Bandwidth Place 2

It's been 4 years, my longest interval so far and while I am mostly happy with my i7-2600K system, I think it's time to move on. <-- Based on what I said last time

Goals:
1) 6 or 8 core Intel CPU
2) 32GB RAM
3) 2GB/s+ read PCI-Express based SSD
4) not just quiet, but SILENT

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K or wait for Broadwell-E in Q1 2016
Case: Something with USB 3.0 front ports, or else I'd have used my current case.
PSU: Something 1000W? I'd love to keep my current passively-cooled PSU, but at 460W I doubt it can handle my ambitious CPU choice anymore.
Motherboard: Some X99 board with PCI-e x4 M.2 slot and capability for dual video cards
Cooling: Watercooling?!?!
GPU: 2x Nvidia GTX 980 Ti
SSD: Samsung 950 PRO 512GB

Total: ~$2800, well into the 3000s once I research more into a legitimate watercooling build.

Budget isn't really a consideration this time around.

I wanted to wait to build a Skylake-based system but completely underestimated just how long Intel takes to release 6+ core models of a given generation (about a year).

EDIT:
Quick draft list
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zQxR7P

Looks like a pretty solid build.


I am still rocking my build from July of 2010 with the i7 930.
Only change has been swapping out the WD Blue for a Samsung
250GB 850 EVO SSD. My system, especially now with the SSD, does
feel pretty snappy. Then again, 95% of what it gets used for is remoting
into my amazon virtual machine to do software development. You don't
really need a nutty fast machine for that.

I'll probably stick with what I have until the motherboard fails.

I've considered many times about just offloading tasks to some other machine (like my server) using remote desktop, but remoting just isn't suitable for anything visual. FPS isn't high enough to preview my videos if I'm doing video editing, and the screen image compression makes it unsuitable for accurately seeing what I'm photoshopping. And, of course, games aren't suitable through remoting.

Basically nothing resource-intensive I do can be done remotely, and for software engineering I have my company-provided computers.

Soooo have to build myself a regular PC for traditional approaches to personal computing

My big concern right now is how I'm going to manage to make such a system silent...

I agree with you on the remote desktop thing, it's good for basic "work" type activities
but it really isn't good enough for anything visual... especially the types of things you do.

On the front of being silent, I'm not quite sure how you'd go about doing that. I'm guessing
water cooling would really help, but even then I'm assuming you'd still need cooling fans
somewhere in the loop to help transfer heat out of the system. Really high quality 120 MM +
fans aren't very loud. I don't know how I feel about a water cooling system, I think it just makes
having to get back in there to do any thing a lot harder.

I think the only way water cooling will help is if I run the tubes outside of the case and through a wall or something to hide the noise-producing cooling mechanisms somewhere else. In terms of your run-of-the-mill water cooling inside the case, it should actually be more noisy.

Here's my reasoning:
1) You're still using fans. They're now located farther from the CPU/GPU, but you're still using fans either way.
2) You need a water pump. Pumps are added noise, added heat, and even harder to insulate from vibrations.

Overall, water cooling ADDS the noise of a water pump, compared to air cooling.

I think I'm going to be too busy this holiday season to be thinking about building a new PC so will push it off to next year. Hopefully Broadwell-E gets released!

Is there such a thing as refrigerant cooling? Like using freon instead of water? Then you would only need a pump and no fans?

Don't refrigerant cooling all involve a compressor? I've never not heard a refrigerator/AC's compressor...

Yes but wouldn't that reduce the need for a fan? Cut the noise in half maybe.

I feel like the sound profile of a compressor is more irritating than a fan :\ like how on silentpcreview.com they can favor a fan that's slightly higher in decibels because the kind of noise it generates is less annoying than a lower decibel fan. What is the longevity of a compressor running 24/7 anyway?

I have had fishtanks, with fish, and I had a pump running 24/7 to pump air into the tank. Lasted about 2-3 years at least. It made a noise but it didn't bother me. Then again I have a really good on/off switch in my head. I can ignore noises rather well.
What kind of insurance does a water system have on the components of the PC? I would be afraid of a leak using anything but air.

I would imagine if you used pure water it would be okay even if it leaked. it's not really something I'm worried about and I can't imagine who would be able to offer such an insurance. Those systems are largely custom to each build so I'd have to design it all myself anyway. Maybe the "sealant" company would have some insurance but I'm not even sure "sealant" is a thing in PC watercooling and they could always argue I just did it wrong in my custom build.

I understand. So I take it there aren't any, so called, "kits" for water cooling? Or maybe just better to design it on your own?

There are kits, but when the cooling block you attach to the CPU/GPU (especially the GPU) depends heavily on the design (of the video card), you're going to have to attach tubes to your own-purchased cooling block anyway and it is no longer the manufacturers fault if that attachment leaks.

I see, interesting.

Sounding like the next generation of nVidia GPUs comes out in May, and Broadwell-E comes out in June. I will wait for both of those so the build probably happens this summer.