Hi all,
What about sharing our personal experiences with building silent, flexible home audio/entertainment devices?
This was my first time - and the choice of components was not easy ! Very often, you can't have both speed and silence. Here's what I did.
I've just built a PC on a following basis:
- ABIT KD7-E mainboard (VIA KT333 chipset / allows cpu multiplier setting / voltage lowering in BIOS / down to 1.1V in 0.025V increments).
- AMD Thoroughbred 2000+ 1.65V cpu (multiplier is unlocked out-of-the-box).
- flower CPU heatsink -- it rocks: depending on cpu voltage, there's no need for a fan !!
- 256MB of cheap PC266 ddr sdram
- nice black midi-tower case without PSU.
- special, ultra-quiet 300W PSU
- 7200RPM, 80GB WD HDD
- ATI Radeon 9000pro with VGA, DVI- and TV-out
The following components were modified:
- cpu was underclocked and heavily under-volted (running as 1500+ @ 1.2V). Can also run ~1200MHz @ 1.1V.
- Radeon 9000 pro was modified for passive cooling
- northbridge fan of the motherboard was replaced with passive cooling solution.
- HDD was put in silent 5 1/4'' acoustic armor.
- the case was stuffed with custom acoustic damping material.
The special components were mostly Zalman stuff, found on:
- http://www.quietpc.com/cpucool2.php (http://www.quietpc.com/cpucool2.php) (CPU flower cooler)
- http://www.quietpc.com/psu.html (http://www.quietpc.com/psu.html) (silent PSU)
- http://www.quietpc.com/silentdrive.html (http://www.quietpc.com/silentdrive.html) (HDD armor)
- http://www.quietpc.com/vgamb.php (http://www.quietpc.com/vgamb.php) (VGA and M/B heatsinks).
Results:
- there are two fans in the system (PSU & CPU), one of which can be deactivated.
- runs smoothly at 1500+, 1.2V, ~40 Celsius with big, silent 600RPM fan to blow some air into the case (no fan is fine also: ~42-55 Celsius depending on cpu voltage).
- pc is near-silent (just about "undetectable" from 30cm distance).
Additional thoughts:
- I'll add a soundcard and a LAN card (no fans, so no problem)
- I'm still hesitating about what DVD-rom drive I'll put in there.
- I've put the 7200RPM HDD because that's all I had.. but maybe I'll replace it with a 5400RPM (or lower) one.
- operating system not chosen yet.
Epilogue / What I learned:
- I'm VERY satisfied with this silent PC.
- In the future I'll be careful about the noise when buying components for other pc's.
- There's no way I'd buy a GeForce FX (think noise..)
- Silent machines need more expensive cooling components, but I think it's really worth it !
Sorry but I have no knowledge at all on this, but how about water cooling?
I haven't tried water cooling, it should be fine but I guess it's more expensive and maybe less reliable...
Using a proper heatsink, one won't need a fan at all
@Hanky:
I don't meant to be rude, but if you don't have anything useful to say, say nothing at all.
@Numlock:
I'm currently working on silencing my 1.6Ghz AthlonXP setup. For this, I will be using:
* A Zalman flower CPU heatsink, but my CPU will be clocked as normal.
* A Papst 8cm suspended fan to assist the flower with cooling.
* Foam surrouding for my hard drive. This is found to be cheap and effective.
* Use Nero DriveSpeed (in Nero Burning Rom) to lock the drive speed to 12x for near silent operation.
* Mod the PSU fan to facilitate a switch between standard flow and variable resistor.
I highly recommend http://www.silentpcreview.com (http://www.silentpcreview.com) as an excellent starter point, and the quietpc.com equipment has only ever received good reviews.
My opinion on watercooling is that it can be highly effective, but after comparing the sound output of a watercooled rig and a Zalman/QuietPC.com rig - there is very little in it.
Ruairi
@Numlock You can get your money PSU back if you want!
There are PSU units which are more silent because they use no fan at all!
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/tkpow300wfan.html (http://www.siliconacoustics.com/tkpow300wfan.html) (not really ATX form factor, but others exist who are).
And if you're to buy a silent HD I can recommend to take a look at Seagate which are even less noisy than the Maxtor fluid hdds. I would be carefull with isolating the HDD though, the rise in temperature can be fatal in the long run.
If you're HDD supports it, you can use the freeware tool speedfan to monitor it's temperature and control the fan speed as needed.
Wanne.
@Numlock:
I'm currently working on silencing my 1.6Ghz AthlonXP setup. For this, I will be using:
* A Zalman flower CPU heatsink, but my CPU will be clocked as normal.
* A Papst 8cm suspended fan to assist the flower with cooling.
* Foam surrouding for my hard drive. This is found to be cheap and effective.
* Use Nero DriveSpeed (in Nero Burning Rom) to lock the drive speed to 12x for near silent operation.
* Mod the PSU fan to facilitate a switch between standard flow and variable resistor.
I highly recommend http://www.silentpcreview.com (http://www.silentpcreview.com) as an excellent starter point, and the quietpc.com equipment has only ever received good reviews.
My opinion on watercooling is that it can be highly effective, but after comparing the sound output of a watercooled rig and a Zalman/QuietPC.com rig - there is very little in it.
Ruairi
Welcome to the club !
- The Zalman flower heatsink is excellent. You'll see, even if your 8cm fan runs very slowly, the heatsink will dissipate all cpu heat properly
- Nero CD Speed sounds fine. Personally I don't need to play cd's, but dvds. I guess I'll use a Liteon 16X dvd drive, because they slow down to 1X while playing video.
- http://www.silentpcreview.com (http://www.silentpcreview.com) was my starting point actually. Highly recommended indeed.
- http://www.quietpc.com (http://www.quietpc.com) has great stuff, of the highest quality. However, maybe next time I'd look elsewhere for the Zalman components, to see if it's cheaper.
- As I said, I haven't tried watercooling, but first thing to try IMHO would be heatpipes and no fans As soon as you need a fan, I agree one should consider watercooling.
Tell me, what power supply are you planning to mod ? I mean, the 300W "Q-Tech" from QuietPC.com is almost inaudible already, isn't it ?
@Numlock You can get your money PSU back if you want!
There are PSU units which are more silent because they use no fan at all!
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/tkpow300wfan.html (http://www.siliconacoustics.com/tkpow300wfan.html) (not really ATX form factor, but others exist who are).
And if you're to buy a silent HD I can recommend to take a look at Seagate which are even less noisy than the Maxtor fluid hdds. I would be carefull with isolating the HDD though, the rise in temperature can be fatal in the long run.
If you're HDD supports it, you can use the freeware tool speedfan to monitor it's temperature and control the fan speed as needed.
Wanne.
I've heard about these. Sounds nice - maybe I'll try one of those when they are a bit easier to find.
However, the quiet fan on mine still beings an advantage: it blows the hot air out of my case, so I can use substantially higher cpu frequencies and safer temperatures for both cpu and gfx board.
TKPower Fanless PSU
Note: This product is no longer available from Silicon Acoustics. Please visit us in March when we will have available a new fanless PSU that offers ATX form factor, P4 compatibility and 350 Watts.umm.. oki
About the HDD: yes, I'd take a Seagate for sure, that's what I bought for my brother btw
Still, the silent enclosure makes a huge difference (btw, thanks about the speedfan trick). Do you know if they Seagate makes 5400 RPM hdd's of the latest generation ? If they don't, I don't think that's worth it. My 7200 WD is fluid bearing and recent, too. As long as it doesn't run too hot, I have no complaint
Hello everybody,
As long as your hard drive support A.A.M. (Automatic Acoustic Management), you can use the IBM... Err, Hitachi Feature Tool to active it. You will lose some points on the seek times, but nothing on transfer rates and your hard drive will become much quieter. Or, better, take a Seagate Barracuda IV or V! :-)
http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm (http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm)
For CPU cooling, I use big Alphas (8045 for AMD & 8942 for Intel) with quiet Papst fans. I suppose that's just a matter of taste...
For PSUs, choose the "ultra quiet" brand that you prefer but if you can afford it, take the big ones (450-500-550W). With a normal setup, their components will never get really hot, hence the "really" low fan speed.
I don't know how difficult is to get your hands on this baby (http://www.deltatronic.info/Technik/Netzteil/netzteil.html), but I think it would be nice... ;-)
Just my 0.02 euros...
Pierre
The following are some of my personal experiences regarding quiet PC systems;
CPU Cooler makes by far the most noise. Especially since the heat sink functions as a "tuning fork" and thus amplifies the fan noise by resonating. This applies for the whole case, a computer case is like speaker's exterior; it amplifies the sound. So naturally eliminating direct contact between the computer case and the noise source is vitally important.
First, about CPU fans.
Most CPU heatsinks are made from hardenend aluminium which is a bad choice for noise reduction; it resonates like hell. It's important to isolate the fan from the heatsink with some vibration-absorbant material. I used thick two-sided tape on the corners of the CPU fan. Also, "noise profiling" the heatsink is very useful. Put the heatsink on a flat wooden table, or something similar, so it's noise will be greatly amplified and turn on the fan. Now you can find the "resonant spots" with your fingers; press down on a spot on the heatsink. If the noise is reduced, put a piece of duct tape on that spot. This can reduce cooling effects slightly but it also reduces noise. This is especially useful for bulk heatsinks with high-rpm 60mm fans; they tend to make an annoying high-pitched "sine-like" sound because of the heatsink's vibration.
Another simple yet effective thing is to isolate the computer case interior with sound-absorbant material. The bitum(?) mat they use in cars is perfect because it conducts at least some heat.
Also isolating the optical drives can be good. If your CD drives are attached to the case with rails, you should put a layer of thin electrical insulation tape to the rails attached to the CD drive. This eliminates the "trrrrrrrr" sound some drives tend to make.
I don't think modern 5400 rpm HDD's need to be isolated completely since they are already extremely silent. But again insulation tape is your friend; pad the edges of the HDD with it to reduce the vibrations and carve holes for the screws. You don't need additional grounding since the screws still touch the HDD.
Edit:
"Electrical tape" was not the expression I was looking for.
@AiZ
At least for my HDD, the most "disturbing" noise (spindle rotation) cannot be solved by A.A.M unfortunately..
[Edit] BTW, that Deltatronic PSU sure looks impressive ! [/Edit]
@niktheblak
Thanks for this insight !
About CPU fans: in fact I'm not worried about it, because my fan is loosely attached to the case - and running slooooowly. I can even get rid of it, if I underclock (and under-volt !) the cpu just a tiny bit.
About HDD's: it's true that 5400RPM drives are much quieter, but the only way for me to get rid of the quiet high-pitched noise of an HDD, is to put it into the sealed box. If I remember right, even my brother's 5400RPM Seagate Barracuda IV would benefit from an enclosure.
Just a question, for the optical drives, what is electrical tape ? You mean thick tape ?
I think that electrical tape means the IDE/floppy rubbon wires
Sorry, I didn't know the exact english expression for "electrical tape".
I mean the plastic electrical insulation tape (you know, the one that you insulate bare wires with, comes in many colour options). It's like duct tape but thinner and has less glue
I see.. it seems to be that ugly kind of red tape... I'll try it with the dvdrom drive, thx !
I think that electrical tape means the IDE/floppy rubbon wires
I doubt it, but.. maybe it would do the job.. why not
By the way: be careful to get the right CPU - to my knowledge, many 2000+ Athlons are still Palomino ones (1.85V, square die, multiplier usually locked) while the Thoroughbred stepping (1.65V, rectangular die, multiplier usually unlocked) is preferred. My Thoroughbred handles 1.1V without any problem, up to approx. 1.1GHz if I'm not mistaken.
I managed to silence my workstation some months ago and wrote a HOWTO based on my experiences:
http://www.fisk.dk/silence/ (http://www.fisk.dk/silence/)
yup...
i don`t belive in quieting each component..
afterall.. the noise.. is a bi-product from natural
behaviour.
i think the sulution lies in a solid cabinett/case..
once i buildt my mobo.. in a silencer-casing..
(that kind they used on old fax machines)
then i put in a copper plate.. to
montage the mainboard
(with propper slotts bearings..)
and got myself a cd tower.. to build inside..
the cabinett.. has one big 220 fan.. making minimum of noise..
but inside.. i got five fan`s.. and the pc.. used to make a hell of noise...
not anymore..
Just a couple of notes, don't know if they will be useful.
Although my PC isn't silent, I did manage to remove CPU fan noise by lowering the voltage of my Athlon XP 1600+ to 1.425v, while keeping its clock speed @ 1.4ghz and then using a Tiger Miprocool II cooler. Although this cooler uses a fan (of course) you can't hear it, at all. It's also temperature controlled. My system runs between 39C - 48C, depending mainly on outdoor temperature
I also replaced by roaring Pioneer DVD-106S with an Asus E616. The Pioneer can be speed controlled via unofficial software but then the transfer rates become quite slow (good enough for watching a movie though). The Asus is silent when watching a movie, but quite noisy when transferring data from CD's - but this is a time you are unlikely to care.
Now i just wish I could silence my GF3Ti500, its the noisiest thing in my case at the moment, I think.
-dave
i don`t belive in quieting each component..
afterall.. the noise.. is a bi-product from natural
behaviour.
i think the sulution lies in a solid cabinett/case..
It depends... Even a good cabinet will leave some sound out. And in order to use a cabinet it must be well ventilated, and the ventilation conducts must be silenced too. Also, some may find it too uncomfortable to use.
Another very (in many cases the most) effective and simple way is to put the computer in another room and use good quality extension cables for the monitor, keyboard, mouse and soundcard. But for some this can be uncomfortable too.
Now i just wish I could silence my GF3Ti500, its the noisiest thing in my case at the moment, I think.
-dave
Hi,
You can replace your noisy fan with just a big heatsink: http://www.quietpc.com/vgamb.php (http://www.quietpc.com/vgamb.php)
I see.. it seems to be that ugly kind of red tape... I'll try it with the dvdrom drive, thx !
You can get also black, white, yellow or blue insulation tape, 3M sells a six-pack of insulation tapes with all colours. Naturally the colour coding is meant to correspond with wire colours; red for DC-positive, black for DC-negative etc.
