Need advice on quiet case, psu, and hard disks

[snowbug]

I am putting up a new linux server box and need advices on case, psu, and harddisks. It is not a high end server, just for home use so it only has hardisk and cd burnner attach to it. The only must have requirement is quietness, as my wife is sitting next to it most of the day.

From the posts on this forum, it seems that Xaser case and psu are very quiet, and Zalman heatsink is a good choice for the CPU. My question is, with the same level of quietness, what are the cheaper alternatives (or is there any)? I also need recommendations on quiet harddisks (>80GB) as I have no clue which brand is both reliable and quiet.

It's not that I can't afford it, just that for such a non mission-critical server, I dont need all the high-end features. Any advice is welcome and thanks in advance.

 

[BG4533]

Check out Silent PC Review the recommended components and forums there will answer your questions. For a HD I would go with the Seagate Barracuda V 120GB. The PATA version with 8mb cache should be quick and quiet with the noise management stuff turned on. They are also very reliable. I am a fan of the Truepower PSUs. They are nor silent, but extremely quiet and the little sound they have is not annoying. A combo like the Antec Sonata with the 380W Truepower and case would be good for only like $100.

 

[amcdonald]

I also recommend a seagate V barrcuda HD. I have a 60gb and I never hear it.
For a psu/case I'd go much cheaper than a xaser, which can't be very quiet. The sonata is a good option. If the truepower is too loud for you, the fan in the psu can be replaced.

 

[deerslayer]

Seagate Barracude V

 

[HiTek21]

I third the Seagate HDD, I have an older IV Model and its dead silent, can't even tell its on.

 

[viper118]

definently get the seagate harddrives.. they are very quiet however they aren't as good in performance compared to western digital ones which are louder...

you should stick with the zalman cooler, i have the 3100+ and i have no problems with it... completely silent...

for you psu, i have heard from other users that the antec ones are very quiet... if you want something that is dead silent, then zalman might also be a choice for you as they also sell psu's that are completely silent.

 

[snowbug]

Thanks for all the great advices.

I think the Antec Sonata is a very good choice, and I will also take the seagate harddrive as all the experts here have recommended it And as BG4533 mentioned, the silent PC review is a very good resource.

 

[bluntman]

Throwing in my $0.02...

Surprisingly, I found my Maxtor Diamond Max 8 (40GB) hard drive to be dead silent. I know it's not a high performance drive like the other ones listed in this thread, but I would have never have thought this drive to be so quiet.

Last night a did a full system virus scan using Norton Antivirus 2003 Pro and I had to check on my system several times to see if it had crashed because the drive was so silent! Conversely, the master drive, WD400BB (40GB 2MB cache) made the typical HDD churning noise while going through the system scan. The WD was still quieter than the Maxtor 740DX it replaced, but was nowhere near as silent as the slave Maxtor Diamond Max 8.