Puget Systems Serenity SPCR Edition: Blissful Silence
by Dustin Sklavos on February 10, 2011 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Intel
- Radeon
- Sandy Bridge
- Puget Systems
- Serenity SPCR
Conclusion: Custom Job at a Custom Price
When we look at the Puget Systems Serenity SPCR Edition, we're really looking at two things: the design of the custom build, and the hardware configuration proper.
The hardware configuration is largely up to the end user; the quote on our price sheet listed our test system at a fairly onerous $2,149. We're really looking at a little over $1,000 in parts here judging from a trip to NewEgg and some quick and dirty math. No one likes seeing 100% markup on a computer that costs over two bills, so from a pure value perspective the Serenity SPCR Edition can feel like a real bust. None of the upgrades available on Puget Systems's site really gouge the end user (as opposed to, say, ordering RAM from Apple), so what we're really dealing with is a brutal base price. Bouncing over to the "Professional," which is designed to run at 20db instead of 11db (oh the horror!), drops the price by about $150. Even the "Mini," built in an Antec Mini P180, only drops the price another $100 on top of the "Professional." That's still pretty unseemly. And after all that, to only offer a one year warranty on parts versus the three years standard I've seen nearly everywhere else seems like adding insult to injury.
Update: After Jon at Puget Systems and Jarred both ran the numbers, they came up with a figure substantially higher than mine. While my rough and tumble estimate hits equivalent performance, it doesn't really account for all the extra materials Puget Systems does employ in this build. Jarred estimates markup at between 40% and 50% which is still a little rough, but nowhere near as bad.
On the other hand, the Serenity SPCR Edition isn't a slapdash job the way some other builds from boutique vendors can feel. The only other custom system I've seen that actually modified the case somewhat was AVADirect's Nano Gaming Cube, but that thing was more or less bursting at the seams and in dire need of a proper case instead of a modified one (something AVADirect has been working with SilverStone on). Puget Systems clearly thought the Serenity from the ground up, and there's some careful consideration going on here to ensure the quietest system. This is a smart design if ever I've seen one, and you can't argue with results: Puget Systems set out to build a silent computer and they've achieved it. The Serenity runs, under load, quieter than most laptops I've tested run at idle. We can't test the noise level because it basically sits beneath the noise floor of my apartment complex and I just don't have gear sensitive enough to pick it up.
Reconciling the high price (complete with middling warranty) with your desire for a silent machine is really going to be a matter of personal preference and just how much you're willing to spend for a quiet system. Puget Systems clearly gunned to get the Serenity as quiet as humanly possible (in fact our rep was disappointed they couldn't get it down to 10db), sparing virtually no expense, and on that front they're successful. You will, if nothing else, get quality parts if you order a Serenity from them (even the Serenity Mini uses a Seasonic power supply by default). Deciding just how much silent, efficient running is worth is going to vary from user to user, but at least Puget Systems is putting it on the table and offering a custom build that sacrifices flash for an austere, professional design.
Puget Systems' response to the Sandy Bridge chipset bug shows that they're willing to provide better support to end-users than most companies—something you usually only get from a boutique computer vendor. We appreciate what they offer, and if they could knock at least a couple hundred off the price and bump that parts warranty up to three years, we'd have Editor's Choice material on our hands. As it stands, though, I'm left reviewing another system that a lot of users (myself included) would be overjoyed to own but are unwilling to pay for.
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Anchen - Friday, February 11, 2011 - link
What the hell i the waste? It's not like an 850W psu draws more power, it'll only use as much as the system needs. It comes out cheaper, is effectively silent. And if you knew anything about PSU's you know you certainly don't want to continuously run at 90% of your PSU's capacity which if you were gaming with a single 6970 you would. A PSU's best efficiency is at 50% load.HangFire - Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - link
"Seasonic X-400. Game,set,match. No fan, will go up to 400watts. Whats Puget excuse?"flemeister already answered your question. They are counting on the always-on CP-850 for needed airflow. An X-400 would be silent but would only add heat to the case, not remove it.
Now... What excuse for your continued ignorance?
strikeback03 - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
Who called it a gaming machine? Do you think that is all Anandtech can review?michal1980 - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
Look at the gaming review done on this machine. Look at the author's off base, ignornant comments on 30fps. And the rant about 100-150fps. For the writer/anandtech to ever try to stretch this into a gaming machine is crap.strikeback03 - Friday, February 11, 2011 - link
I don't think they were trying to call it a gaming machine at all. They were putting it through their standard suite of tests, which includes games. This is the same as putting an Atom netbook through the standard laptop test suite, even though they know it will be producing single-digit FPS scores and is completely unsuited to that use. I did not read this article as trying to show this was any more than adequate as a gaming platform, it seemed clear to me that the point of this build is a lot of CPU power in as silent a rig as possible. Obviously if gaming is your primary use, unless you game in a crypt with sound off this probably shouldn't be how you spend $2k.Also, 16FPS was in 1 game at their Ultra preset. You could have chosen to point out the 53 FPS it scored in the chart above the one you referenced, which would be just as much of an outlier.
pcfxer - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
Parts cost money, but I guarantee no one on here could achieve the same thing with the amount of research and testing that has been applied to this system. Apparently people want Engineers to work for free.IBM doesn't charge you only for parts, GM/ford/etc don't charge you just for parts and your local bike shop doesn't charge for just parts. YES! Unless you have an anechoic chamber with a noise floor below 10dB and years of experience (engineering degree or two) you can achieve this.
The chamber costs money, the engineer costs money, the time costs money. DEAL WITH IT! You couldn't do better!
MeanBruce - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
You are right, and you are wrong! Puget should get paid for the work they have done on this PC, absolutely!!! Out of all the parlor shop groups they really seem to know what they are doing, and for those Silent Enthusiasts out there who don't want to put together a PC this is a great way to go, certified 11db is well worth the price if you haven't experienced a PC this quiet it will change your entire computing experience!! But please don't let people believe you cannot do this yourself, you can, without an enginneering degree and without a sound chamber! My loudest component was a 10db Noctua fan that I replaced with a 6db Noctua fan, 200mm case fans attenuated down to 8db, rear case fan 6db, video card fan in auto mode 1335rpm again between 8 and 10db, how do I know? Because it's quieter than my 10db fan and louder than my 6db fan! CPU cooler Noctua NH-D14, it's so large so much surface area it needs no fan 0db. Ssd 0db! You don't need a degree or have to hire an engineer to put together an sub-10db PC, if you enjoy putting a PC together just do it yourself! ;)mino - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
But!You would need a brain. Those are a much harder to get than degrees.
PartEleven - Friday, February 11, 2011 - link
Wait? What? SPCR's own anechoic chamber has a noise floor of 10.21 db. Even they have a hard time measuring the noise from this system.In reading your post it sounds like you are basing your own system's sound using your own subjective hearing and comparing it to a fan advertised at 10db. You fail to realize that nearly every sound rating advertised on the package of a fan is misleading at best. There's no way your system is 10db.
Taft12 - Friday, February 11, 2011 - link
Nor do sound waves exist in a vacuum in the real world. More than one fan will create a multiplying effect leading to a db measure higher than the "rating" of any single fan.