My current system 2013 - Time for some upgrades

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After reading the thread by MIghtyG and being told by simplicity96 to post my own thread I have decided that its time I updated my system.

My current system is:

- Case: Fractal Design Define XL
- Power Supply: Cooler Master GX 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
- CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 3.00GHz (Socket AM3)
- CPU Cooler: Freezer 7 PRO Rev. 2
- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H 880G
- RAM: Corsair XMS3 (4x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel
- Hard Drive: OCZ 120GB Agility
- Graphics Card: HIS ATI 6850

Just to give you some background. This is now my 3rd time upgrading my machine. Last time I purchased the 6850 based on some forum feedback and to be truthful it sucks. Well I did manage to get the dodgy red fan version and then I broke the Accelero Twin Turbo II fan replacement. Well more melted the wires.

I was thinking of getting a new psu and cpu cooler this week for starters. Maybe the XFX 750W and then a Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator.

I sit within touching distance of my base. Mainly at night is when I have issues. Core temp is currently reading Min 32c and Max 52c.

So how silent can I go without dropping in performance ? Can I even Game in silence ???
 
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Good choice with the noctua! I reccomended it to mightyG and think he is more than happy with his temps and quietness of his rig. If you want to make gaming as silent as possible a water cooling system is probably the way to go as after market coolers on gpu's are not the quietist (sure youll agree with me) and they will kick up a fuss on intensive workloads. With a water block there totally silent. Alternatively you could load your case with noctua fans either the 120mm or 140mm (not sure what define xl's take off hand) they are super quiet and move a lot of air so could be a cheaper alternative for you than a water loop/blocks :) (although noctua fans aint cheap)
 
The bigger the heatsink, the less air you need to shift through it, since the heat is dispersed over a larger area and carried away.

You're best going with a WC setup with a huge radiator & a group of slow-speed fans or an utterly huge CPU cooler (Like the DH-14).

If you want a silent GPU, there's only one choice: THE TITAN! :D I haven't heard a single peep from mine.
 
whats your budget for the upgrades?
 
After reading the thread by MIghtyG and being told by simplicity96 to post my own thread I have decided that its time I updated my system.

My current system is:



Just to give you some background. This is now my 3rd time upgrading my machine. Last time I purchased the 6850 based on some forum feedback and to be truthful it sucks. Well I did manage to get the dodgy red fan version and then I broke the Accelero Twin Turbo II fan replacement. Well more melted the wires.

I was thinking of getting a new psu and cpu cooler this week for starters. Maybe the XFX 750W and then a Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator.

I sit within touching distance of my base. Mainly at night is when I have issues. Core temp is currently reading Min 32c and Max 52c.

So how silent can I go without dropping in performance ? Can I even Game in silence ???

Not sure if you got to use your Accelero Twin turbo but I used to have one on a 5870 which sat about 10mm above a water cooled 5870. It was dead silent and kept the card cooler than stock by a mile.

If you want your gpu as quiet as can be without a full water cooling loop then this is about your only option:

Accelero Hybrid · VGA · Cooling · ARCTIC
 
Good choice with the noctua! I reccomended it to mightyG and think he is more than happy with his temps and quietness of his rig. If you want to make gaming as silent as possible a water cooling system is probably the way to go as after market coolers on gpu's are not the quietist (sure youll agree with me) and they will kick up a fuss on intensive workloads. With a water block there totally silent. Alternatively you could load your case with noctua fans either the 120mm or 140mm (not sure what define xl's take off hand) they are super quiet and move a lot of air so could be a cheaper alternative for you than a water loop/blocks :) (although noctua fans aint cheap)

I have some Arctic fans that I got for my last system which do the trick.

The bigger the heatsink, the less air you need to shift through it, since the heat is dispersed over a larger area and carried away.

You're best going with a WC setup with a huge radiator & a group of slow-speed fans or an utterly huge CPU cooler (Like the DH-14).

If you want a silent GPU, there's only one choice: THE TITAN! :D I haven't heard a single peep from mine.

lol I don't have Titan money and I think my cpu would cause a bottleneck. I still have the heatsink from the Accelero Twin Turbo II attached to my card.

whats your budget for the upgrades?

Not crazy money. Maybe £800 or so.

Not sure if you got to use your Accelero Twin turbo but I used to have one on a 5870 which sat about 10mm above a water cooled 5870. It was dead silent and kept the card cooler than stock by a mile.

