Need help to make my rig quiet

[akiraxtc]

Hi,

I really wanted to dampen the noise in my case and i'm wondering if any of you can point me to the right direction.
Right now, here is a list of stuff in my pc:
Asus P4C800 Deluxe
P4 2.6c Ghz w/ Intel Stock Cooler
AIW 9700Pro, Stock Cooler
Lian Li PC60USB w/ 1 x 80mm rear fan, 2xFront case fan
1 x Sony DRU-500A DVD+R/-R Drive
1 x Toshiba DVDROM
3 x 100 GB 5400Rpm Drives
3 x 120 GB 7200Rpm Drives
431W Enermax Power supply

Now i figure that probably that generates a lot of noise from my setup is The power supply, the hard drives and processor cooler. What can i do to dampen these noises? If i get a Lian-li PC6070, would that help a lot? Do i have to take more drastic measures?

I have another file server running that i would have to put in the closet to get rid of the noise but my main pc needs to stay. I can move some hdds if 6 of them is too much but my file server already holds 6 HDDs and i doubt they would fit more than 2 additional HDDs.

Thanks y'all

 

[Jibby]

Oh man, just lost my reply...

Anyway, have a look at www.silentpcreview.com for lots of info.

Also, here's a post of KenAF's about his rig using the Sonata case. He has a lot of components that are similar to yours, so they'll be applicable:

"I recently built a silent PC setup with the Sonta.

P4 2.8
Abit IC7
512Mb Corsair PC3200
Antec Sonata case w/ True 380W PSU
Seagate Barracuda V
ATI Radeon 9700
MIT MDP-120 HDTV PC tuner/pvr
Pioneer DVD-R A05 DVD writer

Then I added:

Fortran FSP-350-60PN power supply w/ 120mm fan
Zalman CNPS7000-Cu P4 heatsink (uses 92mm fan)
Zalman ZM80A VGA Heatpipe Cooler
Zalman ZM-NB32J northbridge heatsink
Sunbeam Rheobus (black, review here)
Panaflo L1A 120mm
AcoustiPak Deluxe (another pic, sold here)
Elastomer fan isolators (order cheap here)
Elastomer drive grommets (also sold at McMaster for cheap)
Smartdrive 2002 hard drive enclosure

What I did:

Installed the CNPS7000-Cu and set it to the lowest fan setting (5v)
Replaced the heatsink and fan on the Radeon 9700 with the Zalman ZM80A
Put Barracuda V hard drive in the Smartdrive 2002 enclosure
Replaced the Antec power supply with the much quieter FSP-350-60PN
Replaced the rear Antec 120mm fan with the Panaflo L1A, mounted with with the better Elastomer fan isolators
Added Elastomer grommets to drives in 5.25" bays
Connected the L1A to the Sunbeam Rheobus for 5 volt operation
Replaced the heatsink/fan on the IC7 northbridge with the ZM-NB32J, as per instructions in Strictly Intel forum
Lined inside of case with AcousticPak Deluxe
Inserted AcousticPak Deluxe foam blocks into extra 5.25" and 3.5" bays

What I will do next:

Try WD Raptor in the Smartdrive2002 enclosure
Try Quiet feet case isolators

Cheers,
Ken"


Also, if you're unhappy with the noise of your PC60's stock fans at low setting, then you can try panaflo or papst fans undervolted. Just want to emphasise that the Zalman ZM80A-HP should be perfect for your 9700Pro. The SLK900-U + panaflo fan is pretty good for Athlon XPs... and I would think it'll do well on a P4. Or you can go with what KenAF has.

Dunno too much about the 6070. I've heard airflow problems with it... it sucks in air from underneath the case. Don't think that'll go too well with my carpet. And... I don't like the fact that it looks like a fridge.

Good luck!

 

[CotswoldCS]

What are your temperature readings like????

Running fans at lower speeds makes a huge difference to noise.

You have too many hard drives!!!! Can you get rid of some, replace with larger drives or use your DVD-RW drive to burn data to DVD. You could just unplug your hard drives you use less frequently (backup drives, etc) and just plug them in when you need them (with the computer turned off of course!!!)

 

[MercenaryForHire]

/unnatural twitch

SIX HARD DRIVES?

Christ almighty! What the hell are you running that needs that much space on one machine?

Get some of those the hell out of there. Also, get a Zalman CNSP7000 for your P4.

