Building a quiet PC

Yohhan

Senior member
May 17, 2002
263
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I'm looking to build a new computer, but I want it to be very quiet. Any suggestions on what I should purchase, in terms of hard drives, fans, etc?

Thanks.
 

crip11

Senior member
Mar 2, 2003
214
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0
Seagate Hard Drives

Vantec Aeroflow HSF or a Zalman Cooler

Low RPM Case Fans ie. 2400 RPM
 

GnomeCop

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2002
3,863
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76
my system is near silent.

specs in my sig, only things not listed are the fans are running at 5v and the HDs are encased in silentdrive 2002 enclosures
 

crip11

Senior member
Mar 2, 2003
214
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Originally posted by: cutty
Buy a DELL ...
As easy as that ...

Read the topic "DUDE" he wants to build one......I wouldnt buy a Namebrand PC if it was 200 bucks...And i for sure wouldnt buy a ripoff DELL
 

stranger707

Member
Apr 6, 2000
140
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The Zalman CNPS6000-Cu is the most efficient and quiet heatsink/fan for an AMD processor. They also have models for the P4. What makes them so quiet is the large diameter, slow speed fan that is used, instead of the small diamter high speed fans on most HSF.

Fan noise is directly proportional to fan speed. A small fan must spin much faster to move an equivalent amount of air. Larger fans can spin slower and create less noise.

The same is true for case fans. Most of the newer cases use 60mm fans, which make quite a racket. Find an older case that will accept 80mm fans.
 

psy44

Banned
May 20, 2002
513
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It depends on your budget...I would do this, 5 panaflo or NMB fans(or vantec stealth if you got the $), accoustic sound dampening, Zalman GPU heatsink and CPU heatsink/Fan, Enermax PSU w/adjustable fan noise, Seagate Barracude (whatever you do don't get WD's, loud as hell). Or you could forget alll that and get the koolance water cooling...
 

oldfart

Lifer
Dec 2, 1999
10,207
0
0
5 fans for a quiet system??

Its pretty easy really. A few low RPM fans. Better yet, variable speed fans.

Power supply:
Antec TruePower. Very quiet with variable speed thermal controlled fans (adjusts automatically).

CPU cooler:
I run a P4 2.4 @ 3.06 GHz. The stock P4 cooler is not quiet enough for me. I use an Alpha 8942 HS with a Panaflo L1A 80mm fan. 1900 RPM, 24 CFM, 27 dB. It cools very well and is much quieter than the stock HS/F. Beware of so called "quiet" 4000 - 5000 RPM fans!

Video card:
Dont know what you are looking for, but there are pretty decent cards with passive HS available.

Mobo:
Stay away from models with a northbridge fan. There are some now that have fan rpm controlling software "Q-fan", "Silent Tech", "CoreCell". This is a nice thing. I use SpeedFan to do pretty much the same thing.

Case cooling. Maybe add 1 Panaflo L1A 80mm. If possible, run from a mobo header and use Speedfan or a mobo with that feature to regulate the RPM based on system temp.

 

cowsclaw

Golden Member
Jul 23, 2002
1,665
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you really need to ask this question at the www.silentpcreview.com forums instead of here. they know their stuff there.

or just go here for their recommendations.

i thought the true powers were pretty quiet until i tried a seasonic. they arent even rated the quietest. just check out the website
 

Dug

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2000
3,469
6
81
80mm Panaflo L1A's at 7v for your case fans
If you are doing AMD then an SLK800 also with a Panaflo
Seagate drives- Any IV or V series Except serial ATA (No noise reduction on these), and no 7200.7 versions.
A Fortran 120mm fan Power Supply (Best bang for the buck and actually rated to 370watts for the 300w version)
A Zalman ZM80A-HP heatsink to go on your video card. (requires no fan)

This will make your system as silent as it can be and still allow you to operate any hardware you want with mild overclocking. This will represent roughly a 25db system depending on your case and how many case fans you have.


 

littlegohan

Senior member
Oct 10, 2001
828
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Originally posted by: crip11
Seagate Hard Drives

Vantec Aeroflow HSF or a Zalman Cooler

Low RPM Case Fans ie. 2400 RPM


the aeroflow is loud
i am using it right now with an antec sonata
the only other two things that make noises in my case are the northbridge fan and radoen9500pro fan

and i can still hear the computer

oh yeah for case
get antec sonata
 

Jeff7181

Lifer
Aug 21, 2002
18,368
11
81
Put the best heatsink you can find for the processor... and put a large, low RPM fan on it... I even use an 80 mm case fan on my 2nd computer. It's hot glued to the heatsink :D
Put a massive heatsink on your video card, a massive heatsink on the northbridge... a heatsink on the south bridge... then use either 2 80mm 1500-2500 RPM fans in front, and 2 in the rear... or... instead of 2 80's, single 120mm fans.

Good heatsinks and airflow are the key... you want to move a lot of air through the computer to keep air moving over the heatsinks without using high speed fans to do so. It's been kind of a dream of mine to completely redesign a case to move air from bottom to top... since heat naturally rises... I may experiment with my 2nd computer and an old case =)
You might even consider using a heatpipe for the CPU.
 

human2k

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2001
3,563
0
0
It doesn't get any silent than an 80MM NMB 18DBA fan. Just get 2-3 for your case, and get a good thermalright SLK800/SLK900/SK7 heatsink along with one of these to cool. For stock speeds this will be perfect. For the hard drive, get a Seagate Cuda (dead silent) and make sure to get an Antec TruePower for a PSU.


Follow this recipe and you have a dead quiet rig.