If you want your gpu as quiet as can be without a full water cooling loop then this is about your only option:

Accelero Hybrid · VGA · Cooling · ARCTIC

You see the problem is that I only have 1 on board fan controller. My 6850 has a 3 pin power supply. Currently I am running 4 case fans and 2 fans on my gpu. So I would have to feed the cooler from some place else. That just means more cables and less control over it.

Yes I could run a fan controller but I would also need some extension cables to do that. Once again more cables. Surely I am not the only one that has to extend fan cables and has dodgy gpu fans ????

Powercolor teases passive HD 7850

this card would tick the silent box

I was thinking more this >> NVIDIA GeForce GTX680 Windforce OC Version, GV-N680OC-2GD


Currently core temp is reading 25 and max 41.
 
I have some Arctic fans that I got for my last system which do the trick.



lol I don't have Titan money and I think my cpu would cause a bottleneck. I still have the heatsink from the Accelero Twin Turbo II attached to my card.



Not crazy money. Maybe £800 or so.



You see the problem is that I only have 1 on board fan controller. My 6850 has a 3 pin power supply. Currently I am running 4 case fans and 2 fans on my gpu. So I would have to feed the cooler from some place else. That just means more cables and less control over it.

Yes I could run a fan controller but I would also need some extension cables to do that. Once again more cables. Surely I am not the only one that has to extend fan cables and has dodgy gpu fans ????



I was thinking more this >> NVIDIA GeForce GTX680 Windforce OC Version, GV-N680OC-2GD


Currently core temp is reading 25 and max 41.

I have this:
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 SC Signature TWO 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Assassin's Creed III & FTP Currency [02G-P4-2687-KR]

I am very picky about PC noise forever trying to make the stupid thing quieter. My gpu is dead silent up to 50-55% fan speed, most of the time at about 50% my temps sit around 50-60degrees sometimes getting up to 65 on more intensive games. My airflow is quite weak too as I only have one intake and one exhaust running at 7v.

I have heard lots of good about the windforce coolers but im not sure if their have been any comparisons to my signature 2.
 
Can anyone tell me why I experience higher fan noise / system temp at night than during the day ?

I am a bit worried that when I upgrade I might have the same issues.
 
Are you sure it isn't just having the heating on =D
 
Can anyone tell me why I experience higher fan noise / system temp at night than during the day ?

I am a bit worried that when I upgrade I might have the same issues.

Quantify "higher"
Ambient temps during the day are higher than at night.
 
Can anyone tell me why I experience higher fan noise / system temp at night than during the day ?

I am a bit worried that when I upgrade I might have the same issues.

Are you sure that the fan noise isn't always the same?

If you live on a busy street or live in a bustling household (TVs on, kids screaming, wife nattering, flatmates fapping in their room) your rig will sound like a wind tunnel at night, but a cat on dope during the day.

Either that, or the heating is left on too late in your house :p
 
The best solution is to wear a headset and turn your music up :p

Has the side benefit of reducing the volume on your wife/gf :)
 
Are you sure it isn't just having the heating on =D

I don't have any heating in my room. Its the second floor of an old Victorian house. Some nights I leave the window open as I like a cold room.

Quantify "higher"
Ambient temps during the day are higher than at night.

I get the reverse. Temps during the day are better than at night.

Are you sure that the fan noise isn't always the same?

If you live on a busy street or live in a bustling household (TVs on, kids screaming, wife nattering, flatmates fapping in their room) your rig will sound like a wind tunnel at night, but a cat on dope during the day.

Either that, or the heating is left on too late in your house :p

No the fans seems to change up a gear at night. Not got kids, got an ex wife but she is AWOL. My street is really quiet during the day and at night.

Sometimes I feel like my fans don't start during the day or they are on the wrong settings at night ?????

The best solution is to wear a headset and turn your music up :p

Has the side benefit of reducing the volume on your wife/gf :)

I have the Razer Chimaera's that I wear. I got ride of the wife so I have no issues with that.
 
By any chance do you game more at night than the day?
 
Its about the same. I do random shifts at work some sometimes its morning or sometimes its night.

Maybe your rig has become self aware?

What if it's part of something bigger... Something more sinister? Almost like, a network of stars, although, computers... All over the globe...

Almost like a Skynet..

:rolleyes:
 
Maybe your rig has become self aware?

What if it's part of something bigger... Something more sinister? Almost like, a network of stars, although, computers... All over the globe...

Almost like a Skynet..

