[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhawk22 something like this would also help with your case fans. I use it with the fans on my radiator, very quiet, turn it up when gaming. If you have electrical experience I would just replace the fans in your psu.

I hope I'll be able control the fans via the Speed Fan software.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch IMO, the case is critically important. Thin walls and a lot of cracks/holes let through a great deal of sound, and a thicker/better case can be drastically quieter.

No skimping on the case then. Too bad because that would have saved me a lot of work reloading everything into the new case.

 

[cire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch IMO, the case is critically important. Thin walls and a lot of cracks/holes let through a great deal of sound, and a thicker/better case can be drastically quieter.

in my experiences, a "better" case isnt quieter. better cases have more airflow, therefore more venting holes. even if you were to seal up all the holes, you'll still hear a lot of the noise through the fan intake/exhaust ports. for ultimate silence, line your case with foam and stick rubber grommets on anythign that vibrates (fans, HDs, cd drives, PSU...etc"

 

[sonance]

You will be amazed how much of the racket can be removed just by replacing every single fan in your pc.
There are two sorts of quiet - whisper quiet, the sort that has a quiet air movement sound that quickly falls off as you step more than 3-5 feet away from the pc, and then there's dead quiet. I mean, you can't tell its on quiet.
The latter is hard (expensive to do) for a decent performing pc, the former, not so hard.
First thing to do is replace every fan in your computer. 120 mm are the quietest, 80mm and 92 mm are not quite as quiet, but you can get fairly quiet fans. You can replace the case and psu if you like, but really what you're getting is quieter fans. If you need the functionality of newer PSUs and cases (some take 120mm fans) then by all means do so. I got a Seasonic S12, and I love it, but I modded the PSU on my older PC (HTPC) and it is just as quiet.
First thing to do is dump any fan < 80mm. If you have a northbridge fan, this will be a pain, but dump any you can and replace them with quiet 80mm fans.
If there are intake or exhaust fans that are 40 or 60mm remove them and attach a 80mm or 120mm fan via a bracket or some jury rigging. 80mm fans can cost a anywhere from $1 -$15, my suggestions is buy a fanbus (fan speed controller) and get any cheap quiet fans that are rated at < 25db. These will probably need to be replaced in about 2 years of continuous use to maintain the quietness.
For example you can get a 6 pack of coolermaster 25db fans from newegg.com for $9 (< $2 per fan, VERY cheap indeed), but the average cost of quiet fans such as papst, panaflo and vantec stealth is $5-10 each. With the fan controller you can further drop the noise level by about another 5db, while still getting OK airflow (as long as you have enough quiet fans.) Using the quiet fans you buy, replace the fans in your case, front and back, and in your Power supply (requires opening it up, replacing the internal fans.)
Your CPU heatsink fan combo may need to be upgraded, because 25db 80mm fans may not have adequate airflow. I use a Thermalright XP120 (not to be confused with Thermaltake) and it is dead quiet, I can't tell the difference between it being on and off, yet it is a phenomenal HSF.
If you get a new case, pick one with 120mm fans, these are great.
You can further get noise insulating pads to coat the inside of your pc and close the cracks and these help a little (less than you'd think, as long as you do everything else described here). Sound deadening drive enclosures (with sufficient cooling) will get rid of the loud rattle.
Rubber gaskets and grommets get rid of a particular kind of sound, the metal to metal racket which is actually very little (for me) - I use a few washers on fans I suspected were making a slight sound. Much more important is replacing all fans with quiet fans. Spending $8 on grommets for a noise OEM fan makes no sense, so do the fan replacement first.
Be careful with the video card, with existing cards your best option is to buy an aftermarket heatsink fan thats quiet such as a Zalman or Arctic Cooling replacement fan. These cool better and are much quieter.
At this level of modding your optical drive is likely to be the loudest component by far. I can't hear my pc from 2 feet away unless the drives are trashing or its reading a dvd / cd. My pc is an AMD64 4000+, 7800GT video card with 2 HDs and an DVD+/-RW drive. Fans are - 1 x 120 in the PSU, 1 x 120 on the hsf, 1 x 120 on the side of the case, 1 x 80mm in the back, 1 x 80 mm in the front, 1 x ? on the 7800gt. As you can see, still a fair number of fans, but my pc is very quiet, without being quite dead silent. Most imporant thing I've learned in making a pc more quiet is you MUST REPLACE EVERY SINGLE FAN that is not already VERY VERY quiet, otherwise the whole thing is a waste. A single loud fan will ruin your effort to quieten the pc - famous cultprits being the video card and psu fans which people are reluctant to replace.
Hope all this helps.

