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Project "Silent Athlon XP System"...Success!

I

Insane3D

Elite Member
Well, a little while ago I decided to set out on a little project. I'm constantly hearing how Athlon systems are always noisy, unstable, hot, etc, and I thought it might be neat to build a quiet and stable XP system to prove a point...and to have fun of course. 🙂

Now, this sort of thing has been done before, and it usually involved underclocking, undervolting, etc. I wanted to try something different. Not only did I plan on making this system as close to "silent" as possible, I also intended to overclock it. 🙂



So, enter those wonderful $50 1600+ AGOIA XP's from Newegg. My goal was to run a synchronous 166mhz FSB / 166mhz memory bus to keep the PCI and AGP @ their correct speeds, but I didn't want unlocking to be a requirement so anyone could do it without needing to do any special modifications. The 1600+ fit into this plan beautifully since most can hit 1.75ghz, 166mhz FSB with no additional voltage. I decided on the new Epox KT333 board, the 8K5A2+. Here is what the complete system consisted of:


Athlon XP 1600+ (AGOIA, Week 19)
Alpha PAL8045
Epox 8K5A2+
512mb (2 x 256mb) Crucial PC2100
ATI 32mb Radeon DDR
Onboard Sound (ALC650 5.1)
Antec SX840 Case
Antec 400W PSU
Lite-On 16X DVD



Now, before I assembled the system, I did a few minor modifications to the Radeon and the Antec PSU. I chose the Radeon since it can run with a passive heatsink, and it has excellent 2D and DVD quality. I had a GF3 Ti200 I could have used, but even with a huge replacement HS, it ran too hot without a fan for my tastes. I decided I would replace the Radeon's extremely cheap HSF unit with a nice 45mm Alpha "Z Series" heatsink. I removed the old HSF unit, cleaned off the GPU, and attached the new heatsink with some Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive. The Radeon was now good to go.

The other modification I did was involving the Antec 400W PSU. If anyone is familiar with this particular PSU, you will know that it comes with a very obnoxious Adda fan that constantly changes speeds and is very loud. I decided to replace it with a 80mm Panaflo L1A. Once I switched out the fan, I ran the fan wires out through the chassis of the PSU, and put a three pin end on. I connected it to the "PSU" fan connector on the motherboard so it would run full speed at all times.

Now that I had all the parts ready, it was time to assemble everything. I assembled everything and did a fresh install of Windows XP SP1, courtesy of my freshly made slipstream CD. 🙂 Everything installed like a charm with no hitches. I've had it up and running for almost a week now crunching Seti 24/7. I ran it through a 48 hour "torture test" running Prime 95 and 3D Mark 2K1 together...passed with flying colors. I've extremely pleased with the results, and the noisiest thing in the system is the IBM "Deathstar". If I have Power Management spin it down, the system is as close to silence as I have personally ever heard...err..not heard. 😉

I may switch out the IBM for a Seagate Cuda soon, and it should cut out the last source of noise in the system. I consider this project a complete success, and I hope it helps someone else who is looking for a quiet, but fast and overclocked system. I also hope it points out that a o/c'ed Athlon system does not have to have 8 zillion fans and sound like a jet airplane.


Total amount of fans used - 2 Panaflo's

🙂

The Finished Specs
 
Congratulations !! I have many Athlon systems (6) and a laptop, and I would love to quiet them down. I will take this under advice. Only problem I really have is that an XP2000 desktop case is tough to cool. I am on my 3rd design.
 
Congrats! Just for the info, if you ever need more powerful video card, I had my ATI 8500LE 290/290 w/ Socket 7 HS only in my P4 1.6a@2.24. (well, if you willing to give up two PCI slot for the quietness)
Only fan in my case is stock 3000rpm Intel CPU fan and PS fan.
 
Originally posted by: TimeKeeper
Congrats! Just for the info, if you ever need more powerful video card, I had my ATI 8500LE 290/290 w/ Socket 7 HS only in my P4 1.6a@2.24. (well, if you willing to give up two PCI slot for the quietness)
Only fan in my case is stock 3000rpm Intel CPU fan and PS fan.
Click to expand...

Good to know..I have a Retail 8500 in my P4 system. I have a couple of large 55mm Alpha pin style HS's that I could use. I was also considering this Low Profile Alpha HSF.

🙂
 
That fan looks sweeeeet~~~~~~~~~
Except, kinda expensive, no?


BTW, although Intel's stock fan virtually silent, but I can still hear the my PS fan.
I do have a really silent 80mm fan and would like to do what you done to your PS, but it rated at 0.24A and my PS fan has 0.14A. Is it safe to use it?
 
