Quietest Duron/TBird PS/Case

[trikster2]

Building a new computer that will go in the family room, so I would like it to be as quiet as possible.

I can get a MATX Case/MB with a 145W quiet power supply for Intel based solutions. However I'm really atracted to the value offered by the Duron CPUs.

Little worried about the hefty power/cooling requirements of Tbird, Duron looks a little better.

Power Supply specs from AMD say only approved 300W for TBird and 250W for Duron. Very few PS/Case makers or even reviews give information on the loudness of case+PS

Could anyone please comment on what would be the quietest case/AMDAprovedPS solution for a Tbird or Duron????

Size is not that critical, prefer a mini/mid tower.

THANKS!

 

[ErikS]

AHHH, another noise hater. I finally got my machine close to the noise level I'd like - absolutely quiet! See sig for system specifications. Nothing in my system has a noise level of over 30dba & the machine is cool & quiet. The trick to having a cool/quiet machine is to have large, slow spinning fans. The big fans move a lot of air without the shreik of smaller faster spinning models. I use Panaflo L1A for all fans in my machine. For a quiet case, spend the $$$. The heavier steel of a quality case will not only reduce noise but you'll have less vibrations and other stuff generating noise. I have Chenbro Genie case which is well built and has very good ariflow. It stays just a couple of degrees above ambient. J. Hanson @ Cool Cases can hook you up with one. Chenbro also makes a Jr. model that should be almost as cool and a bit cheaper/smaller. This case setup allows me to use a ChromeOrb on my CPU and still keep the temp at a max of 44c. The orb is very quiet and I like quiet.

The PS I use is an Enermax 330w. It's as quiet as can be, the 92mm fan is temp controlled so it only runs as fast as needed. The 80mm is a super quite model & is rated at something like 21dba (about a whipser). The best place to get the Enremax PS is @ Pham Computers, they're $60 + $4 shipping (as a cheap shipping as I've ever seen).

Now that I've spewed a bunch of info the real question is - how quiet is the system? The two loudest things are the IBM HDD & the CD drive(s). The noise of the CD is very pronounced. The howling it makes when spinning up to load a game really sounds loud now that the system is so quiet.

My next step is to watercool the CPU & drop the fans down to 7v. Hopefully this will make the machine damn near silent.

 

[jblondi]

Are you fellas taking your computer into combat? Worried about the enemy spotting you? Im sure no descent power supply maker is going to put a prop blade in their power supplies. I guess you just have to kinda check and see. You can always buy a good quality fan and swap it out from the power supply.

 

[ErikS]

Nope, no combat, just like a quiet machine. I was running my own web development company & spent upwards of 12-14hrs a day on the machine. I grew to hate the noise, now I have quiet. I won't sacrafice cool to get quiet but why not get both?

As for the power supply, enermax gives you both high quality & quiet. So why not?

 

[TheWiseOwl]

Anandtech did a review of AMD power supplies and he also talked about the noise level.

Also, there are several threads for quiet fans in the forums. The L1A seems to be either #1 or #2. There is also 2 others floating out there that people say are quiet. Again, check the forums here at Anandtech.

 

[trikster2]

jblondi.
I'm not taking my computer into combat, but into the family room Spent too much time away from my wife holed up in the computer room. Did away with the computer room in our current house and instead use the computer in the family room where the fan noise is preventing me from hearing the crackling of my fire place (and my wife).

Thanks for the info EricS and thewiseOwl.

Chenbro+Ennermax+Fans+shipping == ?$$$ 150-200???

That's a little more than I want to spend on a case, I may just get an inwin/enlight/whatever midtower and do some mods to allow the recommended 120mm fans.

Is the ennermax so quite because the fans shut down when not in use, or because two fans are quieter than one ????

If it's the shutting down, how would it compare to something like the Antec cases with "smartpower" power supplies (1 fan, but fans shut down when not needed) which seems a little cheaper (can get the case + PS for about the cost of the ennermax).

 

[zision]

I have the #1 rated power supply from the anandtech review, the Antex PP303X, and it's almost silent. the fan is temperature controlled, and if by some chance it's below 69F (I think) it won't spin at all. After living with some Sunon High Ouput fans for the past 6 months, I'm very happy to have them out of my case. Now I'm looking at getting some quiet 92 or 120mm fans and drilling holes for them so I can get more airflow without the noise. The High Output fans only lowered my case temp by about 3F, so they're not worth it IMHO.

 

[ErikS]

Yep, a high quality case & PS are expensive. If I had to choose I'd go with Enlight & a high quality (quiet) Pwr supply like an Enermax or an Antec.

To answer the question, the 92mm fan shuts down when not needed (low temps) & the 80mm is controlled by a MB header (can use ACPI to shut it down when in standby).

The only thought I have to offer on the cost of a case is - how long will you have it? I upgrade MB, CPU, Vid etc. two to three times a year & the case is the item that stays. I used to buy those $60 cases, but after I went through 3 -4 of them I decided to get something that will last.

As for brands J. Hanson (coolcases.com) also carries the OEM variety of the SuperMicro tower cases (Addtronics).