• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

New cooling or new build?

M

madeuce

Member
I just put together my first build in 10 or so years. (I use Mac so there wasn't much building to be done 🙂 ) Just put it together for something to do. Planned on gaming with it, maybe using it as my home machine if I can get OS X on it.

Put it all together for $834.83 including tax and shipping.

CPU 965 BE 179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103727

MB MSI 890GXM 107.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-269-_-Product

GPU Diamond 5850 254.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814103085

Case Xion Solaris 36.90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...xion%20solaris

PSU Apevia 29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-041-_-Product

DVD/CD RW 17.99

RAM G. Skill 81.99

OS Win7 Home Pre 85.00

More than happy with the way everything works. Nothing is running too hot. Performance is outstanding for $800 IMO. Even windows has gotten a little better.

What I don't like is the noise. Fans are way too loud. Looking at a couple of options and could use a little input. If I put bigger fans and an aftermarket CPU cooler in, will it make much difference in the noise level? Otherwise I'm just thinking of selling the whole unit on ebay/craiglist and starting from scratch with a more quiet case.

I can add a new fan to the front of the case, put a bigger fan in the rear of the case, replace the stock AMD cpu fan, and turn all of the fans down and probably still be able to keep things cool. By the time that's all said and done though I could have just spent that money on a better case...

Any tips appreciated.
 
The case has 3 fans from what I can tell.

As for the AMD stock fan, I've heard stories that it often gets banged up during shipping, and the bearings get out of alignment. Try pressing with light/moderate force down on the fan (it should click or physically shift a little bit, don't use much force!) and see if that helps. Otherwise, it is rather loud and quieter cooling can be had for not too much.

On another note, I would've gone for either the 955Be or the 1055t, as the 965 is 20$ more for very little over the 955, while the 1055t is 20$ more than that but for two more cores and turbo.
 
Can't use OSX with a 5850. They are still back with the 4850. I don't mean to bash Mac exclusively with the following comments, because for the most part I feel the same way about HP and Dell. Overpriced, Over popular, Apple is constantly false advertising to the ridiculously computer illiterate masses about how their products are "magical" and "The best Mac yet" (the last one was true... but that is twisting people's perception with word choice). Stick with Windows 7. You will find it just as easy to use. I am happy to see a Mac user that has some knowledge of computers.

If you are going to attempt an OS X install know that there is very little hope for a dual boot to work. I tried once and it screwed my computer and wouldn't even boot into OS X. I have heard that you need to first install OS X and then Windows through Bootcamp.

I put together an AMD system for my Gma, and her cooling unit was fine. I would have also gone with the Phenom II X6. The BE is overhyped as is any overclocking. The performance you gain is minuscule compared to the instability it could potentially bring down on your system...

You may have bought a bad case. For quite builds I always recommend the Antec Sonata, and also, having a lot of fans isn't going to make things any quieter unless you can go from 80mm to 120mm-240mm. 80mm fans are always really annoying and loud from what I understand.

For future builds, or even this one, I'd recommend looking at a case that has few openings and 1 or 2 of the larger fans.
 
Last edited:
Definitely new cooling.

A better case will not help if you don't take away the true source of the noise. Even the flimsiest case can be very quiet if you let it. I am using a crappy free after rebate case with a 1055t and 5770. I can't hear the computer at idle even if i tried. I only have one 120mm case fan and one 120mm CPU fan that idles at 400rpm and goes 1200rpm at load. 1200rpm can be audible if you have quiet surroundings, but I find that 120mm fans at < 700 rpm to be inaudible for me at a distance of 1m or more

Are your case and cpu fans connected to the motherboard directly? There should some form of fan control built into the motherboard, let it be pwm (4pin) or voltage control (3pin). Check the bios to see if there's a 'quiet' mode you can turn on. It should slows down the fan while you're idling and speed up the fans when it's working. You can also try speedfan to give you even more control over the fan speeds.

