Quietest gaming PC 2023

Quietest gaming PC
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The quietest gaming PC is just the thing for enjoying a marathon play session without the constant bother of fan noise. While some gamers will aver that the best way to get a quiet gaming PC is to build your own, that isn’t a practical or desirable option for everyone. So, in this guide we’ve collated the quietest gaming PCs available to buy fully built, ready to play straight out of the box.

We’ve put together this guide with five key recommendations. First up is our top pick for the quietest gaming PC – that is the PC we judged to be the quietest running model that is still highly specced enough to be a solid gaming option. After that, we’ve picked out four fantastic alternatives, all of which can run high-spec games while creating minimal noise.

There are many quiet and silent PCs out there – you can find a few in our-rundown of the quietest PCs for your home office. However, the majority of the PCs featured in that guide are simply not powerful enough to handle contemporary gaming processing demands.

The reason for this is that CPUs (computer processors) produce a lot of heat, and this heat needs to be dissipated safely to prevent the computer from overheating and being damaged. When you hear a PC making a lot of noise, it’s not the processor working – it’s usually the fans that are kicking into gear to keep it cool. Quiet gaming PCs use other methods to keep their processors cool – there are a few we’ll get into, including liquid cooling and passive ventilation. But for now, let’s crack straight on and reveal the quietest gaming PC you can buy.

The quietest gaming PC

Image showing MSI Infinite RS 13th desktop PC

(Image credit: MSI)

MSI Infinite RS 13th

Sophisticated cooling makes this one of the quietest gaming PCs ever

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i7 / i9 (up to 13th Gen)
RAM: Up to 64GB
Weight: 52 lbs
Memory storage: 2TB
OS: Windows 11 Pro
USB 2.0 Ports: 2
USB 3.0 Ports: 7 (USB-A and USB-C)

Reasons to buy

+
Whisper-quiet operation 
+
Loads of ports
+
Top-end liquid cooling

Reasons to avoid

-
Very big and heavy
-
Swing-out doors require clearance

High-end gaming rigs are infamous for being noisy things, so if you’re on the hunt for a quiet gaming PC, you owe it to yourself to try out the MSI Infinite RS 13th. With sophisticated liquid cooling systems for both its CPU and GPU, as well as two radiators and a nine-fan system, this rig runs at a frankly freakishly low noise level. You can boot up some crunchy, resource-intensive game like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, play it with the frame rate turned up and still marvel at how little noise you’re getting out of the machine.

Part of this is down to the sheer size of the machine, which is worth taking into account. The MSI Infinite RS 13th is a big and roomy gaming PC. While this means lots of space for the components to air-cool, it also means it’s going to take up a fair amount of space on your desk or wherever you end up putting it. The swing-out doors that allow access to internal components also have basically zero clearance from the ground, so it really needs a smooth and flat surface to sit on. 

Ultimately though, with a Core i9-13900KF processor and an RTX 4090 graphics card, the MSI Infinite RS 13th is a fearsomely potent gaming machine for 2023, and the fact that it won’t deafen you with jet-engine noises just makes it that much more tempting. 

More quiet gaming PCs

If the MSI Infinite RS 13th doesn’t fit the bill for you, we’ve picked out four more of the quietest gaming PCs you can buy.

What to look for in the quietest gaming PC

Why would you want a quiet gaming PC?

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While the reality is that a quiet gaming PC will probably appeal to basically anybody who doesn’t like feeling like they’re sitting next to an industrial fan, there are a few specific practical reasons for getting one.

One big one is streaming. If you like to stream games, or plan to start in the future, then you’ll likely also want to have a way to record your reactions and commentary – check out our guide to the best USB microphones to get started. However, even if you’re using a decent directional mic, a loud, whirring gaming PC can still interfere with your audio and make your streams a less pleasant experience for your audience. And if you’re wearing headphones, as streamers commonly do, you might not even notice unless someone in the chat is good enough to point it out.

In general, gaming on a quiet PC is a calmer and more pleasant experience. If you use your gaming PC for group games or online play for others, you don’t want it to be constantly whirring away. Then there’s also the fact that you may well be sharing your gaming and living space with others. Does your partner or roommate necessarily want to hear a PC’s fans screaming away frantically trying to keep the CPU cool until the early hours of the morning while you try to nail down the final few achievements in Elden Ring? Go ahead and ask if you want (but the answer is no).

What are the trade-offs of a quiet gaming PC?

Like anything in life, a quiet gaming PC comes with trade-offs. The fact is that PCs, and gaming PCs in particular, aren’t making all that noise just to be obnoxious. They’re running fans and other cooling systems keep the CPU and GPU from overheating, and protecting components from excess heat build-up is a huge, huge consideration in PC design. Some PCs have silent running modes that prevent the fans from kicking in – however, these will monitor the CPU temperature and throttle it if it gets too high, which will slow down performance.

There are other ways around this, but they come with trade-offs of their own. For instance, the MSI Infinite RS 13th we picked as our number-one choice for the best quiet gaming PC is a powerful machine that can play games at high resolutions and frame rates, but it’s also an absolute hulk of a machine (in part because there’s lots of space in the machine for air-flow to keep components cool).

Of course, one way to keep your gaming rig quiet is to make your peace with not having the settings cranked up to maximum at all times. Granted, if you’re playing the latest Call of Duty online competitively then you probably need the fastest frame rate you can get, and sometimes playing at maximum resolution is the only way you can appreciate the graphical splendor of something like Dying Light 2. But not everyone needs this, and if you’re happy dialing down the settings a little, you can have a much more tranquil gaming experience.

Jon Stapley
Contributor

Jon Stapley is an experienced writer and journalist who covers tech, photography and more. As well as contributing to TopTen Reviews, he has written for Digital Camera World, Black + White Photography magazine, Creative BLOQ, Wex Photo Video, Amateur Photographer, Trusted Reviews and plenty more.