I have reached NIRVANA

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
So, for a couple of years, I have been aiming for silence (or at least ultra quietness) in my computer. I started with an Antec Superlanboy and immediately ripped out the harddrive bays and suspended my raptor there. Unfortunately, the case is so light that it resonants from everything including my cpu fan through the mobo, through the mobo standoffs!.


Enter: P150.

So, I installed my Yateloon D12SL in the rear, 2 Nexus 92mm in the front, and a Nexus 92mm on the cpu. There is also a Yateloon D12SL on my Zalman large blue heatsink on the graphics card. EAR isolators on the case fans. It was not very quiet, but an improvement over the Superlanboy.

Enter, 5x Zalman FanMate2. The front Nexus fans are at 5V, the Rear is at 7V, the GPU fan is at 5V, and the CPU is full.

With the side panels on, When i push the power button, all i hear is "click" of the power button and my harddrives spinning up. 5 second later when the harddrives are all set and idle, no noise. My ears feel pressurized due to the lack of noise.

Happy is me!!

Edit:

The computer is hearable if i stick my ear within 3" of a fan. I sit 4' away from the computer and it is barely audible about the wind outside. From my bed, I cant hear it period.

Edit 2:

The temperature hit? My temperatures actually went down 3C!!! I say thats win!

Sorry guys, i had to shrink the 4Megapixel image in paint because I havent installed Adobe Photoshop yet :(

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/jonomega/Overall.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/jonomega/Closer.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/jonomega/Closeup_of_GPU.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/jonomega/Elastic_HDD.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/jonomega/Inside.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/jonomega/Inside2.JPG
 

potato28

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2005
8,964
0
0
Im trying for that nirvana too. Im just gonna buy a Zalman 6 channel fan controller.
 

BW86

Lifer
Jul 20, 2004
13,114
30
91
How do you like the p150? I think it might be my next case when i build my next comp.

Topic Summary: Silence, at last!
btw fixed :)
 

w00t

Diamond Member
Nov 5, 2004
5,545
0
0
How quiet are one of those nexus 92mm i have been wanting to get one for my shuttle do you think it would be good enough?
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
I had a sunbeam fan controller that was very excellent in what it did - but it didnt look right on the P150 - something to consider if you are in want of the P150.

I like the P150. It has its drawbacks (paint chips easily, and you have to have a optical drive with a normal bay in order to stealth it) but it has definate advantages.

The Nexus 92mm are pretty quiet. On the CPU it is very quiet at full. However, when you put it near an opening (like case fan) you can hear it much easier since there is nothing to absorb the noise. At 7V it is extremely quiet - at 5V it is basically unhearable except from 3" away.

My CPU temp is 41C idle. It has always been between 40-42C idle. For some reason, lessening the airflow had no affect on the temperature (despite what I said above - now, a few hours later, the temp has stabilized).

BW86, thanks for the spelling correction :p

Potato - Part of achieving an acceptable noise level for your computer is a very difficult chore unless you start off well. You need every component to be quiet - one component that is not will ruin your chances. Case, Power supply, GPU, CPU, HDD, Northbridge, all have to be taken into account. The fan controller will help - but if the case is not very effective in heat removal, then your temps will climb.

Edit: the HVAC has shut off, the refrigerator is not running, and the winds have died down outside. I can hear my cpu fan running at 12V now. The fire truck siren 6 blocks down the street easily drowns it out.
 

potato28

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2005
8,964
0
0
No its a fan controller. I have enough fans, I just need a controller to quite them dwn when Im not on BF2. The GPU fan is silent, and Im getting a SI-120 soonm enough with 1 of the Coolermaster fans(LED's!). And the NB is a fan less design that I designed.
 

Id studios

Member
Dec 28, 2004
29
0
0
Very nice setup.

I think ill just invest in a KVM and store the computer in the other room.

When i need to insert a cd ..."Hunny ... can you do me a favor ... again" lol
 

honkee

Diamond Member
Nov 5, 2004
4,118
1
76
im selling my p180 soon in favor of the p150
:)
that case looks awesome and this p180 is too massive
 

potato28

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2005
8,964
0
0
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...
 

forumposter32

Banned
May 23, 2005
643
0
0
Are you saying you bought low decibel case fans and the only way to get a really silent computer is to buy a fan speed controler?
 

seanmcd

Junior Member
Nov 12, 2005
8
0
0
Originally posted by: Tiamat
The temperature hit? My temperatures actually went down 3C!!! I say thats win!

the temps went down 3c after the case change or after getting the fan speed controllers?
 

Techno Pride

Member
Oct 30, 1999
139
0
76
if only review sites that review "quiet" products had a setup like yours.

then they wouldnt claim that <insert brand> <3000 or more rpm fan> is silent. SighZz
 

Techno Pride

Member
Oct 30, 1999
139
0
76
Originally posted by: forumposter32
Are you saying you bought low decibel case fans and the only way to get a really silent computer is to buy a fan speed controler?


yes, that was what he meant
 

Shadrack

Banned
Nov 20, 2005
25
0
0
Originally posted by: forumposter32
Are you saying you bought low decibel case fans and the only way to get a really silent computer is to buy a fan speed controler?

