Quietest Possible, Fastest Possible, Mini-ITX PC

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LikeDaddy

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Using the absolute best components available today, the build goal here is to:

[Priority 1]
* Make the Quietest Possible Mini-ITX SFF PC that Can
* Perfom (with respect to speed) Equal to or Better Than the Performance Associated with a Rig Containing the Following Only-for-Reference Components.

The following components are provided for reference purposes only:
* Motherboard = Any Mini-ITX Z170 Board Capable of 32 GB RAM (any RAM type)
* CPU = Intel i7-6700K Skylake Quad-Core 4 GHz (Faster is Better)
* Video Card = GeForce GTX 970 Mini ITX (Faster is Better)
* Storage = Only 500 GB Total Needed, Can be Two 256GB Drives (M.2 Speed or Better)
* Case = Any Mini-ITX Case with 2 Front USB (Smaller is Better)
* USB Ports = USB 3.0 or Better (3.1 would be Better)
* Power Supply = Preferably Modular and as Dependable as Possible
* Optical Drive = Blue-ray/DVD/CD (the Faster the Better)

Note that; for example, a different (equally fast or faster) graphics card will likely be substantially more quiet in the rig that satisfies this build. The components listed here are provided for speed and size references only.

Satisfying this build requires a mini-ITX size limitation (e.g., no ATX size cases), a minimum performance limitation (as suggested by the reference components), and a maximum sound level limitation (i.e., as quiet as technologically possible today).

[Priority 2]
This priority entails a total budget of $1,900 which includes taxes and freight.
The keyboard, mouse, speakers, and monitor are not included in this budget.
This priority in less important than Priority 1 (above).

This computer will be used extensively for Photoshop work, gaming, and video editing work - all three equally seriously. This computer must be as quiet as technologically possible today for a SFF size capable of the speed indicated by the reference components. It is understood that these priorities generally clash (quiet, fast, small) - this build will seek to produce the best that can be made today, given the stated criteria.

Thank you for your thoughtful build suggestions and comments toward accomplishing this endeavor.
 
If you want quiet I recommend getting the lowest TDP parts you can, along with the biggest heatsinks you're willing to use.

I've heard the sound profile of the Gigabyte ITX 970 is unpleasant, so the Asus ITX 970 is probably the better choice there.

Instead of the 6700K's 91W TDP, consider the i7-6700, which has a TDP of 65W. Maybe even the 6700T if you can get your hands on one (35W TDP :eek:)

Maybe something like this + and Osmi.

The only thing it's missing is the 2 front USB, I think?
 
How about something like this?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ph8LGX

It's on the large side for mini-ITX, but the added size gives you access to substantially better cooling, power supply, and graphics options--worthwhile tradeoffs in my opinion if performance and silence are what you're after. NVME, 980 ti, fanless power: this thing will reach well beyond your hypothetical build, and you should be able to get the parts for under $1900 with upcoming holiday deals. It should be nearly silent at idle, and the Strix is one of the quietest 980 tis at load. You could probably get even quieter load noise levels with a custom liquid loop, but that would push your budget up.

You could even go X99 with this build, which would be "faster" at multithreaded tasks, but you would lose a bit in raw clock speed, and there would be more heat to exhaust, meaning potentially more noise. If you don't plan to heavily OC and you're not doing heavy video editing, Z170 may be a better choice.
 
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Curiositie said:
If you want quiet I recommend getting the lowest TDP parts you can, along with the biggest heatsinks you're willing to use.

I've heard the sound profile of the Gigabyte ITX 970 is unpleasant, so the Asus ITX 970 is probably the better choice there.
Click to expand...

I'm going to be assembling a gaming ITX build using a Thermaltake Core V1 this week, and that case, along with several other ITX cases, can take much longer graphics card than the 1-fan ITX-specific cards like that.

You have to be careful, because both card height and depth can also come into play with ITX, but a card like the Asus Strix listed by inchikoboze will fit many ITX cases, and will be much quieter too.
 
