How does this sound?

[Alptraum]

Current setup can be seen in my sig. Antec 1080amg case. Stock cooling on the CPU and video. 5 case fans and one of these for my Raptor. Out of the 5 case fans the two rear and the side are whatever stock ones came with the case. The two I have up front are Antec Smartcool Plus's. So =

Currently
(2) Rear fans = stock Antec 80mm's
Side fan = stock Antec 80mm
HDD bay fan = 80mm Antec Smartcool Plus
Front intake fan = 80mm Antec Smartcool Plus
HDD cooler = Antec HD Cooling system
ATI 9800Pro AIW = stock cooling
P4 3.0c = stock cooling

My stuff runs plenty cool already and I do not OC so massive cooling isn't a huge concern. What I mainly want is less noise. Here is what I am thinking of switching to =

What I am thinking about
(2) Rear fans = 80mm Panaflow L1a's
Side fan = 80mm Panaflow L1a
HDD bay fan = 80mm Antec Smartcool Plus
Front intake fan = 80mm Antec Smartcool Plus
HDD cooler = Get rid of it*
ATI 9800Pro AIW = Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer, Model "AVC-1000 REV.3"
P4 3.0c = Thermalright XP-90 and 92mm Panaflow L1BX

* = I got my Raptor when they first came out and had heard they run hot so I bought this cooler with it because...well I am a sucker for gadgets. I don't think I really need it though, expecially since I can put the drive in the bay that has a Smartcool blowing on it. So probably going to ditch the HD cooling system. Though I unplugged it last night and couldn't tell any real difference in overall noise level (of course once I quite the CPU down that could change, and the two temp reading diodes I can stick just about anywhere with a front LED display is kinda cool). So depending on how loud it is over the new stuff it may go or stay.

As you can see I plan to change out the cooling on my CPU (Currently probably the noisest thing in there) and video in addition to some case fans. While I know the XP-120 would be quieter, it appears I would have to bend some caps on my MB to get it to fit which I am not interested in, so XP-90 it is out of those two. And as far as the stock 80mm fans go, are the L1a's a good swap or should I go with a different Panaflow? Or something else entirely?

Those are my main questions/plans right now. Thoughts?

 

[imported_waldo]

First off, if you aren't OC'ing, you don't need that much airflow....not even close. If you want to deaden the sound a bit, see if you can plug (1) 120 in the back instead of those 2 80's, and throw a 120 for the intake. Your side fan is probably going to be the loudest bit, as most cases aren't designed to handle sound waves in that direction. Stick with the Silencer on the 9800, and the cooler on the P4 looks good. The quietest fans out there are made by silenxusa or somehting like that. (Not sure of the exact company name, but you will be looking at close to $24 a fan.

So to recap, drop the side fan, and if you can get a converter for your two rear 80's to 1 120, and see if you can change your front 80 to a 120. Other than that, Panaflow makes a nice quiet fan. On my system, the loudest thing is my PSU. You may look in to either getting a quieter PSU or swapping out the fans!

CHeers,
Waldo

 

[Alptraum]

Thats probably a good idea on just getting rid of a fan or two. I don't really want to get a new case at the moment as I am thinking about making this PC my file/web server (current one is aging) and getting an A64 system for my primary desktop in the near future. So I mainly just want to tone this one down some in the meantime.

 

[Operandi]

Ditch the Antec intake fans for Panaflows.
Waldo is right about the side fan; pretty usless.
Concerning SilentX, Panaflows move more air per dBA.
Zalman makes a new active cool, I'd go with that http://www.digit-life.com/news.html?111258#111258

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: Operandi
Ditch the Antec intake fans for Panaflows.
Waldo is right about the side fan; pretty usless.
Concerning SilentX, Panaflows move more air per dBA.
Zalman makes a new active cool, I'd go with that http://www.digit-life.com/news.html?111258#111258

I agree with everything except video card. I would leave it stock personally. However the NV Silencer is the way to go if you absolutely want to change.

-Kevin

 

[Alptraum]

Ok so I am now thinking =

New Plan
(2) Rear fans = 80mm Panaflow L1a's
Side fan = None, and just covering the opening
HDD bay fan = 80mm Panaflow L1a
Front intake fan = 80mm Panaflow L1a
HDD cooler = Get rid of it*
ATI 9800Pro AIW = Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer, Model "AVC-1000 REV.3"
P4 3.0c = Thermalright XP-90 and 92mm Panaflow L1BX

And looking into the posibility of swapping front or rear fans with 120's.

Gamingphreek - Why would you leave the video card stock? From what I have heard the Silencer will make a decent amount less noise then stock.