The main purpose for this rail taping operation is to fix the drive firmly to its place. As you may have noticed, a rail-mounted drive usually isn't attached to the case very firmly at all. This will cause the drive to "tremble" against the case structures thus generating a lot of noise.
Also one thing which I forgot to mention; when insulating a machine sound-wise, temperature management usually suffers. It might occur that hot air cannot rapidly exit the case; the CPU fan will end up circulating hot air right back into the CPU heatsink.
One option is to build air ducts within the computer case. Ducts can be made from old milk cartons and aluminium tape etc. CPU-friendly approach would be building a duct from the rear fan mount directly to the CPU fan. Make the rear fan suck air into the case and blow it directly to the CPU fan intake through a ventilation duct. This ensures that the CPU will get room-temperature air at all times. Naturally this approach disturbs the general air flow within the case and thus may not be the best possible solution for all situations.
A more general flow-oriented approach would be building a duct from the front fan into the vicinity of the CPU fan. But this duct will be a lot longer, have steeper angles (disturbs air flow) and much more difficult to build. But it will blow cool air directly to the CPU and GPU fans if using an AGP graphics card and an ATX-form motherboard.
One other thing to consider is psychoacoustics (since this is an audio compression forum); if you cannot completely silence the machine, make it sound as pleasant as possible. Especially mid/mid-high frequencies are the most annoying since the ear is most sensitive to these frequencies. The rubber/bitum mat (or the solution Annuka described in the article) I mentioned earlier will filter out mid/high frequencies completely leaving only a low-frequency hum. You might want to make the airflow as steady and unobstructed as possible. In some low-end computer cases, the front fan mount is covered by a thin plastic grille with very small holes for the air. This will cause a lot of turbulence and thus an annoying mid/high frequency noise. One option is to drill/carve a 80mm hole into the case front and covering it with a good-looking dust filter; this will give the air an unobstructed path into the case interior. The high frequency noise will turn into a pleasant sound of a distant waterfall, or wind blowing, not to mention the improved airflow.
I can recommend the following components out of my own experience:
Arctic Copper Silent TC:
CPU Heatsink/Cooler with very silent FAN
recommended CPUs:
AMD Athlon -> max. Athlon XP 2900+
AMD Duron -> max. Duron 2.0 GHz
1000 - 3500 rpm
11 - 36 cfm
Noise level -> 10 - 32 dB (on my XP 1800+ the
Fan moves always so slow that you can't hear it)
temperature controlled
Case Fans:
2x Papst 8412 N/2GL
80x80x25mm
12Volt/NTC
1500 rpm
Noise level -> 12 dB
temperature controlled
HDD:
If you don't need ultimative speed than buy a 5400 rpm disk.
I recently bought a Western Digital 400EB which is very
silent. My other Western Digital 1000BB is somewhat louder
(high frequency noise :-( ), but very fast. Using one of
this 5¼" frames where the hdd just 'hangs' in, can help alot.
If you use Linux and have loud DVD/CD-Rom drives, you can
slow them down with the tool hdparm.
Cheers and happy silencing
A former employer set up the training rooms with maybe 25 sun workstations and it was pretty quiet. The
trick is to put all the noisy stuff in a different room (in that case, computer closets between the class rooms)
and just have monitor, keyboard, and mouse cabled through the wall.
A former employer set up the training rooms with maybe 25 sun workstations and it was pretty quiet. The
trick is to put all the noisy stuff in a different room (in that case, computer closets between the class rooms)
and just have monitor, keyboard, and mouse cabled through the wall.
The problem with that approach, is: while you gain of course in acoustic noise, you loose a lot in picture sharpness on the screens (due to the cable lengths). With cheap video board and 17'' screen, using average refresh rates, I've found that the screen becomes *very* blurry and tiring to the eyes, when the cables reach about 2.5 meters in length.
Here's a review of fanless ProSilence 350 PSU.
http://www.warp2search.net/reviews.php?op=...owcontent&id=35 (http://www.warp2search.net/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=35)
Interesting. Too bad that fanless PSU:s are not sold here in Finland. I'd buy one in a minute because PSU causes the most noise in my system by resonating the whole case. Damn its annoying!
Hello everybody,
I'm using a water cooled system for quite a long time now (>1 year), and I'm fully satisfied with this solution.
My AthlonXP 1600+ runs at original speed, the cooling requires no fan, the radiator just lies on the desk. Due to RAM and Northbridge heat there are two fans built into the midi tower (one for the PSU) - both are Papst silent fans running at a very low voltage, so they are very silent (can't notice them). I've got two harddisks installed, one Fujitsu silentdrive 40gigs@7200rpm and one IBM 120gigs@7200rpm - these are very quiet, but still the loudest part of the system.
Regards, fileman.
As long as your hard drive support A.A.M. (Automatic Acoustic Management), you can use the IBM... Err, Hitachi Feature Tool to active it. http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm (http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm)
For Intel 8xx chipsets you can also use their so called Application Accelerator. (http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/IAA/index.htm)
--
Ge Someone
I would say my solution is as good as it gets.. my
home system:
My quick duron was first underclocked to a measly 600 mhz..
this allows me to just play a very high quality mpeg-4 video
file at dvd resolution, while doing colour leveling and a fair
amount of sharpening.
Then, I removed my case fan, motherboard fan, and
the fan on my gfx card (it's a nvidia card, but not the
latest model so it just about works without the fan
without underclocking). The PSU-fan was difficult to
disable in a simple manner, so I just cut off the
internal wires going to the fan.
So, no fans left on anymore. Unfortunately, the hard
drive makes more noise than all these fans combined.
And it made the whole case vibrate.
So.. I basically removed the case, and put up the
motherboard on a plastic box on the floor, with
the psu nearby. Then, I attached a cable to the
motherboard which would allow me turn on the
computer. Last step was to isolate the hard drive
a little, so the noise it made would be far less.
It lies in multiple boxes made out of plastic.
I can still hear the hard drive humming, but all
in all it's still impressive, and almost as close to
noisefree as my computer can get. Of course, I'm
thinking of isolating the hard drive in a more
effective manner so the loudest thing will be
the monitor (and the monitor as you might
guess doesn't exactly create much noise..)
If this sounded like an inelegant solution, sure..
but it works, and it's dirt cheap and easy.
And the computer case was ugly anyway
As a bonus, seeing my whole setup lying in
the open on the floor together with other
stuff like router and amplifier etc is sort of
impressive in its own right, in a geeky sort
of way.
This is only a reminder: Hard Disks and CD Drives dissipate heat at the sides, precisely at the place where it contacts with a (hopefully) metal case. If you put an insulation tape right there... hmmm, well, you better live in a cold weathered country like Finland or something
For me, the use for a silent machine could be to play music/video or do some non cpu intensive (office?) job, certainly not 3d games. Having an underclocked 3d card when you can have a cheapo motherboard embedded one? i also like the idea of small for these kind of PCs, so while not perfect, i think the road to go could be micro (http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20021009/index.html), or maybe mini (http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20020815/index.html) for 3d power .
This is only a reminder: Hard Disks and CD Drives dissipate heat at the sides, precisely at the place where it contacts with a (hopefully) metal case. If you put an insulation tape right there... hmmm, well, you better live in a cold weathered country like Finland or something
Yes, you are right but you also have to consider that hanging the HDD's in the air/rubberband isolation is even worse than taping when considering heat transfer. Air is much poorer heat conductor that plastic used in insulation tapes. There is a reason why I mentioned 5,400 rpm drives. Those combined with a good computer case that provides a mounting place for HDD fans (like Chieftec or Antec) makes the taping a non-issue.
And nowadays most computer cases use rails to mount optical drives. These rails provide extremely little direct metal-to-metal contact between the drives and the case. In that case, taping makes hardly any difference at all.
I would say my solution is as good as it gets.....
Yeah right I had been watching this thread trying not to start about my own rig since it isn't really finished yet. But this kind of statements is forcing me to tell you all about it now
Low power CPU. In the first place: when you start off with a chip that doesn't draw loads of current, that's easier too cool than one you have to mod to stay cool. So, I got myself a Celeron Tualatin 1200, which even with its boxed cooler never reaches more than 10K over ambient temp. (Another reason was that I wouldn't part from my BX motherboard, and I could keep it running with the Celeron).
No silent coolers! I considered to get some kind of silent cooler for a while. But looking at many measurements all over the net, I came to the conclusion that silent coolers are a marketing delusion.
Silent cooling actually equates to less cooling. Ofcourse, better bearings are more silent, but with fans, noise comes from the blades mostly. I've been reading many spec pages and tests, and I can only conclude that Papst and Panaflo are silent because there is less output.
Don't get me wrong.
If I'd buy fans, I would probably buy Papst fans. But that's because they're reliable, not because they're silent.
Sober watercooling... So, that's that as for fan coolers. I'm going the watercooling way... And I want the most silent, and cheapest solution I can get. In my rig are now a Koolance chipset cooler (which doesn't have an easy job cooling a cpu, but hey, it's half as expensive as a "real" block), a 30 litres reservoir (radiators are expensive and if they're not they still need fans), an Eheim pump. I haven't found the sweet spot for the pump yet, neither for the water level in the reservoir. That's why it's all unfinished. No measurements done, and it will take another month because I can't find time or motivation
Any other fans? GPU? Stop gaming if you want to take the easy route; I have an Ati Rage 128, it doesn't know what heat means Ofcourse a slightly newer chip like Radeon 7200 can still be passively cooled, but it gets too hot for my taste (you can't put a finger on it) and I don't use its processing power.
Northbridge? Well, a godlike chip as is the i440BX should be spoiled, so I bought an overly expensive fanless goldpainted Zalman NB32J block, that looks as if it could easily cool a CPU. The BX managed well with the famous little green sink, but it deserved better
A fanless PSU? Either too expensive or too risky. Mine still houses a fan. I found that it doesn't really need to be pushing much fresh air, as long as there is nonzero flow, the PSU is quite happy (in temperature terms). So, the fan grille was removed and the fan rewired to 7V. A fanless PSU is expensive, see for example Engelking in Germany. And leaving a PSU that wasn't designed for running fanless when I'm away... well, I'm too much a chicken for that. Anyway, it is silent enough.
Hard disks: FDB motors rather than isolation. See storagereview for noise measurements. Don't think getting a 5400rpm disk will matter. I've had some, and they don't measure up to a Barracuda IV. There is ofcourse the Seagate U6, which is practically a 5400rpm version of the Barracuda IV, but it's soo slooow. And besides, according to storagereview, the Barracuda V at 7200rpm produces less noise than the U6. Guess what's coming my way with postal service...
If you really must have a 5400rpm unit, wait for the new Seagate 5400.1 drive to come available. It should be a slow version of the Barracuda V.
Please, don't go isolating hard disks. Isolation is not a good thing if you want your disks to last, at least that's what I think. I also think you won't need it with a Barracuda IV or newer generation.
As for enclosures - I have seen a plastic casing with double walls, called istyle or something. But it was too expensive. And if you don't have any noise in your rig, you don't need double walls...
Sorry for the long blahblah. Hope someone picks the useful ideas out of it...
Edit: I figured, having written a book chapter, I might as well structure it
Oh, and did I mention my silent solution still overclocks 24%?
I'm going to upgrading my system in the coming weeks. Here's what I'm planning to buy:
1. Athlon XP 2100, cooled by a Zalman CNPS5100-Cu
http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/cnps5100Cu.htm (http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/cnps5100Cu.htm)
This is a heavy coppper heatsink, which is spec'd to cool up to an Athlon 2600 in quiet mode (20 dB)
2. 300 W power supply
http://www.nexustek.nl/Nexus_NX3000.htm (http://www.nexustek.nl/Nexus_NX3000.htm)
< 26 dB(A) in average PC consumption
3. Seagate Barracuda IV 80 GB
25 to 33 dB, depending on the operating mode
4. NVidia GeForce Ti4200, cooled by a Zalman ZM80A-HP
http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/zm80a-hp.htm (http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/zm80a-hp.htm)
This is a massive passive solution (i.e., silent)
I have no plans to add a case cooler.
ff123
Edit:
In light of the fact that I'm really pumping out the heat with the Athlon and the Ti4200, I've decided that I probably will add a case fan, a Papst 8412NGL 80mm fan (12 dB)
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/00025.html (http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/00025.html)
Edit2:
Maybe I'll make that a Panaflo FBA08A12L1A with voltage lowered down to 7 volts.
Edit3: Maybe I'll try Thermalright's SLK-800 or SLK-900 as the CPU heatsink with another Panaflo at 7 V as the fan.
lengths). With cheap video board and 17'' screen, using average refresh rates, I've found that the screen becomes *very* blurry and tiring to the eyes, when the cables reach about 2.5 meters in length.
Cheap cables can do you in too. I've had ok results with ~4 meter cables using a triplex
of rg-59 on 19 to 23 inch monitors. I don't know what the video card was, the computer was
an IBM unix workstation of about 1994 vintage. Normal pre-assembled cables use very
thin coax for each primary color which is certainly more lossy, and maybe not as sharp?
With the classroom I mentioned, the computers were against the wall, so the cables weren't
necessarily much longer than they would be with a deskside computer on the floor.
4. NVidia GeForce Ti4200, cooled by a Zalman ZM80A-HP
http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/zm80a-hp.htm (http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/zm80a-hp.htm)
This is a massive passive solution (i.e., silent)
I have no plans to add a case cooler.
ff123, if you haven't seen the Silent PC Review article (link (http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=65&page=1)) about the ZM80, you should be aware that the reviewer also had a Ti4200 and could not get it to run at a reasonable temperature without pointing some kind of low-speed fan at the heatsink. Perhaps you will have better luck.
My current dual-XP1600+ machine is so noisy I can hear it from the other side of the house. I plan to order two Thermalright SK-7's and replace the horrible HSF's I have right now, Vantec CCK-6027D's. ("Not a lot of noise", HardOCP said...) I tried removing the 60mm fans and rubber-banding 80mm case fans in their place, but temperatures went up too high.
I'm not trying to silence my machine, or even make it whisper-quiet. The only way to cheaply silence this computer would be to severely underclock the processors, which I'm not willing to do. However, I only have a "need for speed" 20% of the time, so I wish there was some way to throttle the CPU speed on a desktop machine. If I had a P4, I could just throttle it by killing the fan.