LikeDaddy said:
This computer will be used extensively for Photoshop work, gaming, and video editing work - all three equally seriously
Click to expand...
Does photoshop and video editing benefit from additional cores? If so, you might want to look at the X99 platform.
 
If you wanted to go X99, you could swap out the 6700K for a 5820K and the mobo for the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac on the build I suggested. Personally, this is the route I would go, as you won't be losing much in clock speed if you overclock, and you will definitely appreciate those extra cores in video editing and heavy multitasking. However, it might be noisier as there is more heat to dissipate, and it would push your budget up $100 or so, so you might have to skimp a bit somewhere else to keep it under $1900--maybe a SATA SSD instead of NVME, or a 980 instead of a 980 ti. As @Owen S said, it is crucial that you double-check all of the measurements to make sure that everything fits in an ITX build, even a large one such as this one.
 
Your build suggestions and comments are being considered - thank you!
Here are some thoughts addressing the comments received thus far.

Regarding Intel's i7-6700T, i7-6700, and i7-6700K CPUs:
since the base frequency is different for each model (2.8 GHz, 3.4 GHz, and 4 GHz respectively), does the TDP rating alone indicate the CPU's thermal efficiency at a given operating frequency? Is it possible; for example, that an i7-6700 CPU may operate no cooler at 3.4 GHz than an i7-6700K operating at the same 3.4 GHz frequency?

Regarding quiet video cards, it surely would be interesting to find some comparisons of the cards mentioned in your comments. A card that is completely silent - zero dB - during light use (e.g., web browsing, checking email, watching a movie) would be desirable, provided it could perform at least as well (or better) as the reference card during serious gaming. The earlier suggested Asus STRIX card (and similar, like the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121905 ) are being considered because of the no-fan-at-low-load operating characteristic. However, just how low the low-load is in order to be completely silent, together with the cards' size, are factors that may prevent attaining the build goals.
 
Fanless psu.
Fury X if you really need to go smallest possible.

10L vs 20L make all the difference in the world today,decide how small you want.
 
To be perfectly honest, I don't know how it relates, but I'm almost completely certain that a 6700T will run cooler at the same speed as a standard 6700 or 6700K.


Here's a discussion on SPCR

Edit:

Also there's a good chance I'll try my hand at a 6600T sometime after Zen, if it doesn't end up how I'm hoping.
 
if you want high power and no noise you'll need a fanless PSU, big tower heatsink with slow-moving fan, and fanless-at-idle 970 cards such as the strix or MSI.

to get that, you have to make compromises with size:

-no PSU-over-motherboard arrangements
-no ITX graphics card
-no SFX PSU

The smallest case i've found so far that gives you all that is the Antec isk600. Not the smallest out there, but my system is almost fanless at idle - only a single 600rpm 14cm fan on the cpu cooler which is inaudible at more than a foot away. during gaming or heavy loads in a hot room the fans ramp up but are still pretty quiet. For all other tasks you can't tell if the machine is on or off.

my build:
i7-4970k w/mild oc to 4.3ghz
hr02 cooler
MSI 970
Superflower/kingwin/rosewill 500w fanless psu
antec isk600

my #1 priority was power with silence but If you can tolerate a little more idle noise you can get into a smaller case like the SG05
 
Better take the SG13 than the SG05, that's smaller than the ISK600 but still allows ATX PSUs.

With such a layout, you'll have to decide whether you want a low power CPU and get a quiet air cooler, or a high power CPU and watercool it. IIRC, the first will be more quiet at idle while the second one will be more quiet under high loads.
 
The 5775C also has a very low TDP. One of the only Broadwell chips released. That with something like the R9 Nano, which has a 175W TDP, and you could have a very low power pc, and a quieter one.
 
"Lowest possible sound level" can have different interpretations. For example, the best AIO liquid coolers will generally be quieter than air coolers when the system is running at full load because they don't have to spin their fans as quickly, but the best air coolers are generally quieter than most AIOs at idle, because you don't have pump noise to deal with. Which is more important to you: lowest possible sound level at idle or load?

