[saint.panda]

Hi, need some help from your computer gurus.

My cheapskate PC consists of:

-AMD 1800+ (relatively silent standard fan)
-Asus A7N8X Mainboard
-Radeon 9000 Pro All in Wonder (stock fan)
-512MB Ram
-E-MU 1212M
-2 x Samsung Spinpoint SP1604N (pretty silent)
-cheap case with standard power supply.

I only use the computer for easy office applications, some music, some internet, some TV, etc., i.e. nothing that needs a lot of computer power. No gaming with the computer either.

Since the computer is usually running all day, it's really going on my nerves. I'd be willing to replace: case, fans, power supply and whatever can be done easily. My only goal is: Silence. Design, overclocking capabilities, etc. are not important. Since the computer is under the desk, heat might be an issue but I don't really think so.

Not sure how much I'm willing to spend because I don't know what the usual budget is or when diminshing returns start to kick in heavily. So let's say $100-150 for starters. By the way, I'm located in Europe.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Tachikoma]

I think changing the casing and psu will do the job. Antec P180 for casing, Seasonic S12-500 (something like that, look up the seasonic PSUs at silentpcreview.com). Changing PSUs should help your system sound better too.

Edit: seasonic S12-500, not SST-500

Sorry for not adhering to the 150$ budget (I think they add up to something like 300$, ouch) though =P But it would be wise to invest a little more on PSUs and casings, since they usually last a whole lot longer than the rest of your CPU components.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article.php?aid=217&pid=1 Here's something that fits your budget

*drools on the casing...*

 

[Zorander]

I second the opinions for Seasonic PSUs as well. If you can't find it where you are, I personally had experience with the Antec TruePower series and I find them quiet as well.

For your case, if it has good airflow running through it, I see little need to replace it. Otherwise, the Antec P180 is an excellent, albeit expensive, option. The Antec SLK3000B is a much cheaper, and still excellent, alternative.

For the CPU cooler, I highly recommend the Scythe Ninja. Depending on the airflow amount in your case and how much heat the CPU produces, you can run the Ninja in fanless mode. I am using it thus with my X2 3800+.

For the VGA card, If it has active cooling (i.e. fan), try running it with the fan off. I've done the same with my 8500 and there has been no problems so far in idle and gaming. Otherwise, there are always after-market fanless heatsinks you can buy for the card (i.e. Zalman and Thermaltake).

This last one is probably going to have the least effect but still worth trying. For your harddrives, try suspending or placing them on soft foams, thus isolating their vibrations from the case. It had very noticable effects even on my already quiet Seagate Barracuda IV.

HIH. Cheers!

 

[daba]

There is an entire site dedicated to this: www.silentpcreview.com . Don't be surprised if you see Head-fier's over there -- it's a very common practice to shut up your computer!

 

[pezzy]

the antec sonata case is also another really quiet case and looks pretty good.

 

[stefan]

Seasonic S12 PSU
Nexus case fans undervolted with zalman fanmates
scythe ninja CPU heatsink

case which enables ou to suspend HDDs using bungee cord.

 

[cire]

replace the CPU heatsink with Arctic silver ceramique thermal compound and a Thermalright SI97 heatsink. you might be able to go passive on this (any idea what core your 1800+ is? palomino or throughbred?)

if you're handy with a dremel, dremel out a 120mm (the exact diameter of a cd) hole in the rear exhaust. stick a low dba 120mm fan there, i'm thinking about 25-30 dba which would be good for 50-70cfm.

a new powersupply would probably be over the top... you could always mod your existing one to be more quiet by changing the fan to a quieter one. vantec stealth 80mm fans are very quiet and perfect for this.

since you do no gaming or anything graphics intensive, you could probably unplug the fan on the 9000's heatsink and remove it without any ill effects. or you could buy a video card heatsink, something big with lots of fins but no fans.

lastly, you can underclock your CPU. since the A7N8X is known to be a decent overclocker in the 462 world, underclocking shouldnt be too hard. you should start by dropping the vcore as low as possible while still being able to maintain the 1.6ghz (or was it 1.5?). another option here would be to purchase a new CPU: an XP-M barton 2400+ 35 watt 2.0ghz 1.35vcore.

 

[saint.panda]

Thanks for the many helpful replies.

I didn't know about silentpcreview.com but it looks very cool. I'll definately have to take a look.

In any case, for now I have the Antec SLK3000B and a Seasonic S12-330/380 on my to-buy list. The Antec case is priced nicely and I don't think I'll need more than 350W of power.

For CPU and GPU cooler, I'll need to make some more research.

 

[eugenius]

Excellent choices so far.

Antec slk3000b is cheap and good enough.

FYI a sli 7800gtx with am a64 x2 draws 300W max, so a 380W PSU is more than enough for anything, as long as it has high 12V current capability (which any seasonic has).

For your current system, the 330 is more than enough, and for any medium computer for the next 2-3 years.

Silence = less fans, and quiet ones.

Get a passive cpu cooler like the Thermaltake Sonic Tower, a decent passive cooler for the 9000pro (any moderately sized aluminium heatsink from any passive video card will do, it will get hot but will stay totally stable (I had one of these too)).

With these components, and a single nexus 12cm 1000rpm fan on the back, you are set. If you have a fan controller or a motherboard that can change fan speeds with SpeedFan, you can set the back fan to kick in only when needed.

PS: I also have a more extreme option for you, a computer that's even more silent that this one.

Tell me if you're interested.

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eugenius Tell me if you're interested.

Give it a shot!

 

[tofu]

want silence without sacrificing performance?

passive liquid cooling is the way to go.

building the radiator is cheap. it's about $25 worth of copper piping and fittings.

get a submergable pump, or undervolt a regular one.

from there, insulate your entire case with acoustic foam.

 

[saint.panda]

Actually, how important is the case?

My buy-list so far:
Seasonic S12-330, Zalman VF700-CU (I don't want the hassle with the passive ones), Coolermaster 120mm S12 fan, Thermaltlake Sonic Tower (cheaper than Ninja).

Considering that everything except for the Zalman will be passive on the inside inside, how much of a difference will a better case make?

 

[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.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saint.panda Actually, how important is the case?

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.

 

[ronross]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pezzy the antec sonata case is also another really quiet case and looks pretty good.

I have one and the ambient noise from the street is louder than the computer. I don't sleep in the room with it, though.