:rolleyes:

Yes I think it has. Ah its time to go to sleep so I am going to make these fans spin faster :D

Can I get software that can log heat and system fan speeds over a day or so ???
 
I don't have any heating in my room. Its the second floor of an old Victorian house. Some nights I leave the window open as I like a cold room.



I get the reverse. Temps during the day are better than at night.



No the fans seems to change up a gear at night. Not got kids, got an ex wife but she is AWOL. My street is really quiet during the day and at night.

Sometimes I feel like my fans don't start during the day or they are on the wrong settings at night ?????



I have the Razer Chimaera's that I wear. I got ride of the wife so I have no issues with that.

Without values its hard to see whats happening. Must be aliens. Like jambo said if ambient noise is also quiet then your fans will seem louder as they aren't getting drowned by background noises.
 
I think I should replace everything.........my build needs looked at........and fixed.

I am a bit worried about getting a new cpu cooler. I really don't trust the AMD mounting system for holding something like the NH-D14.

I am thinking of ordering some parts this weekend. What do people think about the XFX 750W XXX Edition ?

Does anyone run AMD and has the NH-D14 ?
 
I think I should replace everything.........my build needs looked at........and fixed.

I am a bit worried about getting a new cpu cooler. I really don't trust the AMD mounting system for holding something like the NH-D14.

I am thinking of ordering some parts this weekend. What do people think about the XFX 750W XXX Edition ?

Does anyone run AMD and has the NH-D14 ?

If Noctua are the ones supplying the bracket then I would have alot of faith in it. Have you considered a closed loop cooler for the CPU instead?
 
I think I should replace everything.........my build needs looked at........and fixed.

I am a bit worried about getting a new cpu cooler. I really don't trust the AMD mounting system for holding something like the NH-D14.

I am thinking of ordering some parts this weekend. What do people think about the XFX 750W XXX Edition ?

Does anyone run AMD and has the NH-D14 ?

You get the AMD bracket with it aswell lol
 
You get the AMD bracket with it aswell lol

No I mean the mounting bars. If you look at the Intel version you get a back plate that you bolt the thing on. That means you have a back and a front that are joined to hold the fan.

The AMD version is just 2 mounting bars. I don't trust all that weight on those bars.

If Noctua are the ones supplying the bracket then I would have alot of faith in it. Have you considered a closed loop cooler for the CPU instead?

Maybe because I got the Freezer 7 PRO and not the Freezer 64 PRO it came with no mounting bracket. It just clips onto the current bracket and screws in. It has never looked save or steady.

Could I stick a loop for my gpu ? How hard is it to build a cooler that would fit my cpu and gpu ??? That could be a better option.


** - Update: Just had a look at the manual for the NH-D14 and it says If your mainboard doesn't have a backplate, please contact our support team at [email protected]

I might give them a bell and see if they will send me one.
 
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No I mean the mounting bars. If you look at the Intel version you get a back plate that you bolt the thing on. That means you have a back and a front that are joined to hold the fan.

The AMD version is just 2 mounting bars. I don't trust all that weight on those bars.



Maybe because I got the Freezer 7 PRO and not the Freezer 64 PRO it came with no mounting bracket. It just clips onto the current bracket and screws in. It has never looked save or steady.

Could I stick a loop for my gpu ? How hard is it to build a cooler that would fit my cpu and gpu ??? That could be a better option.

Easiest thing is to buy a closed loop CPU cooler (corsair h80 etc) and a closed loop GPU cooler (Arctic accelero hybrid etc), this will be cool, quiet, simple, kind of expensive. You could put together your own loop which if its your first will be a lot more effort (not hard but takes time and research) but won't cost you much more and can be built just the way you like it (colour, style, efficiency is all for you to decide).

Or just sell what you have and move to Intel / use noctua nh-d14 :thumbsup:
 
Easiest thing is to buy a closed loop CPU cooler (corsair h80 etc) and a closed loop GPU cooler (Arctic accelero hybrid etc), this will be cool, quiet, simple, kind of expensive. You could put together your own loop which if its your first will be a lot more effort (not hard but takes time and research) but won't cost you much more and can be built just the way you like it (colour, style, efficiency is all for you to decide).

Or just sell what you have and move to Intel / use noctua nh-d14 :thumbsup:

I don't think my case would take a cooler or support a loop.

I just done a Core temp and I am getting 29Min - 52Max. The fans sound better than last night. The fans sound like they do during the day. I feel like my fans don't start sometimes. :confused: I might have to leave the side case off and test it.

What is the best way to log system temps ???
 

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