How do I build a high performance silent system

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Talon

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I recently upgraded my PC and due to the state of parts availability ended up with an Asus ROG prebuilt (11700 / 3080).

It sounds like a jet, with the fans constantly ramping up and down during gameplay.

Id known before purchasing it that this particular case had issues with cooling and planned to transplant it anyway, but the overall noise levels have me concerned.

What do I need to do to cool this thing next to silently (or the next best thing to it)?
 
try adjusting fan curves in bios, limit your fps so things dont work as hard or transplant it like you had planned, into something that will take 140+ fans.
 
It kind of depends on what you consider silent and on the GPU fans. Limiting FPS, as others have suggested, will also help a lot if the fans are run of the exhaust or gpu temp. E.g. my 3080 heats up the air 10-13 degrees at full power while it only heats up the air 4-5 degrees at 200 watts even though the exhaust fans are temp controlled and run much slower with a 4-5 degrees increase (exhaust air temp controls the exhaust fan speed rpm).

If the case is pretty bad airflow wise then you are pretty much forced to transplant it as a 3080 warms up the air a lot compared to a 200w card. If the GPU is fairly quiet then changing the fan curves to let things get slightly hotter and increasing the delay on the fan speed adjustments would probably help a bit. Do monitor your temps when adjusting fan speed though so you don't end up cooking your hardware.

I have no idea what case, fans, cpu cooler or GPU you are using, but in general a good cheap tower cooler (120mm minimum) and decent fans should be enough to keep the system within reasonable temps and moderate noise levels in an airflow case. If you want silent then you will most likely have to go with full water cooling and oversized radiators.
 
Maybe time to swap your case?

I just upgraded to a Cooler Master SL600M from a P3 Thermaltake open air case that was loud, with a stop to a Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 which overheated and landed on a Cooler Master SL600M - it is practically silent regardless of what my otherwise stock Asus 3080 OC Tuf card is trying to do with noise. I have a 360MM rad on my 6950X processor, and overall it’s a very quiet setup - even crypto mining. Gamers Nexus tested the SL600M as having the GPU run the coolest of any case they measured. You pay for that a bit in increased CPU heat if you care, but GPU running cool allows for greater native core MHz on GPU, and quiet running and higher CPU heat doesn’t generally matter for most people — so it’s a good trade in my mind.
SL600M has two 200MM fans blowing up directly on your GPU.

https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3384-cooler-master-sl-600m-review-thermals-build-quality-noise
 

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If you really want silence I’d go with this fanless pc case, it uses phase change cooling for your cpu and gpu, each component gets its own 20 pound heatsink to dissipate heat for a total of 40 pounds of heatsink with no fans!
 

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Well first off, you don't buy pre-built systems. Second, you do your research and prepare to invest in cooling that can accomplish your goal. Third, be realistic about what you can achieve on high end parts in the ambient temperatures your computer resides in. Fourth, take control of your fan curves. Do not let the system adjust these on the fly, or at the very least define the curves and the ramp up / ramp down speeds so that the system is less annoying.
 
Talon Blackrazor said:
I recently upgraded my PC and due to the state of parts availability ended up with an Asus ROG prebuilt (11700 / 3080).

It sounds like a jet, with the fans constantly ramping up and down during gameplay.

Id known before purchasing it that this particular case had issues with cooling and planned to transplant it anyway, but the overall noise levels have me concerned.

What do I need to do to cool this thing next to silently (or the next best thing to it)?
Click to expand...
A 3080 equipped Asus pre-built should be an 11700k, correct?

You should be able to fit a 140mm all in one cooler. Although, you may need to go to the hardware store to get some crews and nuts to make it work. As I don't think the Asus cases have standard mounts.

The problem for air cooling in those cases, is that the case width doesn't offer a lot of clearance for height of the heatsink. Google around and see if you can find out what other people have been successful with fitting.

The Dark Rock TF should be a good choice, as it has some flexibility.

Its 130.8mm tall with both fans. or you can take off the top fan and its 107.5mm tall.

1626973542093.png
 
I thought I'd drop in my 2 cents.
I had some success with adhesive padding (IIRC it was by Akasa), it's thin and damps sound and vibrations.
The ones I bought had some issues, though: glue was super strong (makes adjustments harder), and it had a tendency to catch dust (due to its foamy texture). It also steals some space, so no bueno for many smaller cases.
But, the right product in the right case will definitely help a bit, and it's quite inexpensive.
 
Ahh, now I see why you bought my Dark Rock Pro 4. :D

It should arrive next week and it's dead quiet. Interested in seeing it inside your rig! Please post pics!
 
Seconding the Dark Rock TF recommendation also- even under decent load it is practically silent. I love mine. That said, it can sometimes block RAM slots so you have to be careful.
 
OP should be able to tweak fan settings on cpu and gpu with out changing anything or spending any more money. Asus motherboards bios settings are easy to adjust and afterburner should be able to tweak the gpu fan after that.
 
My friend has your exact setup. That case is so small and the airflow... this was his solution:

20210719_193635.jpg


I would recommend a case upgrade in your future.
 
I went all in on liquid cooling and I have a virtually silent PC with a 5.3Ghz 11900K and an RTX 3090.

Eight 200mm Notcua fans and two massive external radiators.

Quiet as it is, it still heats the room like a space heater so I have to run this noisy portable A/C unit...
 
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