In my experience at least, the only two ways to get near-silence at both idle and load with powerful components are to 1) use the quietest off-the-shelf components in a heavily sound-dampened case; I'm not aware of a silence-focused mini-ITX case, but I'd love to be informed if one exists, or 2) design a full custom liquid-cooling loop with silence-optimized components.

The new Corsair cooler you linked to has not been extensively tested yet, but I'm skeptical going in. In my experience, even the larger Corsair AIOs such as the H100i offer great performance, but are quite a bit louder than the best air coolers. If you want the quietest rig possible, there are probably better options, but it hasn't been tested yet, so I can't say for sure.
 
oh! I was in a similar situation as you before.

I have the following setup that is nearly inaudible.

  • Case - Phantek Evolv ITX
  • CPU - i4790k
  • GPU - MSI 980ti Gaming. This GPU has a 0dBA option up to 60C. You will most likely not hit this in while using apps. It might kick in a bit when you are exporting.
  • Fans - Two Noctual 120mm Nf-s12a w./ ULNA Adapter attached. These run at 6.7dBA (Front Intake)
  • CPU Cooler - NH-D15S w./ LNA max 19dBA on load.

Computer is dead silent. Before I had two Kraken x31 installed. Even with a silent profile applied you could hear the pump. I went through five different ones trying to see if mine was defective.

I am sure you can swap my 4790k for another CPU that's more modern, but acoustic wise this setup worked the best for me.
 
This is my Rig... and its so quiet that I remember is ON because of the blue led on the case

● Ncase M1 V4 --- Sharkoon SilentStorm SFX Gold 50W (Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm Fan on the side of the case cooling the PSU and SSD)
● ASUS Z170I PRO GAMING --- 2 x 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V 3200 DDR4
● Intel i7 6700K 4.0GHz --- Noctua NH-U9S (2 x NF-A9 PWM 92mm Fan in front to back flow)
● Samsung 950 51GB SSD
● Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM 92mm Slim Rear Fan (in tandem with the NH-U9S)

This is what I did:
.-First, I chose air cooling to make it quieter than water cooling with a pump
.-Second, I used a CPU Heatsink that use a 90º flow instead of topdown for better performance at keeping low temps, I choose the NH-U9S over the NH-D9L because having more convective surfaces it can give you about 3ºC lower temps on the CPU
.-Third, I added another NF-A9 PWM 92mm Fan to the NH-U9S, this gives another 2 or 3ºC lower temps on the CPU
.-Fourth, I put a slim NF-A9x14 PWM 92mm Fan in tandem with the NH-U9S on the back of the case to exhaust the hot air, and gives you another 2ºC or 3ºC lower temps on the CPU
.-Fifth, used a Sharkoon SilentStorm SFX Gold PSU because its the same design of the SilverStone, but it Doesnt have the semi fanless "feature" of the SilverStone and this avoids the constant clicking noise of the fan going ON and OFF (The SilentStorm dont have Japanese caps, but if the PDU dont overheat it shouldnt make a difference, and we dont want our PDU overheating anyway)
.-Sixth, mounted the PSU with the fan facing inside the case, sucking air and exhausting it trough the top of the case.
.-Seventh, installed a Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm Fan on the side of the case, just in front of the PDU, taking cool air from the outside and sending it to the PDU intake Fan, cooling the PDU, the RAM and the SSD.

NEXT:
when the new generation of GPUs comes along in a few months, I will get one and put pair of NF-F12 PWM 120mm Fans on the bottom, taking cool air from the outside and cooling the GPU/PDU/CPU adding a bottom to top flow, wich is the natural hot air flow


...and as I said before
This Build is QUIET...
 
