Need help building something QUIET!

[TomK]

Folks,

I have a Antec 1030B running and the noise is killing me in my small home office....it's a stock configuration, with a cheapo cpu cooler.

My son is in need of a new machine anyhow, so I am going to move this AMD combo into his room, therefore I am looking to build the following:

A new server machine that is QUIET!

I'm not worried about the Intel vs AMD, I most likely will go with another AMD 1.4, but I am more concerned about having the quietest components available. Including Case and CPU Cooling devices, case fans, etc.

Please give me your opinions on what the quietest:

- Case is (or do I buy any case and change out the components, if so, with what?) Don't need a server size case, that weighs 100lbs, etc. Just something to hold 2 to 3 IDE's and a floppy/cdrom/burner/dvd, etc. BUT IT HAS TO BE QUIET!!! (I tell you how loud my current setup is???)
- CPU Cooler for a non-overclocker, most likely AMD 1.4 CPU possibly Intel 1GHz (I have one sitting here too)
- Case fans, which ones to go with what case?

The noise is driving me CRAZY!! Please help me!

Links would be appreciated too ;-)

I'm going to do my part for the economy this week, and buy this stuff.

Thanks,
Tom

God Bless America
Down with Terrorism

 

[Auric]

Well, it's not going to be quiet with 2 or 3 HDD's... I can only imagine how loud it must be now. Use an Intel chippy with a passive heatsink. The new .13 micron ones cannnot be beat but even the .18 generally do not require active cooling. That leaves the PSU fan. Replace it with a Papst sleeve bearing variable fan and maybe a front one (for constant server) and you will only hear the HDD's. As said in another post, concentrate on those to make sure you get the quietest available. To my mind the case itself makes little difference - you are using it as a server, but it's otherwise no different that an average PC except it may have an extra HDD.

 

[FlippyBoy]

what i have seen many people do here is to buy a 1.4 athlon, then underclock it to 1ghz or something like that, and lower the voltage. this will decrease the heat output significantly, and you will probably only need a big heatsink on it. as far as the hard drives go, i've found maxtors to be very quiet. you can pick up a couple of their diamondmax+ drives for prety cheap, too.

 

[glen]

Seagate has silent drives.

 

[Markee]

For HD you cannot go far wrong with a couple of
Quantum Fireball AS.

For cooling, fit a bigger (thicker and wider) fan, and run it
on a lower voltage. Do the same for all case fans, and get a
decent psu. I am liking my enemax 350W very much, but can't
speak for the others.

Use thermal probes for a couple days to make sure nothing
is cooking.

 

[Jwyatt]

IMO you cant beat panaflo fans. i have 6 in one of my systems and its alot quiter than the one 60 mm delta in the other!!

of the 6 there is 2 120's 3 80s and a 60 on the HS.

HDDs dont make much of a difference unless they are always in use. If so go with someone elses choice for im not familier with 'em

 

[WarCon]

If money isn't much of an issue, then I would suggest a nice quiet watercooled system. You can use a quiet 120mm Panaflo on the radiator and if its not a graphic intensive system, it probably doesn't need any other fans besides the power supply.

But if your going SCSI hard drives though, you will need good system cooling. I would pick a full tower case like your Antec and space your drives out in the bays so none are feeding heat directly to any other one and your need for fans will be greatly diminished. If you have a Pentium III 1ghz around you should even be able to go for a nice quiet heatsink solution like the Zalman Flower. You can use the quiet Panaflo's and to even make them more quiet you can undervolt them to 7 volts or you can use the thermally controlled fans and if your office is kept cool, then those fans will rarely make much noise.

I really like Maxtor's for quiet drives and they are pretty reliable too.

Anyway good luck............

You could also build a cone of silence over your computer....................

 

[Jhhnn]

What is the loudest noise source- PSU, Hdd's, case fans, chipset fan, some vidcard fan or the processor fan? Figuring this out will help avoid the problem next time. The case by itself is silent, and a 1030 (or baby-brother 630) lends itself well to quiet systems because really wimpy case fans can be used.

Start with the case you now have, and install two 80mm L1a panaflos or PCP&C Silencers as rear exhausts. Wire them to run at 7v. Forget the Athlon, the heat dissipation is just too high for truly quiet air cooled systems. Get a decent board for that 1gig p3, no chipset fan, and a fanless vidcard. Use an Alpha 6035 sink with a L1a panaflo 60mm fan or Sanyo-denki pico ace 60mm fan. Use one high capacity IDE drive, Maxtor or WD, partition it if you want to get the feel of multiple drives. Switch the psu fan for another 80mmL1a panaflo if you really want, the stock antec psu fan is pretty quiet anyway.

This is about as quiet as modern high performance air cooled machines get. You can try using sound absorbent/dampening material behind and inside the case, too, but the best way to avoid noise is to avoid making much of it in the first place. Good Luck.

 

[mechBgon]

I'd also add that Adda has a low-rpm 60mm fan that is rated for 13cfm and 16dB. I have a couple, they are indeed very quiet. The Alpha PEP66 would be one good heatsink to use with it, since it is ducted to force all the fan's airflow to go all the way through the heatsink. I still wouldn't try to cool a 1.4GHz Tbird with it... a 1GHz P3 maybe.

If you really wanted to air-cool a 1.4GHz Tbird without much noise, I think it boils down to a heatsink that can take a 80mm low-rpm fan without needing an adapter. Alpha will have their PAL8045 on the market shortly, if rumors are true, and the Swiftech MC462 is presently available with or without fans. I would try a Panaflo L1A with one of these and see if that's enough airflow or not. If not, the M1A model would be my next choice. Also see the link below for the special ring-cage Panaflo models, which are specially enhanced to reduce turbulence and therefore noise.

I will be getting a Seagate Barracuda ATA IV, which is supposedly an extremely quiet hard drive with a fluid-bearing motor. Its performance is supposed to be competitive with the IBM 60GXP's. I'll send you a PM with more info on the HDD's noise level once I get it, TomK. I ordered mine from hypermicro.com.

Digikey.com search for Panaflo FBL (ring-cage) fans, use dropdown menus to search by size/voltage
Swiftech MC462 w/out fan
Standard Panaflo fans
Tom's Hardware report including the Seagate Barracuda ATA IV
Adda fans in various sizes and noise levels, they carry the Alpha PEP66 also

BTW I have tried sound-deadening materials up to and including 1" studio soundproofing batts, as well as acoustical tile, carpet, adhesive dynamat-type stuff, and more... and I think Jhhnn has the right answer:



<< the best way to avoid noise is to avoid making much of it in the first place. >>

 

[Bovinicus]

I would recommend getting a 92mm to 60mm converter for your CPU fan. You will still have a high CFM rated cooler on your heatsink with very little noise.