Question Please, help me to build a very very silent PC

bokka80

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Dec 18, 2017
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Hello!

I would like to build a gaming silent PC. But the difficult is this: it must be a ITX form.

Case: Aerocool CS101 (Yes, a mini case) it can support a Video card up to 240mm
Motherboard: B660M-itx/ac
CPU: Intel I5 13400
RAM: 16Gb (8x2) DDR4
CPU Fan: I don't know, maybe a noctua low profile
Video Card: this is the problem, at an affordable price I can have that cards:
Manli RTX 3060 8Gb Twin
Gainward RTX 3060 8Gb "Pegasus"
Inno3D RTX3060 X2 8GB
Gainward RTX 3060 Ghost 12Gb

SSD: 1Tb M.2. Samsung
Power supply: SFX Form factor 600W


So I ask you an advice, I would configuration like this, but I'm opened to a config AMD/Radeon based If the noise, consumption and performance are equal (Ryzen and RX6600).

What can I do?

I don't want to hear (or barely hear) the Pc when is on and I'm gaming.

Thanks a lot!
 
Generally, Mini-ITX will be louder simply because it is usually located closer to your head. If the reason for the size requirement is you want to put the PC far away atop a tall bookcase or hidden inside a desk, then quiet can be done in such a small volume.

While ITX cases aren't really any louder if the same components are used, SFX power supplies in particular must be selected with care because they tend to be much louder than ATX ones due to small, high-speed fans which can be objectionable even at idle.

This of course depends on what you mean by "silent" since true silence can only be achieved by going fanless. I once calculated the chimney height required to generate as much airflow as a normal 80mm fan and found it was ~15'. Given how impractical that would be for a gaming computer consuming plenty of watts, I went the opposite way and mounted a conventional non-quiet PC outdoors under my house in the crawl space (which normally has much lower temperatures than indoors). It is completely inaudible inside the house no matter how heavy a load is placed on it.

Your selected case can only fit two 80mm fans so they will need to be relatively high-speed unless you select a blower-type GPU which has its own noise issues, as the 3060 at default speeds is 170w. The i5 you have selected is rated 148w at maximum Turbo and low-speed case fans would only be sufficient for that. And see if you can find a noise graph for SFX PSUs you are considering at ~350w
 
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bokka80

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Generally, Mini-ITX will be louder simply because it is usually located closer to your head. If the reason for the size requirement is you want to put the PC far away atop a tall bookcase or hidden inside a desk, then quiet can be done in such a small volume.

While ITX cases aren't really any louder if the same components are used, SFX power supplies in particular must be selected with care because they tend to be much louder than ATX ones due to small, high-speed fans which can be objectionable even at idle.

This of course depends on what you mean by "silent" since true silence can only be achieved by going fanless. I once calculated the chimney height required to generate as much airflow as a normal 80mm fan and found it was ~15'. Given how impractical that would be for a gaming computer consuming plenty of watts, I went the opposite way and mounted a conventional non-quiet PC outdoors under my house in the crawl space (which normally has much lower temperatures than indoors). It is completely inaudible inside the house no matter how heavy a load is placed on it.

Your selected case can only fit two 80mm fans so they will need to be relatively high-speed unless you select a blower-type GPU which has its own noise issues, as the 3060 at default speeds is 170w. The i5 you have selected is rated 148w at maximum Turbo and low-speed case fans would only be sufficient for that. And see if you can find a noise graph for SFX PSUs you are considering at ~350w

Thanks for the reply.

Now I'm confused. Maybe I can see for a AMD based system like this:

Case: Aerocool CS101 (Yes, a mini case) it can support a Video card up to 240mm
Motherboard: Asus Prime B650M-A AX
CPU: AMD Ryzen™ 5 7600
RAM: 16Gb (8x2) DDR5
CPU Fan: I don't know, maybe a noctua low profile
Video Card: one of the following:
MSI Radeon RX 6600 Mech 2x 8Gb
AsRock RX6600 8GB Challenger

SSD: 1Tb M.2. Samsung
Power supply: SFX Form factor 600W


Or at this point someone can make a silent config for me, based on the hardware I have wrote?
the chassis will be positioned under the tv in a piece of furniture, about 3 meters away from me.
 
I don't know about silent (it really depends on the furniture/entertainment center), but Ryzen 5 7600 has a maximum 88w power draw and RX 6600 at default speed is 132w so at least it is 98w less to cool, or about 30% less heat.

I suppose horizontal HTPC cases won't fit?
 
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the chassis will be positioned under the tv in a piece of furniture
if you mean in an enclosed cabinet then this will make your project near to impossible.

all of the heat generated will just be recycled throughout the system since there would be no real exhaust for the heat to dissipate through and leave the cabinet space.
this will cause your fans to run at full blast to keep even a minimal safe temperature and even then may cause the system to overheat and fail.

you may be able to soundproof this intended space and add your own ventilation but you may still run into overheating issues and more sound than desired.
 
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PEnns

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Start by choosing a CPU that would be cool with an air cooler. Also, look for a silent / very low noise PSU and GPU..

That's my approach, although my case is mid size. But it's silent and I hear absolutely nothing from 2 ft away.
 

bokka80

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Dec 18, 2017
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Thanks for the replies. After the work I will provide a photo of the space.

I need a ITX case because the space where I will put it is very small and is 160cm height.
 
Sorry for the late reply!

This is the place where I want put the case:



HEIGHT: 15,5 cm
LENGHT: 61 cm
DEPTH: 43 cm

There isn't much chance you can know in advance how this will all work out BEFORE you build it.

You say "very very silent".

It won't be anywhere near silent if your ear is a foot from it.

But you say "3 meters". That's 10 feet. So it may well be "silent enough".

A "noisy" PC could easily be acceptable at 10 feet, but there's no way of knowing that in advance. We don't have your ears and don't know where you would say "too much noise, unacceptable".

Nor can we be sure of the resulting temperatures. But maybe temps are very low on your list of priorities. That would work in your favor. Again, you'd have to build it to know how it actually works out.

Small PCs use small fans and they would have to spin at high RPM to provide much cooling. High RPM means lots of noise. That works against you....but could easily be made up for by being 10 feet away. More guesswork and speculation.
 
That space looks pretty well protected, so do you really need a case at all? I mean you could cut up an old case and leave 5 sides open if you don't mind the radiated RF. And then a full-sized ATX PSU (perhaps even a fanless one, or one where the fan stops unless at heavy load) could be placed remotely behind the furniture rather than in that cubby.

Of course if you were willing to cut the furniture then the option of fanless becomes possible, with a giant 95w rated passive CPU heatsink like NoFan CR-95C, SilverStone Heligon HE02 or Noctua NH-P1. Though even a big fanless GPU heatsink such as Prolimatech MK-26, or Raijintek Morpheus II Core Edition would likely require a slow fan for 130w. If you get lucky and get components without any coil whine it could be inaudible and not just quiet.

That's the noise level people usually expect when they hear the word "silent." And silent usually means larger, especially for continuous duty like gaming. For example MonsterLabo's The First mini-ITX vertical case can accommodate your original planned setup with one fan or the AMD one with none and is considered a small formfactor silent PC but it's 19 liters, while both of those cases you selected are around 14 liters. If it needs to be small and it needs to be there, some compromises are going to have to be made.