Low Power - No Noise - Gaming Rig

[azanimefan]

Hi, first post here. I've been building my own computers for the better part of 25 years now. It's been a while since I made a new one for myself, so I have been doing a great deal of research. Frankly, I don't really need a gaming rig (I generally play old dos games on dosbox when i feel like gaming, but it would still be cool to be able to run the newest games from time to time), but I want to try something a little different. I am pretty much done with the planning stage, but I must admit, spending about 2k on a home built PC will be about 800 more then i've ever spent on one (back in 1999, i dropped $1200 on a high end custom athlon system, I was doing serious gaming back then)

So I figured this would be the place to bounce this build off the community. I'm mostly hoping for feedback from people who've tried parts of this build, as far as I can tell no one has tried the whole thing in one box, so feedback is encouraged.

As to other options, "I'm open to pretty much anything" is an easy thing most people i'm sure would say, but that's not the case here. "I'm open to as quiet an option as you can give me" would be closer... though "I'm open to as energy efficient and quiet an option you can give me" would be the most accurate. I understand other options probably would be "noisier" then this build, however, I want to spend 2k on something that works, not on something that will burn up a CPU/GPU so your opinions are and will be highly valued.


System Design / Build

Case - Fractal Design - Arc Mini
MB - Asus Maximus V Gene
CPU - i7-3770s
CPU Cooler - NoFan CR-95C
Ram - CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card - GIGABYTE GV-R787OC-2GD Radeon HD 7870
GPU Cooler - ARCTIC COOLING ACCEL-S1-PLUS
PSU - SeaSonic X series SS-400FL
HD - OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-512G.M 2.5
Optical Drive - LG WH14NS40

~Now this is where I chicken out a bit, thus far there are zero fans in the whole system. I intend to passively cool the system as much as possible, and I chose the case with that in mind. However, I can't just trust this to fate, so the case will be loaded with fans (+1 on the GPU heatsink), and controlled by an io pannel on the front, set to only run when certain temps are reached inside. In short I chickened out on the "completely fan free system". That said, since they'll be OFF most of the time (hopefully) I should be mostly meeting my 3 goals of "0dbs" and "low power consumption" and "gaming rig".

Comments? Criticism?

-Personally I've no personal experience with most of the parts i've just listed, so even swapping things out for better performing ones is advice I'd heed.

Thank You!


-----EDIT:-----


I am planning on getting x2 Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitors with the system (bringing the total price up from $1680 to $2000) ~ any suggestions or comments on the monitors would be accepted as well.


-----Edit 2------

Not to double post, but a note on the power draw (since it is part of the specs and topic thread)

In standby, this should be drawing something like 85W; running full bore, with the case fans in operation, it will probably draw close to 350W. Any suggestions to lower those will be appreciated too

 

[Bobnova]

This should be doable, you will almost certainly need a couple fans, but very quiet 800-1000rpm fans will do the trick.
I've never seen that CPU cooler before, it looks decent. I did experiment with a Phanteks PH-TC14PE cooler with no fans, it did the job nicely. I expect a Thermaltake Frio Extreme would as well.
I have one of these fans: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835129241
I can only hear it if my ear is right next to the thing, but it moves a fair amount of air. I use it when I'm after silent cooling. There may be better choices, this is just the best I personally have experienced. The blue LEDs are bright suckers though.


Power draw wise I would expect even less than that at idle if you leave the CPU power saving stuff intact. At full load I'd expect less than that too really.

I think you have everything pretty well planned out really.

 

[azanimefan]

Thats a real quiet looking fan, i might buy a few just to try them out and see what the noise and power is like in real life in comparison to the Enermax T.B.SILENCE...

(I don't trust the manufacturer's number at all on any of those fans)

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Knufire]

As attractive as 0DBa sounds, like Bobnova mentioned, a few very slow, very quiet fans is MUCH better over something completely passive. But from the goal of a quiet machine, what you listed is very strong in that department.

Will you be overclocking this machine?

 

[MIAHALLEN]

I would suggest looking into the new Silverstone SG09 case, with its front mounted PSU location, and 180mm top fan, it might be perfect for your project. Just use the 180mm fan (which is a great fan for moving a lot of air quietly) in the way you describe

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=345&area=en&tid=

BTW - here's a review on the CPU cooler, looks like it'll probably require you to use the 3rd PCIe slot, and you may need some extra space above the motherboard for the overhang, this thing is huge!!!

http://www.eteknix.com/reviews/cooling/nofan-cr-95c-icepipe-copper-cpu-cooler-review/

 

[azanimefan]

As attractive as 0DBa sounds, like Bobnova mentioned, a few very slow, very quiet fans is MUCH better over something completely passive. But from the goal of a quiet machine, what you listed is very strong in that department.

Will you be overclocking this machine?

