i want to make my computer as quiet as possible

[5489]

i would like to try to make my computer as quiet as possible, and i would like some recommendations on what i should do.

my rig:

Lian-Li PC-60
Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton i think?)
GF4 Ti4400
I forget what kind of heatsink it is because its been so long, but looking at pictures from newegg, it looks like a Thermalright SLK900

any suggestions on how I would make this computer quiet without sacrificing too much cooling? I mainly want to know what kind of case fans i should get. my case holds 4 80mm fans, and another 80 for the heatsink.

i have a fan control thing on the case right now, but it has bright blue LED's on it which are annoying when im trying to sleep. so i want to get rid of it. without the fan control, my computer sounds like a vacuum.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

well fan controller is pretty much your best bet......maybe u can find one without lights!! im sure they do them.....would be the same as buying 4 new fans in price too

if not ive found that VANTEC STEALTH series of fans are pretty good... igot 2x120mm stealths an they pretty quiet. i also have a 80mm one to and thats seems to be jus as quiet

of course there is no way the stealth fans will move as much air as a full speed (5000+rpm ?) 80mm fan, but they'll be quiet

 

[Nickel020]

Get some Panaflo 80mm L1 (often referrred to as L1A) fans as case fans and CPU fan. Get a heatpipe for your video card. Hope your PSU isn't noisy or you will need to swap it as well. And if you want to make it silent you will need a fan controller as there are no fans which are really silent 12V.

 

[xbassman]

Ditto on the Panaflo L1A's.

I have a case that is similar to yours and share your pain....
I use a Directron (Super Flower) case that is a rip-off of yours.
My quietest fan setup I have used in was a set of Panaflo's, but with proper cable management most low speed fans will produce a pretty quiet system.

Another thing you should consider is to cut the stamped grill on the rear exhaust fan. It is pretty restrictive. Replace it with one of these.
The top fan you could do also, but it will be a little trickier to make a professional looking cut.

I have the same processor as you also and an SLK-800U w/Panaflo U1A. I am overclocked to 11x200 @ 1.775v and average 37C idle 47C load with 26C or so system temp.
Those figures are running 7v all my fans including my CPU fan.

You probably would want to run 12v on your rear exhaust since there is only one. (my case has 2 in that location) If you don't want to deal with a controller you can cross your fan wires for 7-volt or 5-volt. I would probably still at least use a fan-mate on your CPU fan though.

 

[oldfart]

That rig doesn't produce much heat. I would use 1 case fan (exhaust) max. Use a quiet low rom fan. You could do it with just the power supply fan and no case fans. For the CPU, replace the fan again with a low rpm quiet model.

I really like Speedfan. Controls your fan speed automatically based on temp readings. No knobs, panels or leds, and its free.

 

[Tiamat]

1. Fan controller
2. Panaflo L1A or 12L
3. 1 80mm intake only for HDD cooling
4. 2 80mm exhaust
5. Seasonic Super Tornado 300 or 400 W if you PSU isnt quiet enough
6. GPU cooling - Arcti cooling is pretty quiet. Or you can go through the hassel of the Zalman Heatpipe.
7. If your NB has active cooling, change it to Zalman Blue Heatsink for NB. If can be found on Newegg.

8. Your HDD should be the noisest thing now.

 

[amdguy]

i use the nexus Quiet case fans and they are very quiet even at 12V, i have 4 X 80MM and a 92MM in my PSU

 

[5489]

alrite, I might take out some fans. Im thinking i should keep the 2 fans in the front because they are blowing onto my hard drives. and the one in the back for exhaust. do you think it would be ok to take out the fan on the top of the case?(exhaust)

 

[oldfart]

Too many fans if you want quiet. Just one in the back will do. Your HDs will be fine. They dont need fans blowing over them.

 

[nycxandy]

The people at www.silentpcreview.com should know about this topic quite well.

 

[0roo0roo]

seasonic psu... look in silentpcreview.com psu recommendations for reviews.
panaflo fans with fan controller
quiet hd required(it will be apparent after your fan noise is reduced)

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: 5489
alrite, I might take out some fans. Im thinking i should keep the 2 fans in the front because they are blowing onto my hard drives. and the one in the back for exhaust. do you think it would be ok to take out the fan on the top of the case?(exhaust)

I've never had fans blowing directly on my HDs and I've never had a HD failure and probably had over 10. I'd focus instead on mounting your HD's where they'll get reasonable air flow around them. I've always found ways to do that.

I have Vantec Stealth, whose specs are slightly better than the Panaflos, which I also have. Use at least an 80 mm fan (quiet one) on a big honkin' heatsink on your CPU and that will help a lot. I also have a Silencer 80 mm fan, that I'm going to put on my main system's CPU heatsink - it's got the best specs of all. You can get Pabst fans that are even quieter, but they get pretty pricey in comparison. I guess there are others.