What about using "mobile" processors in a machine other than a laptop? Also, has anyone read a good guide on DIY temperature-sensitive fans?
ff123, if you haven't seen the Silent PC Review article (link (http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=65&page=1)) about the ZM80, you should be aware that the reviewer also had a Ti4200 and could not get it to run at a reasonable temperature without pointing some kind of low-speed fan at the heatsink. Perhaps you will have better luck.
Thanks for the link. I've decided that I will add the case fan, then (I edited my previous post). Hopefully, that should be sufficient to keep temperatures down.
If this sounded like an inelegant solution, sure..
but it works, and it's dirt cheap and easy.
And the computer case was ugly anyway
As a bonus, seeing my whole setup lying in
the open on the floor together with other
stuff like router and amplifier etc is sort of
impressive in its own right, in a geeky sort
of way.
You sure are aware that a computer emits radiation, of whom you are obliged to protect your environment? Your solution might be illegal.
And I wonder, how do you protect your PSU from overheating? Which is not completely undangerous.
1. Athlon XP 2100, cooled by a Zalman CNPS5100-Cu
http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/cnps5100Cu.htm (http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/cnps5100Cu.htm)
Last time I checked, Intel CPUs were safer for running with poorer dissipation, since Athlon CPUs don't have built-in temperature monitoring and Intel do. AFAIR, a hot Athlon will fry whilst a hot Pentium P4 will shutdown before much harm is done. Someone corrects me if I'm wrong.
2. 300 W power supply
http://www.nexustek.nl/Nexus_NX3000.htm (http://www.nexustek.nl/Nexus_NX3000.htm)
< 26 dB(A) in average PC consumption
Mine, QTechnology 300W, bought at SilentPC ( http://www.silentsystems.nl (http://www.silentsystems.nl) ) is just inaudible. It seems that there's a new one even more silent, Nexus NX-3000, just 22 dBA.
Hard drive considerations:
A current 7200rpm drive (Barracuda IV) is more silent and is producing less heat than an old 5400rpm (IBM) hard drive.
If you want, you could still put a big heatsink on top of the hardrive, or several small ones (you know, all the 486 and Pentium heatsinks that you still have).
Disk temperature can be monitored by tools such as speedfan.
Another solution would be to go with 2 2.5" hardrives in raid. It would probably be more silent than a Barracuda IV, but would cost a lot more.
CPU fan considerations:
If you do not need much power, the old PIII/Celerons are able to run up to 500mHz with passive cooling.
You could also get a C3 from Via, but it's a bad choice if you want to encode music (very slow).
A good solution would be a P4 with speedfan. As you know, a P4 is throttling when overheating.
So you can use speedfan to reduce your fan speed, and the p4 will be clocked down.
If you want more power (as an example for games or encoding), higher the fan speed with speedfan, and the p4 will be back to its original speed.
Just found this
Fanless heatsink with fluid inside:
http://www.tsheatronics.co.jp/zen/english/.../ncu1000_e.html (http://www.tsheatronics.co.jp/zen/english/ncu1000_e.html)
A good solution would be a P4 with speedfan. As you know, a P4 is throttling when overheating.
So you can use speedfan to reduce your fan speed, and the p4 will be clocked down.
If you want more power (as an example for games or encoding), higher the fan speed with speedfan, and the p4 will be back to its original speed.
Not quite...
If you turn the fan off, the P4 will start throttling around 70°C. I am not sure how smooth is that throttling though. I have had experience of it with P2, P3 and Pentium Pro, and it was more like stalling than throttling.
You should not use thermal throttling to control your CPU speed: it is a safety feature (and one of the main reasons why I prefer Intel to AMD). In any case having your Intel CPU reach high temperatures shorten its life. It might not be very good too for other components in your case.
If you want to run your CPU slower, just get an overcloker motherboard and use it to underclock your CPU. It will generate much less heat, use less power, and with a good case airflow you might even be able to use passive CPU cooling (ie: Zalman Flowers)
PII, PIII and PPro were unable to automatically throttle themselves. They just go into halt mode. But p4 are able to throttle themselves.
I guess it's not the same for old PIII because it was not efficient with those processors: When I throttle my PIII by 50%, it's obviously slower, but the temperature reduction is only very small, so in case of overheating, throttling would not save this processor.
In light of the fact that were talking audio computers here, you don't want any throttling to occur! Neither do you want mobile procs, which are using basically the same kind of processes.
A couple of years ago, pc audio sounded terrible on many procs using HLT instructions, and people found that their setups sounded better running a distributed computing client all the time. Ofcourse things have changed, and motherboard power lines as well as sound cards have been adapted to cope with the switching noise. Still, I don't think one should harass the sound system extra with such unnecessary throttling noise.
To those who cut down on cooling: I don't have measurements to confirm, but I am quite sure a soundcard performs better in a temp-regulated case; hey, all semiconductors do. And they live longer. You should cut down on fans, not on cooling!
Nobody's mentioned laptops yet!
My PC (which is a laptop) runs its fan at extremely low speed (barely audible in a typical room) in its battery saving mode. The battery saving mode cuts the processor speed in half and slows the hard drive down. Normal CPU temperatures range from 95 to 110 degrees F.
Laptops have two advantages over desktop machines in that they have passively cooled power supplies away from the machine itself and cases designed specifically for maximum cooling. It's a shame they're a pain to tweak and so damn expensive
My laptop:
Toshiba Satellite 2805-S503
P3 900 MHz/384 MB of RAM/Geforce2 Go/40 GB 2.5" HDD
I have a japanese Panasonic T1 laptop which has no fan, and is very quiet.
However:
- it doesn't have a suitable sound board
- it doesn't have DVI output
- my silent pc is even more silent
Sorry for resurrecting the thread, but this site is just too good to pass up:
http://www.geocities.jp/numano3/ (http://www.geocities.jp/numano3/)
This guy builds phenomenal heatsinks and crazy cases to achieve a silent, fanless P4 3.06GHz system. Perhaps I haven't looked around enough at silent PC mods to gain some perspective, but I've never seen anything like this.
OK... I have decided to join in with the cat theme avatar
Anyway, for those of you who have plenty of money to spend on silencing your pc! I recommend you visit the link below!!!
The link below (http://www.quietpc.com/uk/cabinets.php)!
http://www.alienware.com (http://www.alienware.com) has some pretty small liquid cooled media centers for sell up to 3.06 GHz, w/remote ect.
I recently discovered something which I liked a lot : CPUidle (http://www.cpuidle.de/). You need to install it with Motherboard Monitor (http://mbm.livewiredev.com/). What it does is it sends pause instructions to the CPU when the CPU is idle thus the processor consumes less power.
It effectively reduced CPU temperature more than 10 degrees celsius for my Athlon + Asus A7M266 mobo. I use around 15% CPU time usually listening to music, browsing, etc and 10 degrees is really amazing for a software solution. If your CPU is cool to begin with the CPU fan could rotate less and make less noise (if your mobo is smart).
I think I will switch from this server cased behemoth to something like this after the summer: http://www.shuttle.com/index6.html (http://www.shuttle.com/index6.html) . Althouhg I have heard some comments that Shuttle wouldn't be that quiet, but we'll see. Available with Intel chips & CPUs, which is nice of course (mandatory, actually).
I recently discovered something which I liked a lot : CPUidle (http://www.cpuidle.de/). You need to install it with Motherboard Monitor (http://mbm.livewiredev.com/). What it does is it sends pause instructions to the CPU when the CPU is idle thus the processor consumes less power.
It effectively reduced CPU temperature more than 10 degrees celsius for my Athlon + Asus A7M266 mobo.
Yes, it's only needed for AMD, or it has to do with the APIC/ACPI mode. With my Intel-based PCs, XP somehow uses HLT instructions by default, leading to 36°C idle CPU temp for the P4 2.4 GHz rig (with In-A-Box cooler).
I recently discovered something which I liked a lot : CPUidle (http://www.cpuidle.de/). You need to install it with Motherboard Monitor (http://mbm.livewiredev.com/). What it does is it sends pause instructions to the CPU when the CPU is idle thus the processor consumes less power.
It effectively reduced CPU temperature more than 10 degrees celsius for my Athlon + Asus A7M266 mobo. I use around 15% CPU time usually listening to music, browsing, etc and 10 degrees is really amazing for a software solution. If your CPU is cool to begin with the CPU fan could rotate less and make less noise (if your mobo is smart).
Wow, this is a great program. I use an Athlon XP 2200+ thoroughbred; don't know whether it's A or B, and CPU temp dropped at least 13 deg C -- it's coming down as I write. I was running at about 52C in idle.
Thanks for the tip!
ff123
Yeah I know I think the usual brute force solution : huge fans with big heatsinks never make such a difference. Make sure you select "Optimize CPU/Chipset" and "C2 state" cooling in the prefs.
BTW do you have 52 deg celsius after you use this program or before? With 100% CPU usage normally I hit to 60 degrees. Is that tolerable, or should I put some more thermal compound?
I think I'll be transplanting my PC to a new case soon (with a side fan) to eliminate the front fan entirely. That seems to be the major source of noise with my PC, and a side fan would be blocked by the case (e.g. on the other side from where I'm sitting). Maybe a different PSU fan, too... something has to be done (hot weather on the way as well).
I think I'll be transplanting my PC to a new case soon (with a side fan) to eliminate the front fan entirely. That seems to be the major source of noise with my PC, and a side fan would be blocked by the case (e.g. on the other side from where I'm sitting). Maybe a different PSU fan, too... something has to be done (hot weather on the way as well).
Unless you're using the front fan for direct cooling (if it's pointed at your hard drive, for example), you can probably just remove it. Then tape up any vents on the back or side of your computer, and the exhaust fans will draw in all the air they need from the front, without the need of a front fan.
Some people at the Silent PC Review forums actually saw their case temperatures
decrease when they removed the front fan, perhaps because the fan forces air into the back corner of the case where it's not needed, and so it hinders proper airflow. For everyone else who removed the front fan, system temperatures stayed about the same or maybe went up one degree.
I was reading somewhere about how two fans placed parallel in the back is better than two placed serially, one in front and one in back.
BTW do you have 52 deg celsius after you use this program or before? With 100% CPU usage normally I hit to 60 degrees. Is that tolerable, or should I put some more thermal compound?
If your motherboard is reading the diode temperature from the processor, 60 degrees under load should be okay for an Athlon XP processor. What heatsink to you have installed on the processors? Also, installing more thermal compound probably won't improve your temperatures; the idea is to have as little compound as possible, just enough to fill in any microscopic pits on the heatsink and processor die.
My two XP's (it's an SMP machine) idle at 44/49 and can reach up to 54/58. I would slow the fans down even more (and let the temperatures rise), but they're already inaudible over the other fans in my PC.
I was reading somewhere about how two fans placed parallel in the back is better than two placed serially, one in front and one in back.
I found this to be the case as well, since it can double the amount of airflow using the same number of fans. Plus, the fans in the back aren't pointed at your ears, so they'll be less noticeable.
One thing that helped my case a lot was the removal of the fan grills. I tore off the thick metal grills on the back of my case, and that allowed me to speed up my variable-speed fans in the back of the case without generating any additional noise due to air turbulence.
One of the guys on a US tv show "The Screensavers" recently gave a computer the silent treatment.
Other than some of the methods mentioned here (flower CPU sink, dynamat on the case, ...) the unusual
step was a baffle-muffler (sort of like a car muffler) on the output of the case fans. He had to go to
Dolby lab to find a room quiet enough to even measure the sound. The result was basically
14 dBA for sound under 100 Hz and 8 dBA for over 100 Hz. The background level of the room was
5 dBA. In practical terms, you have to hold your breath to hear it, and you won't hear it from more
than about 1 meter away. Article and lots of photos:
www.techtv.com/screensavers/howto/story/0,24330,3422228,00.html (http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/howto/story/0,24330,3422228,00.html)
BTW do you have 52 deg celsius after you use this program or before? With 100% CPU usage normally I hit to 60 degrees. Is that tolerable, or should I put some more thermal compound?
If your motherboard is reading the diode temperature from the processor, 60 degrees under load should be okay for an Athlon XP processor. What heatsink to you have installed on the processors? Also, installing more thermal compound probably won't improve your temperatures; the idea is to have as little compound as possible, just enough to fill in any microscopic pits on the heatsink and processor die.
52C was idle before I installed CPUIdle. Looks like 39C and lower (right now at night it's at 37C) is the new idle temperature.
I have a Thermalright SLK 800 heatsink using Arctic Silver 3 for the thermal compound. That's with an 80mm Panaflo currently running at 10V. But I'll probably bump that down to 7V if I can.
I've got another Panaflo 80mm fan at 9V at the back, so air flows from the bottom front to out the back and over the processor, as recommended by AMD.
My motherboard (Epox 8RDA+) does not report the internal Athlon CPU temperature.
ff123
I don't understand. When I first boot my computer the CPU temperature reading starts around 45. How could you get 37C! That's almost the room temperature In my BIOS somewhere it said the Mobo uses some temperature reading method and it is a more accurate reading than most common ways to measure it (two years ago ) . Maybe that's why I get higher readings...
I upgraded again (in cooling, not in power ;-)
The graphics card is now watercooled, too. It's a GF4 4200Ti and it had a small (although comparable quiet) annoying fan installed... Still no fan needed to cool the radiator. I don't know the idle temp. of my system, because there's a distributed computing client running all the time. The usual temp. (read by Motherboard Monitor 5, 100% load) is around 50°C (depending on the room temp., of course).
Regards, fileman.
I don't understand. When I first boot my computer the CPU temperature reading starts around 45. How could you get 37C! That's almost the room temperature In my BIOS somewhere it said the Mobo uses some temperature reading method and it is a more accurate reading than most common ways to measure it (two years ago ) . Maybe that's why I get higher readings...
The CPU temperature I get is not the internal Athlon measurement, which is of course going to be much higher than the reading taken by the motherboard under the CPU.
Probably your mobo uses the CPU diode.
fff123
One of the guys on a US tv show "The Screensavers" recently gave a computer the silent treatment.