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Sorry, I havent had the time to check the forum before, its late here (Spain), tomorrow I'll take a couple of pics and upload them, keep in mind that my cable management is awful right now, I need to get some velcro tie wraps to fix everything in place.
About the GPU, Im using the integrated intel 530 of the 6700K, with Pascal around the corner I dont feel like spending another 400€ for a card thats going to get obsolete real fast (Europe is getting the short end of the stick with the Nvidia Prices... its just crazy expensive here and not going down)
 
Regarding "... Im using the integrated intel 530 of the 6700K ..." -
please post some gaming performance numbers that you are experiencing with this build (e.g., Game Names, Graphics Settings During Gameplay, Frame Rate, etc.).
 
rubenjavier said:
This is my Rig... and its so quiet that I remember is ON because of the blue led on the case

● Ncase M1 V4 --- Sharkoon SilentStorm SFX Gold 50W (Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm Fan on the side of the case cooling the PSU and SSD)
● ASUS Z170I PRO GAMING --- 2 x 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V 3200 DDR4
● Intel i7 6700K 4.0GHz --- Noctua NH-U9S (2 x NF-A9 PWM 92mm Fan in front to back flow)
● Samsung 950 51GB SSD
● Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM 92mm Slim Rear Fan (in tandem with the NH-U9S)
Click to expand...
Is that Samsung 950 Pro M.2 SSD?
 
nix101 said:
I'm on the fence about doing exactly what you are. Should I buy now and use integrated till Pascal arrives, or wait until Pascal before I buy anything. I have the NCASE M1 already, its a v2 that's been sitting in its box since I bought it.

Like the OP I want as cool and quiet as possible. My current rig is in a Silverstone SG07 and only has 2 moving parts, one case fan and one PSU fan.

Subscribing to this thread as I'm very interested in seeing what OP ends up with.
Click to expand...

OK, here we go... first with the images

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BoWyzPE.jpg


Second, the SSD:
As you can see, My actual SSD is Not the M.2 version from Samsung, Im planing to get one in a few months since the prices of SSDs are lowering really fast every 6 months or so, when I get it, I'll clone this SSD into the M.2 for O.S. and keep this one as storage for games installations (probably getting another 950 Pro and install it with the bracket)

Third, the GPU:
As I said before, I plan to wait for Pascal and use the integrated Intel 530 until then.
The only way I'm not getting a Pascal is if all the following conditions are true at the same time:
.-GTX 960Ti is out in january/february 2016
.-GTX 960Ti have a REAL 4GB VRAM and performance close to GTX 970
.-First Pascal GPUs are ony top of the line 1080 1070 (REALLY expensive here in Europe... Thanks Nvidia)
.-The rest of the Pascal GPUs are confirmed to use DDR5 instead of HBM
.-The rest of the Pascal GPUs (1060 1050 1060Ti 1050Ti) are confirmed to launch by the end of 2016/early 2017

Right now all last gen titles are playable with the Intel 530 at 1080p at Ver High/Ultra with no AA of any kind, Batman AA & AC over 60 and 40 fps, (Batman AK wont even start), Street Fighter Ultr runs over 80fps, MK9 over 60fps, Injustice GAU 40 to 60, Crysis 2 needs to be set at High (I think is the bad tessellation), all the 2D plataformers run with absolutely no hitches, and I don need more than 1080p since my NCASE is hooked to my 46" Sony Bravia in the living room
I will try more games and keep posting, but the Intel 530 performance can be seen in youtube

About the noise levels:
The build is SUPER quiet, my Sony Home Theater Fan is the only thing I hear.

About buying right now and start building or wating for Pascal:
If you get a good price now for the i7 6700k and hve the money... then just buy it, because:
.-The ASUS Z170I Pro Gaming is not going to change its price until the new one comes along
.-The CPUs are not changing is prices once the shortage ends (I think its already ending, I got lucky and found this one at black friday at 339€, here in Europe it can cost more than 500€), if you are in a place with no i7 shortage, the price will remain around 350$ until Kaby Lake next year, and Kaby Lake will probably bring just about 5% more performance
.-The most quiet PSUs for SFF are the SFX-L, and the new SilverStone 700W SFX-L is confirmed to have semi-silent behaviour (probably noisy again), the one with 550W from Silverstone in january is not modular and with an 80mm fan... so unless the Corsair SF600 wich is due in a few months has a really special 92mm fan, its not going to be quieter that the 120mm fan of the SilentStorm (and I cant see the practical use of 600w or 700w inside a single GPU case like the M1)

