Help me buy a new computer

[Monoriu]

Besides the usual requirements of cheap and powerful, I also want the computer to be somewhat quiet.  Not silent, but I can no longer stand sitting next to a tornado. 

Computer A (customised build)

Intel i7 2600 (3.4GHz x4)
Gigabyte/Asus/Intel B3 motherboard
8GB DDR3-1333 PC3-10600
nVIDIA Geforce GTX560 1GB GDDR5
1TB SATA 6Gbps hard disk
Blueray Combo
Cooler Master 550 Case
Gigabyte 720w (80 plus)
Corsair H60 liquid cooling heatsink
Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)

Price: US$1,538

Computer B (Dell)

Intel i7 2600 (8MB cache) overclocked turbo boost to 3.9GHz
8GB (2x4) DDR3 SDRAM 1333 MHz memory
SLI dual 1GB nVIDEA Geforce GTX 460
1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s harddrive with native command queueing
24x DVD RW with dual layer write capability
Matte Black Chassis 875w powersupply
Liquid cooling heatsink
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit

Price: US$1,897


CPU: seems similar.  B has a higher clock speed.  I have serious reservations about the "overclock" bit, whatever that means.
RAM: are these the same?  Is 8GB enough?
Video card.  "Dual" means 2 cards, right?  2 must be much better than 1?  560 should be better than 460 though.  Which one is better?
Harddrive.  Is 6.0Gb/s much better than 3.0?
Powersupply.  Is 875w much better than 720w?

The customised build guys say that I can put whatever I want in it.  Any suggestions to make it better without making it too expensive?  Any ideas to make it less noisy? 

Which option is better?  Should I trust Dell which make increasingly noisy computers for me?  Or a couple of young guys sitting in a small shop in the alley? 

Thanks.

[Martinus]

Apple: Think Different.

[Monoriu]

Apple: Think Different.

Nah. 

[Grey Fox]

Cheap? none of that is cheap.

[Monoriu]

Cheap? none of that is cheap.

I once bought the cheapest stuff.  Within a year I could not run the programmes that I wanted it to run.  So I had to buy another one.  I swore that I would not make the same mistake twice. 

[Grey Fox]

Cheap? none of that is cheap.

I once bought the cheapest stuff.  Within a year I could not run the programmes that I wanted it to run.  So I had to buy another one.  I swore that I would not make the same mistake twice.

That's ok. Just don't pretend it's cheap.

[Monoriu]

That's ok. Just don't pretend it's cheap.

I don't.  It is just that my IT colleagues mostly use macs, so they call me cheap 

[Grey Fox]

IT guys not using Linux? HK is weird.

[Monoriu]

IT guys not using Linux? HK is weird.

I am an IT guy too  

See, most of them don't know much IT.  Someone with a theology degree fresh out of university can become a programmer in the civil service.  They just manage the contractors. 

[Monoriu]

I'd love to answer your questions, Grey Fox.  But I also would like to hear some advice or answers to my questions 

[Grey Fox]

CPU: seems similar.  B has a higher clock speed.  I have serious reservations about the "overclock" bit, whatever that means.
RAM: are these the same?  Is 8GB enough?
Video card.  "Dual" means 2 cards, right?  2 must be much better than 1?  560 should be better than 460 though.  Which one is better?
Harddrive.  Is 6.0Gb/s much better than 3.0?
Powersupply.  Is 875w much better than 720w?

The customised build guys say that I can put whatever I want in it.  Any suggestions to make it better without making it too expensive?  Any ideas to make it less noisy? 

Which option is better?  Should I trust Dell which make increasingly noisy computers for me?  Or a couple of young guys sitting in a small shop in the alley? 

Thanks.

It's the same CPU, one is in the default speed, the other is going a little faster. With proper heat dissipation there is no down side.

We'd would need more information on the RAM to say it's the same but they are pretty similar. 8gb is enough, unless you like to edit big images.

Yes, Dual means 2 video cards. The 560 should be better, it'll atleast be more recent.

Harddrive, 6 is double 3. Should be faster. I don't know how much better is it. I've never use a SSD.

Powersupply wise both should be plenty, altho having enough is very important.

Note that Watercooling is not quiet. There are still fans involved. Want to reduce noise fan? Get a case with good airflow, big fans (23cm) & great after market CPU heatsink that will dissipate heat without having to turn a 12mm fan at 14000rpm.

[Monoriu]

Thanks 

[Grey Fox]

You did pick a nice case there in the Silencio 500.

But since this is a new computer build, I will take the opportunity to recommend you the HAF 932 full tower, or it's little brother the HAF 912 medium tower. Both made by Cooler Master.

I have the first, my father in law as the second & they are trully wonderfull.

They now have the HAF X, it's evolution but I don't know anyone who has one.

[Monoriu]

You did pick a nice case there in the Silencio 500.

But since this is a new computer build, I will take the opportunity to recommend you the HAF 932 full tower, or it's little brother the HAF 912 medium tower. Both made by Cooler Master.

I have the first, my father in law as the second & they are trully wonderfull.

Even better advice.  Thanks 

[Barrister]

Lets see...

I'm intrigued by your coment that you want your computer to be quiet.  Quite often that is something that is ignored by people on languish when doing their custom builds, from what I can tell.

Macs are in fact very quiet, but I know you won't buy one so I'll skip that point.

silentpcreview.com is the place to go for everything about silent PCs.  The big keys to a silent PC is #1 the case - you need an insulated case with good airflow and large, slow-moving fans.  I see that silentpc actually reviewed your case, and called it "the most affordable case that we can describe as quiet with a straight face.", though there are other more expensive cases they like a lot more.

The next thing to worry about is heat - if your machine is just pumping out so much heat you have to get your fans spinning up high to keep them cool.   There your graphics card might let you down.  I think you might want to go Radeon.  From what I've read NVidia makes the most powerful cards, but they make the most heat too.  Radeon supposedly makes the most "efficient" cards - that is the best graphics for the least heat.

You definitely don't want the SLI in your suggested Dell - double the cards means double the noise.

Plus you want a cooling system that is effective, but not with loud fans.  I see your system actually has liquid cooling.  Again from what I've read liquid cooling is actually pretty loud, if measured in dB.  Now you might like the sound - it won't sound like sitting next to a tornado, but rather like sitting next to a fish tank - but it won't be quiet.  I think you'd be better off with an either passive, or slow-spinning air cooled CPU cooler.

Overclocked means that they take the same CPU and fiddle with the settings so that it runs faster - which also means it runs hotter.  With a modern i7 you frankly won't come close to using all of your CPU power anyways, so I'd avoid overclocking.

875 vs 720?  You want a power supply that gives you enough power.  Thats it.  It's not about max wattage - its about whether it's enough.  Your custom build PS is "80plus" which means its energy efficient - which means it runs cooler.

What else can you do?  SSD HD.  Yes it is more money per GB.  But its many times faster, and yes - it's absolutely quiet.  I've read a hundred times its the single most noticeable upgrade you can make to your computer.

I've soured on Dells, having had a lot of problems with recent laptops for both myself and my inlaws.  Plus I think you're right - that Dell will be very noisy.