I've had this build for a bit as a quiet gaming rig with air cooling:
- 5600X with Noctua C14S - Pulling through side vents
- EVGA 2080 Gaming Ultra (3-slot version)
- Two NF-A12x25s as intake on the bottom
- One NF-S12A on the top as exhaust (not much else fits due to the C14S positioning)
- 750W PSU pulling from front, exhausting upwards
Under full load, the loudest thing about this build was the coil whine with fans maxing out at around 900 RPM, and the 2080 tended to sit at high 60s while gaming. The CPU topped out in the mid 60s as well. So was pretty happy with how things turned out.
With the 3080 FE added in, I've been having issues dealing with the extra wattage, and the fan noise of the FE. CPU package is a bit warmer, but not by much, so not worried about that. But at stock, the FE will hit the thermal limit and get super loud. After doing some undervolting (and capping the max clocks), I'm at 1830Mhz drawing about 250W versus the ~305-315W @ 1920Mhz stock. So now I can keep the fans at under 50% if I'm willing to accept the GPU running at ~80C. Not at the stock thermal limit anymore, barely. But at least all the fans are back to maxing out at 900RPM or so, keeping things quiet.
It feels like I might be hitting the limits of what I can expect from a pure air-cooled quiet build with a high end GPU, short of finding someone willing to trade a partner card for the FE to shave a few degrees. But before I start mulling the idea of building a custom loop and giving up the simplicity of air cooling, maybe more experienced folks have some tips on how I can further improve things here?
- 5600X with Noctua C14S - Pulling through side vents
- EVGA 2080 Gaming Ultra (3-slot version)
- Two NF-A12x25s as intake on the bottom
- One NF-S12A on the top as exhaust (not much else fits due to the C14S positioning)
- 750W PSU pulling from front, exhausting upwards
Under full load, the loudest thing about this build was the coil whine with fans maxing out at around 900 RPM, and the 2080 tended to sit at high 60s while gaming. The CPU topped out in the mid 60s as well. So was pretty happy with how things turned out.
With the 3080 FE added in, I've been having issues dealing with the extra wattage, and the fan noise of the FE. CPU package is a bit warmer, but not by much, so not worried about that. But at stock, the FE will hit the thermal limit and get super loud. After doing some undervolting (and capping the max clocks), I'm at 1830Mhz drawing about 250W versus the ~305-315W @ 1920Mhz stock. So now I can keep the fans at under 50% if I'm willing to accept the GPU running at ~80C. Not at the stock thermal limit anymore, barely. But at least all the fans are back to maxing out at 900RPM or so, keeping things quiet.
It feels like I might be hitting the limits of what I can expect from a pure air-cooled quiet build with a high end GPU, short of finding someone willing to trade a partner card for the FE to shave a few degrees. But before I start mulling the idea of building a custom loop and giving up the simplicity of air cooling, maybe more experienced folks have some tips on how I can further improve things here?