Other than some of the methods mentioned here (flower CPU sink, dynamat on the case, ...) the unusual
step was a baffle-muffler (sort of like a car muffler) on the output of the case fans. He had to go to
Dolby lab to find a room quiet enough to even measure the sound. The result was basically
14 dBA for sound under 100 Hz and 8 dBA for over 100 Hz. The background level of the room was
5 dBA. In practical terms, you have to hold your breath to hear it, and you won't hear it from more
than about 1 meter away. Article and lots of photos:
www.techtv.com/screensavers/howto/story/0,24330,3422228,00.html (http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/howto/story/0,24330,3422228,00.html)
I liked the mods that guy made to his PC. However, the hardcore silence-freaks at Silent PC Review discredited (http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=3863) this guy's claims. His decibel numbers appear to be off-the-wall.
It's wonderful to se people put dollars, $, benjamins, dollars, dollars and dollars on silent computers when simplest and very cheapest way to do it is to put the computer in another room/container/closed area. I've got mine in the wardrobe. The sound of this computer is comparable with a smaller power plant, alot of fans. Now I can't barely hear it (I can if I concentrate). I have friend that's soon building his box into the wall (and yes, there will be a door to get in there ). OK, you have to walk a couple of meters when putting a CD in the tray, but that's just exercise. Just buy some extension cables, it'll shurely save you some money.
It's wonderful to se people put dollars, $, benjamins, dollars, dollars and dollars on silent computers when simplest and very cheapest way to do it is to put the computer in another room/container/closed area. I've got mine in the wardrobe. The sound of this computer is comparable with a smaller power plant, alot of fans. Now I can't barely hear it (I can if I concentrate). I have friend that's soon building his box into the wall (and yes, there will be a door to get in there ). OK, you have to walk a couple of meters when putting a CD in the tray, but that's just exercise. Just buy some extension cables, it'll shurely save you some money.
Interesting!
Where can I get 15 metre cable extensions for ps/2 mouse, keyboard and 15 metre cable extension for the monitor to graphics card.
Why 15 metres. I measured the distance and it turned out to be 15 metres plus!!!
Any ideas where I can get them from?
However, the hardcore silence-freaks at Silent PC Reviewdiscredited (http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=3863) this guy's claims. His decibel numbers appear to be off-the-wall.
Most of their complaints had the tone of armchair quarterback, like how could he measure that quiet because
the meter would be very expensive? I believe the measuring equipment (and as I mentioned, the measuring
room) were borrowed. Getting a plug on TV does wonders for access to stuff!
I think I'm ready to try building a muffler (maybe just run down to NAPA?) B) and dynamat on the case as both are easy, cheap, and no thermal compromise. The computer is already pretty quiet compared to most; the video is nvidia Geforce 2 which is already fanless and the CPU is the only fan on the motherboard.
Wow, this is a great program. I use an Athlon XP 2200+ thoroughbred; don't know whether it's A or B, and CPU temp dropped at least 13 deg C -- it's coming down as I write. I was running at about 52C in idle.
I think the HLT instructions are disabled by default with AMD, and enabled by default with Intel. At least ASUS says that it deactivates HLT on their VIA boards: http://www.asuscom.de/support/FAQ/faq100_cooling.htm (http://www.asuscom.de/support/FAQ/faq100_cooling.htm) (Babelfish translation (http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr?tt=url&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asuscom.de%2Fsupport%2FFAQ%2Ffaq100_cooling.htm&lp=de_en)). This suggests that you can use CPUidle et al, provided that you have a good enough PSU. Idle temp is low on all three PCs of mine (2x PIII, 1x PIV) without any CPU cooling software. Perhaps Intel is more confident about this, having the extra ATX12V connector for the CPU (atx12vPSDGV1.pdf (http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/atx/atx12vPSDGV1.pdf)).
Most of their complaints had the tone of armchair quarterback, like how could he measure that quiet because
the meter would be very expensive? I believe the measuring equipment (and as I mentioned, the measuring
room) were borrowed.
Anyway, their complaints were fair. There's no meter able to reach -30 dB, as the author of the article supposedly claimed he had access to. In fact, -30 dB levels are not possible in this world. I find really surprising that just by dampening you get a noise of just 8 dB. Just breathing causes a higher noise. I wonder if any of us has ever been at a place more quiet than 15 dB. Hey, a very silent room is around 25-30 dB.
Edit: The guy used a Larson Davis 824 sound level meter. Looking at his specs, its noise floor is at around 16 dBA, so there's no way he could realiabily measure a level of 0-5 dB at the testing room as he claims. Also, he claims a level of 8 dB at 120 Hz and above, when the noise floor over 500 Hz is of around 12 dB and more.
Anyway, their complaints were fair. There's no meter able to reach -30 dB, as the author of the article supposedly claimed he had access to. In fact, -30 dB levels are not possible in this world. I find really surprising that just by dampening you get a noise of just 8 dB. Just breathing causes a higher noise. I wonder if any of us has ever been at a place more quiet than 15 dB. Hey, a very silent room is around 25-30 dB.
I couldn't find a range spec on the particular meter he used. A couple of other models on the Larson Davis web site are spec'd
to 20 dB and -10dB.
To be fair, he split the measurement into 2 frequency ranges, roughly 100 hz and up or down. The louder one was 14dB not 8.
What sound level would you estimate corresponds to the subjective observations of him and the Dolby guys like "can't hear it
from more than 3 feet (1M for you metric guys) and can't hear it at all unless you hold your breath, assuming Dolby knows
how to make a room that quiet?
See my previous edit.
Interesting!
Where can I get 15 metre cable extensions for ps/2 mouse, keyboard and 15 metre cable extension for the monitor to graphics card.
Why 15 metres. I measured the distance and it turned out to be 15 metres plus!!!
Any ideas where I can get them from?
A KVM switch will work but it's not exactly cheap. I don't know which are best, so google ahead: http://www.google.com/search?q=kvm+extenders (http://www.google.com/search?q=kvm+extenders)
I think the fat prices for these switches come from difficulties in keeping a clean video signal. If you have a TFT with DVI-input you're better off; cable quality matters hardly so you can extend a DVI cable yourself
Also, I think USB extensions for kb/mouse are a better option than ps/2 on distances like that. Besides, getting a USB hub will be convenient so that you can have a USB CDRW drive on your desk...
Interesting!
Where can I get 15 metre cable extensions for ps/2 mouse, keyboard and 15 metre cable extension for the monitor to graphics card.
Why 15 metres. I measured the distance and it turned out to be 15 metres plus!!!
Any ideas where I can get them from?
A KVM switch will work but it's not exactly cheap. I don't know which are best, so google ahead: http://www.google.com/search?q=kvm+extenders (http://www.google.com/search?q=kvm+extenders)
I think the fat prices for these switches come from difficulties in keeping a clean video signal. If you have a TFT with DVI-input you're better off; cable quality matters hardly so you can extend a DVI cable yourself
Also, I think USB extensions for kb/mouse are a better option than ps/2 on distances like that. Besides, getting a USB hub will be convenient so that you can have a USB CDRW drive on your desk...
OK!!!!
So, maybe thats not the best option. How about making a box for the computer case! Any guides which anyone can point me towards?
So, maybe thats not the best option. How about making a box for the computer case! Any guides which anyone can point me towards?
A box could help, but one way or the other you still have to move the heat, so you need the same number
of cubic feet/minute of air flow through the box (if used most optimally) as with a bare case. If it has enough
vent area then you could do it without adding more fans, but noise from the case can come out
through the vents.
I just installed the Silent Drive Housing for the HDD and the Flower heat-sink with the fan-mate all the way down. The sound difference is amazing!!!! What a reduction!!!!
The noisiest components in my pc now are: the PSU and the GPU. They will be next to get the silent treatment
Once done, my pc should be at an acceptable noise level, I hope!
I have an xp1900+. I tried unlocking it some time ago, but was not successful. Does any one know a company in the uk who will do this for me.
I want to underclock the cpu to reduce the voltage so I can use the flower heatsink without a fan.
Please help!
I have an xp1900+. I tried unlocking it some time ago, but was not successful. Does any one know a company in the uk who will do this for me.
From what I've heard, all Athlon Thoroughbred "B" models are unlocked right out of the box (I could be wrong about this, since I only heard it once and I'm not sure where from). So You could order a "B" and not have to worry about unlocking it yourself.
I don't know of any services that let you send in the processor. If you do some Googling for "unlock athlon" or something along those lines, you will be able to dig up some decent unlocking guides. The procedure requires steady hands, but it's straight-forward.
If you have a Thoroughbred "A" instead of the old Palomino, the unlocking process is less painstaking because you only have to connect one bridge on the chip and not several.
Finally, the Thoroughbred processors (perhaps the "B" even more than the "A", IIRC) run much cooler than the Palomino's due to the T-bred die shrinkage (a smaller micron-size, isn't it?) and lower default voltage. So if you have the Palomino and are serious about running fanless, you might want to try upgrading anyway.
But FWIW, you will be able to run the machine much faster if you just use a (virtually silent) 5V Panaflo L1A blowing on the flower. Going from "virtually silent" to "totally silent" is a tricky endeavor.
How do I find out which Athlon XP 1900+ I have?
I'm a bit late on this thread, but I'll add a few of my experiences. I have a Zalman 5100CU CPU fan/heatsink combo, and it's nearly silent in my setup. The fan is variable-speed (manually variable with a knob, not heat-sensing, though you could probably rig up something ify ou wanted), and I keep it around 2200 rpm, which is inaudible when the case is closed.
My hard drives are also nearly silent with the case closed. I have 3 5400 RPM hard drive I can't hear at all (I manually spin them up and down with hdparm and I can't tell the difference), and a 7200 RPM hard drive that I can only hear when it's spinning up, not during normal operation. The 7200 is a Western Digital, the others are Maxtors. This seems hit-or-miss though; my brother has a 7200 Maxtor that's incredibly loud (makes a noticeable noise when reading/writing data). If yours is loud and you use Linux, read through hdparm's manpage; most modern hard drives have multiple modes of operation, and you can move it to a slower head-motion mode that will significantly decrease noise (by default they're on the noisiest/fastest setting, but if it's just a drive for MP3s or movies, you don't need anything near the max speed).
I also have some entirely silent 1800 RPM case fans.
The PSU I'm much less happy about. I bought the 300-watt PSU from quietpc.com, and it's still fairly loud. To be fair, it is quite a high-quality PSU; it's one of the few 300-watt PSUs approved for use on Athlon Thunderbirds, because its power is very consistent and doesn't get dirty under load. It has no trouble handling my Athlon T-Bird 1.33 GHz with four hard drives and a CD-RW, which would require a 350-400 Watt PSU from most manufacturers. It also is much quieter than the stock PSU I had before. But it's far from silent, and still a bit louder than I'd like considering that I sleep in the same room as it. Unfortunately, the quieter ones seem to be far more expensive.
On that note, does anyone have any particular recommendations for quiet power supplies that are reasonably-priced?
On that note, does anyone have any particular recommendations for quiet power supplies that are reasonably-priced?
There have been several discussions at SPCR (http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=4133) about the SilenX power supplies. Everyone who has bought one agrees it is astoundingly quiet. From what people have said, if you can't hear your hard drives, there's no way on earth you'll notice this PSU.
The 300W model (http://www.silenx.com/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=68&idproduct=1) is $70, and rated at 14dB (almost pure silence). I'd get one for myself, but I've got too many other noisy things in the PC right now (my Maxtor 740dx is suspended with rubber bands, but it is still quite whiny when idling).
I just bought a pile of NMB 1800rpm/18dB fans, and they're a bit noisy (you can hear them clicking as they spin) at 12V. I will try lowering voltages and/or decoupling them from the case. However, I popped open my Antec PSU and stuck one of my new fans in there (wired through a Zalman Fanmate so I can control the speed), and that helped cut down on the noise. If you don't mind voiding your warranty, try plugging a quiet fan into your PSU, and maybe screw the fan to the outside of the PSU (http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=3315) to reduce air turbulence inside the PSU.
How do I find out which Athlon XP 1900+ I have?
That can be done in several ways. One is to take off the heatsink and look at the die; if it is fairly squarish, it's a Palomino. Thoroughbred's have about a 2:1 length-to-width ratio.
A better way is to get a hardware monitoring program, such as Motherboard Monitor (http://mbm.livewiredev.com/), and find out what "VCore" voltage is being used by the processor. If the processor is using 1.75V or something like that, it's a Palomino. If it's 1.5V, it's a Thoroughbred (A or B, you can't tell which at this point). Your system BIOS should also report the VCore: when booting, press Del or Esc or F2 or whatever it takes to get to the BIOS, and look for a hardware monitoring screen. There you should see your VCore.
Also, if you know the exact model number of the processor, you can decipher which version (http://www.pantherproducts.co.uk/Product%20Reviews/AthlonXP%20Thoroughbred.shtml) it is (Palomino vs. Thoroughbred). If you know its stepping code, you can find whether it's an A or a B. from some random Googling (http://www.pinoypc.net/articles/viewarticle.php?article=16):
The AXP 1700+ Thoroughbred core I have here is of MODEL #: AXDA1700DUT3C and STEPPING CODE: JIUHB 0303XPMW. Notice that there are two versions of the Thoroughbred core: Thoroughbred A and Thoroughbred B. To differentiate the Thoroughbred B from the A, check the stepping code of the processor. If the stepping code ends with a B, then it is a Thoroughbred B core. Otherwise, it is a Thoroughbred A core (with the stepping code ending with an A).
I don't know if the model number and stepping are printed somewhere on the processor; if they are, it would involve removing the heatsink, which is likely too much trouble. Unless you bought your processor very recently, your Athlon is almost certainly a Palomino or perhaps a Thoroughbred "A". Try the VCore check; that should be all you need to find out what version Athlon XP you have.
...A better way is to get a hardware monitoring program, such as Motherboard Monitor (http://mbm.livewiredev.com/), and find out what "VCore" voltage is being used by the processor. If the processor is using 1.75V or something like that, it's a Palomino. If it's 1.5V, it's a Thoroughbred (A or B, you can't tell which at this point)...
I have speedfan installed on my system. Looking at the bottom of speedfan, it displays VCORE = 1.75. Does this mean I have a Palomino?
There have been several discussions at SPCR about the SilenX power supplies. Everyone who has bought one agrees it is astoundingly quiet. From what people have said, if you can't hear your hard drives, there's no way on earth you'll notice this PSU.
