[Leopold]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik Take a look here: http://www.silenx.com They have terrific fanless PSUs, very quiet fans, hard drive coolers/quieters, and other stuff, too.

As I see it, there is much hype in the silent pc business. For instance, take all these "silent case fans" which are db-rated and everything. Then take a look at the air they are moving... I found that a large, high cfm cheap fan that is regulated down to 800 - 1000 rpm is just as silent and moves just as much air. Ok, this is no big deal since fans are relatively cheap anyway.

But take fanless PSUs. This sounds like a nice idea but you normally need fans to move hot air out of the case anyway. There are very good near-silent and relatively cheap PSUs that helps doing just that. Boosted by a large cheap fan like above the net result is excellent case cooling and extremely low noise levels. With a fanless PSU the case fan would have to work harder, increasing system noise in comparison.

And to what help is any of the above if you have a mainboard chipset fan that is the only thing you actually hear from the computer if you listen carefully. As mentioned, these are not easy to deal with, the only really recommendable thing is to choose a mainboard that has no chipset fan at all.

I'm not saying the aftermarket silent solutions are ineffective, just that a systems perspective is necessary from the ground up to get that silence we all want.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Leopold- agreed. You have to get the hot air out of the system somehow, and a PSU fan is a good place to start.

But it does generate a bunch of noise and if you go fanless, you have to work around it.

The best solutions I've seen are to use systems that don't generate much heat to begin with. A friend of mine has a VIA-based micro-ITX board. Now, it's not terribly powerful, but will work great as a media server. The board has integrated graphics and there are no fans. If you use one of those, a hard drive cooler/quieter, and a big fan ramped down, you're not going to hear it.

Apple does a similar thing with the Mini. The PSU is not in the case and it does not have a fan. There is a system fan in there, but it's a big one and tuned down. Even when I'm pushing my Mini as hard as it can go, you can't hear it.

 

[CSMR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah 3. where you put the damn box can be MUCH MORE important than your components. just putting it under my desk makes a world of difference, to the point we all want where i cannot hear it even when everything else is quiet and i'm trying to hear it. i'm considering building a sort of enclosure, closed on top, sides, front (with holes for optical drive, power switch, and usb ports), and open on the back (but extending back a ways)

Definitely true. With the computer in another room now from the where I use it (DVI, USB and audio interconnects), the only thing that I hear now is the LCD monitor. Much easier and more effective than doing all the research and buying the right components.

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSMR Definitely true. With the computer in another room now from the where I use it (DVI, USB and audio interconnects), the only thing that I hear now is the LCD monitor. Much easier and more effective than doing all the research and buying the right components.

i think i might consider something like this myself. i have a closet near my desk that i don't use much, and i could put my pc in there. just leave the fans at 12v, and i think it would stay plenty cool. i have wireless kbm, so not sure if the signal could reach through the wall, but all i'd really need would be a cable for the monitor and maybe a usb hub. then again, maybe it would be too much trouble

 

[Sparky191]

Personally I want the PC beside me. Water cooling allows you maximum performance with hardly any noise and few fans.

 

[Gabe Logan]

But does not water cooling have you purchase big expensive equiptment for a small improvement in performance.

Yes i know what forum i am posting in

.

 

[Sparky191]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gabe Logan But does not water cooling have you purchase big expensive equiptment for a small improvement in performance. Yes i know what forum i am posting in .

LOL

Well you can get massive gains on some of the new CPU's. But I'm not talking about that. In terms of silent computing its highly effective. You can cool your motherboard chipset, gfx, CPU and I even seen PSU water cooled. I agree though its a lot more expensive, and takes a lot more effort to set up. But you don't have to compromise performance in any way.

 

[Leopold]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik The best solutions I've seen are to use systems that don't generate much heat to begin with. A friend of mine has a VIA-based micro-ITX board. Now, it's not terribly powerful, but will work great as a media server. The board has integrated graphics and there are no fans. If you use one of those, a hard drive cooler/quieter, and a big fan ramped down, you're not going to hear it. it.

I'm with you. I built a very nice system for my daughter along similar ideas, but didn't want the inherent inflexibility of micro-ITX. This resulted in a very attractive system as follows.

Case: Antec Aria. There is so many clever thoughts implemented in this little beauty that you actually have to look it up for yourself... ok some details; mATX, super-silent PSU (regulated 120mm fan of course), easy to build and disassemble without tools, room for large cpu coolers, graphic cards, one optical drive and 3(!) harddisks. Composite sandwich case for vibration dampening (unlike conventional alu cases that are totally hopeless in this respect). Quite inexpensive as well, very high build quality.

Mainboard: ABit socket 754, mATX, integrated VGA. Fanless chipset. AGP (I'd rather had pci-e for future expansion needs but you can't have it all for peanuts).

