Assistance Needed - Specification

[MRCC]

A powerful SILENT PC is needed

I am now drawing to the end of deciding for the specification for my new machine and have a few final questions.

Additionally could you please comment on this specification. The computer is required for graphics/photo work, video editing as well as playing the odd game (Flight Sim X). Although one of the users may start a bit more serious gaming. In addition it will also be used by someone who is unable to type and will be making heavy use of using voice recognition software (Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking). Of particular importance is that the computer is to be as quiet as practicable.

Whilst not overclocked at this stage, some moderate overclocking may be done in the future.

Case
OWN CASE – Antec P183 QUIET MID TOWER CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-930 (2.80GHz) 4.8GTs/8MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D-E DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-way SLI

Memory (RAM)
12GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, INTEL X.M.P (6 x 2GB KIT)

Graphics Card (see question below)
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11

2nd Graphics Card
NONE

3rd Graphics Card
NONE

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
80GB Intel® X25-M 2.5" SSD (34nm / upto 250MB/sR 70MB/sW)***SPECIAL***

2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

3rd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

RAID (HDD 1 & 2) (HDD 2 & 3 – for my configuration?)
RAID 1 (MIRROR) (£9)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£98)

2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NONE

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)

Power Supply & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 850W PSU (TX850) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£100)

Processor Cooling (see question below)
TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER
OR
COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£62)

Thermal Paste (see question below)
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND

Floppy Disk Drive
NONE

Firewire & Video Editing
NONE

TV Card
NONE

Operating System (see question below)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£108)

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, Lifetime Tech Support) (£135)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days.

Questions:

1. Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
I have specified the 2GB version over the 1GB version, as the price differential is quite minimal. Is it worth doing this?


2. Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER or COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£62).
Which would be the quieter?
Consider that the machine may possibly be moderatly overclocked in the future?

3. Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Although not specifying an overclocking specification, can this be requested for a standard build?
Is it worth considering?

4. Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit.
Will ALL the LATEST drivers for the specified hardware be installed on delivery?

5. General Specifications
Any suggested changes to be made or considered?

Many thanks
Ian

 

[Meds]

I hope the answers below help you a little

1. The 2GB GTX460 will perform slightly better than the 768MB or 1GB equivalent. However, at the end of the day they are still the same graphics card with the same core & memory speeds so the performance increase will reflect the price increase so don't expect massive performance difference.

2. This is a difficult one, they are very similar in performance & both relatively quiet. If I had to chose between the two I would probably opt for the Titan as the PWM connection allows you to enable Q-Fan Control in the bios of the motherboard. This will control the speed of the CPU fan in relation to its temperature - the hotter it gets, the faster it spins and the louder it gets. If you do overclock in the future, expect the fans to run faster to keep the increased temperatures under control.

3. Yes, however you will have to request it manually either via email or telephone after you have placed your order. If there is a chance you may overclock then this is a "must have" as it allows the heat transfer between the CPU & CPU Cooler work much more efficiently.

4. All drivers are installed prior to dispatch. The PC will be ready for use out of the box.

5. Nothing in particular needs changing, you could probably get away with the Corsair TX650 rather than the TX850 if you don't plan on adding a second graphics card in the future but apart from that everything else is spot on.

Something I will note is that PCs all have moving parts & fans in them and although the components you have chosen will help keep the PC as quiet as possible, it will not be 100% silent.

If there is anything else we can help with, please let us know.

 

[PCS]

To add to Meds answers:

1. The 2GB GTX460 will be slightly overclocked so will be the fastest option with the largest memory.

2. It's a difficult choice, Meds has choen the Titan Fenrir, which is a great cooler. My opinion is that the CoolIT Eco will keep your CPU slightly cooler so I would go for this.

3. As above.

4. As above.

5. As above. You have put together a great specification which will handle everything you require, including gaming, with ease. There is not much more you can do to improve this specification without increasing the cost significantly, which for your usage is not required.

 

[MRCC]

On the question of Processor Cooling, both MEDS and PCS are of differing opinions. I assume it is a very personal subjective matter, which I can accept.

The preference shown by MEDS – the Titan was because the speed of it’s fan can be controlled by PWM.

The preference shown by PCS is the CoolIT Eco because it would run the PCU slightly cooler.

As I have not been able to make personal comparisons between these two, it is difficult to for me to decide. To try to help me decide could I please ask the following point.

As I understand it – the Titan solution has it’s fan speed controlled by PWM. Does this mean that if the CPU is not having to work hard the fan noise will be low and will only increase once the CPU is being challenged? Whereas the CoolIT solution has a fan running at a constant speed irrespective of the CPU load. Thereby the noise of it remains a constant.

As I feel that in a lot of my use the CPU will not have to work hard. Then would the Titan solution be quieter (important to me) until it is pushed hard in comparison to the constant noise of the CoolIT fan?

I just wish I was able to compare both solutions first hand. As this is not possible, I am hoping that you guys that have had the opportunity to make direct comparisons could perhaps help without causing a war to break out. What is the subjective opinion regarding my requirement for minimal noise for most of the time.

Looking forward to your opinions. I have ordered the PC although I am still able to change at this stage, so an earlier response would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
Ian

 

[Sleinous]

On the question of Processor Cooling, both MEDS and PCS are of differing opinions. I assume it is a very personal subjective matter, which I can accept.

The preference shown by MEDS – the Titan was because the speed of it’s fan can be controlled by PWM.

The preference shown by PCS is the CoolIT Eco because it would run the PCU slightly cooler.

As I have not been able to make personal comparisons between these two, it is difficult to for me to decide. To try to help me decide could I please ask the following point.

As I understand it – the Titan solution has it’s fan speed controlled by PWM. Does this mean that if the CPU is not having to work hard the fan noise will be low and will only increase once the CPU is being challenged? Whereas the CoolIT solution has a fan running at a constant speed irrespective of the CPU load. Thereby the noise of it remains a constant.

As I feel that in a lot of my use the CPU will not have to work hard. Then would the Titan solution be quieter (important to me) until it is pushed hard in comparison to the constant noise of the CoolIT fan?

I just wish I was able to compare both solutions first hand. As this is not possible, I am hoping that you guys that have had the opportunity to make direct comparisons could perhaps help without causing a war to break out. What is the subjective opinion regarding my requirement for minimal noise for most of the time.

Looking forward to your opinions. I have ordered the PC although I am still able to change at this stage, so an earlier response would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
Ian

I'd also say the Titan.

When I update my BIOS, q fan control is reset to disabled, and, my PC sounds like its about to take off. (CPU fan is maxing out by default) as soon as I re-enable q fan control, its dead silent, even with a GTX 470 in there.

 

[MRCC]

I'd also say the Titan.

When I update my BIOS, q fan control is reset to disabled, and, my PC sounds like its about to take off. (CPU fan is maxing out by default) as soon as I re-enable q fan control, its dead silent, even with a GTX 470 in there.

Many thanks for your input.

Ian

 

[Sleinous]

No problem, Also yes, getting the 2GB version for an extra £16 is a very good deal, considering it is slightly OC'ed and the extra DDR5 memory will help in the newer more memory intensive games coming out (as opposed to shader/gpu intensive ones).

Also, with regards to moderate OC'ing, the Titan can handle more than moderate OC'ing with ease anyway, might be slightly loader, but, not by much at all.

Q4, Even if some are outdated by the time your computer arrives, Windows Update for Win 7 has an absolutely MASSIVE driver / software database. Heck it even finds 64 bit drivers for my old HP Deskjet 810C printer..