The 300W model is $70, and rated at 14dB (almost pure silence). I'd get one for myself, but I've got too many other noisy things in the PC right now (my Maxtor 740dx is suspended with rubber bands, but it is still quite whiny when idling).
I just bought a pile of NMB 1800rpm/18dB fans, and they're a bit noisy (you can hear them clicking as they spin) at 12V. I will try lowering voltages and/or decoupling them from the case. However, I popped open my Antec PSU and stuck one of my new fans in there (wired through a Zalman Fanmate so I can control the speed), and that helped cut down on the noise. If you don't mind voiding your warranty, try plugging a quiet fan into your PSU, and maybe screw the fan to the outside of the PSU to reduce air turbulence inside the PSU.
I read the bit about modding the PSU fan and placing it outside of the case. I have I question, What is the recommended temperature of the PSU?
Other questions
1. RubberBands! How/where are they supposed to be used. How about plasterceen, would that be a better alternative?
2. I currently have a 350W PSU powering:
1xHDD
2xCDD
1x92mm fan
I want to buy the Silent PC 300W PSU + additional fans:
1xHDD
2xCDD
4x92mm fans with 5-1/4 fan speed controller to control all 4 fans
Fan layout. I will be modding the case. 1 fan at the top of the case blowing hot air out. 2 fans on the side of the case blowing air in, 1 pointing towards the GPU and the other pointing towards the HDD. and the final fan (which I already have) pointing at the flower heatsink!
Is this a good layout for maximum airflow with big/quiet/slow speed fans?
will 300W PSU be enough power to power all this?
All 4 fans will be the 92mm quiet fans from quietpc. they will be controller by a 5 1/4 4xfan controller with all fans running at there slowest!
edit
there is slight humming from my pc. when I apply slight pressure on the right side of the pc with my hand, the humming stops, when I do the same to the left, the humming does not stop. What could this be and how can it be stopped?
there is slight humming from my pc. when I apply slight pressure on the right side of the pc with my hand, the humming stops, when I do the same to the left, the humming does not stop. What could this be and how can it be stopped?
Parts of the case are vibrating, and the sides act like a loudspeaker. You could increase the mass of the sides by putting on some heavy sound-dampening mats from the inside, as you find in many overclocker online shops. Another possibility is to acoustically decouple the sides from the "stiff" body of the case by putting something soft between it, but i wouldn't do that, because it greatly decreases EMI shielding.
there is slight humming from my pc. when I apply slight pressure on the right side of the pc with my hand, the humming stops, when I do the same to the left, the humming does not stop. What could this be and how can it be stopped?
Parts of the case are vibrating, and the sides act like a loudspeaker. You could increase the mass of the sides by putting on some heavy sound-dampening mats from the inside, as you find in many overclocker online shops. Another possibility is to acoustically decouple the sides from the "stiff" body of the case by putting something soft between it, but i wouldn't do that, because it greatly decreases EMI shielding.
It would make more sense to decouple the thing that's humming, which is probably a fan or a hard-drive. You can mount your fans using soft foam through the fan screw-holes, or use some sort of soft rubber (search Silent PC Review for "fan grommets"). This is much easier than turning your case into a 50-lb tank.
Also, you might double-check to make sure your SilentDrive enclosure isn't transmitting hard-drive vibrations through the case. If it is, maybe some rubber washers would do the trick.
...A better way is to get a hardware monitoring program, such as Motherboard Monitor (http://mbm.livewiredev.com/), and find out what "VCore" voltage is being used by the processor. If the processor is using 1.75V or something like that, it's a Palomino. If it's 1.5V, it's a Thoroughbred (A or B, you can't tell which at this point)...
I have speedfan installed on my system. Looking at the bottom of speedfan, it displays VCORE = 1.75. Does this mean I have a Palomino?
Yup, you have a Palomino. Which means it'll run a bit hotter, but that doesn't mean you should lose hope, it just means you might lose another 100MHz trying to run it totally silent.
I read the bit about modding the PSU fan and placing it outside of the case. I have I question, What is the recommended temperature of the PSU?
That's a tough question, because much of it depends on where you put the thermal sensor to measure the temperature. But my guideline is: warm air coming from the PSU fan is okay, hot air is a bad sign. One way to ensure cool air from the PSU (hence a slower fan) is to duct cool air from the front of the case (maybe I said this already): Pop open the top 5 1/4 drive bay and use some cardboard to guide it to the front of the PSU, and making sure it blocks the air from mixing with the rest of the case. The idea is to separate the PSU from the rest of the case so the PSU has its own cool air supply. You will need to block any vents that are facing the CPU.
Other questions
1. RubberBands! How/where are they supposed to be used. How about plasterceen, would that be a better alternative?
Don't use normal rubber bands (like I did)... they'll become brittle, and whatever they're holding will eventually fall. I tied a few rubber bands together and ran them through some holes at the bottom of the 5 1/4 drive bays, then slung my HD through them. This makes the HD much quieter, but not quiet enough. I plan on replacing the rubber bands with some kind of enclosure soon, hopefully before the bands break.
2. I currently have a 350W PSU powering:
1xHDD
2xCDD
1x92mm fan
I want to buy the Silent PC 300W PSU + additional fans:
1xHDD
2xCDD
4x92mm fans with 5-1/4 fan speed controller to control all 4 fans
Fan layout. I will be modding the case. 1 fan at the top of the case blowing hot air out. 2 fans on the side of the case blowing air in, 1 pointing towards the GPU and the other pointing towards the HDD. and the final fan (which I already have) pointing at the flower heatsink!
Is this a good layout for maximum airflow with big/quiet/slow speed fans?
You might be able to do away with one of the side fans; one fan could supply enough air. Or you can use no fans on the side and just build a duct (http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?p=16378) for the CPU/GPU fans.
will 300W PSU be enough power to power all this?
300W will almost definitely be enough.
All 4 fans will be the 92mm quiet fans from quietpc. they will be controller by a 5 1/4 4xfan controller with all fans running at there slowest!
If you plan to have all fans running at the slowest possible speed, you could save some cash and just modify your fan connectors to feed the fans 5V instead of 12V (see the bottom of this page (http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=63&page=1)).
Thanks for all the advice everyone especialy SometimesWarrior . You have helped me alot in my quest in making a silent pc
OK, I have just discovered another problem. I have managed to unlock the processor! but my motherboard is designed for overclocking, not underclocking. Therefore, it will not allow me to set the vcore below 1.725!!!
So, my question is, if I leave the vcore @ 1.75, but underclock the xp1900 to xp1700 or xp1500, will it run cooler than the original xp1900 speed? If that is not possible, is there any other way to reduce the vcore?
BUILD A DUCT: Now that could be interesting! I can understand how it will inprove processor cooling, but how will it improve GPU cooling when there is no fan or duct pointing at the GPU? (Problem solved, make 2 92mm duct with 2x 92mm silent fan )
Another problem: As my HDD is in the Silent Drive Enclosure, on worm days the temperature of the HDD can reach upto 56 Degrees! I think 55 Degrees is the limit. How/what can I do to cool the HDD. My idea was to mod the case and add another fan pointing towards the HDD, but it seems that the fan is to thick to fit between the case and the HDD! Any ideas on how I can cool the HDD down?
Silencing plan:
4x 92mm silent fan + duct on side of case pointing towards the CPU, GPU, HDD, and 1 blowing air out of the top of the case (should be enough)
fan speed controller 4 fan
1x passive GPU heatsink without fan
grills 4x 92mm
1x 300W silent PSU
Future mods
4x fan filters (reduce dust blowing in)
acustic foam from quietpc
What would be better?
1. modding the PSU with 2 silent 80mm fans + 1 silent 92mm side intake fan?
or
2. modding the PSU with 1 silent 80mm fan + 1 silent 92mm side intake fan + 1 silent 92mm top-of-case exhaust fan?
plus
can anyone recommend a good HDD
Requirements for HDD:
80Gb+
Quiet & Cool operation yet not too slow (infact fairly fast)
1. modding the PSU with 2 silent 80mm fans + 1 silent 92mm side intake fan?
or
2. modding the PSU with 1 silent 80mm fan + 1 silent 92mm side intake fan + 1 silent 92mm top-of-case exhaust fan?
3. modding the PSU with 1 silent 80mm fan + 1 silent 92mm side intake fan. You want to make sure that the incoming airflow is equal or slightly higher than the outgoing airflow, to have a balanced air pressure or an overpressure situation. With underpressure, the air starts coming in through every slit of your case, including CD/floppy drives. And with air comes dust, the natural enemy of every PC owner. Also, i've read somewhere that fans on the top of the case are less effective than fans at the upper rear of the case, due to physical reasons.
Requirements for HDD:
80Gb+
Quiet & Cool operation yet not too slow (infact fairly fast)
Seagate Barracuda V, 120 GB, 2 MB or 8 MB cache version
Requirements for HDD:
80Gb+
Quiet & Cool operation yet not too slow (infact fairly fast)
Seagate Barracuda V, 120 GB, 2 MB or 8 MB cache version
Is this the one Barracuda ATA V 120GB UDMA100 (http://www.dabs.com/products/prod-info3-info.asp?&m=y&quicklinx=25KK) !
Is this the one Barracuda ATA V 120GB UDMA100 (http://www.dabs.com/products/prod-info3-info.asp?&m=y&quicklinx=25KK) !
Yes it is.
So, my question is, if I leave the vcore @ 1.75, but underclock the xp1900 to xp1700 or xp1500, will it run cooler than the original xp1900 speed? If that is not possible, is there any other way to reduce the vcore?
Running it at a slower clock will make it create less heat, it is the frequency that creates the heat. I have run in the past Celeron 800MHz processors at around 300MHz with no fan on the heat skin for an audio system.
Is this the one Barracuda ATA V 120GB UDMA100 (http://www.dabs.com/products/prod-info3-info.asp?&m=y&quicklinx=25KK) !
Yes it is.
On the Seagate site, the ST3120023A is a 160 GB model:
http://seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/desktop/ (http://seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/desktop/)
I have the 80 GB version of this, the ST380011A. Generically, this line is referred to as the Barracuda 7200.7 (Ultra ATA/100, not the serial ATA). The 80 GB version has a single platter, and is likely quieter than the 2-platter versions. So far, I am happy with the noise level of mine. I can't say whether the performance is any better or worse than other 7200 drives on the market today.
My last drive was an IBM 60 GXP 40 GB model, which was far noisier than the 7200.7. I really don't notice an improvement or degradation in performance vs. my old drive.
ff123
The 300W model (http://www.silenx.com/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=68&idproduct=1) is $70, and rated at 14dB (almost pure silence).
I have replaced the standard PSU fans with 12 dB pabst fans on a several PSUs. The PSUs are quieter, but nowhere near 12 dB. The turbulence inside the casing makes the fan a lot noisier. Try to reduce turbulence or the new PSU/PSU-fan purchase might be in vain.
Hi all...
Maybe some of you will be interested in this beauty:
Absolutly silent PC
http://www.mini-itx.com/reviews/hush/ (http://www.mini-itx.com/reviews/hush/)
Best regards.
b;:.
Is the Seagate Barracuda 80Gb 7200rpm UDMA100 Hard Drive (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3NwZWNpZmljYXRpb25z&product_uid=36369) the same drive as the 120Gb mentioned above and as quiet?
Is the Seagate Barracuda 80Gb 7200rpm UDMA100 Hard Drive (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3NwZWNpZmljYXRpb25z&product_uid=36369) the same drive as the 120Gb mentioned above and as quiet?
Depends, since they don't list the model number.
ST80021A - 80 GB Seagate Barracuda IV, 40 GB per platter.
Had one of these, very quiet.
ST80023A - 80 GB Seagate Barracuda V, 60 GB per platter.
Only one side of the second platter used for the 80 GB model. Have two 120 GB models, also very quiet.
ST80011A - 80 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7, 80 GB per platter.
Supposedly quiet as well, but they they removed the "SeaShield" from the bottom of the drive, see this (http://www.silentpcreview.com/files/images/cuda7200/cuda7200.7-3.jpg) and this (http://www.silentpcreview.com/files/images/cuda7200/cuda7200.7-4.jpg) pic, i guess to reduce costs. Cuda IV and V both had it. Also, the performance seems to have decreased in some cases, see this review (http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/seagate-barr7/index.html) and the follow-up (http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/seagatebarrst280011a/index.html).
So, i'd try to get my hands on a Cuda IV or V model. They are still being sold these days.
Is the Seagate Barracuda 80Gb 7200rpm UDMA100 Hard Drive (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3NwZWNpZmljYXRpb25z&product_uid=36369) the same drive as the 120Gb mentioned above and as quiet?
This is the Barracuda IV line. The 40 GB model is single-platter, whereas in the 7200.7 line, the 80 GB model is single-platter. However, the 7200.7 line doesn't have the SeaShield, and the AAM function is disabled.
The 40 GB Barracuda IV is pretty much the gold standard of quiet hard drives, but it's small and slower by today's standard.
I find the noise of the 7200.7 to be acceptable, even when mounted regularly to the case. However, every now and then it makes a small buzzing noise, which I believe could probably be eliminated by mounting it with No-Vibes. I think I remember somebody (Dru?) also mentioning the small buzzing noise. It sounds kind of like the buzzer on my oven timer, except that it is just barely audible when the room is quiet.
Currently, if the hard drive isn't buzzing, the loudest thing I hear is probably a low frequency hum from the Panaflo mounted on the rear of my computer. I think I can probably elimnate this with isolating screws.
ff123
I am planning on making a CPU exhaust duct to the back of the PC with an 80mm panaflo fan, replaying the PSU fan with a 80mm panaflow fan and maybe add another system exhaust fan at the back.
As the case might end up with 3 exhaust fans, air will need to be drawn in from someway. I made an 80mm inlet at the front/floor of the case.
I will also be using fan isolation mounts and have already decoupled the hdd to reduce vibrations. I have also heatpipes the GPU (fanless)
Do you think the CPU exhaust duct is a good idea?
As the case might end up with 3 exhaust fans, air will need to be drawn in from someway. I made an 80mm inlet at the front/floor of the case.
