Generally speaking, how loud is a stock AMD heatsink fan?

[Ken90630]

I realize this may be kind of a dumb question, but in general terms, how 'loud' is the stock fan that comes with a retail Athlon 2600 (Barton)? Reason I ask is that I'm getting ready to do a build and the computer needs to be whisper quiet. I've bought a quiet power supply and have taken steps to mitigate the other traditional noise-makers (vid card, hard drive, etc.), but the only unknown at this point is the CPU fan 'cuz this is my first Athlon build.

Assuming the rest of the rig is whisper quiet, will I be able to hear the CPU fan if the computer is next to my legs under the desk? If so, would you classify it as annoyingly loud to a person who needs to write for a living and has to concentrate in relative quiet? Or just barely audible, or ???

I'm not going to be doing any overclocking, but I'm considering skipping the retail HS & fan with this build and getting a Thermalright SLK-947U heatsink and pairing it with a Panaflo L1A fan that I hear is really quiet. And I'll be using an Asus A7N8X mobo, which has the Q-fan feature that will enable me to slow the CPU fan down if I want to (regardless of which fan I use). But I don't think I wanna Q-fan a stock AMD fan too much for fear of overheating the CPU.

Any opinions from you experienced experts out there would really be appreciated.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

A64 cooler specs, enjoy

 

[imported_Aelius]

Good info. I been looking around for it for the past two weeks.

Hmmm so a Volcano would be aprox 3 times louder (55DBA). Ouch.

 

[Ken90630]

Thanks, Dapunisher. Not that I don't appreciate your help, but that's not the same fan/HS that comes with a Barton 2600, is it? I think that's a different setup.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

My bad! I shouldn't scan so fast. The retail coolers vary slightly among the XPs I've seen 2 different coolers come with retail 2500+ Bartons. None I've used are overly loud, but if you are into quiet computing you won't be happy.

 

[Zebo]

Loud as all get out! But then I'm a sensitive person.

Do yourself a favor and get a moblie 2600 for $95.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-436&depa=0

It runs at 1.45 volts instead of 1.65 and runs about 13C cooler from the get go. Meaning you can turn your fan speed way down on whatever HSF you get....perferably the Zalman here running at about 1100 rpm which will be inaudiable from even 3 ft away.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-118-108&depa=0


Or better yet if building a whole new system, get a A64 2800+ for $140 which runs cooler than that. Same HSF.

 

[Ken90630]

None I've used are overly loud, but if you are into quiet computing you won't be happy.

Loud as all get out! But then I'm a sensitive person.

Thanks, guys.

Here's the deal: I write, proofread, and do desktop publishing for a living. I need a very quiet environment so I can concentrate (particularly when I'm writing, which is most of the time). A loud PSU or other fans is kinda annoying to me. I don't need utter "hear a pin drop" silence, but you get the idea.

Anyway, this computer I'm gonna build is probably going to sit under my desk and probably be one to two feet away from my legs. My goal is to have the computer either be silent or close to it. I've bought a nearly-silent PSU, so that won't be a prob (nor will the vid card). Oh, and my case has small slits running along both sides of the top of it (for ventilation), so whatever is going on inside, noise-wise, isn't gonna be completely sealed in. (It's this one if you care. Holes are easy to see if you click on the "more pictures" link and then the far-right picture.)

Given this setup, would you guess I'll hear the stock Barton 2600 heatsink fan much?

Do yourself a favor and get a moblie 2600 for $95.

Aaaack! Didn't know about that. And I already bought the Barton 2600 and cut open the plastic packaging, so I don't think I can return it. I like the looks of that Zalman cooler too. Oh well, I'll know next time .... Actually I'm gonna be doing a second build -- an A64 3000+ system -- before too long, so I'll keep that in mind.

So whaddya both think?

 

[Zebo]

I think you made a mistake all around. I have a totally noiseless computer and I mean that. 4 am in the sticks where I live you can't hear it.

Here's how I'd do it today...The main idea is to have no fans in the whole system which make niose...they all lie about db(a) in the fan ratings so ignore em' if you need a fan, and you do need one, it should be as large as possible and as low RPM as possible to eliminate noise.
120mm.


1. Motherboard BIOSTAR "M7NCD PRO" nForce2 Ultra 400 motherboard

NO FANS NO NOISE

This all inclusive board eliminates the north bridge fan found in many mobos, is fast, and eliminates a video cards fan since it has one on board.

2. Processor, NO FANS NO NOISE, A moblie XP underclcoked to 1-1.2 Ghz with 1-1.3 volts

As before these processor run extremly cool stock even more so when underclcoked or undervolted.

