Semi-silent i7 build in G5 case.

[lazarus]

In case anyone finds this and is curious about the build, over 6 months later I finally got all the parts I need to make this thing go. Will post build pictures and everything when all done.

Ended up going for:
-Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SOC for the mainboard
-i7-4790K
-Thermaltake Macho Rev B for cooling (same as the Macho Zero mentioned earlier, but comes with a low RPM fan, which I am going to avoid using at first and see how the temps are doing before I throw it on)
-A Noctua 140mm NF-A14 for the front of the case
-A Noctua 120mm NF-S12A for the rear of the case
-2x 8GB G. skills Ripjaw X series DDR 1600 RAM
-Samsung 850 500GB SSD
-ASUS Strix GeForce GTX 750Ti OC
-EVGA Supernova 650 G2 PSU
-Startech PCI firewire card
-Keeping the original Apple Superdrive, I bought a generic el cheapo IDE to SATA converter board for that

 

[lazarus]

Oddly the Noctua 140mm fan was louder than the 120mm one (which is silent). Wondering if maybe I got a bad one? Sending it back and trying a Phanteks PH-F140XP instead.

Pics of the build are here if anyone is curious.

 

[lazarus]

One final update:
Ended up switching out the Gigabyte motherboard for an Asus-Z97-K. No problems with wake on sleep, and more importantly to me, much better fan management cooked in to the BIOS. With the Eco mode on the PSU, the Strix graphics card, and the BIOS controlling the case fans I have a system I can't hear with my ear pressed to the case. The front 140mm fan is audible when it's on, for reasons I can't figure out (must just be how air bounces around inside the case) whereas the rear 120mm fan is silent. So right now the front case fan doesn't come on below 50C. Very, very happy with the final result, and would recommend the EVGA PSU, the Strix GPU, and the Asus MB to anyone looking for flexibility and silent running.

 

[nathanwhs]

One final update:
Ended up switching out the Gigabyte motherboard for an Asus-Z97-K. No problems with wake on sleep, and more importantly to me, much better fan management cooked in to the BIOS. With the Eco mode on the PSU, the Strix graphics card, and the BIOS controlling the case fans I have a system I can't hear with my ear pressed to the case. The front 140mm fan is audible when it's on, for reasons I can't figure out (must just be how air bounces around inside the case) whereas the rear 120mm fan is silent. So right now the front case fan doesn't come on below 50C. Very, very happy with the final result, and would recommend the EVGA PSU, the Strix GPU, and the Asus MB to anyone looking for flexibility and silent running.

Sorry that this is a super old post now, but I'm looking into buying the STRIX 750ti for my system - did it work without any issues?

Thanks. I'd PM you but I don't have the post count needed to do that.

 

[lazarus]

Yes, it works just fine from a technical standpoint. I put mine in a G5 case, and that introduces one problem with the Strix 750 Ti which is that the DisplayPort connection is right up against the cutout for the case mod (I used the laserhive one). It's a huge hassle and damaged one DP cable which caused me no end of frustration until I figured out the cable was responsible for a lot of problems.

So long story short, it works fine. Use it without hesitation if you're putting this in a standard case. If you're modding a G5 I'd look at the EVGA 950 with ACX, which does the same thing as the Strix (turn off the fans when not needed), has way more DisplayPorts, and is a more robust card. Not that much mroe, can be had for under $170 on Amazon. Good luck.

 

[nathanwhs]

Yes, it works just fine from a technical standpoint. I put mine in a G5 case, and that introduces one problem with the Strix 750 Ti which is that the DisplayPort connection is right up against the cutout for the case mod (I used the laserhive one). It's a huge hassle and damaged one DP cable which caused me no end of frustration until I figured out the cable was responsible for a lot of problems.

So long story short, it works fine. Use it without hesitation if you're putting this in a standard case. If you're modding a G5 I'd look at the EVGA 950 with ACX, which does the same thing as the Strix (turn off the fans when not needed), has way more DisplayPorts, and is a more robust card. Not that much mroe, can be had for under $170 on Amazon. Good luck.

Awesome, thank you!