**The SSDs are the only thing changing price rapidly, but if you have some HHDDs lying around, use them until you get the M.2 you want, the DDR4 lowered its prices a lot, and now just goes down slooooowly

.-And the final reason... I just like my build a LOT... just seeing it get into windows in 5 secs after the Board finished to POST with zero noise... is great, and closing session/turning off so fast that windows dont have the chance to play is closing sound unless you have a lot of things up and running when you turn off
 
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Anyone know which cryorig coolers will fit? I just can't stand noctuas color scheme.
Or the be quiet dark rock?
 
Easy. See my sig rig. Upgrade cpu. downgrade video card.
 
SPCR just did a Core 500 build with a Core i5 and GTX 980:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1479-page6.html

It scored 24dba under an absolutely ludicrous load (Prime + Furmark), so it should be 20dba or less when gaming. Utterly silent. The video cad fan stop when you're not gaming, so zero noise

And if you need bigger, you can use their Bitfenix Prodigy build from earlier in the year. That registered the lowest noise level of all cases they tested, but it's also huge (you can't remove those massive handles):

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Quiet_Mini-ITX_Gaming_Build_Guide_3

And if you get Skylake, it supports 16GB DDR4 modules. So you can have that 32GB dream machine!

Also, if all you're doing is Photoshop, I don't think you need that powerful a video card. You still want 4GB ram, but you'll be served just fine by a GTX 960 4GB.

Here is a build based on that Core 500 review setup:

PC Hound Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 8M ($496 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 (rev. 1.0) ($127.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.SKILL 32GB (2 x 16GB) TridentZ Series ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: ASUS GeForce GTX 960 STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5 ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 650W 220-G2-0650-Y1 ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: SAMSUNG 500GB 850 EVO MZ-75E500B/AM ($147.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design FD-CA-CORE-500-BK ($50.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1,331.92
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound


And add this CPU cooler, which isn't on PC Hound:

http://www.amazon.com/Scythe-SCKTT-1000-Cooling-Motherboard/dp/B00JZCHSOK

Total is under $1400.
 
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Are there any published comparisons showing an advantage associated with using - with an i7 6700K - RAM that is faster than the DDR4-2133 RAM specified by Intel for its i7-6700K CPU, when nothing is manually overclocked?
 
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Yes there are.


Here shows improvements varying from game to game for the Core i3 6100, but most are over 10%!

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-intel-core-i3-6100-review

And here are memory benches for Fallout 4:

http://www.techspot.com/review/1089-fallout-4-benchmarks/page6.html

Previous architecture, but really does show the improvement you can get, especially in open world games.

Note, those differences in Fallout 4 wouldn't be so drastic if they started with DDR3 1600, but it would stuill be over 10% gain!
 
there is always tradeoffs in performance/sound. The system you list is not what I'd call "quiet" and more fans = more move parts = more noise. Have to pick your poison, but it looks like you're looking for performance more so than quiet.
 
This computer must be as quiet as technologically possible today for a SFF size capable of the speed indicated by the reference components [in post number 1]. It is understood that these priorities generally clash (quiet, fast, small) - this build will seek to produce the best that can be made today, given the stated criteria.
 
Are there any mini-ITX, Z170-based motherboards that are not listed in PC Hound and PC Parts Picker?
 
Are there no mini-ITX motherboards that can accommodate USB 3.1 ports on the front of a case (without threading a USB 3.1 cable from the back to the front)?
 
This post is a belated "thank you" to those here who offered suggestions.
Last year the computer parts were purchased and the computer was assembled.
Here is a peak at the results:

A Fractal Design Core 500 case was used.
Thank you for your suggestions.
 
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