[SOLVED] Quiet Gaming PC 1440p (up to 144Hz)

Oct 25, 2019
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Hi all,

Planning a new rig for end of the year.

Goals: Quiet, 1440p + up to 144Hz gaming, minor overclocking, stable and longevity of components

Not interested: Extreme overclocking, RGB

Some preferences/comments:
  • Intel CPU for single core performance. Also, more use to intel products.
  • Not fixated on ASUS. Just my current rig has ASUS products which I've found reliable.
  • For GPU, also considered MSI RTX 2070 SUPER GAMING X TRIO 8GB (not top of list due to larger size); EVGA RTX2070 Super XC Ultra 8GB GDDR6 (new in Singapore, so unsure if easy to get support)
  • CPU cooler - was considering Noctua NH-D15. But not readily available in Singapore. Anyway the Kraken appeared to top several noise charts.
  • Case selected ranks quite high with regards to noise reduction. Has USB-C which I need (for Arctis 1 Wireless)
  • Used to intel/nvidia (all my previous rigs). Just a personal preference. Could consider AMD but probably need strong reason.

CPUIntel Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU CoolerNZXT Kraken X62 Rev 2 98.17 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
MotherboardAsus ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
MemoryG.Skill Trident Z Neo 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory
StorageSamsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
StorageSamsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Video CardAsus GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB STRIX GAMING OC Video Card
CaseFractal Design Design Define R6 USB-C Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case
Power SupplySeaSonic PRIME Ultra Platinum 650 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

Some questions:
  1. Anything in this list is bottleneck/overkill compared to rest?
  2. Big One: Really need assistance identifying a 27" 1440p 144Hz monitor. Ideally G-sync and slim (have small table). Willing to shell out abit more (bang for buck), but not over the top $$.
  3. MB/RAM/Kraken clearance any issues?
  4. SATA SSD is for storage. Is mixing NVME and SATA SSD ok for this MB? Saw a potential compatibility warning in PC Part Picker
  5. Usual question: Power supply ok?
  6. Any benefit to replace the case fans with something like Be Quiet (as mentioned Noctua hard to find)?
Thanks all!
Cheers
 
Last edited:
Solution
Intel doesn’t have a single core performance advantage anymore. Especially if you’re not going for a full boar overclock.

Heres reasons for AMD. X570 has a better feature set than Z390 and has better longevity. AMD is cheaper or offers more cores for the same price, AMD offers par~ performance per core. AMD runs cooler, you don’t have to OC AMD for gaming (3000 series) as they auto boost that well it occasionally outperforms a manual OC.

If you’re interested in silence I’d go for a Be quiet case and air cooler. You dint need USBC front panel as most motherboards have one as I/O now.

Plat PSUs are a waste of money. Just get a gold.
Intel doesn’t have a single core performance advantage anymore. Especially if you’re not going for a full boar overclock.

Heres reasons for AMD. X570 has a better feature set than Z390 and has better longevity. AMD is cheaper or offers more cores for the same price, AMD offers par~ performance per core. AMD runs cooler, you don’t have to OC AMD for gaming (3000 series) as they auto boost that well it occasionally outperforms a manual OC.

If you’re interested in silence I’d go for a Be quiet case and air cooler. You dint need USBC front panel as most motherboards have one as I/O now.

Plat PSUs are a waste of money. Just get a gold.
 
Solution
Hi all,

Planning a new rig for end of the year.

Goals: Quiet, 1440p + up to 144Hz gaming, minor overclocking, stable and longevity of components

Not interested: Extreme overclocking, RGB

Some preferences/comments:
  • Intel CPU for single core performance. Also, more use to intel products.
  • Not fixated on ASUS. Just my current rig has ASUS products which I've found reliable.
  • For GPU, also considered MSI RTX 2070 SUPER GAMING X TRIO 8GB (not top of list due to larger size); EVGA RTX2070 Super XC Ultra 8GB GDDR6 (new in Singapore, so unsure if easy to get support)
  • CPU cooler - was considering Noctua NH-D15. But not readily available in Singapore. Anyway the Kraken appeared to top several noise charts.
  • Case selected ranks quite high with regards to noise reduction. Has USB-C which I need (for Arctis 1 Wireless)
  • Used to intel/nvidia (all my previous rigs). Just a personal preference. Could consider AMD but probably need strong reason.

