Is there such thing as a quiet high end computer?

[brett1]

I'm going to build a powerhouse gamer computer in winter when 45nm intel comes out and I'm wondering if there is such thing as a quiet gamer computer? I will not be overclocking. My goal would be to keep everything as quiet as a 360 during DVD spinning.

so is there such thing as a very quiet powersupply that pumps enough juice for a top of the line gamer video card? And how loud would that card be? Possible to get by with no case fans?

 

[MarcVenice]

Sure there is, theres several options. You can either go with a really quiet case, like p182, and remove the antec tricool fans and replace them with the most quiet 120mm fans you can find, and run them at 5v/low setting. You could also go watercooling, but that still requires 2/3 120mm fans in the radiator. I'm pretty sure that if you go with the p182 or similar case, and a really quiet CPU fan, like thermalright 120 ultra extreme with sflex fan, that can almost passively cool your CPU, you will have a very silent PC. You could probably get away without casefans, but a good airflow in your case giving it cool air is usually better then having your CPU/GPU fan SPIN up like mad to keep it cool because there not much fresh/cool air coming in.

As for a really quiet PSU, you've gotta ask on the PSU forum, or google it. You prolly should look for a really effective PSU, like 85% or so, because that means less energy converted to heat and that means the Fan from the PSU has to do less work.

Forgot to mention this site: http://www.silentpcreview.com/

It's your friend when building a quiet PC But it seems to be down, but I guess it will be back up sooner then later.

 

[ForumMaster]

Originally posted by: brett1
I'm going to build a powerhouse gamer computer in winter when 45nm Intel comes out and I'm wondering if there is such thing as a quiet gamer computer? I will not be overclocking. My goal would be to keep everything as quiet as a 360 during DVD spinning.

so is there such thing as a very quiet power supply that pumps enough juice for a top of the line gamer video card? And how loud would that card be? Possible to get by with no case fans?

well that's not hard as the 360 is pretty loud!

www.silentpcreview.com seems to be down right now but generally, that site reviews parts for how much noise they make and they cater especially to the silent pc market. it is quite possible to create a silent high end computer.

this might come at a high cost as you might need to invest in water cooling for example for even phase change depending on how silent you want your computer to be.

OR you could do with fan controllers or undervolting fans and get your silence that way. but for example, i don't know how many passively cooled 8800gtx or 8800gts card are out there and the few that are are under clocked so you may want to invest in water cooling.

I'm not giving you any specific parts, just advice. it is quiet possible to create a silent high end PC. just be prepared to spend extra to achieve that perfect silence.

 

[MarcVenice]

8800gts fan doesn't make a lot of noise at normal fan speeds. I'll see if I can hear it when I've got it all hooked up in my p182, but I doubt it. The fan on a videocard isn't something to really worry about. Most of the noise as far as I know is generated from vibrating/resonating cases because of the HD and fans. Fans in themself are usually pretty quiet.

 

[engiNURD]

These rubber fan screws help: http://coolerguys.com/840556026143.html

Most vidcard coolers are loud when in-game. If yours get too loud, replace them. If you get eVGA brand, changing the coolers doesnt void the warranty.

 

[3NF]

Absolutely - you just need to get the right components. Below are the items I'm using in my rig, and it is extremely quiet.


Intel E6600 2400MHz @ 3400MHz
Asus P5B-Deluxe
2048 MB of Corsair PC6400
eVGA 8800GTS Nvidia GeForce
Seagate 7200.10 (x2) 320.0 GB @ 7200 RPMS
Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W Power Supply
Thermalright Ultra-120 CPU Heatsink w/ Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D 120mm Fan
Lian-Li PC-A10B Case - All of the case fans were replaced with the Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D. The fans that came with the case were quite loud!

 

[gwai lo]

Your components don't make the noise, it's the fans and moving parts ( hard drives ) that do.

An E6850 isn't louder than an E6600.