Cpu: AMD Sempron 64 3100+, has Cool&Quiet and SSE 3. We used the boxed cooler for this one as well, regulated from the mainboard. Temp under load: 30 degrees celcius, when idle (surfing etc): two (!) degrees over ambient temp with C&Q activated, ie cpu goes down to 1.0 volt operation and reduces clockspeed to something like 1 GHz (excactly like my AMD64 in the gaming rig btw, also the overall performance is almost identical).

I'm saying this to illustrate how cool the newer AMD cpus runs, maybe not as cool as Turion64 or Pentium M but there is an enormous difference to most Pentium 4 models.

Rpm with the boxed cooler is significantly higher in this little Aria though, around 2000-2500. This is because there is no channel in the case that feeds cool air directly to the cpu like in the midtower AOpen H600B i talked about earlier. While not exactly dead quiet at these speeds, I'd recommend a more powerful cpu cooler for the Aria that allows speeds below 1300 rpm or so if you want a really silen pc. There is room for many of the most popular cooler models in Aria.

I was a cheapskate and threw in an old 30GB IBM Deathstar, quite noisy beast. This must be replaced for something that makes justice to the extremely well designed case and the fine PSU it came with. A wonderful PSU...when you start the machine, the PSU fan actually stands still for a while. Then it starts spinning very slowly when it feels the case needs to be ventilated, a noiseless breeze. The case also comes with a rather quiet slot ventilator, this is mainly useful if you have a power-hungry graphics card in the box (like that heatpipe-cooled 6600GT in the other machine).

Now my daughter's requirements changed a bit, games like Sims 2 is much more demanding than you may think. While playable, it is really no fun with the integrated graphics. I'm so happy I was able to see this coming

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky191 Personally I want the PC beside me. Water cooling allows you maximum performance with hardly any noise and few fans.

i'd do it if i was building a high performance pc. don't you have to have fans on your radiator though? and if so, i'd imagine those fans would be quite noisy if they're outside the case?????

 

[Leopold]

I forgot the link. This is Antec Aria http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15130

 

[Sparky191]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah i'd do it if i was building a high performance pc. don't you have to have fans on your radiator though? and if so, i'd imagine those fans would be quite noisy if they're outside the case?????

They are usually large and slow and thus quiet. Or you could simply not use fans and use natural convection cooling. The Zalman RESERATOR 1 for example. http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/...dx=63&code=021 But you still have to factor in the noise of HD's and the pump etc.

Personally I haven't bothered with watercooling myself. A quiet air cool rig is sufficent for me.

 

[Leopold]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky191 They are usually large and slow and thus quiet. Or you could simply not use fans and use natural convection cooling. The Zalman RESERATOR 1 for example.

Also consider heatpipe-based cpu coolers, this is a form of liquid cooling as well

Some of them doesn't even need a dedicated fan to cool cpus like amd64, provided clock speed is moderate and there is sufficient airflow from a nearby fan (such as a large, slow PSU fan).

Check out Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 for instance. If it would fit into Antec Aria i don't know but there are lots of similar super-quiet coolers.

 

[chesebert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah thinking i'll rebuild my pc; it's "quiet" by most standards now, but not enough. here's what i have now: seasonic super silencer 300w 160gb seagate ide 7200rpm hdd antec case (mid tower), rubber wasers on hdd (nice) 120mm antec case fan (turned down all the way with zalman fanmate) masscool whisperock (" ") cpu cooler athlon xp 3000 512mb kingston pc3200 chaintech 7njl6 emu 0404 liteon dvd/cdrw (irrelevant; just use for ripping) thoughts: 1. fanless psu: suggestions? teh seasonic is actually not that quiet 2. hdd: 250gb samsung sata or ide with nidec motor 3. 120mm nexus exhaust (fanmate-ed) 4. good heatsink for socketA fits 80mm fan (suggestions?) 5. athlon xp mobile 2500 undervolted 6. 80mm nexus fan for heatsink 7. undervoltable soketA mobo and that's about it. suggestions? changes? my power requirements are minimal. the main thing i use my pc for is music, then just web surfing and productivity. pretty much anything will do.

one word...actually several..

passive liquid cooling. no fan..no noise....

 

[Genetic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSMR Definitely true. With the computer in another room now from the where I use it (DVI, USB and audio interconnects), the only thing that I hear now is the LCD monitor. Much easier and more effective than doing all the research and buying the right components.

Hummmm.....I'm reading most the stuff wrote about this here and on other sites as the SPCR one and I'm wondering if there is meetings for people having built silent PC...LOL.

Now I'll have to consider putting the damn thing in a closet if I hear it.

Amicalement

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leopold As I see it, there is much hype in the silent pc business

aint that the truth? people pay way to much (especially pc-ignorant audiophiles

) for this junk