I am a musician. Not Garage or Rap, more Brahms & Bach. And in my sound-proofed music room, I also like to play video games.
I demand a state-of-the-art picture so I use a Dell 30inch monitor with 2560 x 1600 definition. And I roam Tamriel listening to Beethoven, Clockwork Orange style, on audiophile speakers.
Needless to say the hiss from the black box would be intolerable. Until recently the only solution for ultra video settings and 60+ FPS was to confine the whizzing SLI'd brute to the next room, and thread the mouse, keyboard and monitor cables through a hole in the wall, itself well padded with cotton.
However when I decided to re-rig (as I do every three years), I looked into a silent machine I could live with in the same room, seriously simplifying cable threading, etc.
I believe I have achieved this, thanks to new trends in hardware :
1. The smaller and smaller engraving means the real stoves (CPU and GPU) are getting less power hungry.
2. The race for GPU power has stabilized, meaning a single GPU can handle nearly all games at high definition.
3. The games themselves are peaking in terms of hardware demands, as the Studios want to keep the modest rigs serviceable. No more Crysis..
4. SSD's have no moving parts.
5. Scandinavian, German and Austrian designers (Fractal, BeQuiet! Noctua) are now involved, minimalist Bauhaus people who believe that Style, Space and Silence are the ultimate luxuries in life.
So here is the project.Nothing OC'd, everything kept simple.
Case : Fractal R4
MB : Asus Z-97 A
CPU : i7 4790S (emphasis on "S")
CPU cooling : BeQuiet Dark Rock 3
PSU : Silverstone NightJar 520 (No fan !)
Case cooling : 2 Bequiet 140 mm Silent Wings
SSD : Samsung 850 Pro 1 Tera
DRAM : 2 x 1866 C9
GPU : 1 x GTX 980 (Generic, no OC)
Will my dream of silence come true ? I will tell you Jan 10.
I demand a state-of-the-art picture so I use a Dell 30inch monitor with 2560 x 1600 definition. And I roam Tamriel listening to Beethoven, Clockwork Orange style, on audiophile speakers.
Needless to say the hiss from the black box would be intolerable. Until recently the only solution for ultra video settings and 60+ FPS was to confine the whizzing SLI'd brute to the next room, and thread the mouse, keyboard and monitor cables through a hole in the wall, itself well padded with cotton.
However when I decided to re-rig (as I do every three years), I looked into a silent machine I could live with in the same room, seriously simplifying cable threading, etc.
I believe I have achieved this, thanks to new trends in hardware :
1. The smaller and smaller engraving means the real stoves (CPU and GPU) are getting less power hungry.
2. The race for GPU power has stabilized, meaning a single GPU can handle nearly all games at high definition.
3. The games themselves are peaking in terms of hardware demands, as the Studios want to keep the modest rigs serviceable. No more Crysis..
4. SSD's have no moving parts.
5. Scandinavian, German and Austrian designers (Fractal, BeQuiet! Noctua) are now involved, minimalist Bauhaus people who believe that Style, Space and Silence are the ultimate luxuries in life.
So here is the project.Nothing OC'd, everything kept simple.
Case : Fractal R4
MB : Asus Z-97 A
CPU : i7 4790S (emphasis on "S")
CPU cooling : BeQuiet Dark Rock 3
PSU : Silverstone NightJar 520 (No fan !)
Case cooling : 2 Bequiet 140 mm Silent Wings
SSD : Samsung 850 Pro 1 Tera
DRAM : 2 x 1866 C9
GPU : 1 x GTX 980 (Generic, no OC)
Will my dream of silence come true ? I will tell you Jan 10.