Building a quiet PC with a 9800X3D processor and a 5090 graphics card?
Building a quiet PC with a 9800X3D processor and a 5090 graphics card?
Hi everyone. I want to make a really quiet computer with good temperatures if I can get them. I need some help picking the right case, air cooler, or extra fans because the standard ones might not be enough. I don't care about colorful lights; I just need it super quiet and safe so my floor doesn't burn down. Since I have no money to spend on expensive stuff, I'm scared if this is even possible with normal coolers and a case, or only if I buy premium parts. Thanks! CPU: Ryzen 7 9800X3D GPU: ROG Astral 5090 MB: ROG 870 Hero PSU: Corsair HX1500i SSD: Samsung Pro 990 Case: ? AIO: ? Extra fans: ?
With that kind of hardware - doesn't happen (normally, that is). Both R7 9800X3D and RTX 5090 are top-end hardware, which consume a lot of power (GPU especially) and in turn, produce a lot of heat. And to cool said heat, it needs plenty of cooling, which creates airflow noise. So, normally, you will have noise. Now, if you are all about quietness and money isn't an obstacle, then best solution for you would be liquid immersion cooling. Here's video to preview such cooling: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q0bLo5nSsU And here's the Hypertec site: https://hypertec.com/immersion-cooling/ Sure, they usually do server builds, but you can either convert your setup into server rack and use their cooling solution, or maybe, (if you throw enough money at them), they are willing to build you single system immersion cooling setup. Now, based on how it is set up, you need to alter your home layout a bit (drill holes through the wall so that liquid tubes can go to the heat exchanger) but otherwise, this immersion cooling setup would guarantee 0 dB(A) build for you. So, contact the firm and discuss your options with them.
Noise is usually made when fans spin fast. Fans help move hot air out of your case. Your HX1500i fan is a decent start, but it will probably work hard and maybe not even need to turn on at all. The secret to quiet sounds is finding a good case with lots of airflow. Lian Li has a case with two front 160mm openings that should be very quiet: https://www.newegg.com/black-lian-li-lan...000Z-000A8 You might be able to turn off the RGB lights. Or, look for a case with three front 140mm openings. Maybe something like this Phanteks: https://www.newegg.com/black-phanteks-xt...6811854132 The best and quietest cooler might be the Noctua NH-D15 G2:
If you aren't worried about spending your money on the hardware, custom water cooling is usually the best choice. You can easily add more fans and bigger radiators to fix a problem. However, this type of setup costs a lot of money and takes a long time to build. Also, it needs regular upkeep that normal air coolers don't need at all. Basically, if you want to use a 5090 CPU, you will have to put in high fans because that chip uses crazy amounts of power on its own.
If you want cool air without making your fans work too hard, just put your gear inside a big box with lots of extra heat sinks and that's what you should do.
If you go down the "quiet computing" rabbit hole, you won't find the end. Fans can make really loud differences that feel different. I recently tested my setup with Cinebench (14900K), CM HAF XB evo, 2 noctua 140mm 800rpm intakes and an NH-D15s. The case sits to my left, about arm length away and it was silent for me. To be honest, I admit to being hard of hearing. My point is how good do you really need to be? With a great cpu cooler and a strong graphics card, noise will probably just come from those two parts.
I recommend the BeQuiet Silent Base 802 BG039 model. I run it with eight Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 PWM fans (four in, four out) and turn them down to about twenty-five percent idle speed as soon as temps hit eighty Celsius. I also use a Noctua NH-D15 G2 cooler, but an Arctic Freezer III Pro 360mm AIO works just fine too. With the Arctic, using the three-cable kit they give you is my best choice so I can control the speed of those radiator fans to keep noise down until temps reach eighty Celsius.
I'm going to fix some wrong ideas first and ask you a few questions. What do you think about silence? You can make your build pretty quiet using the parts you pick. My signature isn't updated, but I have a 5090 and a 5800X3D. My PC only gets loud when playing games that use more than 400 watts from the graphics card. I want to suggest a setup without a custom loop that should be very quiet. A common wrong idea is that fans make most of the noise, but that's not true. When it comes to case fans, most of the noise actually comes from air being forced through the shape inside the case. Fan stuff alone rarely makes more than 30-35 db on its own, even spinning at 2000-3000 RPM. Dust filters and the shape of the front air inlets often cause the most noise when air goes through them. This means picking good fans and choosing a cool case are really important for a quiet PC. You still want low-noise fans made with LCP because they are strong and fit well together. We should start by swapping out all the fans that come with the AIOs, and the case fans with Phanteks T30s where possible. They work almost as well as loud high-RPM fans like the Arctic P12/14 Max's but make much less noise with good air pressure support. The next thing to think about is the case. The Antex Flux case has been very quiet in all my tests and big enough for everything you need. The AIO for your CPU should be the next choice. We will swap out fans on any AIO we get anyway, so a powerful pump and radiator with a long warranty are what matter most here. The AIO that fits this mold, I think, would be the Arctic freezer III 360mm. The Asus astral graphics card isn't super quiet, but if you buy the LC version that has an internal pump and radiator we can fix a lot of those peaking sounds on the non-LC versions while it's working hard. So if we get two packs of Phanteks fans and put them on the CPU's and graphics card's radiators we can cut down on noise. Add three extra single T30 120mm fans, two for bottom air intake and one for back exhaust and you are golden. The AIO for the graphics card should go on top of the case as exhaust, and the AIO for the CPU be mounted in the front as intake with the tubes pointing up into the case. The Phanteks case comes with a fan controller too, so you can use that to control all fans inside, or just plug them all into the motherboard and switch them on/off through BIOS either way both work great. This setup makes sure fresh air gets in by the CPU radiator and goes back out into the case to help everything else. You don't want the graphics card radiator to be the front intake because then it will dump 600 watts of heat onto the motherboard, card VRM, memory, and CPU radiator. If you are in the USA this is what the build looks like when it comes to cost. I expect this build not to go too far over 40-45 decibels while under full load with fan settings tuned for quietness. Also think about hysteresis on all fans so the speed changes move slowly instead of suddenly.
The only thing that's going to cost me is the new graphics card, and it's more expensive than buying everything else at once.
They ask for good performance and loud sound levels, likely with no special liquid cooling setup, so you just get the usual stuff in return.