Question about components for a silent build

[elazarus]

Hi all,

Every 2 years I tend to take my desktop PC and make it my business backup and get a new build. Currently I have an i7-950, SSD 128 + 1gb WD, EVGA GTX 470, Antec P183, Corsair 750 TX, Kingston 12gb Hyper X and a Cooler Master Hyper 212.

I am looking to do a Silent build with an i7 3770 (can't see going back to an i5). I do not play any games on the computer...This is for business use...Excel, Word, Quickbooks, Browser, skype and I process my own pictures for business using Photoshop and ACDsee...which is where is higher processing comes in as I hate to wait for RAW pictures to open up and process.

What parts would be good for a Silent Build? What, in terms of my existing build, do you consider "Overkill" that I do not need that I went over on my current build?

Since my businesses are online it is quite important for me to be up and running and have a strong backup (hence taking the current machine as a great backup) that is ready to go in case there is a hiccup.

Thank you

Elliot

 

[slh28]

Well if you want a silent build then ditch that GTX 470 for sure. Get a newer generation card with an aftermarket cooler, it will be more efficient and quieter than the 470 which is pretty much the worst card you can have for a silent setup. What card to get depends on how GPU intensive your programs are.

Your Antec P183 should be pretty quiet but if you don't have one already you'll want a fan controller so you don't run the case and CPU fans at full speed all the time.

As for the CPU I'd get an unlocked 3770K because the potential 20-40% increase in clock speeds will really help with your work and it's only marginally more than a 3770. Just make sure you get a Z77 mobo to take advantage of the overclocking capability. If you're not into overclocking then you might as well get a cheaper Xeon E3-12xx V2 which is the same as a 3770 but without the HD4000 onboard graphics (which you don't need by the looks of things).

If your cooler allows it then get some Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-15 1850rpm fans in push/pull, they will be way quieter and perform better than the stock one. At the full 1850rpm they aren't silent but with a fan controller they'll run silent up to 1000rpm.

 

[elazarus]

Thanks for the input.

Yes, I think the GTX 470 is quite noisy.

Just to clarify...I am not changing components in the existing computer.....that computer is going to be my backup.

I wanted to see what I may have spent $$$ on that was overkill and what I could do better in a new build.

Elliot

 

[slh28]

I'd say the choice of components in your current build is pretty good, the only thing that might be considered overkill is the PSU, a decent 500-600W PSU will be fine for your new build. An Ivy Bridge CPU will consume much less power than your Nehalem and any current GPU will consume less power than your GTX 470.

 

[elazarus]

Thank you.

I was looking at the Seasonic X-660 because I felt the X-550 might be cutting it too close.

Elliot

 

[slh28]

I doubt you'll get near 550W power consumption even with an overclocked 3770K, they are really power efficient. But if prices between them aren't that much then you might as well get the 660W one to give you peace of mind. Good choice on the Seasonic X series though, they are pretty much the best PSUs out there.

 

[elazarus]

Thanks.

Is there any community consensus about the Brand and speed of Ram. Is DDR 3 1833 better than 1600....is a Corsair, G. Skill etc better than Kingston Hyper X?

Elliot

 

[slh28]

Thanks.

Is there any community consensus about the Brand and speed of Ram. Is DDR 3 1833 better than 1600....is a Corsair, G. Skill etc better than Kingston Hyper X?

Elliot

Unless you KNOW you need higher speed RAM you won't need it. But the best RAM on the market is the Samsung 30nm kit, which run at a very low default voltage and can be overclocked to well over 2000Mhz at higher voltages. However they only come in 4GB modules afaik, so if you need more than 16GB of RAM then get a Corsair or G.Skill 1.5V kit. Don't go for Kingston Hyper X because I think they're 1.65V.

 

[elazarus]

Thanks for the heads-up....My current Kingston which I see is 6 x 2gb is 1.65v........

I know I have 12gb now so I thought that 4 x 4gb would do the trick.