Desktop Upgrade Advice

[cway1986]

Hello,

My current desktop is getting a bit long in the tooth for work and play purposes. I use a lot of 3d modelling packages so i7 is definitely needed and 32gb of ram, preferably as fast as possible. I play a lot of the latest games and will be sticking with my KFA2 970 for now. I run triple 1080p monitors at 60hz but only game on one monitor, I have 3 screens for workflow purposes only.

The keys for the build are quietness and speed to render/game like a boss and I would like to get an SM961 in there if budget allows.

Big questions on my config so far are;

a) is there a quieter case for the money? Or cheaper?

b) are the parts that are considered 'quiet' any good?

I know there will be plenty of headroom with the psu at 650w but that's the lowest available quiet psu on the site, is it worth it?

I also already have a 4tb storage drive and 4tb external, plus a brand new copy of windows 10 from work


Case
FRACTAL DEFINE S BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-7700k (4.2GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS IX HERO: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
32GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1800MB/W)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy™ FX OEM
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,491.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-z270-pc/EyV4J4Xuw6/

Any glaring omissions? I've been out the PC buying space for some time so any advice is welcomed.

Oh and this is pretty much top end of the budget, any savings welcome.

 

[Oussebon]

a) is there a quieter case for the money? Or cheaper?

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED

If you won't be using an internal optical drive, or are happy using an external one, the Fractal Define S offers very similar performance in terms of thermals and acoustics for £15-20 less. It doesn't have optical drive bays but if you're not going to use that it doesn't matter. It lacks the built-in 3 speed fan controller you have on the Fractal R5, but even at full speed the fans aren't as loud as many other cases and also you'll want them at full speed when loading up your CPU and GPU.

The Noctua cooler is considered to be excellent, one of the best coolers in its class.

For the PSU if you have the extra cash the RM850x would be worth it. Not for the wattage but for the better build quality and the fact that it is semi passive such that under most (perhaps all) load scenarios your PC is likely to produce, it will cool itself without needing to use its fan, therefore being entirely silent.

If you don't have a specific need of the features on the Hero motherboard, the Z270E is a good option with a pretty rich set of features.

 

[cway1986]

Thanks for the reply Oussebon.

Think i'll definitely do the PSU upgrade you mentioned, seems worth it for the extra £££'s.

Won't be using an optical drive, however I currently have an aftermarket fan controller on my current machine and don't think I could live without one now. I could move this one over but it looks awful and really wouldn't suit the case, a new one would be about the difference saved on the case anyway.

 

[Oussebon]

You've switched to the Define S above. I'm not sure which after market cooler you're going for but some of them are installed into 5.25" (i.e. dvd drive) bays. Obviously that won't be possible with the Define S because it doesn't have any.

Apologies if that's stating the obvious and your fan controller doesn't live there, but I thought I should mention it to be on the safe side.

 

[cway1986]

You've switched to the Define S above. I'm not sure which after market cooler you're going for but some of them are installed into 5.25" (i.e. dvd drive) bays. Obviously that won't be possible with the Define S because it doesn't have any.

Apologies if that's stating the obvious and your fan controller doesn't live there, but I thought I should mention it to be on the safe side.

Hmmm yes it appears I've been reading the wrong case specs.

Back to the drawing board on the case front then

I suppose I could ditch the fan controller and hope the noise dampening is up to the job.

 

[Oussebon]

I believe you originally had the R5 specced.

You asked for a cheaper option, and I suggested the Define S.

The difference is only £17 however so you could just go back to the Fractal R5 for the built in fan controller. I have the R4 and the fans are whisper quiet when you turn them down to 7v or 5v.