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If you really want 'quiet', then limit your CPU TDP (losing maybe 7% peak performance) and...
...build a computer with zero moving parts
gbj_tester-
That's what I did. I've had my fanless QuietPC for 8 years and don't miss the fan noise.
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In the context of 'gaming' systems with all components sharing a chassis with top-end GPUs blazing out ~400W sustained, passive cooling isn't really practical.
But yes, for a general-purpose machine, silent (fanless) running has been a solved problem for a while now.
hippy
ectoplasmosis
There's always something 'right around the corner'. "If I was buying now"...
Any form of cooling is only as quiet as the fans that are fitted. With watercooling, you've got pump noise to contend with, and pump impeller development has nowhere near the level of resources chucked at it as fan R&D does. Also, sealed heat pipes/vapour chambers are incredibly effective, and from my experience in order to achieve similar levels of performance between a good, large heatpipe air cooler and a compact closed-loop watercooler, the watercooler will need to have more/larger/faster fans and be louder.
Obvs you can spec and fit a MUCH larger water radiator inside a PC chassis, so watercooling can scale far further than air, but again that only starts to make a practical difference if you're using Intel chips made of magma or 0vErCl0KxXiNg.
If you really want 'quiet', then limit your CPU TDP (losing maybe 7% peak performance) and run your 140mm Noctua fans at 500rpm.