posted by mjw21a

^^^Too much effort to go to if you're not overclocking. Ivy's not showing much benefit where water cooling is concerned either.

At some point I thought about going water cooling on this. But I have zero experience with water cooling and the idea of having to do maintenance on it scares me away a bit. And after I read that the mainstream water cooling solutions were not giving that much benefit over higher-end air, I gave up on the idea for now.

Originally Posted by mjw21a

A shame you're not getting a new monitor. a 2560x1440 IPS screen would be much better for what you do. More accurate colours and higher res.

I have now an Asus PA238Q monitor. It is a 23" IPS with 1920x1080. Not professional, but nice. It would be extra nice if it actually was 27" at 2560x1440. But not enough money for that now.


I heard kingwin was a good choice, but this KINGWIN LZP-850 is looking very good!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817121093
Now to find a good comparison between this and the Corsair AX850...

[mjw21a]

No need then, IPS screens rock

I got my 27" 2560x1440 IPS screen for $328 Australian and I'm happy as larry with it. Amazing screen.

[JigPu]

I built the system in my sig with the same goals in mind a few months back and have been very happy with it so far. I spent a lot of time at SPCR finding the best quiet components and it looks like you've got a solid start.

From what I remember from reading at SPCR, the P280 is supposed to a good quiet case.

The Noctua NH-D14 should be a great cooler if you're going for something that has a lot of cooling power without much noise. At full CPU load, my i5 (same TDP as your Ivy Bridge) can stay under 60C even if the CPU and system fans are only fed 5V. Things get toastier with the GPUs loaded as well, but 7V to the calms things back down. At a full 12V, my system is still what I'd call quiet (though not silent) and could handle some overclocking if I had the inclination.

The AX850 is supposed to be a solid PSU, and if the LZP-840 is built like my LZP-550 then you shouldn't have problems with it either. 850W might be overkill, though there's not really any problem with that (other than higher cost and reduced efficiency).

Finally, IPS = the bomb. I wish my monitors did 2560x1440, but I gotta save some money to spend on my camera and lenses

JigPu

[mjw21a]

It is, though I'd say the Fractal R3 is actually a better choice these days, having stolen all the good bits of the P280. Cheaper too.

Personally I'd still go with the Phanteks. Simply run the fans as PWM and it'll be nice and quiet. The actual heatsink itself is actually better than the Noctua it copied. The case will mute thesound from the fans no worries.

I'd go with the Kingwin Lazer Platinum, simply for its mostly fanless operation and high efficiency.

[nobe]

I'm having a hard time finding direct comparisons between the kingwin lzp-850 and the corsair ax850.

both seem to have a fanless mode, followed by a quiet mode and then full speed

http://kingwin.com/products/cate/pow...es/lzp_850.asp
http://www.corsair.com/professional-...er-supply.html

Actually both offer actually very similar graphs of this operation.
What got me thinking was that the graph in the corsair page hits 40db at full load. And the graph in the kingwin page does not have dBA numbers on it, but there is a "Noise level: 25dBA" in the specifications tab. Is this for real? Could it be?
I part of me wants to believe in it and go for the kingwin, but I cannot help to think that this 25dBA might not be the max (what it achieves at full load) and could be their "quiet" operation mode. Does anyone have any idea about this?
Could not find a review if this info yet since "noise", "quiet", "silent" and similar keywords are been widely used without numbers or with a different meaning.

[mjw21a]

It's Platinum so it really doesn't need much airflow so long as it has decent sized heatsinks on all the critical bits

[nobe]

Originally Posted by nobe

I'm having a hard time finding direct comparisons between the kingwin lzp-850 and the corsair ax850.

both seem to have a fanless mode, followed by a quiet mode and then full speed

http://kingwin.com/products/cate/pow...es/lzp_850.asp
http://www.corsair.com/professional-...er-supply.html

Actually both offer actually very similar graphs of this operation.
What got me thinking was that the graph in the corsair page hits 40db at full load. And the graph in the kingwin page does not have dBA numbers on it, but there is a "Noise level: 25dBA" in the specifications tab. Is this for real? Could it be?
I part of me wants to believe in it and go for the kingwin, but I cannot help to think that this 25dBA might not be the max (what it achieves at full load) and could be their "quiet" operation mode. Does anyone have any idea about this?
Could not find a review if this info yet since "noise", "quiet", "silent" and similar keywords are been widely used without numbers or with a different meaning.

Finally decided to contact Kingwin tech support about the 25dBA question. The answer:
"Yes, the 25dBA noise level is at full load. Thank you."

That is a 15dBA difference. That is a lot of dBA.

And is probably true.
Found a review at spcr showing 39dBA at full load for the Corsair AX850
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1073-page3.html

And another review in the same place for a Kingwin Lazer Platinum LZP-1000 (not the 850W I have been talking about here, but the 1000W model) showing a max dBA of 25
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1242-page3.html

That is nice! An overkill psu that has a max of 25dBA and that is only when it actually decides to turn on the fan.
Thanks for the suggestion guys! I was not checking this Kingwin before you mentioned it.