3. Processor Heatsink Passive, NO FANS NO NOISE, The biggest, heaviest, all copper HS like a copper Zalman flower HS.

4. A 5400 rpm notebook drive by toshiba or fijitsu. Need adaptor. Zero noise.

5. Case and PSU either a antec aria with only it's low rpm 120mm fan inside it's PSU. Or any fanless case with a fortron 120mm faned PSU.


Alternativly you could go for a A64 setup just as silent. Same thoery, underclcok, Mobo must have no fans, CPU no fan, case no fan but PSU, notebook drives, and if you buy a video card no fan like the ATI 9600 non-pro...

These systems are not gaming machines...they are faster than you'll need for all office tasks and web browsing though. For gaming I have overclcoked water cooled computers which are almost silent


And you could have a blast proofing my illerate posts

 

[Ken90630]

And you could have a blast proofing my illerate posts

Heh heh. Nah, I don't hold that kinda thing against anyone on these forums. I'm more concerned with the thoughts & ideas being expressed (i.e., the substance) than the mechanics or execution of the expression. Although I will say I see some posts occasionally that are so bad they're almost unreadable. Yours are better than a lot of the postings I see! (And I don't even proof most of my posts -- I usually just type away and go with whatever comes out unless it's blatantly horrible. I'm not writing this stuff for publication. )

Thanks for all the ideas about an ultra-quiet computer. Unfortunately, I've already bought nearly everything and need to start putting it all together this weekend, if possible, so it's kinda too late to be returning or exchanging stuff. But hey, life's a learning process anyway, right?

BTW, one of the main reasons I bought the the Asus A7N8X mobo is because it has the fanless northbridge (like the Biostar you mention). Gotta love that! I seriously considered the Abit AN7 (I think that was the #), but it does have a northbridge fan and I didn't want to have the noise or the nagging feeling that a couple years from now or something it might fail. And I'm not a gamer at all, so I won't be using any leaf-blower video card. This particular rig is gonna be for Web surfing, e-mail and Internet radio almost exclusively. The second build (probably an A64 3000+ system) will be for the power stuff (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.), and I'm probably gonna use a CoolerMaster Wave Master case for it. That's next on the list as soon as this build is done, so I just might implement some of the things you mention.

Thanks again.

Ken

 

[osage]

Even if you have a moblie 2600, you will not be able to run it a 1.45v ....not on the Asus A7N8X at least. the lowest voltage I can give to my M2600 is 1.575 which yields 1.62 actual.
My Shuttle AN35 Ultra on the other hand lets me run the other M2600 at as low as 1.40v.

 

[Ken90630]

Thanks, Osage. I'm gonna keep my Barton 2600 anyway, and I'm just gonna run everything at stock speed, so I won't need to worry about that.

Funny you mention that Shuttle AN35N Ultra -- that was also on my short list before I decided on the Asus. How do you like it?

 

[osage]

Liked it so well I bought 2...I did not see a pressing need for SATA at the time I got the first one, or the second one. I use the Shuttle in my main comp , the Asus is in my secondary comp.
Today I think I would want a board with SATA built in.

 

[Ken90630]

Liked it so well I bought 2...I did not see a pressing need for SATA at the time I got the first one, or the second one. I use the Shuttle in my main comp , the Asus is in my secondary comp.

Today I think I would want a board with SATA built in.

Cool. I didn't see a particular need for SATA on this build either. Although I did buy a Raptor a few months ago for my second build (the "power" machine) that I hope to get underway soon. Only real reason I did though was that I like the blazing seek & save times the 10,000 rpm spindle speed provides, and also the fact I got $50 off on it when Fry's was having a weekend sale! Talk about a smokin' deal. And also the 5-year warranty -- gotta love that. Otherwise I'd have gotten a nice 8MB cache 7200 rpm drive from Seagate or WD and still been happy.

 

[CraigRT]

the 'sinks are great for quiet cooling.... I always use factory coolers, even on 2/3 PC's in my house

 

[Ken90630]

Thanks, Craig. Guess the only way I'm going to know is to install the stock heatsink & fan & see just how noisy it is (duh). If you don't mind me asking, what's the longest you've seen a factory Barton XP heatsink/fan combo last (including the thermal pad)? Three years? Five years? Longer? Just curious what your experience has been.

 

[Holdengk]

my stock barton xp lasted just 1 yr. thermal pad wore out... now the stupid CPU doesnt even o/c to 2.2G when it has thermal paste with the stock hsf

 

[MercenaryForHire]

I built two systems based on Barton 2500s over a year ago. Both had the copper-core HSF, and both were wickedly quiet for a free unit. I could hear the Seagate 80GBs over them. :Q

- M4H