A heatpipe on your GPU is the quietest (no sound at all!), but there are pretty quiet fan solutions that are effective. I'm going with the heatpipes - Zalman ZM-80C, fanless.

I have an Antec Tru430, which stops or slows case fans when the internal temps allow it. I replaced the fan in my other PSU (other system) with a Panaflo and drilled holes in the PSU case to facilitate airflow. It's a lot quieter now.

Sounds to me like you have too many fans in there. All that noise adds up. I like the suggestion about cutting out the case grills. Those are way too restrictive. I don't even bother putting in those wire guards. I'm not going to stick my fingers in there, what the hell? I have those guards but won't bother screwing them on there.

Speedfan sounds like a good idea, but I haven't looked into it. Guess I will.

 

[MajorMullet]

SilenX

These babys push through a lot of air, and are extremely quite

 

[xbassman]

I've never had a HD failure

Dude! Shouldn't have said that.

I remember when I could say that, then I had a rash of them almost concurrently! :shocked:

 

[tfinch2]

seasonic psu's own.

i just got one and it's dead silent. my system is totally silent except for my stupid video card's OTES.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: xbassman

I've never had a HD failure

Dude! Shouldn't have said that.

I remember when I could say that, then I had a rash of them almost concurrently! :shocked:

Hope I didn't jinx myself. Have any idea why you had a bunch of them all at once? Could have been something wrong in your PSU. I'm knockin' on wood now....

Edit: I'm not kidding myself that I'm immune to HD failures. I back up all the time. To other HDs, removable disks too. He who doesn't back up will one day lose his data - it's axiomatic. Yes, I expect one day to lose a HD. And after that happens, I will expect to lose another. It's a fact of computing. I know I've been lucky. Partly it's because I have always upgraded before my currently used HD's fail. I don't upgrade because I anticipate HD failure, though. It's always for other reasons, mainly needing more storage space, and as you know, the cost/byte for HD storage has been going down precipitously for years and years (probably since the first days of the PC).

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: tfinch2
seasonic psu's own.

i just got one and it's dead silent. my system is totally silent except for my stupid video card's OTES.

How good a job does it do in other respects? What model do you have?

 

[xbassman]

Have any idea why you had a bunch of them all at once?

One word...........................................DEATHSTAR!

That one led the pack, then a Quantum and WD. These were in different PC's with good power.
Oh yeah....... then the rma Deathstar bit the dust also.
Actually I am still using (bearly) the 3rd :disgust: rma Deskstar in a network PC.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: xbassman

Have any idea why you had a bunch of them all at once?

One word...........................................DEATHSTAR!

That one led the pack, then a Quantum and WD. These were in different PC's with good power.
Oh yeah....... then the rma Deathstar bit the dust also.
Actually I am still using (bearly) the 3rd :disgust: rma Deskstar in a network PC.

Ah, the Deskstar! I have one or two of those. I was just looking at my old 8.4 GB this morning, as a matter of fact! Yeah, I've read a lot of posts from people who had bad luck with them. Stories like yours are not new to me. I've seen posts from people who had more than one HD failure/year for a year or two or three. I guess I've just been lucky. I did have a Maxtor that started having bad sectors very early on in it's life cycle. I called them on it and they RMA'd the drive. Didn't have a problem with its replacement. I just bought 3 Seagate Barracuda's: 120, 160, 200 GB, and swapped out the 3 WD 80 GB drives in my main box last week. Just got the box all set up nice except for my GPU heatpipe, which I should have in there in a day or two. Maybe I can finally get the cover back on the case. These Seagates all have a 5 year warranty, which I hope I never need, but nice to have some assurance. I'll try to stay up to date with my backups, though!

 

[ECEGK02]

Harddrives can produce a lot of noise also. Get some seagates, they're extremely quiet.

 

[caz67]

Panaflo, or Vantec stealth

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: caz67
Panaflo, or Vantec stealth

I say go with the Vantec Stealth. If you want Panaflo, PM me. I have 1/2 a dozen that I'm not using and will sell you for $3.50 each plus reasonable shipping. Half of them are unused, the others lightly used. I replaced all my Panaflos with Vantec Stealth. They cost a little more but they have these advantages:

1. 27 CFM versus 24 CFM
2. 20 DBA versus 21 DBA
3. RPM monitoring lead

 

[Zap]

i have a fan control thing on the case right now, but it has bright blue LED's on it which are annoying when im trying to sleep. so i want to get rid of it. without the fan control, my computer sounds like a vacuum.

Don't get rid of it, mount it inside the case. I have one inside an Aspire "Alien" case mounted with double sided foam tape on top of the power supply, I just set and forget it. Can't see it and I appreciate the lower noise levels.

 

[caz67]

Panaflo..

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: caz67
Panaflo..

I have 5 of em and my sytem is so quiet i cant here it unless i put my ear about 1-2ft from the PC. And this is with a hole on the side windows because i haven't finished modding it yet.

-Kevin