Quiet Gaming PC Build (~ $3000)

[Tor Kallon]

I'm finally in a space large enough to accommodate a gaming PC and I'm itching to get something built. This will be my first PC build in nearly 15 years, though I did build quite a few servers and a number of desktops years ago.

My preference is for machine as quiet and maintenance free as possible while still providing the power to run modern games with maxed out settings at 60 fps. The machine will mostly be used for gaming and photo viewing/editing of family pictures in Adobe Lightroom. If quiet is impossible with high performance I can live with that, but I would like to err on the side of quieter.

Here's what I'm thinking on parts so far:
-- Silverstone FT02 (low, will fit under my desk with good clearance / airflow)
-- Asus Maximus VI Formula OR Asus X87 Deluxe
-- SeaSonic Platinum 1000
-- i7 4770k
-- Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8) 1600 DD3

I'm looking for advice on any of the above but in particular I'm looking for help picking graphics cards (one GTX 780 variant? which one? two in SLI?) and cooling solutions.

If one card would work for now that would be awesome. I would then be able to add a second in SLI/CFX later to keep up with newer games and their demands on the system.

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

Mainly gaming with some family photo viewing and editing in Adobe Lightroom.

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

$3000 max, but okay to spend less. Yes, that includes tax and shipping.

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

US -- Burlingame, CA

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.

I'll need the following to fit in that budget:
-- CPU
-- Motherboard
-- PSU
-- Graphics Card(s)
-- Cooling
-- RAM
-- Case

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

Samsung Pro 840 256GB SSD Currently in a laptop and a Seagate Barracuda 1GB hard drive.

6) Will you be overclocking?

I'm willing to overclock if required to get the performance I want for certain games, but I won't be overclocking to benchmark or overclocking just for fun.

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

Dell U2713hm (2560x1440) at 27"

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

I'll probably start buying parts right away but am willing to buy slowly and build over the next month.

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

Crossfire / SLI for sure. Wifi preferred.

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

Yes, 64 bit Windows 7 home premium.

 

[Dangman]

As noted earlier, you really won't notice a real world performance difference between the Core i7 4770K and the Core i5 4670K when it comes to games. So you can save money there if you want to.

The FT02 is pretty much one of the quietest cases out there as long as you're not planning an actual water cooling setup. A normal air-cooling setup will just fine. I'd look at the Noctua NH-D14 if you want a quiet yet great cooling HSF.

As for the motherboards neither are good choices for two reasons:
1) You have not emphatically stated that you plan on doing some record breaking overclocking
2) You can get socket 2011 motherboards for around the same price. In other words, if you're spending more than $220 on a motherboard, just go socket 2011. For your situation however, you'll be fine with a cheaper socket LGA 1150 motherboard like the following:
$190 - Asus Z87 Pro Intel Z87 Motherboard
$190 - MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING Intel Z87 Motherboard

As for the PSU, it's a bit overkill for your needs since it's been shown that a heavily OC'd Core i7 system with two GTX 780 3GB cards will only use up around 600W of power. So I recommend these PSUs instead:
$158 - Corsair Professional Series Gold AX850 850W Modular PSU
$170 - Seasonic X850 Gold 850W Modular PSU

Still a bit overkill but not stupidly overkill.

Which Corsair Vengeance RAM were you looking at?

 

[Tor Kallon]

Thanks -- that helps alot and I can see how dropping those components will make this a more cost effective build without having much (if any) impact on performance.

I'm looking at the Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz (non Pro) RAM, 2x8GB sticks. Will that work well in this build? Do I need the Pro or faster RAM?

For video, the more I look into it the more I'm thinking the GTX 780, specifically the EVGA SC w/ACX cooler. This way I should get good performance for my current setup and with current games but can add a second 780 as newer games demand more power.

 

[whitewater]

It's rarely cost effective to go the buy X graphics card now, SLI/Crossfire it later- Do it at the start or don't bother.

1. You need to preemptively buy a more expensive motherboard.
2. You need to preemptively buy a more powerful/expensive PSU.
3. You need to make sure they're cooled much better.
4. It will be noisier due to both being hotter than usual and you have more fans.
5. Single cards are nearly always preferred to SLI/crossfire
6. Depending on how long you wait, buying a single card might be faster than your now SLI setup.

The main reason for doing SLI is that you need that extra power right now. If you don't need it right now or can live without it until the next gen comes out, it's usually not worth it.

The top end single card each generation is usually roughly ~20% or ~80% faster than the previous gen top card (depending on if it's a die shrink or architecture update). So it's usually a much better deal to sell your card and buy a new one.

 

[Dangman]

I'm looking at the Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz (non Pro) RAM, 2x8GB sticks. Will that work well in this build? Do I need the Pro or faster RAM?

Specific model number please as there are 9 different Corsair RAM with that same name. With that said, you should be getting the Vengeance LP RAM since they don't have the tall heatsinks which may interfere with any air-cooling HSF. As for RAM speed, for real world apps and games, there is very very little difference between DDR3 1333 and DDR3 2400 RAM. So DDR3 1600 RAM will be just fine. I recommend this particular Corsair RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233367

For video, the more I look into it the more I'm thinking the GTX 780, specifically the EVGA SC w/ACX cooler. This way I should get good performance for my current setup and with current games but can add a second 780 as newer games demand more power.

I'm of a similar opinion as whitewater: You really should do SLI right away OR do it within a 1-2 months of buying the second card in order for a SLI setup to be at its maximum cost-effectiveness. That is unless you manage to find that second GTX 780 for a ridiculously low price ($300-ish).