I've heard many success stories with CPU exhaust ducts, because they get the hot air away from the CPU quickly (it doesn't recirculate and try to cool the CPU again, or heat up the rest of the case). Some heatsinks are easier to duct than others. You said you're using a Zalman flower heatsink? I guess the best way to duct it is to have the duct opening closely shroud the flower from the side, and perhaps overlap the heatsink a bit, so the air is drawn from the side of the heatsink and pulled parallel with the fins (petals?).
Do you think the CPU exhaust duct is a good idea?
Good idea. One other thing you might do is tape up all the other (unused) openings or vents in your computer, so air doesn't come from anywhere other than the front of the case.
I will also be using fan isolation mounts and have already decoupled the hdd to reduce vibrations. I have also heatpipes the GPU (fanless)
Wow, that machine is going to be quieter than a whisper! How does it sound so far?
The 300W model (http://www.silenx.com/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=68&idproduct=1) is $70, and rated at 14dB (almost pure silence).
I have replaced the standard PSU fans with 12 dB pabst fans on a several PSUs. The PSUs are quieter, but nowhere near 12 dB. The turbulence inside the casing makes the fan a lot noisier. Try to reduce turbulence or the new PSU/PSU-fan purchase might be in vain.
The "special" fans used in the SilenX PSU's are rated at 14dB in free air for 12V, but most of the time the fans run at <=5V. Also, the fans reportedly make almost no adverse motor or bearing noise whatsoever, so at low speeds all you hear is the airflow, and not the usual clicking sound most other fans make. And maybe you hear a little turbulence.
I think their PSU's used to be straight-up Fortron mods, but they now get custom-designed PSU's from Fortron (bigger heatsinks, higher temperature tolerances perhaps). So most PSU's might not fare as well with such a slow fan. For typical PSU's that need a higher-speed fan, attaching the fan to the outside of the PSU (to reduce air turbulence) is a good idea.
Speaking of PSU's, my Antec 400W burned out (again). My first one (unmodded) lasted 5 months, and this one (an RMA replacement that I did modify) lasted 11 months. And this time the ATX connector melted to my motherboard, so I need to solder a new 20-pin connector to the motherboard. I worked discreetly when I did my PSU fan mod, so I swapped the old fan back in and sent the PSU back to Antec. I hope they give me another replacement.
Today I put isolating screws on my case fan, and suspended the hard drive in a NoVibes III. Then I got some foam tape put it between the CPU fan and the heatsink. The Nexus NX-3000 is now definitely the loudest component in the system, making a hum which is noticeable if I stick my head under the table near the computer, but not when I'm in my normal sitting position. I'm not sure if it's the fan in the power supply or if it's the magnetics.
I think I'm done!
ff123
Today I put isolating screws on my case fan, and suspended the hard drive in a NoVibes III. Then I got some foam tape put it between the CPU fan and the heatsink. The Nexus NX-3000 is now definitely the loudest component in the system, making a hum which is noticeable if I stick my head under the table near the computer, but not when I'm in my normal sitting position. I'm not sure if it's the fan in the power supply or if it's the magnetics.
Do you have any ideas which of those had the most benefit? My computer is currently much louder than I'd like it to be, but I can't really figure out why. My CPU fan is essentially silent (it's variable-speed, and I set it by turning it to the lowest, then turning it up until it was barely audible above the rest of the computer noise, then turned it down from that). My PSU is 40 dB according to silentpcreview.com (Q Technologies quiet PSU), and my case fans are all panaflow "quiet" fans. But there's still quite a bit of noise. It's not the hard drives, because I've manually spun them down (using hdparm in Linux) and they do make an audible difference, but not much of one -- maybe 1-2 dB. So there's something else causing the noise. I'm guessing it's either airflow in/out of the case or vibrations somewhere.
Do you have any ideas which of those had the most benefit? My computer is currently much louder than I'd like it to be, but I can't really figure out why. My CPU fan is essentially silent (it's variable-speed, and I set it by turning it to the lowest, then turning it up until it was barely audible above the rest of the computer noise, then turned it down from that). My PSU is 40 dB according to silentpcreview.com (Q Technologies quiet PSU), and my case fans are all panaflow "quiet" fans. But there's still quite a bit of noise. It's not the hard drives, because I've manually spun them down (using hdparm in Linux) and they do make an audible difference, but not much of one -- maybe 1-2 dB. So there's something else causing the noise. I'm guessing it's either airflow in/out of the case or vibrations somewhere.
In my old system, my CPU fan was the loudest thing. I originally had a Celeron 800 cooled by a Molex 60mm fan. The next loudest thing was probably my IBM 60GXP 40 GB drive, once I took it out of the silencer hard drive sleeve (it was just too hot in that thing). I already had a fairly quiet power supply (PC power & cooling silencer). All in all, my old system was already pretty quiet, but I wanted something
really quiet, while not going backwards in performance when upgrading.
So here are all the things I did.
1. Place the computer under my desk (away from my ears, with the desktop providing some blockage), near the carpet for sound damping, but raised off the floor to allow air to flow in from the bottom front.
2. Thermalright SLK800 CPU heatsink
3. Arctic Silver 3 thermal compound
4. Panaflo 80mm CPU fan (not a 60mm fan)
5. Undervolt CPU fan
6. Isolate CPU fan from heatsink with foam tape
7. Panaflo 80mm case fan
8. Undervolt case fan
9. Isolate case fan with isolating screws
10. Nexus NX-3000 power supply
11. Zalman heatpipe for my NVidia Ti4200 video card
12. Seagate single-platter 80 GB hard drive (7200.7 ATA/100)
13. NoVibes III hard drive suspension
14. Windows 2000 OS (vs. Windows 98 SE)
15. CPUIdle
I suspect your PSU is making the most noise in your system if you're having trouble isolating the problem. I.e., it's easy enough to turn off all the other fans in your system to troubleshoot, except for the one in your PSU.
ff123
Wow, that machine is going to be quieter than a whisper! How does it sound so far?
For the first time ever since I got my first computer back in 1994, I have been able to go to sleep in the same room, because I cannot hear it from that distance (about 3 meters). However, I can still hear it a little when at the desk
The mods I have done so far are:
1. Decoupled/Suspended the HDD - Pic (http://uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/vwp?.dir=/MyCase&.src=bc&.dnm=11.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/lst%3f%26.dir=/MyCase%26.src=bc%26.view=t) (Only 25p for 1 meter of that elastic)
2. Cut out an 80mm inlet at the front/floor of the case - Pic (http://uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/vwp?.dir=/MyCase&.src=bc&.dnm=7.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/lst%3f%26.dir=/MyCase%26.src=bc%26.view=t)
3. Temporaraly raised the case with some wooden blocks to improve air intake, until I find something better to raise the case with - Pic (http://uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/vwp?.dir=/MyCase&.src=bc&.dnm=6.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/lst%3f%26.dir=/MyCase%26.src=bc%26.view=t)
4. As the HDD is decoupled, it needed better cooling, so I suspended it a little above in new inlet - Pic (http://uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/vwp?.dir=/MyCase&.src=bc&.dnm=9.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/lst%3f%26.dir=/MyCase%26.src=bc%26.view=t). HDD temp = 33C as I am writing this info
5. Duct-taped all other sources of air-intake, I am sure 95% of the air is taken from the new inlet alone! - Pic (http://uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/vwp?.dir=/MyCase&.src=bc&.dnm=4.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/lst%3f%26.dir=/MyCase%26.src=bc%26.view=t). Good job no one can see the back of the case or the insides of the sides
6. 3x Zalman fans. 1 80mm for the PSU turned down to about 7v, 1 80mm for case exhaust turn down to 5v, and 1 92mm for heatsink turned down to 5v - Pic (http://uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/vwp?.dir=/MyCase&.src=bc&.dnm=3.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/lst%3f%26.dir=/MyCase%26.src=bc%26.view=t)
Current temperature readings at 100% CPU load for half and hour (CPU-64, SYS-34, HDD-30 to 35)
7. Replaced the Heatsink + fan on GPU with Heatpipe heatsink - Pic (http://uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/vwp?.dir=/MyCase&.src=bc&.dnm=8.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/jennyjenx/lst%3f%26.dir=/MyCase%26.src=bc%26.view=t). You can just about see the GPU heatpipe directly below the 92mm zalman. The fanmate is resting ontop of the heatpipe!
Mods before the end of May:
1. Replace 80Gb HDD with 80Gb Barracuda IV or V. If I can't get hold of these it will be the 7200.7, which will be suspended in the same location as Mod #1 above
2. Replace all 3 Zalman fans (both 80mm and the single 92mm) with 3x 80mm Panaflos all attached to the back of the case exhausting air. As there will be no fan blowing air directly at the Heatsink, 1 of the 80mm panaflos will be ducted to the Heatsink! (Exhausting hot air from the heatsink straight out of the case). All 3 fans will be no more than 7v. I am hoping only to use 2 80mm panaflos (for the PSU and Heatsink exhaust). I will only use the 3rd Case exhaust if temps are too high! (Maybe even a home made on/off switch for the 3rd fan just in case things get too hot )
3. Replace flower Heatsink with SLK800, as I have an xp1900+
4. All fans, including the 1 in the PSU (and maybe even the PSU itself) will be held in place with rubber isolation mounts, hopefully getting rid off all vibrations
Future mod - after May
1. Completely cover the inside of the case with "melamine foam" only leaving the inlet and exhausts for good air flow.
2. Move the case from ontop of the desk to under the desk, Hopefully all this should make it completely inaudiable.
What do you think?
[edit] typo... [/edit]
What do you think?
I think I want a digital camera too.
Seriously, it looks good and quite expensive. But since you are going to cover the inside with melamine foam soon,it seems the computer is not dead silent yet. You probably have turbulence problems as well. Check if your quiet exhaust fans makes more noise when the case is closed. Covering the inside helps. Round IDE cables can help a little as well. You should also tie together your cables with cable strips - it also pleases the eye..
My current computer is dead silent from 30 cm from front and 60 cm from PSU fan. The modifications were quite simple and not extremely expensive:
- Covered all holes with duct tape.
- Using two slots below graphics adapter as inlet.
- Removed 3 cm fan from graphics adapter (Nvidia Quaddro Pro 4 - gets really hot).
- Removed (lownoise) PSU fan and mounted it a on aluminium rail with cable strips. Mounted fan+rail directly in frot of graphics adapter - turned fan down to 6V (silent). The graphics adapter now has a 8 cm fan instead of a 3 cm. Rail is around €4.
- Placed hard drive (Seagate Baracuda IV) in Novipes - around €21.
- Turned CPU fan (P4 -northwood2 2,4 GHz in-a-box fan - 6 cm) down to 5V (silent).
- Placed large silent radial cooler outside cabinet on the PSU hole - around €70, but I got it for free :)
- Covered inside of case with "Magic Fleece" - €60.
- Round IDE cables - €20.
- Tied all cables together with cable strips or taped then to case (below Magic Fleece).
- Zalman Multi Fan Controlle - sits in a 5,25" external drive bay and can control the speed of 4 fans - €40.
Total price just below €200.
Unfortunately there is a little but - it can only run for around 20 minutes at 100% CPU - then the mainboard temperature exceeds 50°C. Not a problem for me since I don't use my workstation for encoding and only rarely for games. When the temperature is too high, the monitoring software pops up and I simply turn the dial for the PSU fan up to 7V. I am pretty sure this could be fixed by replacing the standard 6 cm intel cooler - but that is a future improvement.
I think I want a digital camera too.
Seriously, it looks good and quite expensive. But since you are going to cover the inside with melamine foam soon,it seems the computer is not dead silent yet. You probably have turbulence problems as well. Check if your quiet exhaust fans makes more noise when the case is closed. Covering the inside helps. Round IDE cables can help a little as well. You should also tie together your cables with cable strips - it also pleases the eye..
Yes, you are absolutely correct! I did tidy up the cables a little after taking the pics, which reduced the temp about 4C for the CPU. I also was using a SilentDrive Enclosure, but because of high temperatures, I ended up getting rid of it. So most of the noice is the HDD.
Also I burn-up the PSU because I had the Zalman 80mm fan at 5v in the PSU. I ended up getting an old 300W PSU from the computer in the loft which no one uses, now that PSU is also making noise as I have not modded it yet.
I think the only turbulance in the case is from the PSU.
About the rounded cables. After reading this (http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=2439) article/thread, it seems that flat cables are better than round cables, and also neater, it just takes a bit of time to get the cables like that.
How much I have spent already:
GPU Heatpipe - £35
1x fanmate - £12.99
2x 80mm Zalman - £14.99 each (that was a mistake)
Decoupling the HDD - 25p
cutting the new inlet, and removing the original case fan grills including the PSU fan grill and PSU intake - free! used gardening tools
2x 80mm fan guards - 1.49 each
ATX case + PSU - £5 from computer fair (350W PSU which came with it is now blown-up)
total £81.20
Cost of components to get in the near future
SLK800 heatsink - £50 (i think)
3x panaflo 80mm fans - less than £8 each
80Gb Barracuda - £70
Isolation mounts - £4 for a pack of 4 (will need at least 4 packs total of 16 individual mounts)
1 more 80mm fan guard - £1.49
total £161.48
estimated grand total £242.69
Will be selling my old 80Gb HDD to a friend for £50
estimated grand total £192.69
It should have cost £162.71 if I didn't get them Zalman fans
So it should be less than £200 (I hope), which is a lot more than I was expecting!
... - Covered inside of case with "Magic Fleece" - €60. ...
Waw! That Magic Fleece is pricey stuff, it must be really good. I was planning on getting some cheap stuff i.e. 24" x 24" 1/2" thick sheet of melamine foam for $2.57USD! Probably no where near as good as that Magic Fleece
What do you think?
Sounds fantastic... a terrific model for anyone attempting to silence their computer!
I'm at about the same step as you on my silencing.
1. Purchased two Thermalright SK-7's @ $25 each, AS3 thermal compound, Zalman FB-123 fan bracket for GPU, and four ZM-FC1 adjustable fan controllers: $100
2. Dropped the case fan voltages and Fanmate'd the PSU fan to slow it down.
3. Ducted the PSU to keep it from burning up (apparently that didn't work well enough!)
4. Used spare rubber bands to make a crappy HD-suspension.
5. Got a dozen reasonably-quiet NMB 18cfm fans, tested them all, gave away the noisiest ones to a friend. $20
6. Glued an old copper heatsink (350g!) to my GF3 Ti200 GPU with thermal adhesive.
I'm now waiting for a replacement PSU (last one just fried), at which point I will build an enclosure for my Maxtor D740x-BB screamer. Although I heard I can RMA my hard drive ("it's making a lot of noise!" ), cross my fingers and hope for a newer/quieter model to arrive, transfer the data, and send back my old one. That's a lot cheaper than actually buying a new drive, isn't it?