If that's still not enough, then you gotta figure out the source of the noise. The possible sources are:
1) CPU fan
2) Case fan
3) PSU fan
4) GPU fan
5) Hard drive spindle noise and vibrations.

Stop each fan individually and see if it makes a big impact in noise. You can use a cable tie or just your fingers to stop them. The computer won't overheat if you just do it for a few seconds. You can soft mount the hard drive to reduce case vibrations. The easiest way would be just putting the hard drive on soft foam at the bottom of the case. It's not permanent, but good enough to diagnose the source of your noise.

I am a fan of Scythe fans and heatsinks (get one that 120mm or 140mm) because they're usually reasonably priced and performs well. If you're looking to save a few bucks, Yate-Loon case fans are great bang for the buck at less than $5 each. I like jab-tech for fans.

One last thing, computer parts can take more high temperature than people usually give them credit for. If it's not crashing or artifecting, then it's good enough. No need to push for that last centigrade.
 
Last edited:
If the case fans are the culprit, I've had good experiences with Scythe Slipstreams. Get one of the medium-speed ones or lower.

As far as Yate-Loons, there was a noticeable difference when I replaced the $5 Yate I bought with the Slipstream. That said, for $5 I don't think you'll find a quieter fan. It was quiet, just not inaudible. I've also heard there's a difference in the quality of Yate-Loons between different retailers. Supposedly the ones from Petra's Tech Shop are consistently good if I recall correctly. (That's not where I got mine.)
 
Thanks for the responses.

The fan that is being the noisiest is the CPU fan. It's the same size as the one on the rear of the case, it just noisy as all get out. I was kind of expecting it to be loud after reading the reviews on Newegg, but it's crazy. Tried to press down a bit like SP12 suggested but no luck. I practically had to set an engine block on it to get it to clip in place , so I might be the cause of the noise... To fix that problem I'm just going to look into getting an aftermarket cpu cooler.

The two case fans are on the 4-pin molex plugs so they won't plug into the MB and I have them directly into the PSU. I'm guessing that this has them running at 100&#37; all the time...

The MB only has one fan connection. Has anyone run into any problems powering 2-3 fans from the same MB connection?

The 80MM fan on the side of the case I really don't think is doing all that much, so I might just take it off. Upgrading the rear fan to 92 and adding a 120 on the front of the case should be better than the stock back/side 80s and be more quiet right?
 
Last edited:
madeuce said:
The 80MM fan on the side of the case I really don't think is doing all that much, so I might just take it off. Upgrading the rear fan to 92 and adding a 120 on the front of the case should be better than the stock back/side 80s and be more quiet right?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is likely to make it quieter, just not inaudible. Again, i'm going to refer to Mac. If you are using the Mac Pro as a reference for what is "quiet" then I think you are setting up an impossible standard for that case. Mac Pros and even iMacs are compartmentalized so that heat is distributed rather evenly (still excessively hot, but even) while providing little in the way of fan cooling, so comparing what is likely a $200-$300 case on the market to a $40 case shipped is a little like comparing a shack to the sears tower. Just making sure you aren't getting your hopes up for a completely silent computer. It will be quieter, just not silent.
 
I'm not looking for anything so quiet I can hear a mouse fart in the other room. 🙂

The noise that is getting me is definitely coming from the CPU fan. Using Speedfan to shut it down brings the noise to more than acceptable levels. ( I did manage to get my temps to drop a few C and keep the fan lower. Some idiot, ok it was me, used way too much thermal paste. After taking off the heat sink, cleaning and reapplying the paste everything sits cooler and fan doesn't go quite as crazy. Still too loud though)

The noise when I set the fan at 50 percent is about the loudest I want this thing to be when it's on full. Full blast the thing is running at 8k ish RPMs according to Speedfan and 50 percent is just over 4k.

Definitely going to get a new CPU fan

Going to see where temps are and noise levels with that and probably get a couple Scythe fans for front and back of case.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top