• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

I have reached NIRVANA

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Thats awesome Tia. I can relate with your "obsession" (well I am obsessed anyways) with silencing your pc. I have opted for all Nexus fans as well and house them in a P180. All are controlled with SpeedFan automatically... At idle they are all at ~680rpm=~6V. Good to hear (or see) the P150's "silencing" properties are working well with well thought out components. Cheers 😉
 
Ill post some picks tonight. I am using a ZM80D for the 9800pro with a 120mm Yateloon fan at 5V. This contraption is heavy and warps the card. So you will see my ghetto trick on making sure the card is straight 😀


The Sunbeam fan controller's LEDs were blinding. I basically pushed them out of the front bezel and made them fire straight up into my DVD burner. You could still see the light, but it was not blinding.

JBDan - Speedfan is a great free idea.

Techno Pride - That is correct. The 1000rpm nexus isnt anywhere near quiet 😀 Only when it gets down to 800rpm is where it is acceptable I find 😀

Yes, I love it when review sights say that "x cpu cooler is quiet" and you learn that it is 35dB from 1 meter away. Sure its 1/4 as loud as the Delta vacuum cleaner at 55dB, but that doesnt make it quiet in the end!

Zap - yes, the overclock vs silence battle is tough. That has been where I am at in the past few years as well. I compromised. I took down my 1800+ overclock from 2200mhz to 2000mhz, and am using 12V for the Nexus 92mm fan on the CPU.

When I upgrade this computer (when the new AMD M2 because mainstream) Ill probably have to start over again 🙁

Ill undoubtedly buy a new performance GPU, CPU overclocked. Not sure what new coolers exist for GPU that are as quiet as the ZM80D (silent) that can support the heat ouput from the likes of 7800GTX or 1800XT.


Edit: Problem with external shots as the High gloss white reflects the flash into my camera. Ill have to wait til later. No getting away with "quick" shots on this highly reflective case :/
 
Originally posted by: potato28
Tiamat, Ive also jsut recheached this goal, but its not quite done yet. And u have it easy, I have a Cavalier! No soundproofing anywheres in that case...
Click to expand...

Sound proofing does absolutely nothing. Sound engineering does 😀

Its all about being smart on selecting the psu, harddrives, gpu cooler, mobo's with passive chipset coolers, quality cpu coolers. A case with rear 120mm fan is a must.

2x 92mm does a better job at cooling the front of the case than 1x 120mm at the same noise level in my experience. The soundproofing of the case might have helped in achieving the final 1-2dB but not much beyond that.

As you see, I lost most of my noise by using good fans, and undervolting them.
 
Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
I do have a Zalman ZM80A-HP, but I'm worried that can't handle a 6600GT.
Click to expand...

I have an Evercool passive dual heatpipe cooler ($16 at SVC) on my 6800GT. It isn't overclocked and I don't know how hot it gets, but so far I've played many hours of Enemy Territory and a bit of Zero Hour, and no visual glitches.
 
Originally posted by: Zap
Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
I do have a Zalman ZM80A-HP, but I'm worried that can't handle a 6600GT.
Click to expand...

I have an Evercool passive dual heatpipe cooler ($16 at SVC) on my 6800GT. It isn't overclocked and I don't know how hot it gets, but so far I've played many hours of Enemy Territory and a bit of Zero Hour, and no visual glitches.
Click to expand...

Have you tried Everest Home Edition?
 
Originally posted by: Zap
Originally posted by: Id studios
I think ill just invest in a KVM and store the computer in the other room.
Click to expand...

LOL. You don't need a KVM, just a VGA extension, audio extension and a USB hub on an extension. Put your optical drive in a USB drive bay without a fan.
.
Click to expand...

quiet external drive bay

This item needs one long USB cable to go to your computer, then it can handle two optical drives, plus has 2 more USB ports on front for keyboard/mouse.
 
I also use the ZM80D double-heatpipe cooler on an nVidia card -- same generation as your 9800pro. I use an OP-1 option fan. Some people think it's noisy, but I can't hear the damn thing. Even so, I like your setup there.

I don't see why you can't use a Zalman PCI bracket to hold the fan perpendicular to the vid-card. The mod you made to support it is kinda neat, but the bracket is cheap.