CPUIntel Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU CoolerNZXT Kraken X62 Rev 2 98.17 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
MotherboardAsus ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
MemoryG.Skill Trident Z Neo 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory
StorageSamsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
StorageSamsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Video CardAsus GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB STRIX GAMING OC Video Card
CaseFractal Design Design Define R6 USB-C Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case
Power SupplySeaSonic PRIME Ultra Platinum 650 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

Some questions:
  1. Anything in this list is bottleneck/overkill compared to rest?
  2. Big One: Really need assistance identifying a 27" 1440p 144Hz monitor. Ideally G-sync and slim (have small table). Willing to shell out abit more (bang for buck), but not over the top $$.
  3. MB/RAM/Kraken clearance any issues?
  4. SATA SSD is for storage. Is mixing NVME and SATA SSD ok for this MB? Saw a potential compatibility warning in PC Part Picker
  5. Usual question: Power supply ok?
  6. Any benefit to replace the case fans with something like Be Quiet (as mentioned Noctua hard to find)?
Thanks all!
Cheers
  1. Looks good to me.
  2. Have a look at reviews for monitors.
  3. Should be fine.
  4. One of the 6(?) Sata port may be disabled when using an m2 drive. That still leaves you 5 though so don't worry.
  5. It's a very good quality one. You could get a cheaper one but then again it's nice to have a great PSU.
  6. I replaced the fans that came with my R4 with Noctua ones I'm glad I did. The BeQuiet silent wings ones are suppost to be very good also. The fractal ones were very noisey.
 
Oct 25, 2019
13
0
10
Intel doesn’t have a single core performance advantage anymore. Especially if you’re not going for a full boar overclock.

Heres reasons for AMD. X570 has a better feature set than Z390 and has better longevity. AMD is cheaper or offers more cores for the same price, AMD offers par~ performance per core. AMD runs cooler, you don’t have to OC AMD for gaming (3000 series) as they auto boost that well it occasionally outperforms a manual OC.

If you’re interested in silence I’d go for a Be quiet case and air cooler. You dint need USBC front panel as most motherboards have one as I/O now.

Plat PSUs are a waste of money. Just get a gold.
Thanks for the feedback!

Regarding the CPU, where I'm from, the i7-7900k with ASUS MB is priced at $896. The AMD price equivalent is the R7 3700X with ASUS ROG STRIX X570 MB ($905).

However saw some reviews that in terms of pure gaming, the i7 fared slightly better, whereas the R7 was a better multi-use CPU. Think it had something to do with how the cores are used. Both articles below offer a pretty balanced pro/cons view.



Regarding USB-C. I'm new to PC building. If I want a USB-C point in the front of my desktop. So I can easily attach the wireless dongle for the artcis 1 wireless headset. Does this have anything to do with the MB I/O? Is the MB I/O at the back of the case?

I'll go check out the Be Quiet case and cooler, thanks for the tip!
 
Oct 25, 2019
13
0
10
Also if you want a quiet PC getting a giant ass heatsink with low RPM fans is the way to go, no pump noise.
I actually considered the Noctua DH-15S. But they are special order through international shipping, so I'm really worried about warranty or replacement issues. Is the Dark Rock Pro 4 an equivalent to the DH-15S? Lots of mixed signals from articles, although almost all agree they are top of the class.
 
Thanks for the feedback!

Regarding the CPU, where I'm from, the i7-7900k with ASUS MB is priced at $896. The AMD price equivalent is the R7 3700X with ASUS ROG STRIX X570 MB ($905).

However saw some reviews that in terms of pure gaming, the i7 fared slightly better, whereas the R7 was a better multi-use CPU. Think it had something to do with how the cores are used. Both articles below offer a pretty balanced pro/cons view.



Regarding USB-C. I'm new to PC building. If I want a USB-C point in the front of my desktop. So I can easily attach the wireless dongle for the artcis 1 wireless headset. Does this have anything to do with the MB I/O? Is the MB I/O at the back of the case?

I'll go check out the Be Quiet case and cooler, thanks for the tip!
The motherboard IO is at the back but why would you want a single hanging off the front of the case...

What exact motherboard is that because some are ludicrously expensive.
Games are becoming more multithreaded and intel only have an advantage now when you overclock them to around 5Ghz
 
Oct 25, 2019
13
0
10
The motherboard IO is at the back but why would you want a single hanging off the front of the case...

What exact motherboard is that because some are ludicrously expensive.
Games are becoming more multithreaded and intel only have an advantage now when you overclock them to around 5Ghz
The more I research into CPU, the murkier everything gets! Quite a few review sites claim i7-9700k better for gaming, but alot of forums say r7-3700x likely to age better. Central to the discussion is if hyperthreading is a reality for future games. Some say its pointless for most games now. Some say that's a trend that will change. Another point is temperature. I7 seems to run cooler than r7 due to "density?". Does this equal to noisier CPU cooler (Likely going with dark rock Pro 4 unless Noctua becomes available)?
 
The more I research into CPU, the murkier everything gets! Quite a few review sites claim i7-9700k better for gaming, but alot of forums say r7-3700x likely to age better. Central to the discussion is if hyperthreading is a reality for future games. Some say its pointless for most games now. Some say that's a trend that will change. Another point is temperature. I7 seems to run cooler than r7 due to "density?". Does this equal to noisier CPU cooler (Likely going with dark rock Pro 4 unless Noctua becomes available)?
The r7 will last longer. Games are using more and more threads with APIs like DX12 and Vulkan becoming more common.

the i7s need to be overclocked heavily to get the best performance out of them so you’ll never run it at stock. I would advise you not to OC a R7.

the dark rock pro is a great cooler, just has issues with RAM clearance if you have tall ram. If you do look at the slim variant. I have that and it keeps my R5 cold.