Originally posted by: TimeKeeper
That fan looks sweeeeet~~~~~~~~~
Except, kinda expensive, no?


BTW, although Intel's stock fan virtually silent, but I can still hear the my PS fan.
I do have a really silent 80mm fan and would like to do what you done to your PS, but it rated at 0.24A and my PS fan has 0.14A. Is it safe to use it?
Click to expand...

Sure it is. You don't *need* to wire it to the PSU directly. You can do like a did and just run the wires outside the PSU and plug it into a RPM monitored fan header, or just plug it in to one of the four pin PSU headers. You can even be real fancy and run the wires for the fan right out of the PSU like the rest of the wires. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Insane3D
Originally posted by: TimeKeeper
That fan looks sweeeeet~~~~~~~~~
Except, kinda expensive, no?


BTW, although Intel's stock fan virtually silent, but I can still hear the my PS fan.
I do have a really silent 80mm fan and would like to do what you done to your PS, but it rated at 0.24A and my PS fan has 0.14A. Is it safe to use it?
Click to expand...

Sure it is. You don't *need* to wire it to the PSU directly. You can do like a did and just run the wires outside the PSU and plug it into a RPM monitored fan header, or just plug it in to one of the four pin PSU headers. You can even be real fancy and run the wires for the fan right out of the PSU like the rest of the wires. 🙂
Click to expand...


Why did I think of that? After all, I always have the PSU cover removed................thanks!!!!!!!
 
Blahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...........................................................thank Insane3D!

DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh yeah!!!!
My P4 Silent project, oh gosh it is too quiet now - is my PC even on?!!!!!! 😉

Wait! I can hear that maxtor drive's noise! hmm...and I don't want to slow it down. (system at 30C, CPU at 41C - not too bad)



p.s. btw, I think my inexpensive case has the best front panel design for the cool air inflow, where I have my HD on the lowest "shelf".
 
Why is it that some people can run XP's or P4's with really small, quiet fans and run at 4x degrees, but all of mine with huge heatsinks and big fans are all in the 50's??? I'm sick of this!!!
 
Originally posted by: vetteguy
Why is it that some people can run XP's or P4's with really small, quiet fans and run at 4x degrees, but all of mine with huge heatsinks and big fans are all in the 50's??? I'm sick of this!!!
Click to expand...

Probably because you think the 50's are bad. People get so worked up about the Athlon running in the 50-60C range when the max die temp they are speced to run at is 95C. It seems that people will throw on the largest possible HSF with the highest CFM fan they can find, along with 4 or more high CFM case fans just to be conforted by seeing the lower temps, which most likely aren't anywhere near accurate if they are being read by an in-socket thermistor.


Personally, I try to keep my temp's below 70C, but other than that I don't worry much. When I first setup a Athlon system, I monitor the temps at idle and under full load to get an idea of the range the CPU will run in, then I just forget it. Unless I start having stability issues that might be heat related, I really don't bother monitoring them. So many times I see people posting about high Athlon temps, and how they need to add tons of extra cooling to fix it. If you ask them if the system is unstable however, the answer is usually no. Once I keep an eye on the temps of a new build for a few days, I get a general idea of the range they will run in. Barring any large variations in the ambient temp, or mechanical failure, that range is unlikely to change much.

Just my .02. 🙂
 
Just wait until those two Panaflo fans start being too loud. And the Barracuda IV drive seek noise becomes quite noticeable. That's where I'm at now.

I got a Maxtor drive on the last great Office Depot Hot Deal and I had to take it out of my system because I found it to be too loud. I really, really want a NV30 when it comes out, but I absolutely dread the potential of a loud fan on it.

A silent system is a very mixed blessing.
 
Originally posted by: vetteguy
Why is it that some people can run XP's or P4's with really small, quiet fans and run at 4x degrees, but all of mine with huge heatsinks and big fans are all in the 50's??? I'm sick of this!!!
Click to expand...

I don't understand the technical mystery nor able to explain the reason like Insane3D, but here is what I found.

1. I was on retail HSF w/ Intel thermal pad, my CPU idle @ 50C. (w/ one extra case fan)
2. I removed the PSU cover creat better air flow!. CPU idle @ 48C.
3. I replace my case with a better design case. NOT alumium, just better design! CPU idle @44C. (NO extra case fan)
4. I happen to apply Antec's Silver paste in replace that stupid thermal pad and my CPU idle @ 40C.
5. I went to the store and bought a expensive 5200rpm fan and bigger HS, but my CPU still idle @ 40C????????

Major point.