The Nexus NX-3000 is now definitely the loudest component in the system, making a hum which is noticeable if I stick my head under the table near the computer, but not when I'm in my normal sitting position. I'm not sure if it's the fan in the power supply or if it's the magnetics.
I think I'm done!
Hah, you're never done! You could stop the PSU fan with a pencil and find out if the PSU fan needs to go out the window.
Does your computer pass the "2am" test? That is, can you hear it in the middle of the night?
Does your computer pass the "2am" test? That is, can you hear it in the middle of the night?
What is the purpose of that? Less noise from outside or when you are too drowsy to notice anything?
My current computer is dead silent from 30 cm from front and 60 cm from PSU fan.
Really?
The loudest part of my Computer is the PSU fan which is running at 5V most of the time, but I can easily hear it from 3 m in a silent environment.
The Nexus NX-3000 is now definitely the loudest component in the system, making a hum which is noticeable if I stick my head under the table near the computer, but not when I'm in my normal sitting position. I'm not sure if it's the fan in the power supply or if it's the magnetics.
I think I'm done!
Hah, you're never done! You could stop the PSU fan with a pencil and find out if the PSU fan needs to go out the window.
Does your computer pass the "2am" test? That is, can you hear it in the middle of the night?
I found out the slight hum was actually coming from my hard drive. When I shifted the drive a little bit in the NoVibes III, it went away.
So now the loudest thing in my system is ...
LOL
No, I'm done, really.
ff123
(I didn't read through this whole thread, so please forgive me if this kind of question has been answered before.)
My PC is already extremely quiet really (it has only got a CPU fan plus an extremely quiet PSU fan), but my hard drive's noise (especially when it's being accessed heavily) sometimes annoys me if I have the PC work overnight and try to go to sleep less than 2 metres away from it. It's not the volume, it's the "sound", the "frequency" of it I can't stand. Now I'm wondering if these rubber suspensions would help in this case. I kinda doubt it, since the noise I'm hearing probably isn't the result of vibrations, but just the hard disk noise itself that escapes through the case.
So, would you think a rubber hard disk suspension would do the trick, or will I end up padding my case anyway (I've read that cork is an excellent and cheap material to absorbe noise and vibrations too, BTW)?
Any answer, or a link would be greatly appreciated.
(I didn't read through this whole thread, so please forgive me if this kind of question has been answered before.)
My PC is already extremely quiet really (it has only got a CPU fan plus an extremely quiet PSU fan), but my hard drive's noise (especially when it's being accessed heavily) sometimes annoys me if I have the PC work overnight and try to go to sleep less than 2 metres away from it. It's not the volume, it's the "sound", the "frequency" of it I can't stand. Now I'm wondering if these rubber suspensions would help in this case. I kinda doubt it, since the noise I'm hearing probably isn't the result of vibrations, but just the hard disk noise itself that escapes through the case.
So, would you think a rubber hard disk suspension would do the trick, or will I end up padding my case anyway (I've read that cork is an excellent and cheap material to absorbe noise and vibrations too, BTW)?
Any answer, or a link would be greatly appreciated.
The suspensions are better for attenuating seek noise than they are for attenuating spin noise, so you should find them to be of great benefit.
ff123
(I didn't read through this whole thread, so please forgive me if this kind of question has been answered before.)
My PC is already extremely quiet really (it has only got a CPU fan plus an extremely quiet PSU fan), but my hard drive's noise (especially when it's being accessed heavily) sometimes annoys me if I have the PC work overnight and try to go to sleep less than 2 metres away from it. It's not the volume, it's the "sound", the "frequency" of it I can't stand. Now I'm wondering if these rubber suspensions would help in this case. I kinda doubt it, since the noise I'm hearing probably isn't the result of vibrations, but just the hard disk noise itself that escapes through the case.
So, would you think a rubber hard disk suspension would do the trick, or will I end up padding my case anyway (I've read that cork is an excellent and cheap material to absorbe noise and vibrations too, BTW)?
Any answer, or a link would be greatly appreciated.
My HDD is extremely noisy! So I got a SilentDrive Enclosure and suspended the whole thing with some elastic (I have a link to a pic showing this somewhere in this thread). The noise reduction was quiet amazing.
However, as it is a 7200rpm HDD, the temperature was a bit high so I decided to get it out of there. If you have a 5200rpm HDD, I highly recommend a SilentDrive Enclosure, or something similar. If you don't have a 5200rpm HDD, you can suspend it which will reduce the sound a little, but to get rid of the sound completely, get a quiet HDD.
This is what I will be doing shortly
The suspensions are better for attenuating seek noise than they are for attenuating spin noise, so you should find them to be of great benefit.
If it's seek noise that's causing a problem, an easier solution is simply to turn on Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM) in your drive, which nearly all drives these days come with. In Linux this is done with "hdparm -M n /dev/hda" where /dev/hda is your drive and n is an integer 128-254 (128 is quietest/slowest, 254 is loudest/fastest). You may have to find a utility of some sort to do the same for Windows. On my drives (both 7200 and 5400 ones) a setting of 128 makes seek noise just barely audible above the spin noise (whereas with the default 254 it's clearly audible several feet away).
My current computer is dead silent from 30 cm from front and 60 cm from PSU fan.
Really?
The loudest part of my Computer is the PSU fan which is running at 5V most of the time, but I can easily hear it from 3 m in a silent environment.
It naturally depends on the background noise and the mood I am in. Under normal circumstances it is quiet.
Hrmm... I started reading this thread, and on the advice I read early on, I replaced my horrific ThermoSonic CPU fan and heatsink with a Zalman 6000Cu flower.
With the fan at around half speed (half between min/max on the fanmate1) I am getting roughly the same temperatures (35C system, 45C cpu after load). However, my computer is still noisy as hell. I can sleep with it on, but its noticably noisy from 3m away.
I disconnected the 80mm exhaust fan at the front-bottom of the case, leaving an 80mm Cooler Master fan extracting around the CPU, 4 slots removed below the gfx card, and a noisy PSU fan.
Having spent £35 on the Zalman, I don't really want to go forking out for more things.. Is it reasonably easy replacing a PSU fan, or do you have to buy a new PSU? I'm wary of messing about with it, I'm pretty clumsy
(sorry, but the thread really is too long to read, even though it is interesting!)
... Is it reasonably easy replacing a PSU fan, or do you have to buy a new PSU? I'm wary of messing about with it, I'm pretty clumsy ...
Yes, I found it very easy! However, I cheated a little. I cut the PSU fan off and taped them up with some insulation tape, and removed the old fan. I then got the new fan and put it into the PSU. Instead of soldering the new fan onto the PSU, I got a fanmate and used it as a cable extension (as well as slowing the fan down) and connected it to the motherboard
It is also supposed to be very dangerous to mess around with the PSU, as it keeps hold of power even when disconnected, so there is still a risk of getting an electric shock. Make show you dont touch anything in the PSU except the fan
ps, I have the full copper flower heatsink too, but have the 92mm zalman fan at only 3.3v. the CPU idle temp is 49C and the 100% load temp after 1/2 hr is 64C
Now I'm wondering if these rubber suspensions would help in this case. I kinda doubt it, since the noise I'm hearing probably isn't the result of vibrations, but just the hard disk noise itself that escapes through the case.
So, would you think a rubber hard disk suspension would do the trick, or will I end up padding my case anyway (I've read that cork is an excellent and cheap material to absorbe noise and vibrations too, BTW)?
Suspending the drive will really help a lot. Just try putting your hand on the top of the case when your hard-drive is seeking; you'll feel the vibrations. The entire case is resonating when the hard-drive seeks, which makes the seeks much louder.
I suspended my drive primarily to quiet its idle squealing, and it helped a lot for that too. But it's still easy to hear, either idling or seeking, from my spot at the desk.
Try tying some rubber bands together into a big loop (snip the little loops, then tie the bands end-to-end), and sling it through some holes in your case to make a crappy HD suspension. Then carefully balance your HD in it. This solution won't last forever, because the bands become brittle after a couple of months. But it's an easy way to test the suspension idea. And if you decide it fits your needs, do what JEN did and spend a few cents (or whatever your currency is) on some decent elastic band material.
I disconnected the 80mm exhaust fan at the front-bottom of the case, leaving an 80mm Cooler Master fan extracting around the CPU, 4 slots removed below the gfx card, and a noisy PSU fan.
Having spent £35 on the Zalman, I don't really want to go forking out for more things.. Is it reasonably easy replacing a PSU fan, or do you have to buy a new PSU? I'm wary of messing about with it, I'm pretty clumsy
(sorry, but the thread really is too long to read, even though it is interesting!)
I would try replacing the PCI slot covers. Annuka has reported success with this technique (pulling air in along the GFX card), but there's a good chance it is simply sucking in the hot exhaust air from the back of your PC. You definitely don't want to recirculate the hot air; unless your GFX card is overheating, you probably want all the air coming from the front of the case.
PSU modding is fairly easy, as long as you think carefully before making irreversible changes. You probably want to unplug your PSU from the wall and wait some time before opening it. How long to wait? I've never heard a definitive answer, but everyone seems to agree that allowing the PSU to sit overnight should discharge the capacitors (hopefully). Then you can do something like what JEN did to add a new fan.
Try attaching the new fan to the
outside of the PSU, if that's possible. You might have to cut away some case metal to gain access to the fan screwholes on the back of the PSU. This will lower noise due to air turbulence and also make it easier to switch the replacement fan to an even quieter one at a later time, if you feel it's necessary.
I would try replacing the PCI slot covers. Annuka has reported success with this technique (pulling air in along the GFX card), but there's a good chance it is simply sucking in the hot exhaust air from the back of your PC. You definitely don't want to recirculate the hot air; unless your GFX card is overheating, you probably want all the air coming from the front of the case.
A friend of mine experimented with the concept. To minimise recirculation of the hot air, the computer should stand at least 30 cm free of the back wall. The higher the computer case the better (really the distance from the pci slots to the PSU).
I had an Asus Geeforce3 a year ago. It overheated like crazy - 62°C idle - 86°C when playing 3D games. The pci inlet gave lowered the temperature to some 37/52° C.
It might also work better for me, since I have a large radial fan mounted outside the case. It blows the air to the side not backwards.
Try attaching the new fan to the outside of the PSU, if that's possible. You might have to cut away some case metal to gain access to the fan screwholes on the back of the PSU. This will lower noise due to air turbulence and also make it easier to switch the replacement fan to an even quieter one at a later time, if you feel it's necessary.
Why will there be less air turbulence? Just because you move it further away from the things crammed into the PSU? Is the difference noticeable/striking?
Or is removing the cover (grill) of the fan more important?
>> - I'm still hesitating about what DVD-rom drive I'll put in there. <<
Sorry if this is already mentioned elsewhere, but we still use the current 'Mad-Dog' series of DVD-ROM 16x Drives because they are inexpensive AND they promote themselves as a 'Quiet Drive' even when reading a DVD or CD-ROM Disk at high-speed. This is accomplished by dampening their tray, motor and spindle mechanism more than most others do.
They call themselves the 'quiet drive' because they want the unit to make as little noise as possible when reading a disk, so people can concentrate more on the Music or Movie, as opposed to hearing a loud 'rumble' coming from their DVD-CD playback device when the spindle revvs up in speed. And yes, there IS a noticible sound difference with this drive over the other more-generic ones. So it gets our vote.
Try attaching the new fan to the outside of the PSU, if that's possible. You might have to cut away some case metal to gain access to the fan screwholes on the back of the PSU. This will lower noise due to air turbulence and also make it easier to switch the replacement fan to an even quieter one at a later time, if you feel it's necessary.
Why will there be less air turbulence? Just because you move it further away from the things crammed into the PSU? Is the difference noticeable/striking?
Or is removing the cover (grill) of the fan more important?
Removing the grill is the minimum you should do to reduce the turbulance from the PSU. Installing the fan on the outside is supposed to reduce turbulance further, but I have never tried it!
I would try replacing the PCI slot covers. Annuka has reported success with this technique (pulling air in along the GFX card), but there's a good chance it is simply sucking in the hot exhaust air from the back of your PC. You definitely don't want to recirculate the hot air; unless your GFX card is overheating, you probably want all the air coming from the front of the case.
A friend of mine experimented with the concept. To minimise recirculation of the hot air, the computer should stand at least 30 cm free of the back wall. The higher the computer case the better (really the distance from the pci slots to the PSU).
I had an Asus Geeforce3 a year ago. It overheated like crazy - 62°C idle - 86°C when playing 3D games. The pci inlet gave lowered the temperature to some 37/52° C.
It might also work better for me, since I have a large radial fan mounted outside the case. It blows the air to the side not backwards.
I have a Zalman heatpipe on my GF4, How do I check its temperature?
Removing the grill is the minimum you should do to reduce the turbulance from the PSU. Installing the fan on the outside is supposed to reduce turbulance further, but I have never tried it!
Do not remove the grill if there are cats, dogs or children in the vicinity.
I have a Zalman heatpipe on my GF4, How do I check its temperature?
If it is an Asus adapter, install SmartDoctor avalible from asus.com.tw or the cd-rom that came witht the card.
If not, try browsing the driver cd for some monitoring software.
If this fails too, just place a termometer on top of the card.
I have a Zalman heatpipe on my GF4, How do I check its temperature?
If it is an Asus adapter, install SmartDoctor avalible from asus.com.tw or the cd-rom that came witht the card.
If not, try browsing the driver cd for some monitoring software.
If this fails too, just place a termometer on top of the card.
Nah, its one of them MSI GF4 ti4200 x4 cards
[edit]
Sorry, I lied. Its actually an Inno3D GF4 ti4200
[/edit]
Having worked with a Dell dual Xeon workstation at work over the last few days, I can recommend Dell boxes to anyone who aren't into DIY-stuff. These things are very nice; not quite as silent as my watercooled rig at home, but close. They come with big fat air ducts over the procs, proving this to be an adequate solution.
