20dB gaming PC?

[Woody1999]

So, I've been interested in the noise that computers make for a while, and a completely silent gaming PC has been an idea of mine. Unfortunately, having no airflow at all is probably a recipe to disaster, so I've had to settle for one HUGE 230mm fan to do all the airflow needed. Would this computer really operate at 20dB? That's the noise rating on the one moving part - the fan.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130T 2.9GHz Dual-Core Processor (£92.00 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£105.56 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston Fury White Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£52.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£76.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£76.98 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 750 1GB ZONE Video Card (£96.02 @ Amazon UK)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case (£73.32 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 400W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£95.52 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case Fan: BitFenix Spectre 97.8 CFM 230mm Fan (£16.89 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Other: Cooler Master Silent TPC-T800-FLNN-R1 (£29.99)
Total: £716.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-21 18:30 GMT+0000

Would this even be feasible?

Woody

 

[Suztera]

Not necessary as your gpu fan or stock cpu cooler can make louder noise than 20db when under load.

 

[Woody1999]

Check the list again!

 

[007agentHP]

by going mini itx, your paying too much. here is a similar build (atx though) that has a fanless cpu cooler, and fanless gpu, and all you have to do is remove the case fans. completely silent pc.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/dmhy7P

but your putting too much into the "silent" side. if you avoid that, you can get a beastly pc for your budget like so:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/KkKBJx

boom, for the same budget, a high end gaming pc that can game even at 1440p and beyond decently.

 

[Suztera]

Check the list again!

I would just go with a CM 212 EVO with a noctua fan instead.

 

[Woody1999]

The fact is, having no airflow at all isn't going to work. With nothing to extract air from the slowly heating inner of the case, the heatsink will heat up and won't be able to cool the processor. Budget isn't really an issue because this is more of an idea, than an actual project. Whether I take it up or not is kinda down to interest in the future and how much I need to spend on my main rig to keep it viable.

The whole idea is to keep moving parts to a minimum, which is why I want SSD only storage and passive components. If anything, performance is not an issue, just the idea of a near silent PC is the objective.

Woody

 

[sora]

For some reason I doubt that the sound from your computer will be 20dB.

 

[Woody1999]

For some reason I doubt that the sound from your computer will be 20dB.

How come? With only one moving part shouldn't it be as quiet as that? The fan won't even be running at full speed all the time.

Woody