Even with low db fans you need a fan controller to get the kind of silence Tiamat is talking about.
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Yes, even with "silent" fans, you NEED a fan controller. The only silent fan is the one that is off. If you want it to be useful, you can only approximate this with low voltage.

Some fan controllers go down to only 7V. These are not enough. You really need down to 5V or even 0 V like my sunbeam of the past. Some fans start at voltages as low as 4V - while others you have to jump start by flicking the blades with your finger and then they operate under the low voltage :p


The following are hypothetical numbers since I do not have an exotic SPL meter to measure low noise.

1. Superlanboy w/ Antec TP 480 w/ suspended Raptor and undervolted fans:
(Front D12SL was 4V, Rear D12SL was 6V, CPU Panaflo(M) was 7V, GPU Panaflo(L) was 7V)

Probably roughly 32dB w/ PSU being the main source of noise

2. P150 w/NeoHE430, suspended Raptor and Samsung:
(Yate for rear, GPU; Nexus for Cpu, 2x front)

Probably roughly 28dB w/ rear Yateloon being main source of noise


3. P150 w/ 5 zalman fanmate2's
(rear @ 6V, CPU @ 11V, GPU @ 5V, Fronts @ 5V
CPU Idle at 44C, load at 49C
Probably roughly 21dB. Can hear it in dead of night, HVAC easily drowns it out. Wind outside easily drowns it out.


4. P150 w/ all fan controllers at 5V
Temps rose significantly to idle at 52C
Probably roughly 18dB. It is noticeably quieter, as I get less whoosh noise mainly from the CPU fan. The PSU fan is the culprit from this point forward. It is very difficult to pick out the noise. Switching on the PC from off, all I get is the click from the power button and then the hdds startup, and its quiet. I have to put my ear within 3" of the front bezel to notice a slight amount of turbulent noise. My ear within 6" of PSU can hear the Psu fan.

At dead of night, it is very difficult to hear, but it is only one small step above off. I could easily ignore it as background noise as it is a soft constant air moving noise.


Conclusion:
You will never obtain silence under normal budgets. The Harddrives will be the next culprit after the PSU. I run an overclocked "performance" system, so slower laptop harddrives (the samsung 5400rpm laptop drive is ultra quiet) is out of the question. Solid state harddrives cost $1000 per gig, so they are out of the question. There are no "no noise" water cooling things out there. You can hear the pumps and water flowing at this stage of the quiet-cooling stage.

Future Work:
I will have to find the happy medium between 3 and 4. 4 is not practical because the temps get too high when the system is loaded. Beyond that, its pretty much the end of the road unless I modify the antec power supply (i happen to have gotten attached to its modularity). If seasonic comes out with an ultra quiet (s12ish) modular design, I would heavily consider swapping.


 

forumposter32

Banned
May 23, 2005
643
0
0
Thanks for the info.

Are there any power supplies that are made so you can easilly change the fan inside?

And do those Zalman fan controlers put out too much light? I mean, sometimes small LEDs are REALLY bright and they annoy me.

I'm glad I read that comment about water cooling systems because I was under the impression that those would be completely silent systems.
 

potato28

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2005
8,964
0
0
Originally posted by: Techno Pride
Originally posted by: forumposter32
Are you saying you bought low decibel case fans and the only way to get a really silent computer is to buy a fan speed controler?


yes, that was what he meant

No I had about 3 80mm high RPM fans, and I just swapped them out. Thats it.
 

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
7
81
Originally posted by: Id studios
I think ill just invest in a KVM and store the computer in the other room.

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.

Originally posted by: Tiamat
The only silent fan is the one that is off.

You will never obtain silence under normal budgets.

QFT

I'm also into having quiet computers. Don't need "silent" because I can live with "quiet enough." Only problem is that I get my system "quiet enough" and then figure "oh, I can overclock this a bit more" and then noise goes up again, LOL. I'm constantly fighting with myself in my mind over performance versus noise. I think noise is winning since my computers are fast enough and these days, though I still overclock, I no longer go for broke.
 

WobbleWobble

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
4,867
1
0
What are you using on your video card? The loudest part of my system is my Zalman VF-700AlCu :(

I do have a Zalman ZM80A-HP, but I'm worried that can't handle a 6600GT.
 

Techno Pride

Member
Oct 30, 1999
139
0
76
Originally posted by: potato28

No I had about 3 80mm high RPM fans, and I just swapped them out. Thats it.

well, the threadstarter wanted the kind of computer where you can't hear *anything* from it 3am in the morning. :D

The general idea from SPCR is that a Nexus 120mm @ the full 1000rpm isn't anything close to silent :)

 

Techno Pride

Member
Oct 30, 1999
139
0
76
Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
What are you using on your video card? The loudest part of my system is my Zalman VF-700AlCu :(

I do have a Zalman ZM80A-HP, but I'm worried that can't handle a 6600GT.


It will handle it fine. If the ZM80A can cool a 9800Pro, it will work on the 6600GT.

I have one, but mine is the slightly cooler-running 6600.

here's mine. Excuse the ugly mounting. No thanks to the HSI chip that I had to mount it that way

http://www.pix8.net/pro/pic/6176dTHj1/491276.jpg