Quieting a Sonata II?

[prism]

I have a Sonata II case for my computer with the stock (430w Antec) psu, a 120mm exhaust fan and my cpu and gpu fans running, and the thing is friggin loud. I have no idea what it is decibel-wise, but it's louder than any of my friends' computers. I'm thinking it's because of the 120mm exhaust fan running on high constantly to keep my cpu idle temp in the low 30s C, but I'm not sure. I'm using the stock heatsink and fan that came with my AMD 64 3000+, so should I buy a nice big one to replace it so I won't have to have my exhaust fan running on high? I'd really like to quiet this system down.

Edit: I don't have the internal tube thingy that comes with the case set up since I don't have a fan for it. Would this make it quieter?

 

[mgutz]

you can always set the fan on low, restart the computer and see if that's the cause. tri-cools are fairly loud on high. i can't even tolerate them on medium. do you have an internal 120mm attached? the SII has a spot reserved for it in front of the HDD cage. if not, you might want to install a low RPM one and put the exhaust on low. that might give you the same airflow and help reduce noise. most people throw that lame duct away. it's meant to channel cool air not silence. some have complained it actually raised their temps.

in general, larger the fans push more air using lower RPMs than smaller fans. your CPU heatsink fan is likely contributing to the noise considering it is stock.

 

[prism]

Is there any special bracket I need to put in there for the 120mm fan? Last time I cleaned it out I didn't notice it, but I am a moron...also, any good recommendations for a heatsink/fan combo that'll fit nicely?

 

[mgutz]

not my pic, but this is where it goes. there should be four holes there. the SII case should have come with 4 rubber mounts that you insert in there and attach a 12 cm open cornered fan just like the exhaust.

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/1705/sonata2inside5tj.jpg

i have both the big typhoon and ninja. both recommended. they seem to be a generation behind now. probably better ones that are more expensive and cheaper ones that will do what you want. i've heard good things about arctic freezer 64 for AMD and it has a decent price.

 

[prism]

Anyone know if this would fit in a Sonata II case? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118115
I have a simple setup, 1 video card, 2 sticks o' RAM, gonna be putting the 120mm intake fan in.

 

[Noubourne]

Clearly you aren't overclocked.

With that in mind, there is no reason to run the fan at more than low speed if you're not overclocking. I set my dad up with a Sonata II using an Nforce 4 430, X2 3800 with a Zalman 7000, gig of RAM, and 250GB hard drive, and I didn't use an intake fan, nor did I need to increase the fan speed above the lowest setting, and he unceremoniously crammed the box into a closed desk, where no one can see it and no air can get in. I have a fanmate installed on the Zalman 7000 and that also runs at the lowest speed possible.

The thing has run for 18 months now without a hiccup. Even with the door to his desk open, the whole thing is inaudible.

My mother in law got sorta pissed the first couple weeks because she kept turning it off when she meant to turn it on. It was so quiet she couldn't even tell.

 

[Noubourne]

Also, you might consider a Zalman VF-900 for your video card.

Video card fans tend to be really loud, and this one comes with a FanMate so you can slow it way down and make it near silent.

After putting this on my 7900GT, I lost 14C. Then I overvolted it and overclocked the heck out of it. Still cooler than the stock fan, which was 68C load!!

 

[prism]

Well, just slapped on a $45 Zalman CPU heatsink and fan, plus added the 120mm intake fan inside, and now it's just as noisy (if not noisier) and only runs about 1 degree Celsius cooler than before . I've determined it's the power supply fan that's causing the majority of the noise, which is pretty lame since it's the one that came with the case and it's sposed to be very quiet. And when I say my computer isn't quiet, I mean it: I'd put it at being at least another 50% noisier than my 360 when it's playing a game.

 

[Noubourne]

Yes well adding fans is not a way to make it quieter. More air movement is more noise, period.

You might consider an RMA for that PSU if it is as bad as you describe it.

Otherwise, if your PSU fan is loud, you could replace it with a good quiet one (this will void your warranty). I guess you got a bad PSU or something because when I was testing my dad's machine it was on my desk about 2 feet from my ear, and I couldn't hear the thing.

I've replaced PSU fans before to combat noise. It's not as hard as it seems. Just be sure you get a really good quiet fan to replace it with, or you'll be wasting your time. And I'm not talking about reading db ratings off of some sales page. Do some research and get a REAL quiet fan, like a Yate Loon.

 

[Lord Banshee]

I like mine except for PSU, look at sig

Antec's at High are very loud as stated

 

[WobbleWobble]

Did you plug in the PSU RPM cable? For some reason, when you plug that in it causes the second fan to always run. If you unplug it, the fan won't start initially but it will kick it when temperature goes up.

 

[Lord Banshee]

Well my experience with Zalman heatsink/fan combos they are loud unless at lowest setting. Also adding another 120mm fan will add to noise.

Also WoobleWooble might be right so check that out.

 

[tdawg]

Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
Did you plug in the PSU RPM cable? For some reason, when you plug that in it causes the second fan to always run. If you unplug it, the fan won't start initially but it will kick it when temperature goes up.

Sorry to jump in here, but I have the same case with the same issue at times. So, can I just unplug the fan power connector from the PSU to the motherboard and be ok? Also, how do you go about changing the speed for the 120mm exhaust fan to low?

Thanks,

 

[WobbleWobble]

Yes, if you unplug the fan header from the PSU it will be fine. There should be a 3 position switch connected to the fan. It's a little white rectangular switch.

Antec's FAQ on the SmartPower line says

One of the fans in my new SmartPower 2.0 unit is not spinning. Is that right?

YES! SmartPower 2.0 features Antec's unique Dual Fan Technology: the exhaust fan only starts to spin when the power supply reaches a certain temperature. The rest of the time it stays off for maximum quiet operation. (And don't worry about that, either: the second fan, inside the case, spins on power up for constant quiet ventilation.)

 

[Henny]

I have a Sonota II and it's whisper quiet. I used a Fortron Blue Storm PSU with 120mm fan (almost inaudible). I have the rear case fan on low. For the CPU I have a Scythe Infinity running at about 1000 rpm. I added a Global Win front case fan but it's also running at about 1000 rpm.

My graphics card is passive. (GPU's can be a major source of noise).

CPU temp (C2D OC'd 25% at 1.475Vcore) stays <30 idle <40 load.

I didn't bother to use the air duct arrangement.

 

[tdawg]

Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
Yes, if you unplug the fan header from the PSU it will be fine. There should be a 3 position switch connected to the fan. It's a little white rectangular switch.

Antec's FAQ on the SmartPower line says

One of the fans in my new SmartPower 2.0 unit is not spinning. Is that right?

YES! SmartPower 2.0 features Antec's unique Dual Fan Technology: the exhaust fan only starts to spin when the power supply reaches a certain temperature. The rest of the time it stays off for maximum quiet operation. (And don't worry about that, either: the second fan, inside the case, spins on power up for constant quiet ventilation.)

Thanks, Wobble.

 

[prism]

Back when I followed technical stuff more diligently there was always talk of making sure your power source had a certain voltage and rails, is that a concern any more or are they all at some sort of standard? I'm not OC'd or anything, just got a standard AMD 939 setup.