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Looking for a quiet PSU and quiet HDD

Elcs

Elcs

Diamond Member
If you have been reading up recently, Ive been handed a P3 600 Coppermine + 384mb pc133 SDRAM, a GF2 GTS and SB Live! 5.1 Digital which Im planning to turn into an ultra quiet PVR system.

Now since I have most of the parts (except cables), Im looking to finish off the project.

Ive never used an Intel or a Slot 1 system before (I went from S370 to Slot A then Socket A) so I have no idea how much power I'll be drawing. Most likely Ill only have the quiet HDD in as well as an optical drive. Nothing fancy. I cant grab ahold of any Seasonic S12's under 430W unfortunately so the most obvious solution to mu knowledge is out of reach. For the price of a 350W fanless PSU, I could spend the equivilent of $17 USD and get a 500W Seasonic S12. Ive never been a friend of electricity so modding a PSU is 99% out of the question.

For HDD's, I wont need a large one. The system will be used as a music server/overnight PVR. I could get away with a 40Gb drive but Im probably going to go 80Gb. PATA for the obvious reason and Im not going to buy a SATA controller card 🙂. 5400rpm Laptop HDD's might be a consideration if they are cost effective. For 7200 rpm drives, I was thinking of the old 80Gb Seagate Barracuda's and Im open to suggestions on specific models. Once I have a model type narrowed down, I can tailor the size to my budget.

I have 2 Panaflo L1A's sitting here and one of those 5v/12v Zalman fan wires which came with my VF700. Ill use that to 5v the Panaflo's as intake/exhaust for airflow. Keyboard, Mouse and monitor are sorted. I also have little rubber washers for vibration dampening.

Also looking to quieten down the Stock Intel HS and my GF2 GTS. Thinking of underclocking the GTS to allow for fanless operation. Opinions and ideas welcome.

This is slightly similar to one of my old threads where I was going to use my spare NF7-S board to make a PVR system. I appreciate suggestions but Im not buying an A64 and Scythe Ninja or moving the PC out of my room, please stay on topic.

Thanks for any help on picking up a v. quiet psu and hdd or providing useful ideas for making the system even quieter when I set it up.
 
PVR = Personal video recorder, I don't think you'll be doing that with a 600MHZ P3.

Aside from that there are only two problems I see. One, I have no idea what the stock HSF is for a slot 1 P3 but it probably isn't too quiet. That and I have no idea what you would be able to replace it with.

Two, the GF2 probably has a fan on it, most likely a loud one. Maybe a passive Zalman would fit?

As for HDs laptop drives are much much quieter then any desktop drive but are more expensive and will need adapters for use in a desktop. I would probably go with a Seagate, Samsung, or Maxtor normal desktop drive.

I would go with this Seasonic PSU.
 
Originally posted by: Operandi
PVR = Personal video recorder, I don't think you'll be doing that with a 600MHZ P3.

Aside from that there are only two problems I see. One, I have no idea what the stock HSF is for a slot 1 P3 but it probably isn't too quiet. That and I have no idea what you would be able to replace it with.

Two, the GF2 probably has a fan on it, most likely a loud one. Maybe a passive Zalman would fit?

As for HDs laptop drives are much much quieter then any desktop drive but are more expensive and will need adapters for use in a desktop. I would probably go with a Seagate, Samsung, or Maxtor normal desktop drive.

I would go with this Seasonic PSU.
Click to expand...

Id expect the hardware encoder on my Hauppage PVR-250 to handle 90% of the stress of recording.

The only idea I have to tackle the P3 cooler is to reduce the fan voltage. Heat would probably become an issue then... perhaps I can get 600mhz stable with a slightly lower CPU voltage.

If I could get that Seasonic PSU, I would but its an impossibility. I can only find the S12 range here (430W - 600W).
 
Seasonic Super Silencer 300W PSU.....ah, I see you're in the UK. They do global shipping, but the rate quotes are ridiculous for shipping - $100 or so. Maybe call them and see what they can do about that?
Did you try eBay's UK site?

Maybe check them out too for a really big slot 1 heatsink.
 
Originally posted by: Jeff7
Seasonic Super Silencer 300W PSU.....ah, I see you're in the UK. They do global shipping, but the rate quotes are ridiculous for shipping - $100 or so. Maybe call them and see what they can do about that?
Did you try eBay's UK site?

Maybe check them out too for a really big slot 1 heatsink.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jeff7. Ill take a look at ewiz and their shipping rates. It might turn out favourable but I doubt it.

Ill check Ebay UK for one too. I might have some luck there.

