Help quiet down my gaming PC

C

Christopher

Gawd
Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Messages
634
Hi forum,

Looking to quiet down my gaming PC, which generates a lot of white noise. I'm particularly looking for suggestions on a solid chassis and fans that move a lot of air but still keep things cool. Also, I've got a Galaxy GTX 480, would swapping to a GTX 560 (or 580?) help quiet things down?

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc


PC games (Minecraft, Skyrim, TF2, Killing floor)
Web browsing, general office tasks, programing.
Video conferencing (Skype, Google talk).


2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

About $800 USD, with good justification up to $1000 USD.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

San Francisco Bay Area, California.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.


A solid, well constructed chassis that is quiet but moves a lot of air.
Mabye a new video card if the Nvidia 5xx series is significantly quieter than the GTX 480 I've got.

Potentially a new CPU cooler or even water cooling.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.


I've got in the system now (and willing to reuse all/any):

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R
Intel i7 930 @2.8GHZ
12GB (3x4GB) of DDR3 memory
Intel 600G 320 SSD
1TB WD black (FAEX) drive
Galaxy GTX 480

6) Will you be overclocking?

Not likely.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

Its a Dell 2707WFP, 1920x1200 27".

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Early December.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.


I'll probably reuse the mainboard I've already got.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Yep, I've got Windows 7 64-bit licenses.

Thanks!
 
You know, it would help to include the power supply: PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW. This guy works well but probably generates a lot of noise too. So maybe a power supply replacement would be a good idea to add too.
 
The key to quiet computing, is having big fans that spin slow. Look for a case with big fans on the back and top. Also look for after market cooling for your cpu and your GTX480.
The above should quiet your PC considerably.
 
But the Raven is so.... ugly. :p Go for the FT02 if you're like me and prefer a much cleaner looking case. ;)
 
Danny Bui said:
What's the voltage of the DDR3 RAM you have now?
Click to expand...

From the SPD data (acquired via cpu-z) its 1.5v, Micron Technology DDR3. I can find the exact modules on Crucial's web site if you need more information

Danny Bui said:
Honestly, you might be fine with just a new case. Read this article:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/09/30/my_quiet_galaxy_geforce_gtx_480_sli_build
Click to expand...

I saw that article when it came out. Its a neat idea but it may not work in my setup. I often have portable hard drives that sit on top of the chassis and having cables that protrude from the top would make that not possible. Also, my cat likes to sit there, its her butt warmer.
 
Christopher said:
... I often have portable hard drives that sit on top of the chassis and having cables that protrude from the top would make that not possible.
Click to expand...
On the FT02, there's a grill there that covers all the cables and actually channels them towards the rear of the case; so you'd still be able to put your drives and cat on top of it. ;) (I'm assuming the Raven also has such a cover)
 
Alright, I think I'm going to try swapping the build into a LIAN LI PC-V1020B case. Thanks everyone for your input on this question!
 
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