You can cool that sucker down even further, though, without increasing the fan-speeds or swapping out fans. That case and setup is absolutely ripe for a foam-board motherboard duct. $6 for a 18" x 3' foam-art-board, and $5 for a tube of craft-glue. A razor-blade, and a precise straight-edge or ruler. Then it's all tedium. But it works.
 
Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck
I also use the ZM80D double-heatpipe cooler on an nVidia card -- same generation as your 9800pro. I use an OP-1 option fan. Some people think it's noisy, but I can't hear the damn thing. Even so, I like your setup there.

I don't see why you can't use a Zalman PCI bracket to hold the fan perpendicular to the vid-card. The mod you made to support it is kinda neat, but the bracket is cheap.

You can cool that sucker down even further, though, without increasing the fan-speeds or swapping out fans. That case and setup is absolutely ripe for a foam-board motherboard duct. $6 for a 18" x 3' foam-art-board, and $5 for a tube of craft-glue. A razor-blade, and a precise straight-edge or ruler. Then it's all tedium. But it works.
Click to expand...

I actually have the PCI bracket. It didnt work as well for the temperatures and I couldnt get the fan to line up as nicely. The bracket got in the way of the CPU cooler as well.


I simply used a Lian LI PC-60 modded 3.5" panel that I found under my bed 😱 and some sorbothane.


I actually made a lexan duct for my 9800pro and 120mm fan, but it prooved to not really help much with the temps. I had the duct go from the vents next to the PCI slots to the GPU heatsink.
 
Interesting.

Here's my experience, however. I seal off all those hole-punch vents. I don't even use a side-panel duct -- it's blocked off now like a boarded up house before urban renewal.

There are two 120mm fans for intake pushing enough air into the case to keep the interior pressure higher than outside. The throughput of the CPU fan (a Delta tri-blade 120mm trimmed to 1,800 rpm and approximately 75 CFM) -- is lower than the input CFM, and so air also seeps between the crevices of the duct. The only place for air to go is out the back-panel.

The ZM80D "top-side" heatsink is actually one surface of the duct, although there is a crevice so that air can flow past it and get sucked out the back of the case.

See, I think this was covered in that well-read article on ducting at the OverClockers.com web-site. It recommends an overall ducting solution that restricts air-flow over the warm surfaces, makes the fan and resulting pressures work serially, and gets the air out of the case as soon as it picks up heat from those components. I don't think the advantage of ducting only the graphics card and using the nearby vent as intake is as great.

But I'd be interested in your opinions about this, or any corrections for any incomplete or incorrect understanding of what you did with your own duct.
 
So have I, but instead I used watercooling.
3x120mm NoiseBlocker Silent X1 17db @ 6V + S-12 600W == silent 🙂
 
Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck
Interesting.

Here's my experience, however. I seal off all those hole-punch vents. I don't even use a side-panel duct -- it's blocked off now like a boarded up house before urban renewal.

There are two 120mm fans for intake pushing enough air into the case to keep the interior pressure higher than outside. The throughput of the CPU fan (a Delta tri-blade 120mm trimmed to 1,800 rpm and approximately 75 CFM) -- is lower than the input CFM, and so air also seeps between the crevices of the duct. The only place for air to go is out the back-panel.

The ZM80D "top-side" heatsink is actually one surface of the duct, although there is a crevice so that air can flow past it and get sucked out the back of the case.

See, I think this was covered in that well-read article on ducting at the OverClockers.com web-site. It recommends an overall ducting solution that restricts air-flow over the warm surfaces, makes the fan and resulting pressures work serially, and gets the air out of the case as soon as it picks up heat from those components. I don't think the advantage of ducting only the graphics card and using the nearby vent as intake is as great.

But I'd be interested in your opinions about this, or any corrections for any incomplete or incorrect understanding of what you did with your own duct.
Click to expand...

Interesting idea. I'd actually like to see some pix if you can post some. I am not discounting the workability of that technique, however since my situation is extreme low airflow, the pressures are hard to manipulate. I usually run a negative pressure system where the rear fan is the highest flow. This typically forces cool air through any vents. The entire front of the case is a vent, and the pci slot area is a vent. I only use the front fans for the purpose of spot cooling the harddrives. In fact, most of the fans are so low rpm that they only serve as spot coolers. I am relying on the exhaust fan to remove all the heat.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top