- Feb 8, 2004
- 12,604
- 15
- 81
By finished i mean its been kicking around in some form or another since early 2010 but now its reached a level of quietness/efficiency im actually satisfied with 
This is how it started life in early 2010:
i3 530 // Scythe mugen 2 // HA-H57-USB3 // 2GB DDR3 // 4x1.5TB Samsung F2 // 1TB WD EAVS boot drive // Lian Li A05B // Corsair CX400
In b4 cable management fail etc etc
A bit of a mess really heh. Didn't help that it was inside a noisy rattle prone lian li case, not a bad setup but not really what i was going for :\ Scythe mugen 2 cooler was a bitch to mount as well :thumbsdown: The spare 1TB I had kicking around ended up as a boot drive which wasent the best plan because it will never spin down meaning constant noise/vibration.
This setup spent a brief amount of time inside an Antec mini p180 which helped a bit but it still wasent silent enough for my liking.
This is how it is now:
Core i5 2400s // Noctua NH U12P // GA-H77-D3H // 4GB DDR3 // 4x1.5TB Samsung F2 // 128GB Crucial M4 SSD // Antec 300 // Seasonic X460 FL
Absolutely inaudible! The combination of a passive power supply and ditching the 1TB hard drive for an SSD boot drive made a big change. The only fans that are connected are the two noctuas which are almost silent, i was extremely impressed at the noise level of these fans actually. At about ~400 RPM they can only be heard with your ear stuck to the side of the case, there are two cheaper xilence red wing fans in the front (not connected though) and they can be heard from across the room at the same ~400 RPM, they arent loud but there is a distinct humm from them. Nothing from the noctuas at the same distance.
The switch to sandy bridge was simply due to getting an OEM 2400s for £80 which is almost half what a 2400 cost so I jumped on it and upgraded. Also i was so impressed with my D14 cooler on the main rig i jumped on a used NH U12P SE2 so I could ditch that POS scythe. Anything to avoid that balancing act with the mobo/bracket/scythe cooler all over again!
Also ditched the mini P180 because i wanted something more rugged, i remember my old P180 getting scratched to hell over time so i went with the cheap but solid antec 300. Its very sturdy, has dust filters, looks great and dosent vibrate... unless all 4 drives spin up at the same time. Overall it was much easier to work with a proper mid tower ATX than the oddly setup lian li A05B.
Ominous black box on the left, towel was to stop vibrations from boot drive before i got the SSD
Power consumption with all 4 storage drives spinning
Power consumption after 5 minutes when the drives spin down
Far far far better than before, mainly because of the silence. On the efficiency side the older parts were about 65w/45w when the drives were spinning/idle, not a huge difference but still worth noting. Finally i have a server/HTPC that i can leave on 24/7 and not be bothered by it.
Anyways just thought i would share, maybe it will help someone building their own silent box or something /ATblog
This is how it started life in early 2010:
i3 530 // Scythe mugen 2 // HA-H57-USB3 // 2GB DDR3 // 4x1.5TB Samsung F2 // 1TB WD EAVS boot drive // Lian Li A05B // Corsair CX400
In b4 cable management fail etc etc
A bit of a mess really heh. Didn't help that it was inside a noisy rattle prone lian li case, not a bad setup but not really what i was going for :\ Scythe mugen 2 cooler was a bitch to mount as well :thumbsdown: The spare 1TB I had kicking around ended up as a boot drive which wasent the best plan because it will never spin down meaning constant noise/vibration.
This setup spent a brief amount of time inside an Antec mini p180 which helped a bit but it still wasent silent enough for my liking.
This is how it is now:
Core i5 2400s // Noctua NH U12P // GA-H77-D3H // 4GB DDR3 // 4x1.5TB Samsung F2 // 128GB Crucial M4 SSD // Antec 300 // Seasonic X460 FL
Absolutely inaudible! The combination of a passive power supply and ditching the 1TB hard drive for an SSD boot drive made a big change. The only fans that are connected are the two noctuas which are almost silent, i was extremely impressed at the noise level of these fans actually. At about ~400 RPM they can only be heard with your ear stuck to the side of the case, there are two cheaper xilence red wing fans in the front (not connected though) and they can be heard from across the room at the same ~400 RPM, they arent loud but there is a distinct humm from them. Nothing from the noctuas at the same distance.
The switch to sandy bridge was simply due to getting an OEM 2400s for £80 which is almost half what a 2400 cost so I jumped on it and upgraded. Also i was so impressed with my D14 cooler on the main rig i jumped on a used NH U12P SE2 so I could ditch that POS scythe. Anything to avoid that balancing act with the mobo/bracket/scythe cooler all over again!
Also ditched the mini P180 because i wanted something more rugged, i remember my old P180 getting scratched to hell over time so i went with the cheap but solid antec 300. Its very sturdy, has dust filters, looks great and dosent vibrate... unless all 4 drives spin up at the same time. Overall it was much easier to work with a proper mid tower ATX than the oddly setup lian li A05B.
Ominous black box on the left, towel was to stop vibrations from boot drive before i got the SSD
Power consumption with all 4 storage drives spinning
Power consumption after 5 minutes when the drives spin down
Far far far better than before, mainly because of the silence. On the efficiency side the older parts were about 65w/45w when the drives were spinning/idle, not a huge difference but still worth noting. Finally i have a server/HTPC that i can leave on 24/7 and not be bothered by it.
Anyways just thought i would share, maybe it will help someone building their own silent box or something /ATblog
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