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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MeanBruce - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
You don't need an Anechoic Chamber, all you need is a pair of ears in good working condition!Shadowmaster625 - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
I have been focusing more on quiet parts for years. But it is really tough to find quiet parts at a decent price. SilentPC review is almost worthless because of the outrageous prices of the parts that they review. sigh.HangFire - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
Huh? Do you have examples?WD Green drives are hardly pricey. You only need one or two CPU fans, so while $19 each may be "twice the price" of a noisy fan, it is still not a lot of money. I picked up my Mugen 2 for $55 plus shipping, and better deals have been had for that item. It works so well I had to turn off the BIOS alarm because the PWMA CPU fan kept dropping below 100RPM and the CPU idles 2C above ambient. A P183 costs less than most Lian Li's and certainly a lot less than a ThermalTake Level 10. Since most silent builds don't use a big card like a GTX 580 the total system costs are usually less than a mid-range gaming rig.
The only nearly "pricey" item I can see at SPCR is the Seasonic X-400 Power Supply. Given that you are getting a Gold Rating and fanless operation, in a P/S with a long warranty and very high quality capacitors, with low ripple and tight regulation, it is obvious you are getting what you pay for. The overall system longevity and reliability is worth it, especially compared to bargain gaming power supplies, many of which have false ratings. If you are comparing it price-wise to a same-wattage low end Rosewill or a Diablotek, well, anyone who buys something like that gets what they deserve when the magic smoke comes out.
Shadowmaster625 - Friday, February 11, 2011 - link
I'm mainly thinking of power supplies and fans. In the case of fans, a few years back I bought one they recommended and it wasnt nearly as quiet as I expected. Things could be different now but I feel like an idiot dropping $20+ on a fan anyway.With power supplies, I was looking for a good quiet reasonably priced 300W supply. Something that is only going to be powering a dual core with 2 drives and a HD5670. Nothing big. And when I did find one, I would go to newegg and the thing would have a horrible rating with lots of DOAs and "died after 2 weeks" type comments. It is hard to pull the trigger and pay $60 for a 300 watt psu that people are having problems with. I think $60 is pretty steep for a 300W supply, even if it is very quiet. If I pay that much I want it to be a 5 star product.
HangFire - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
SPCR is the place to go for noise reviews. For Power Supply quality reviews, there is jonnyguru and [H]ardOCP. Not Anandtech, and certainly not Tom's.Just a few years ago, buying a quality power supply for a decent price was very difficult. Part of the problem is that it costs almost as much to build a 300W P/S as a 600W (same number of components, same labor, same shipping, same marketing, same return rate, slightly different rating on components), yet the market will not pay as much. Since then, competition (mainly between Antec and Corsair) has given us several reasonable choices.
The existence of $15 power supplies colors the users opinion as well, and the existence of $15 P/S that sell for $60 doesn't help either. Keeping in mind that cheap P/S often are missing advertised features (like Over Current Protection), don't meet ATX specs (typically voltage regulation at rated wattage), and are missing A/C filtering components (lots of noise put back on the mains). Getting all this stuff right costs money. Doing it very quietly costs more.
As for loud fans and a dead P/S, everyone has bad luck, that is what RMA's are for. Sure, we are usually out the shipping, but we can let our displeasure be known in reviews and forums, and by buying the competitor's products.
But your idea that SPCR is almost worthless and reviews primarily outrageously expensive products is silly. Compared to cutting edge performance products, almost everything on SPCR is cheap.
PartEleven - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
I frequent SPCR, and I have no idea where you got this opinion. They suggest some of the most reasonably-priced parts out of all of the tech sites I've read. Which parts are you looking at? And for that matter, what's your idea of "reasonably priced"? You're not going to get quality quiet parts for the bargain-basement $1 per fan price you find on deal sites.Golgatha - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
They replaced some case fans, used an aftermarket cooler with a more silent fan, and cut some foam to fit inside an Antec case. This + service (last I checked the individual components are warrantied by the manufacturers) != a $1000 markup. Also, at this price point it should come with a SSD.Golgatha - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
Sorry, my mistake, it does some with a SSD. Still the parts list is lacking for the price they want.HangFire - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
Wow, you made the same point as Dustin, and even got the cost differential wrong the same amount, too. Good job!KayDat - Thursday, February 10, 2011 - link
I guess that means you don't fall under Puget's target market. There are certain markets where silent computer is important. Noise is often a forgotten aspect when people build computers, basically as long as it doesn't sound like an outright vacuum cleaner/blow dryer, people accept it.While you could buy identical parts for much much cheaper, they cherry pick their parts to iron out batch variation and electrical noise in motherboards and power supplies. They have anechoic chambers for testing. The list goes on. Clearly, it's not something an average Joe can do off New Egg. That might not mean much to many, especially the readership of AT, but it is important to some.