Depends on if it can run day to day fully passive. If it can manage that, then yeah... i'll probably turn the case fans on 100% high and see what type of moderate overclocking it can handle just for the laughs. I've zero hopes for really overclocking the GPU too much though, with the space issues on the board it will probably be too close to the CPU heatsink to really allow too much OCing of it(the CPU cooler will eat up the 1st PCI-E slot and cover the ram completely, making low profile ram necessary)

I would suggest looking into the new Silverstone SG09 case, with its front mounted PSU location, and 180mm top fan, it might be perfect for your project. Just use the 180mm fan (which is a great fan for moving a lot of air quietly) in the way you describe

http://www.silverstonetek.com/produc...5&area=en&tid=

I really like that case design. I'm going to have to do some more research as i missed that one completely. Thanks for the heads up. My only concern with it (and why i need to research it) is that the CPU cooler might be too big to make use of the big case fans in it. But i won't know the answer to that till i see one in person and take some measurements.

BTW - here's a review on the CPU cooler, looks like it'll probably require you to use the 3rd PCIe slot, and you may need some extra space above the motherboard for the overhang, this thing is huge!!!

http://www.eteknix.com/reviews/cooli...cooler-review/

Yeah i know. The size of that heatsink really limits what type of case, ram and board i can use. One of the company's design requirements for it to work is you must have a well ventilated case with mesh directly over the CPU (on the top of the case). you'd be amazed how many cases THAT requirement alone eliminates. It stands like 168mm tall too... which makes anything resembling a thin case impossible as well.

 

[MIAHALLEN]

Silverstone also has the new passive CPU cooler "Heligon HE02" that might work for you:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=347&area=en

Pictured in the SG09B below

 

[azanimefan]

holy mother of god... and i thought the CR-95 was huge... that thing is like 3 pounds! WOW!

I am so glad i made this thread... THAT really looks like it would be fun to play with. Man... now i might have to get BOTH heatsinks just to see which one works better, looks better and overclocks passively better.

 

[MIAHALLEN]

I'd be more concerned about the GPU cooling TBH

 

[azanimefan]

I'd be more concerned about the GPU cooling TBH

Believe me it's the no.1 thing on my mind.

I almost went with 2 7770s in xfire if it wasn't for the fact i found a review which demonstrated the Artic Cooling Accel-S1 Plus could in fact keep a 7870 from overheating passively. Barely.

It was my concerns about the GPU which tipped the scales and made me give up on a fanless case. I'm even planning on mounting a fan on the Accel-S1, at first. As i get more data on the project i'll try to scale back the case fans, and hopefully take the fan off the Accel-S1. But since i don't have the rig in front of me i don't know how realistic that is.

 

[MIAHALLEN]

What I would do is try to seal off all intake paths for airflow except those strategically located in locations good for GPU & CPU cooling. As the 180mm fan draws air out of the case, it will be drawing the air in directly over the correct areas. On the SG09, I think this would mean a bit of modding, but I think your goal is not totally unrealistic

 

[azanimefan]

What I would do is try to seal off all intake paths for airflow except those strategically located in locations good for GPU & CPU cooling. As the 180mm fan draws air out of the case, it will be drawing the air in directly over the correct areas. On the SG09, I think this would mean a bit of modding, but I think your goal is not totally unrealistic

Good idea. I really am aiming to try to create a natural convection effect, so I will be playing with the intake/vents, and probably eventually cutting holes in the case(s) I use.

Ultimately though, it will come down to how many watts of heat on average my system is putting out under normal use that needs to vent from the case. Thats the big unknown. As i said, doing this with on board graphics, or even a weak GPU/CPU wouldn't be a challenge. The goal here is a performance system passively cooled. So I expect i'll probably be tampering with the case/heatsinks and pretty much everything else until i can manage that.

I'm sorta preparing myself for the distinct possibility that I'll need to make my own case... so this could turn into one hell of a hobby project (I HOPE!)... heh... man this is getting me all revved up too

 

[ivanlabrie]

I have a couple of suggestions:

-Try to use at least the psu fan as an exhaust.
-Try to get a bottom intake with some ducting pointing upwards to the psu area.
-Top mounted psu would work best for this endeavor.

I've seen it done, and it works marvellously.

A more modern take on this could benefit from cases with vertical components like the Silverstone FT03 and the like. I can envision something like that on such cases, and it's really attractive.

 

[azanimefan]

I have a couple of suggestions:

-Try to use at least the psu fan as an exhaust.
-Try to get a bottom intake with some ducting pointing upwards to the psu area.
-Top mounted psu would work best for this endeavor.

I've seen it done, and it works marvellously.

A more modern take on this could benefit from cases with vertical components like the Silverstone FT03 and the like. I can envision something like that on such cases, and it's really attractive.

the PSU will be a passive unit as well. Silverstone makes a great one, which apparently can run 24/7 without overheating.

A top mounted PSU will block the hot air from "drifting" up and out. i'd rather not do that.

I agree with the silverstone 90degree rotated motherboards. That is ideal for good case airflow. I was looking at the silverstone fortress and raven series, but there were a number of reasons i backed off them. Mostly, in the end it was either price or airflow... as i don't think their designs (as ideal as they are for convection) were made for PASSIVE convection.

I look at passive systems from 9 years ago with a little distrust. Those systems were concerned with 25w-100w systems (GPU included), this will nearly be 3 times that under full load.

Also, you'll note i'm going with a passive heatsink on the GPU.

