I’ve previously had a tremoundous amount of help from you guys here, and I’d love to get some feedback once again, seeing as you guys are vastly more knowledgable than me on current hardware, and what works together, and what doesn’t!
Intel Core i7 12700KF (12. Gen) / 3.6 GHz Processor
NZXT Kraken Z53
Gigabyte H610M H DDR4
Team Group ZEUS - 32GB: 2x16GB - DDR4 - 3200MHz
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 OC 16GB GDDR6X
Kingston NV2 - 2TB
NZXT H5 Flow Sort
Fourze PS850 - strømforsyning - 850W
What I am looking for is of course power, stability, and most of all, low-noise output. I hate noise from computers. This is their “Quiet build II”, and the only thing I’ve changed is upgrading the graphics card, since I don’t believe its a good idea to get a 30xx by now.
Anyways - any insight and help would be VASTLY appriciated!
I’m no expert by any means, but quiet has been a priority for me on my last two machines, so I feel like I can offer some suggestions.
I chose the 3070 TUF for my current machine because it is quiet. I’ve been very happy with it. I have the x63, rather than the Z53, but it’s been rock solid.
I don’t see much info on that power supply. It’s not modular. Does it have a passive mode? That might be an area to look into. Because loud computers also make me crazy, I like to have extra psu overhead so it runs more quietly (or even passively, depending on the power draw). 850W is plenty of power to run the system, but if it were me, I’d be looking at a Corsair 1000w unit (for noise reasons, not power, per se). Most people here will probably think that’s overkill.
Looking at that case, the z53 should be able to mount up top, which is awesome (I’d confirm placement). How many and what case fans will it ship with (defaults or replacements?), especially the 2x140 up front? someone else might be able to speak about the default fans nzxt uses. If you need replacements, Noctua fans are awesome.
That motherboard is too weak for that CPU. I’d go with a minimum of a B660 and preferably a Z690. All those power phases and whatnot.
Regardless, that’s a last gen CPU, I’d go with 13th gen and a DDR5 motherboard and RAM, hoping they came down in price since I bought mine several months ago.
This will be a gaming machine? What resolution are you looking at? The 4070 Ti is still a very fast card and (in the US) is better value for money than 4080s.
It will be hooked up to my Samsung TV, which my current is as well - I’ve been playing on other resolutions than 1080 a bit, but its a bit strange, since the tv sometimes doesn’t report the game as the resolution I set my games at.
I know its fast, and its also something I really consider, also due to noiselevels, where I guess the 4080 draws more power, and may be louder then. I just think I may have the option to actually get a really good machine this time around with a lot of staying power :-)
PC hardware is win/win in performance terms these days. It’s just the cost of GPUs and brand new MBs and RAM that are annoying IMO.
I personally would go 13600 over 12700 and drop the GPU from 4080 to 4070Ti. Looks like that would save 3000 DKK? I wouldn’t skimp on PSU - I see the selected one is a lot cheaper than the Corsair models. I don’t know enough about MBs to comment :) But I think I’d reinvest some of that saving there.
The memory options on all the ‘Silent’ builds use DDR4 instead of DDR5 and all pretty slow DDR at that. It doesn’t matter that much but it’s not ideal. Just upgrading to 3600 is pretty expensive, probably not worth it. If you’re going to get a 4080 I would get a better motherboard, just for longevity.
It’s too bad they don’t offer any AMD 5800X3D builds, that’s the best gaming value since it doesn’t need fast memory.
The prices overall seem high to me, but that’s only based on US prices which are cheaper than Europe, so I hear. The price to upgrade to the 4080 compared to the lower GPU options is actually not that bad relatively speaking, so if you got the funds, seems like a decent way to splurge a bit.
I actually think the ‘NZXT H5 Flow Sort’ is a strange option for a silent build. I don’t think it is as quiet as the ‘Fractal Design Define C’ case, because the H5 has a mesh front for better cooling. But the Fractal has a door in the front you can close entirely, it’s designed to be really quiet. Probably any build you pick that uses a good case should be quiet, assuming they choose good CPU cooler and case fans.
That’s really the kicker, imo. Having plenty of airflow and good fans that can move air at low speeds. Then it’s just a matter of tuning the system so the fans aren’t constantly cycling (I’m going to assume that for @Razgon this is as much of a problem is noise itself, since it is for me. A constant low whoosh is much better than fans cutting in and out, imo).
B) there’s a BIG difference between silent and wanting a quiet, pleasant-sounding machine. Silent and performance don’t really go together well, but you can put together a system where you barely notice it the majority of the time.
I used to search for the holy grail of a silent pc build too, but then I developed tinnitus and now hearing the pc fans whirring semi-softly in the background is better than the alternative. :)
No specific reason - Its just the one the recommended “starting” build has selected.
I’ll be asking them - it seems the Fractal case you mention isn’t a part of this set unfortunately.
I want complete and utter silence ;-)
My current machine, which runs with a 2070 Super is fairly quiet - and for the first two years, I actually could not hear it at all. I am of course aware of higher power use, so we’ll see.
I have that too - I feel for you! Its never quiet now :-( I just REALLY don’t like electrical whining, so to speak.
Thanks for the detailed explanations! I did look at it, but see some reviews mentions it gets rather hot - that would increase noise so I’ve settled on the i5 13600K - But am unsure how much difference there is in performance.
I am a bit hesitant to mention this, but in one fringe case, the extra memory helps - The Skyrim wabbajack modded scene :-D And I LOOOOOVE that, and want to play it, without hitching. The more memoery, the better!
Playing MSFS at 4K with the details cranked up, my CPU tops out at 67-69C. GPU at load seems to hang around at 67. No loud fan noise at load. Idle is about 38C, and CPU’s typically in the upper 50’s with less insanely CPU-driven games. I was shocked, expecting temps more like 70s and 80s under load.
I didn’t install additional bottom fans after seeing they only made a 2 degree difference but added significantly to noise since you have to use slimline fans under the GPU.
I was going to volunteer to check out those mods for you but apparently I own Skyrim 3 times on Xbox, but the only PC version I have is Skyrim VR. D’oh!