CASE design is one major factor for system cooling, I found I could have extra CASE fan trying to suck the hot air out, but if it can't draw the cool air in efficiently, the hot air still trap inside.

Intel thermal pad got to go!

 
anyone have directions for slipstreamin xp w/ sp1? and is there anyway to slip the key in there too.. so you don't have to enter it?
 
Originally posted by: TimeKeeper


Major point.

CASE design is one major factor for system cooling, I found I could have extra CASE fan trying to suck the hot air out, but if it can't draw the cool air in efficiently, the hot air still trap inside.
Click to expand...

what case is that?
 
Originally posted by: ElFenix
Originally posted by: TimeKeeper


Major point.

CASE design is one major factor for system cooling, I found I could have extra CASE fan trying to suck the hot air out, but if it can't draw the cool air in efficiently, the hot air still trap inside.
Click to expand...

what case is that?
Click to expand...

The Inwin J508P. Notice the front panel is virtually "OPEN WIDE". Yes, I know some case also has similar design, but this one is inexpensive!!!!!!

Also I used duct-tape to seal up the rear fan opening to force air draw from the front bottom. (uni-directional flow?)
oh..did I mention I always have my PSU cover removed? 😉
Plus home-made IDE cable looks like this.

I am cheap!!!
 
Originally posted by: TimeKeeper
Originally posted by: ElFenix
Originally posted by: TimeKeeper


Major point.

CASE design is one major factor for system cooling, I found I could have extra CASE fan trying to suck the hot air out, but if it can't draw the cool air in efficiently, the hot air still trap inside.
Click to expand...

what case is that?
Click to expand...

The Inwin J508P. Notice the front panel is virtually "OPEN WIDE". Yes, I know some case also has similar design, but this one is inexpensive!!!!!!

Also I used duct-tape to seal up the rear fan opening to force air draw from the front bottom. (uni-directional flow?)
oh..did I mention I always have my PSU cover removed? 😉
Plus home-made IDE cable looks like this.

I am cheap!!!
Click to expand...
how do you think that compares to the antec?

heh, i folded my cables too! they're actually easier to route this way
 
Antec is pretty much one of the best case you can buy out there.

But I did "study" the case before I order. Antec's front panel is NOT as "open" as my particular case.
And I have my HD at "lower shelf", so my HD get cool first then system. Most importantly, I can't afford it!
 
Originally posted by: Insane3D
Antec's front panel is NOT as "open" as my particular case.
Click to expand...

What Antec are you talking about? The SX series of cases has a much more open front than that Inwin. Just curious....🙂
Click to expand...

Yeh!!!!! SX is full tower and do I have to mention that I CAN'T AFFORD IT again? 🙁
 
Originally posted by: TimeKeeper
Originally posted by: Insane3D
Antec's front panel is NOT as "open" as my particular case.
Click to expand...

What Antec are you talking about? The SX series of cases has a much more open front than that Inwin. Just curious....🙂
Click to expand...

Yeh!!!!! SX is full tower and do I have to mention that I CAN'T AFFORD IT again? 🙁
Click to expand...

Oh, I know...I was just curious what Antec's you were talking about. Their value cases, the KSxxx line, are not as open in the front. Also, not all of the SX series are full towers... The SX600 series, and the new (overpriced) Performance Plus 600 models are both "mini-towers", though more of a mid-tower..


Keep an eye out for Chieftec bargains, I got a SX600 Chieftec clone awhile back with no PSU for ~$40USD. Check out the Antec SX600 style here.

Also, here's some pictures @ Newegg of the Chieftec clone... a bit high, but with a 400W PSU. The PSU is kinda crappy, so maybe if you snagged one for $57 sometime, you could sell the 400W PSU in the FS/FT forums for I would say at least $20, it would help recoup some of the cots. Just an idea...🙂
 
Looks good Insane. The problem with it all is that the heat that's put out from letting your XP get so hot is nuts. You have effectively made that thing a space heater. Sure you can say a room fan and or air conditioner will keep the room cool, but fans and air conditioners are loud, so you defeat the purpose of your project once you start resorting to that. The only true way to move enough air to keep the cpu in the 40's and 50's is like this.

Antec SX Series case with 5 80mm fan ducts (one in the lower left side panal)(or chieftech clone, that's what I use)
Your choice of PSU with a 28 to 30 cfm fan 7 volt modded
5 80mm 28cfm fans with a 7volt mod
Pal 8045 or AX-7 with Panaflow fan

Less is indeed better, but not the way you are doing it. I've done everything in my power to make a quiet and COOL AMD system and this is the ONLY way to do it efficiently. I would not care about the cool factor if the level of heat was not increased 4 fold with the way your cooling your computer.
 
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