 

[saint.panda]

Thanks for the lengthy post sonance, it's much appreciated!



In any event, I've just sent my orders to amazon, ebay and a modding retailer:

Seasonic S12-330 (PSU)
Antec SLK3000B (case)
Coolermaster TFL-S12 (120mm fan)
Zalman VF700-Cu (GPU)
Thermaltake Sonic Tower (CPU)

I went for the Sonic Tower because it's cheaper than the Ninja and I've always wanted to know how having this kind of grotesque bulk in my computer would feel like. The opinions on silentpcreview.com are divided between Thermaltake nay-sayers and those who have had 1st hand experience with the Sonic Tower, which were all positive, so why not. I was also recommended the Zalman CNPS 7000B but I just couldn't resist the Sonic Tower's extravaganza factor.



Again, thanks a lot for the replies. It's been a great help!

 

[cire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saint.panda Seasonic S12-330 (PSU) Antec SLK3000B (case) Coolermaster TFL-S12 (120mm fan) Zalman VF700-Cu (GPU) Thermaltake Sonic Tower (CPU)

you needlessly wasted a lot of money there...no surprising i guess..this is headfi.

the zalman is way overkill (by a shat load) for your little radeon 9000. the VF700 is heatsink designed to cool the current highend generation cards that have a thermal displacement of over 100 watts. your card has a thermal displacement of around 20 watts. something like this would be adaquit without a fan. (though it is marketed as a chipset heatsink, the heatsink mounting for nForce2 chipsets is the same as the mounting on ATi cards.)

the sonic tower is probably another piece of crap released by thermal take. for one, it weighs 700grams without a fan. that much weight on something that has a high center of gravity may litterally tear the socket off your motherboard. and plus, like i said earlier, thermaltake sucks, you're probably better off getting the ThermalRight SI-97A which is about 10$ cheaper.

 

[jhawk22]

if price was no object. this would be the perfect solution

 

[saint.panda]

Ok, I talked to somebody on msn and revised my order and will give the heat sink a try for the radeon. It's only 5,90€ anyway. And changed the Sonic Tower to an active Zalman 7000B, looks like the more reliable option.

 

[eugenius]

The SonicTower is not crap. It's a passive radiator that has mounts for a 120mm fan if the need arises.

Best quiet system IMO:

Fortron Zen 300W Passive PSU (Or an Antec Phantom 350W, but the zen is cheaper, and it benefits greatly from airflow).

Heavy steel case, not a huge case but a very solid and with solid panels, NO SIDE VENT!, minimal front vents, 120mm grilled vent mod on top of the PSU.
Bottom 120mm filtered vent and tall rubber feet for the case. Do not place the case on carpet, or if you do, get a marble tile and put the case on it.

Sonic Tower with an optional 120mm NEXUS! fan blowing UP! configured to start only when needed. (preferably with a motherboard that has fan speed control in the bios). It's better to put the fan on the CPU cooler than on the back panel because it's inside the case and the noise is blocked better. YMMV though, a passive sonic tower runs a barton 3200+@1.5V at 51degrees celsius.

The best strategy is to mount the fan on the back, on the cpu heatsink and on the bottom vent and see the results. If you have a hot GPU, it's better to put it on the bottom vent, otherwise on the CPU cooler.

Samsung HDD with a NIDEC motor. Only ONE HDD, mounted in a rubber suspended silent enclosure.

Generously sized passive heatsink for the video card (the biggest and best performing that I know of is the TT Schooner, that can passively cool a x800xl or a 6800gt).

Don't get me wrong, the Thermalright coolers deliver way more performance per gram, but are not passive. These are the best widely available cheap passive heatsinks that I know of.

This setup can run 2GHz a64 or even an undervolted x2-3800+ with the fan on 7V and a good graphics card. IF properly configured, it can stay below 20dB, so it's silent from a distance of 1m, even at night.

Now about yorur choices: the Zalmans have 22db fans when run at 5V only, and for a 9000pro that gpu cooler is oooooverkill. I recommend disconnecting the fan on the gpu cooler or at least running it on minimal voltage.

Don't get me wrong, you will get a quieter computer, maybe even a night and day difference, but for the money you spent it's a bad deal. You can't beat passive for silence.

