Project: Silent and powerful gaming machine.

T

tingies

n00b
Joined
Mar 25, 2009
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It's time for me to build a new gaming machine. My current one is pretty old closing in at almost 3 years. It has started to give me troubles for about a month now and I've been edging to upgrade for a while now.

My goal is to build a machine that is very silent and has enough horsepower to last me 2-3 years. My main priority is to make it as silent as possible. Horsepower comes in second. I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of horsepower for low noise.

I'm the kind of guy who likes to build a machine and then never bothers with it again unless there is a need to. As long as it works well I won't bother with it.

I haven't really followed technology since I built my current machine so I don't really know what's hot currently. Hence I am writing here looking for any piece of advice. Keep in mind that for now I haven't set a budget yet. I'm looking to get an idea of where technology is at these days and then slowly start deciding on parts and stuff. I'm open to anything so throw me what you got! :)

With that, I ask you, what do you guys recommend?
 
Please answer the questions in the sticky titled "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST" so that we can help you better.
 
1) What will you be doing with this PC?
Gaming of course.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I don't really have a budget but I'm willing to spend $2000-3000 not including a monitor.

3) Where do you live?
Cyprus. It's a small island in the Meditteranean sea for those who are wondering.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
I need. CPU, motherboard, VGA, RAM, PSU, case, sound card, hard drives, dvd burner.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Not gonna reuse any parts.

6) Will you be overclocking?
I might. I am not really sure yet but if overclocking means a lot more noise then no.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have a 22" CRT. I plan on upgrading to a 30" sometime soon.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Late April/Early May.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Firewire. Crossfire or SLI support if I decide to go that way. eSata.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes.
 
Do you know of any online stores or stores that ship to Cyprus? It would help us get an idea of what parts are available to you at what prices.
 
A friend of mine who lives in the USA will buy all the items from there and have them shipped to me. It's gonna take a while for me to actually get the parts but I think it will be worth it :)
 
$520 - Intel Core i7 920 CPU and Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P Intel X58 ATX Motherboard combo
$96 - G.Skill F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$180 - BFG Tech BFGEGTX260MC896OCE GeForce GTX 260 896MB PCI-E Video Card
$80 - Western Digital WD6401AALS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$25 - Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner
$160 - Enermax Modu82+ 625W Modular PSU
$150 - Antec P182 ATX Case
$40 - Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm HSF
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Total: $1251 plus tax and shipping.

I chose the above parts based on the following reviews by SilentPCReview.com:
P182
GTX260 - Not the same model but uses the exact same HSF so the noise level should be same.
Xigamtek HSF - Not exactly the same as the one I chose but noise levels should still be same.
WD 640GB - Again, not exactly the same but should still have the same noise level.
Enermax Modu 82+ PSU
 
I use DHL for freight forwarder to where I live. tingies you could look into such a service in your area.
 
You may want to hold off on the build until then, because you may not like the performance of the GPU once you get that new 30" monitor, depending on its resolution. Also, you don't really need a GTX260 if you have a 22" CRT, since you can lower the res without losing any picture quality. By waiting until you get the monitor, you'll see what new cards are out by then and would have more to choose from.
 
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