 

[ivanlabrie]

I'd resort to an HR-02 or a Silver Arrow, even the Phanteks would do real good.
The Scythe Ninja used to be great at that, it may still be, having really large holes and fin spacing, it's made for convection.

If you are set on going all out on the passive thing then you'll face some complications with modern equipment. I should research a bit more...but a small case doesn't sound like a good idea.

 

[azanimefan]

I'd resort to an HR-02 or a Silver Arrow, even the Phanteks would do real good.
The Scythe Ninja used to be great at that, it may still be, having really large holes and fin spacing, it's made for convection.

If you are set on going all out on the passive thing then you'll face some complications with modern equipment. I should research a bit more...but a small case doesn't sound like a good idea.

CPU Cooler - NoFan CR-95C

=D

I'm pretty comfortable with the heatsink i've got picked out and the testing that was done on it. Seems to work just fine without a fan even with a 95W CPU... outperforming stock coolers for the most part.

But thank you for those suggestions. If the nofan doesn't work, i certainly will look at other options, and that HR-02 would be at the top of the list to try next.

 

[ivanlabrie]

Nofan is too pricey and performs worse than those that I listed, trust me on that.
A Silver Arrow will run circles around it, plus you can resell the ty-140's for profit

On another note, take a look at this!


EDIT: And looky here...
Do note that the hr-02 was tested inside a case whereas the others were tested in an open test bed.
Oh, and btw if you delid a 3770k you may even be able to run 5ghz passive if it's a good chip
(Using Liquid Pro paste on die and mx-4 or whatever on the ihs)

 

[azanimefan]

Nofan is too pricey and performs worse than those that I listed, trust me on that.
A Silver Arrow will run circles around it, plus you can resell the ty-140's for profit

On another note, take a look at this!


EDIT: And looky here...
Do note that the hr-02 was tested inside a case whereas the others were tested in an open test bed.
Oh, and btw if you delid a 3770k you may even be able to run 5ghz passive if it's a good chip
(Using Liquid Pro paste on die and mx-4 or whatever on the ihs)

the only benchmarks I've seen of the coolers head to head were generally two different situations. 1 was with a nofan vs the hr-02 inside a box with moving air (fans). the hr-02 won a convincing victory. The other situation was in a case with no fans... the nofan95 crushed the hr-02... generally all the head to head benchmarks show the same result. in a case with no air movement the no-fan comes out on top. in a case with some air movement the hr-02 comes out on top (in short the no-fan does not benifit from moving air, where as the hr-02 clearly does). The HR-02 is an excellent heatsink, and when inside a case with an active case fan will outperform the nofan 95 pretty convincingly. The nofan95 however will outperform (convincingly) the hr-02 in a "passive" case (no fans)

Since my ultimate goal is zero fan operation inside the case, I've chosen the more expensive no-fan option. That said, the MB and case both can house a hr-02, and if, in the end i'm forced to use case fans (which is a distinct possibility with the GPU) i might just buy a hr-02, because in a format where case fans are creating a breeze, it is undoubtedly a supperior heatsink to the no-fan95

 

[ivanlabrie]

You can use a passive 6850 or 7770 if there is such thing...7870 with afternarket cooler WILL need at least a 250rpm 120mm fan or two in your case...I seriously doubt you can go passive with such powerful components. I'd reconsider the cpu choice and/or delid and use liquid metal paste for the gpu and cpu dies. It makes a huge diffference.
I dropped my gpu temps by 25c using coollaboratory liquid ultra on the gpu die.
You might still have a chance using that paste and nno fans...it's worth a shot.

 

[azanimefan]

You can use a passive 6850 or 7770 if there is such thing...7870 with afternarket cooler WILL need at least a 250rpm 120mm fan or two in your case...I seriously doubt you can go passive with such powerful components. I'd reconsider the cpu choice and/or delid and use liquid metal paste for the gpu and cpu dies. It makes a huge diffference.
I dropped my gpu temps by 25c using coollaboratory liquid ultra on the gpu die.
You might still have a chance using that paste and nno fans...it's worth a shot.

the GPU cooler is the ARCTIC Accelero S1 Plus. it's rated to passively cool up to a 7770. and cool a 7870 with a low rpm fan mounted on it. However, i've seen two reviews that show it CAN in fact keep a 7870 passively cooled under load. BARELY.

Its not ideal, but it's the only passive GPU option i can find, in the end i might cheat, and use a peltier inbetween the gpu and Accelero, of course that will probably superheat the inside of the case... not sure. Frankly, it's the GPU which worries me more then anything else... and might be the monkey wrench in the build.

But you're right... it's the GPU which will in the end make or break this attempt at a fully passive rig. I've been tempted to scale it back to a 7850 or 7770, but frankly, i feel that would be betraying the initial intentions of the build (kick *** gaming rig, fully passive, the 7870 i think is the min card you can get in a "kick ***" gaming rig right now... what i'm actually looking at is the thermal properties of some of the newer NVidea options in the hope to find a cooler and stronger GPU somewhere to use instead... to both scale down the heat problem and scale up the performance)

The paste suggestions are noted, and baring other suggestions will be used.