 

[akwok]

There is no point (it is stupid even) to go for a passive HS when other components in the computer are fanned (even fans pointing at the Nexus!). Full fanless is extremely difficult to pull off (but might possible with this system were it not for the 1800+ - Antec Phantom, Scythe Ninja, and a ZM80C/D in a P180); for higher up systems a passive watercooling solution might be the key.

You mention a 120mm Nexus on the Sonic Tower.. why not get the XP-120 with a 120mm Nexus instead? Yes, the Sonic Tower is passive, but you're not using it as a passive solution.. and I really do doubt full passive it is that feasable (the first gen Athlons were heaters!).

Plus, I hate Thermaltake. Nothing but rip offs and crappy hardware..

I chose the Zalman VF700 for him because it's relatively inexpensive, and it's an easy install. It can be used with future cards (if he is so inclined), but for $5 for the NB47J, he might as well try and see how that works out.

 

[saint.panda]

Yeah, thanks a lot again Adrian. My Coolermaster, Zalman 7000B, NB47J and Seasonic were shipped today. Looking forward to the sound of silence.

 

[daba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saint.panda Thanks for the lengthy post sonance, it's much appreciated! In any event, I've just sent my orders to amazon, ebay and a modding retailer: Seasonic S12-330 (PSU) Antec SLK3000B (case) Coolermaster TFL-S12 (120mm fan) Zalman VF700-Cu (GPU) Thermaltake Sonic Tower (CPU)

Argh.

Bad choice on the Coolermaster fan -- should've gone Nexus (check out silentpcreview!!!) Thermaltake Sonic Tower is also not that great... should've gone XP-90/XP-120 or Scythe Ninja.

 

[akwok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daba Argh. Bad choice on the Coolermaster fan -- should've gone Nexus (check out silentpcreview!!!) Thermaltake Sonic Tower is also not that great... should've gone XP-90/XP-120 or Scythe Ninja.

You are so wrong. Read up on SPCR in regards to the Sleeve bearing 120mm Coolermasters.

I have 2 Nexus, 2 SilenX, and 10 Sleeve Coolermasters here, at 5v the CMs push more air than the Nexus at 7v and is as quiet.

People who buy Nexuses are fools.. I have sold both of mine as you can see from my huge lot sale.

 

[daba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akwok You are so wrong. Read up on SPCR in regards to the Sleeve bearing 120mm Coolermasters. I have 2 Nexus, 2 SilenX, and 10 Sleeve Coolermasters here, at 5v the CMs push more air than the Nexus at 7v and is as quiet. People who buy Nexuses are fools.. I have sold both of mine as you can see from my huge lot sale.

Whoa, whoa, calm down kiddo... Nexus fans are great fans; you can't go wrong with them if you don't mind spending the cash. Else, you can try to get some low-speed 12cm Yate Loon OEM for about half the price.

 

[akwok]

Sorry, it's just the 'read SPCR' comment that got me offguard..

It's just that there really isn't a point to buying a Nexus for $20 when you can buy an equally (or in my opinion, better) performing fan for 1/4 of the price.. plus, it's nice looking!

My Nexuses at 12v were too noisy for me, and I had to undervolt it anyways. Both at 12v, the Nexus is quieter, but once you ramp down the difference becomes neglible (and for the better in regards to the CM). I urge you to try one of the S12 models!

 

[eugenius]

The Nexus is great because it's consistently good, less chance of a bad fan arriving. You can buy a 12cm yate loon low speed sleeve fan if you want to save money, but you have a higher chance of getting a bad sample.

The TT is better than Xp120 because: it's cheaper, it's way better performing
for fanless operation (there's no replacement for mass and surface). If your goal is extreme silence then a bigger heatsink is always better.

Another great option for fanless in the Thermaltake Fanless 103, an even bigger heatsink that doesn't have a fan mount, but you can put a 120mm fan on the back of the case and be done with it. I still recomment a nicely grilled tp psu blowhole for passive PSU's.

Also, don't obsess about temperatures, the goal is silence not overclocking and low temps. If it's totally stable and within the specified limits, who cares about temps!

If you want an even better fan option, mod the case to fit a YateLoon D14SL-12 (a 14cm fan that has an even better airflow/sound ratio than 12cm fans). If the direct sound path from the side of the case is blocked, then that 14cm Yate Loon mounted on the side it's the best option.

Remember, this fan is started only when needed. Get a great undervolting A64 and it doesn't ever need to start for non-3d operation.