Having worked with a Dell dual Xeon workstation at work over the last few days, I can recommend Dell boxes to anyone who aren't into DIY-stuff. These things are very nice; not quite as silent as my watercooled rig at home, but close. They come with big fat air ducts over the procs, proving this to be an adequate solution.
Agreed. At my university, some computer labs have 30 or more Dell P4-2400's in a small room, without any partitioning. It is still very easy to hear a lecturer at the front of the room. The noise characteristics of the PC's are such that I don't even notice all the computers when I'm typing at a terminal.
There have been several discussions at SPCR (http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=4133) about the SilenX power supplies. Everyone who has bought one agrees it is astoundingly quiet. From what people have said, if you can't hear your hard drives, there's no way on earth you'll notice this PSU.
New information (http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=4504) about the SilenX brand reveals that the SilenX employees have been deceptively using many different screen-names at the SPCR forums, posing as end users to promote their products. The official product review (http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=81&page=1) is quite positive, so the product itself is still of high quality. But buying the product from SilenX.com would likely be a bad idea, now that it's clear how shady its employees are.
Having worked with a Dell dual Xeon workstation at work over the last few days, I can recommend Dell boxes to anyone who aren't into DIY-stuff. These things are very nice; not quite as silent as my watercooled rig at home, but close. They come with big fat air ducts over the procs, proving this to be an adequate solution.
Agreed. At my university, some computer labs have 30 or more Dell P4-2400's in a small room, without any partitioning. It is still very easy to hear a lecturer at the front of the room. The noise characteristics of the PC's are such that I don't even notice all the computers when I'm typing at a terminal.
My old work place had Dell as well. The cheap desktops were reasonable quiet, but the Dual Xeons were noisy even in an office enviroment.
Dell must have changed much - my father's PIII 500 is very noisy...
'Cheap' alternative to SilenX and Nexustek and the likes:
(http://www.aopen.com/products/power/images/FSP300-60PN.jpg)
I built this one into my brother-in-law's pc last week.
The 120mm fan makes it intrisically less noisy. Since it's an Aopen product, it wasn't built with silence in mind, but rather just constant voltages. To me that's a comforting thought. It doesn't come with the "ultra-silent"-price premium either...
I found the thermometer sticker in the Silent Drive box and stuck it onto the GPU heatpipe. The temp its showing is 42 as idle and 46 after running 3Dmark2001.
Thats OK... isn't it
I found the thermometer sticker in the Silent Drive box and stuck it onto the GPU heatpipe. The temp its showing is 42 as idle and 46 after running 3Dmark2001.
Thats OK... isn't it
I'm not sure how accurate those thermometer sticker things are. My test: put a finger on the heatsink right on top of the GPU. See if you can do the touch-test on the aluminum block clamped directly to the GPU, if there's enough room. If you can hold it there for 2 seconds, I'd say things are running okay.
From my extremely unscientific touch-testing, I've found that there's a pretty good correlation between maximum touch-time and temperature. 1/8-second means you're burning up at about 90C (happened to me once when something was stuck in the CPU fan... whoops! Thank God for my motherboard's thermal-protection circuitry). 1 second is ~70C. 2 seconds is 60-65C. Assuming your heatsink is clamped on pretty tightly, so the heatsink temperature is representative of the GPU die temp, a 60-65C temperature should be okay for the GPU if you're running at stock speeds.
FWIW, I ran my GF3 Ti200 with the whiny fan removed for a while, and an 80mm blowing from the side. When I touched the puny aluminum heatsink plate directly above the die, I couldn't keep my finger there for even a second, so it must have been running quite hot. But games never showed any distortions or signs of GPU overheating.
'Cheap' alternative to SilenX and Nexustek and the likes:
<image>
I built this one into my brother-in-law's pc last week.
The 120mm fan makes it intrisically less noisy. Since it's an Aopen product, it wasn't built with silence in mind, but rather just constant voltages. To me that's a comforting thought. It doesn't come with the "ultra-silent"-price premium either...
Yeah, only $32 with shipping from Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=P300XFPN). I'd likely buy one if my computer could run on a 300W.
Patsoe, you say it wasn't built for silence in mind, but to your ears does it run quietly enough to belong in a "quiet" computer?
Well, it was the only fan running in the box, so after a while it still seemed noisy to me. Initially, however, it was subjectively very quiet.
If it had been my own pc it was running in, I would have made the fan run at 7V though. At standard speed it is moving tons of air. True, this would make it a non-standard component - but at least it doesn't require heavy modding like dremeling fan holes...
BTW, I used the 350W version of this thing. If you're not running dual Xeon's with 10 SCSI drives, that should really suffice... in a review, it was rated equal to a no-name 550W PSU.
I have noticed that many people here are using Zalman flower heatsinks, but I also noticed that when the Zalman CNPS5000plus/CNPS5001 heatsinks were pitted against the Alpha PAL8045 ( http://www.anandtech.com/cooling/showdoc.html?i=1532 (http://www.anandtech.com/cooling/showdoc.html?i=1532) ) it was determined that the PAL8045 provided either the best performance or the lowest noise. Why are you guys still choosing the Zalman over the Alpha?
I ordered some Noiseblocker dam up mats in order to silence my tower, which is really loud. Especially when I have my old 17gig Quantum Fireball 5400 harddisk running.
I've read that some fo you completely isolated the tower from inside so that no noise could escape. I have a "hole" (it is secured by a grid with a filter which should prevent dust to enter the tower and there are to fans behind it which suck air into the tower, but I have deactivated them. They are not low-noise-ones and they sink the tower-temp around 5° only) on the front of the tower through which the who tower fans and the one of the psu get their air. Whe I hold my hand into that "hole" I can easily feel the air flowing through it.
Now my question is: Should I close this "hole"?
I fear that the tower will die by the heat which now cannot escape anymore. I put a piece of wood (which I adapted quite well) on it, so that no air could pass. A result of it was that the cpu temperature increased up to 5-7°.
I ordered some Noiseblocker dam up mats in order to silence my tower, which is really loud. Especially when I have my old 17gig Quantum Fireball 5400 harddisk running.
I've read that some fo you completely isolated the tower from inside so that no noise could escape. I have a "hole" (it is secured by a grid with a filter which should prevent dust to enter the tower and there are to fans behind it which suck air into the tower, but I have deactivated them. They are not low-noise-ones and they sink the tower-temp around 5° only) on the front of the tower through which the who tower fans and the one of the psu get their air. Whe I hold my hand into that "hole" I can easily feel the air flowing through it.
Now my question is: Should I close this "hole"?
I fear that the tower will die by the heat which now cannot escape anymore. I put a piece of wood (which I adapted quite well) on it, so that no air could pass. A result of it was that the cpu temperature increased up to 5-7°.
You said the temps increase by 5-7C. What are the actual readings when the holes are closed? Also, did you take the readings with the CPU idle or 100% load?
I'm not sure how accurate those thermometer sticker things are. My test: put a finger on the heatsink right on top of the GPU. See if you can do the touch-test on the aluminum block clamped directly to the GPU, if there's enough room. If you can hold it there for 2 seconds, I'd say things are running okay.
Alternatively, you can use a program like DriveHealth (http://www.drivehealth.com) to monitor the temperature of your drive using S.M.A.R.T. features (which most drives support these days). My 80 gig WD 7200rpm ATA133 drive averages around 42C inside its SilentDrive enclosure.
I ordered some Noiseblocker dam up mats in order to silence my tower, which is really loud. Especially when I have my old 17gig Quantum Fireball 5400 harddisk running.
I've read that some fo you completely isolated the tower from inside so that no noise could escape. I have a "hole" (it is secured by a grid with a filter which should prevent dust to enter the tower and there are to fans behind it which suck air into the tower, but I have deactivated them. They are not low-noise-ones and they sink the tower-temp around 5° only) on the front of the tower through which the who tower fans and the one of the psu get their air. Whe I hold my hand into that "hole" I can easily feel the air flowing through it.
Now my question is: Should I close this "hole"?
I fear that the tower will die by the heat which now cannot escape anymore. I put a piece of wood (which I adapted quite well) on it, so that no air could pass. A result of it was that the cpu temperature increased up to 5-7°.
You said the temps increase by 5-7C. What are the actual readings when the holes are closed? Also, did you take the readings with the CPU idle or 100% load?
When the cpu is working at 100% I have to add around 5° to it. So when I close the front hole and I encode a dvd the cpu gets up to 65°.
Today I got the Noiseblocker EvolutionEQ Platinum dam-mats and installed them into my tower. My first impression is: yes, it has become more silent, but:
As all the noise (or big parts of it) coming from inside is damed I can hear other noise-sources now. These are the fan of the back of the tower and the one on its top. I've built a some kind of canal which sucks the air throught the cpu-heatsink and blows it out of the tower's roof. (The story behind this weird construction has really made me nuts for a short time: I've waited some month till PC-Professionel finally came up with their comparison of different cpu fans (including heatsinks). I thought Iordered the best one (which had a pure copper heatsink and looks quite cool). With the fan it cost 60€ and without 50€. And as I'm a really smart guy I ordered it without the fan so that it wasn't kinda low noise... So I managed to build this certain canal with papp. I reduced 1466MHz to 1100MHz in order to keep it cooler. With this canal the cpu is around 50° when idle. Without it, it doesn't stop heating. When I tested it without the canal I let the cpu-temp go up to 70°.)
My next step will be to replace these noisy fans with silent ones. That'll cost again... pfiu
My question now is to those who managed to make their computer silent: Did you keep some aeration holes or is a possiblity for room-temp. air to enter the tower unnecessairy?
EDIT: I deleted a double negation, where there shouldn't be one
I think them temps are fairly high. I read somewhere that CPUs @ 65C and over can produce errors!!!
Anyway, I managed to get my PC silent and I have 2 fanless intakes and 2 fanned exhausts. The reason why I can not hear the fans at the back is because the case in under the table.
You must allow some ventilation at your case. If not, the computer will overheat. Maybe not in an hour, but if the room temperature is not very low, it will eventually overheat in some hours. The warmer the room (think in summer), the less it will take in overheating.
I was wondering if there are free alternatives to CPUIdle. This page (http://www.notebookreview.com/coolcpu.html) seems to be a good starting point. I've tried VCool and it lowered CPU temp. from 46 -> 38°C (System temp. 30/29°C, Via KT133 MB, Athlon 1333@1200MHz). Nice!
Edit: With "Idle loop enalbed" I arrived at 35°, 36° if fb2k playing (no DSPs).
A question: AFAIK notebook processors need less cooling. Anyone experiences with building silent PCs using notebook processors/other components (I guess notebook processors won't work with desktop mainboards)?
I ran across another interesting factory built box by HP. It has a 1Ghz Transmeta crusoe processor and is fanless and diskless (no moving parts at all!) , though you should be able to add a card to control a DVD drive.
It comes with 256 mb of flash with embedded winxp. I don't know what's involved
in configuring it to boot up in a media program and point to a file server.
hp thinclient (http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/thinclients/t5700/)
I was wondering if there are free alternatives to CPUIdle. This page (http://www.notebookreview.com/coolcpu.html) seems to be a good starting point. I've tried VCool and it lowered CPU temp. from 46 -> 38°C (System temp. 30/29°C, Via KT133 MB, Athlon 1333@1200MHz). Nice!
A chaotic but in-depth read about your needs starts here: http://grassomusic.de/english/amdk7.htm (http://grassomusic.de/english/amdk7.htm)
I got rid of my bookmarks about this subject some while ago, but from memory, these are the search words you'll need to find more: HLT, register 52, SGS (stop grant state). Also, IIRC, you could make the effect of VCool permanent (without resource-eating software) on KT133 by using WPCRSET. This may cause instability according to many users.
A local computer parts place in town has this on their website as a possible future product
http://www.directron.com/fanless.html (http://www.directron.com/fanless.html)
Pretty neat. I'm sure many of us have had similar ideas and just wondered if there would be enough heat transfer to the case to make it work.
Tomorrow, I buy a Zalman video card cooler, some panaflo fans, fan isolators, probably some grommits, and I haven't decided which HSF to get yet. Maybe a Zalman flower, maybe the thermaltake sku900 thingy.
From the link in the previous post:
TNN computer is the world's first absolutely noiseless computer since it does not use ANY cooling fans. Not even in the power supply.
I don't understand why they say it is the first, since it is not available yet and there are other fanless models...
including my first laptop from 1995... and as noted in several posts in this thread, there are a couple of
current (ie much faster than my 1995 laptop) fanless models available.
For playback of mp3 I use a Pentium 100 PC with only a floppy disk, soundcard, and (old, 3c509)network card. It has no fans, no harddisk, and the floppy is only needed for booting. So after booting it is completely!! noiseless.
The OS is party on the floppy, Linux based. It starts by getting additional programs from a http-server (Linux or Windows, doesn't matter).
Then it gets it music from an http-server, in another room.
It's controlled by web, infrared (lirc) and keyboard( I have none connected). It's possible to have a monitor attached (I have not).
By using a Pentium 100 power consumption is very low, so I took out power supplies fan. It runs now for several months without problem. The player did well during the hottest summer in Europe for 4 centuries!
I did solder some extra capacitors on the soundblaster, for even better sound. All parts are extremely cheap. Only software finding and putting together took a lot of time, but was fun to do.
So for the folks who want a nice cheap thing: Pentium 100 has enough power, and does NOT need active cooling by fans, not even in the power-supply. But be sure to do some VERY good testing!
Only software finding and putting together took a lot of time, but was fun to do.
Could you show me the way? Thanks...
show me the way?
First thing to do is install linux, on a harddisk (2Gig, HD will be removed later), an old version is preferred, to keep everything needed on just one floppy. Take Slackware 7.1. Then learn Linux. In the meantime I will make a website with instructions.
From the link in the previous post:
TNN computer is the world's first absolutely noiseless computer since it does not use ANY cooling fans. Not even in the power supply.
I don't understand why they say it is the first, since it is not available yet and there are other fanless models...
including my first laptop from 1995... and as noted in several posts in this thread, there are a couple of
current (ie much faster than my 1995 laptop) fanless models available.
I second that.
My Panasonic T1 is a fanless Pentium 866. It's pretty much the same laptop as featured in Tomb raider II