- M4H

 

[akiraxtc]

Thanks for the responses

I might try the Zalman Cooler. Does it matter if i use the Al-Cu cooler or the Cu cooler? The Cu only cooler looked awfully heavy!!
My northbridge is fanless so there's no need to use northbridge cooler.
I can try the fan isolators and drive grommet, but i doubt the acoustipak will be of use at all since my PC60 has a window on the side.
What i'll probably do is stuff as much hdd as possible to my file server, connect thru gigabit connection to my main pc for *close* to local access speeds. Keep my file server in the closet and start trying the above solutions for my main pc.
I also doubt that the zalman video card cooler can fit on my card since it is an AIW 9700 pro, it has that moderately large analog tuner on the top of the card next to the gpu.

CotswoldCS:
Yes, i'll try to upgrade some of those HDDs to larger capacity, i'm sure that would help... oh FDB Hdds too
Unplugging those drives is out of the question since i access those drives frequently. I'm using those drives to store my anime files for quick access. I do burn them on DVDs but i only burn completed series so i still have a lot of incomplete ones hanging around waiting to be completed. Also sometimes i do DVDrips which require lots of space. I always tried to keep my files on separate hdds... anime on 3 hdds, music on 1 hdd, movies on 1 hdd, and games on 1 hdd. So you can imagine me using all those hdds everyday

By the way, i tried to stop all the fan from spinning with my fingers and pins (for a short time of course!), including the processor cooler and that did not help with my noise level, so i really suspect my hdds or power supply.

Do you know of any good, quiet, >400w power supply?

 

[Zap]

First, narrow down the suspects of noise makers. Disconnect all your drives and all your fans including CPU fan (the P4 chip will be fine). Remove the video card. This leaves the power supply fans. Turn on the system and ignore the video error beeps. Is it loud? Then replace the power supply. Tom's Hardware did a roundup of power supplies, including noise measurements. From the article: "In the 400- to 449-Watt class, Zalman's ZM400A-APF is a solid power supply that really performs well. A definite plus is its low noise levels: At 27.5 db(A) at minimum load, the power supply is almost inaudible." Note that it does get louder as loads increase. They also rated the Antec as the only recommended high power unit. The Antec was quiet at low loads, but got noisy at higher loads. If it weren't for all your hard drives I'd say one of the Fortron 300-350W units with 120mm fan. Those are really quiet. Hmmm, the 350W unit can probably power everything...

After the power supply, then check all other fans by themselves. The Zalman 7000 series cooler is great for the CPU. If you're not massively overclocking go for the AlCu version to save money and stay within the weight guidelines. You can replace the case fans with quieter ones, or if you had gotten the Antec power supply use the "Fan Only" leads on your existing fans.

Video card fan may be a problem. You may be able to rig something up for it. I'm not familiar with the layout of the AIW...

After all the fans have been taken care of, you will start noticing your hard drives. You can isolate them from the case using thin rubber/foam between the drive and case, but make sure you have good airflow because the drives will run a lot hotter if not touching the case. You can also replace your noisier drives with Seagate units (or Hitachi as a second choice). Without knowing your drive make/model, can only speculate.

 

[seismik]

We have very similiar rigs (except for all those harddrives!) Here's what I suggest, not all of it I've implemented yet but it's 'planned'.

If i get a Lian-li PC6070, would that help a lot?

No, it won't help alot. I'm running one right now and while it's a nice case I don't find it dampens sound that much.

AIW 9700Pro, Stock Cooler

Look into the Zalman ZM80A VGA Heatpipe Cooler. I don't have one yet but I have contacted Zalman and they do fit AIW 9700's without any problems. This will eliminate ALL sound from the video card, no fans.

Does the Asus P4C800 Deluxe come with a fan on the Northbridge? If it does you might want to look into Zalman's Northbridge heatsink. Again, going without fans to just a heatsink will not provide enough cooling for heavy overclocking, but if you just want to silence a stock rig this will help.

As for the P4 2.6c Ghz w/ Intel Stock Cooler, that's the same proc I'm running and I haven't yet decided on what to do. I think probably I'll get a Thermalright SLK-900-U and fit it with a 92mm Panaflow L1A fan which should run very quiet.

Definitely read KenAF's post on silencing his machine -- tons of great info in there!

seismic.