As for the slot 1 heatsink, I thought Ebay would be best but I was looking for a brand/model to look for. What would I be looking for? 'really big slot 1 heatsink'?

The problem with America and the UK is price differences and product availability. I only found Seasonic S12 PSU's over here 1-2 weeks ago (released in July from the single source I know of).

If I can get the right items/advice tailored to my needs and alternatives, I can search my long list of UK suppliers and check local stores, maybe even special order stuff in. All too often at times, I get generic advice for American customers and I cant work with it.
 
Couldnt find the Seasonic Super Silencer, any wattage on UK Ebay.

After inspection and stopping short of crowbars and blowtorches, I cant remove the Slot 1 heatsink so its staying there for now. I should really listen to it before i decide to rip it off and fix it up.

Ive found the Seagate Barracuda 7200.7's and they are in very healthy supply.

PSU is my stopping point atm, suggestions?
 
Originally posted by: Kensai
Originally posted by: Elcs
Originally posted by: Kensai
Originally posted by: Elcs
Originally posted by: Kensai
Seasonic PSU and Samsung SpinPoint drives.
Click to expand...

Did you read my post? :S
Click to expand...


Too long. 😛
Click to expand...

Well, your advice sucks 😛

If this was an a64 system, Id agree wholeheartedly but its not and I dont 😛
Click to expand...


🙁
Click to expand...

Take a breath.

Read the entire thread.

Think of a good solution or piece of advice.

Post it.

Ill read it in the morning because Im going to bed now.

NN Kensai 😛
 
www.ebay.com

Look for the biggest passive Slot1 heatsink that you can find.
Get a Zalman Passive cooler thingy for your video card.
User your old Seagate PATA drive, attach a Zalman hard drive cooling thingy to it.

PSU wise, Open PSU, remove old fan, insert 5V panaflo, leave it open and have the fan blowing air out.

You could buy some of the sound dampening foam stuff. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Kensai
www.ebay.com

Look for the biggest passive Slot1 heatsink that you can find.
Get a Zalman Passive cooler thingy for your video card.
User your old Seagate PATA drive, attach a Zalman hard drive cooling thingy to it.

PSU wise, Open PSU, remove old fan, insert 5V panaflo, leave it open and have the fan blowing air out.

You could buy some of the sound dampening foam stuff. 🙂
Click to expand...

Ebay.co.uk

I think Ive found a passive slot 1 heatsink from ebay which is a bonus I guess.

Zalman is kinda expensive but yes, it would do the job. Could I get away with underclocking and running fanless with the stock heatsink? Its not going to be gaming so I dont need pixel pushing power.

I wish I had a Seagate HDD 😛. I know where to find the Barracuda 7200.7's. Just a case of choosing what size I want. Zalman cooler, does it provide much benefit cooling-wise or noise cancelling? I might just rubber-washer it.

PSU modding sounds rather scary. Id appreciate a good guide for it. Also, I dont have any PSU at the moment so whatever I get, its going to be a new PSU.

Aside from modding a cheaper PSU, what could I buy retail that would suit my needs? (v. quiet and ~300W)

Sound dampening stuff is a bit pricey but I can see it being useful. Could I just use the foam stuff in seats or bubble wrap.... or something? 😛

Thanks.
 
Originally posted by: biostud
Soon I'll have a Seasonic Super Tornado 400W for sale 😛
Otherwise why don't you just get the S-12 430W?

otherwsie you can get a 350W here: http://www.koolnquiet.co.uk/index.php?main=catalog&id=52
Click to expand...

Never noticed those down the bottom. Id only seen the S-12's. I need glasses 😱

How quiet are they? I shyed away from the 430W S-12 since its 24 pin and after just popping over the SPCR to confirm it was a 24-pin, I noticed it comes with a 24-pin to 20-pin adapter.

Sounds like quiet a plan (bad pun).
 
Originally posted by: Elcs
Originally posted by: biostud
Soon I'll have a Seasonic Super Tornado 400W for sale 😛
Otherwise why don't you just get the S-12 430W?

otherwsie you can get a 350W here: http://www.koolnquiet.co.uk/index.php?main=catalog&id=52
Click to expand...

Never noticed those down the bottom. Id only seen the S-12's. I need glasses 😱

How quiet are they? I shyed away from the 430W S-12 since its 24 pin and after just popping over the SPCR to confirm it was a 24-pin, I noticed it comes with a 24-pin to 20-pin adapter.

Sounds like quiet a plan (bad pun).
Click to expand...


I think it's the OEM version of the Super Tornado series, which you can find reviews of.
Apperently the S-12 330, 380 and 430 are more quiet, than the Super Tornado albeit not by much.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article226-page1.html
 
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