 

[The J]

You could just replace the Intel stock fan at first, while leaving your GPU fan like Gamingphreek said as well as leaving or removing a couple of your case fans. See how temperatures and noise levels are affected. If you feel the need to go quieter, then try removing case fans again or buying the quiet ones you want.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Yes and the reason i say that is you void your warranty if you mess with your GPU. I dunno if you want to take that chance but it isn't worth it as the GPU fan isn't real loud.

-Kevin

 

[Alptraum]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Yes and the reason i say that is you void your warranty if you mess with your GPU. I dunno if you want to take that chance but it isn't worth it as the GPU fan isn't real loud.

-Kevin

Ah, ok. I am aware of that and don't really mind taking the risk. As I mentioned earlier I'll probably be getting a new primary system anyways and this card will just go in another machine. Granted if I toast the card I won't be terribly happy, lol. But I don't mind taking the chance.

Was that your only reservation against swapping out the stock cooler?

 

[Gamingphreek]

Pretty much. I mean you aren't really going to notice a difference as stock is already pretty quiet.

Other than that if the you dont mind the risk then good luck and have fun

-Kevin

 

[tomt4535]

that plan looks decent. the AC Vga silencer is great, but they do have newer models out. im not totally sure if there better or not, maybe you could look around for some reviews or something.

 

[Alptraum]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Pretty much. I mean you aren't really going to notice a difference as stock is already pretty quiet.

Other than that if the you dont mind the risk then good luck and have fun

-Kevin

Ah, ok. I was thinking there would be a pretty big difference in sound level between stock and the silencer. If thats not the case I probably won't bother.

tomt4535 - They do have newer ones but as far as I know thats the only one that fits the 9800pro AIW.

 

[tomt4535]

ahhh yes i missed the AIW part.

 

[imported_waldo]

I think you are good.....you sure do have a lot of fans going on!

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek

Originally posted by: Operandi
Ditch the Antec intake fans for Panaflows.
Waldo is right about the side fan; pretty usless.
Concerning SilentX, Panaflows move more air per dBA.
Zalman makes a new active cool, I'd go with that http://www.digit-life.com/news.html?111258#111258

I agree with everything except video card. I would leave it stock personally. However the NV Silencer is the way to go if you absolutely want to change.

-Kevin

the VGA silencer is much quieter than the stock fan on a 9800 card, that's for sure.

I'd swap for the silencer.

 

[Alptraum]

Originally posted by: CraigRT

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek

Originally posted by: Operandi
Ditch the Antec intake fans for Panaflows.
Waldo is right about the side fan; pretty usless.
Concerning SilentX, Panaflows move more air per dBA.
Zalman makes a new active cool, I'd go with that http://www.digit-life.com/news.html?111258#111258

I agree with everything except video card. I would leave it stock personally. However the NV Silencer is the way to go if you absolutely want to change.

-Kevin

the VGA silencer is much quieter than the stock fan on a 9800 card, that's for sure.

I'd swap for the silencer.

Yeah, thats what I thought. The two loudest things I have right now in order are the CPU fan and the AIW's fan. I figure taming them down is a good start.

 

[drpootums]

If u wanna save some money you can get a Zalman CPNS for ur CPU for around $30-40.

My CPU doesnt run too cool, but that is probably from the combination of thermal pastes on it! (yes...i know it's sad...)

 

[smoothness]

ditch the fans, get a new case and two 120mm Nexus fans. most quiet fans, especially with a fan controller (zalman). get the biggest heatsink you can, and another 120mm nexus. that's 3 fans total. for the 9800pro AIW, check if the Zalman dual pipe cooler fits it, and then get that. less fans = less noise. go to www.silentpcreview.com for more info - that's where i get most of my info.

 

[H34D0N]

get rid of all the fans and just water cool or just get rid of the case fans or buy a control unit so you can do it yourself

 

[Alptraum]

Originally posted by: smoothness
ditch the fans, get a new case and two 120mm Nexus fans. most quiet fans, especially with a fan controller (zalman). get the biggest heatsink you can, and another 120mm nexus. that's 3 fans total. for the 9800pro AIW, check if the Zalman dual pipe cooler fits it, and then get that. less fans = less noise. go to www.silentpcreview.com for more info - that's where i get most of my info.

Well, as I mentioned earlier I just want to tinker abit with this case instead of getting a new one (which I'll be doing in awhile for another system anyways). I'll check into the Zalman video coolers and see if they have one that works with the AIW. Do you think they would be better then the Artic Cooling ones?

I just started hanging out around silentpcreview a few days ago, heh.

Making this thing dead quiet is not really what I am going for. Just some easy changes that will drop the noise some.

And watercooling is out of the question.