Quieting down my rig, what can be done?

[Weeeman]

To start here's my rig.

Black Coolermaster Wavemaster
Super Flower PSU [550, dont ask what I was thinking, I could light up the neighborhood with this bad boy, definatly produces a bit of sound]
AMD 3200+ [Default heatsink, Vantec Stealth ontop]
ASUS K8V [Such a nightmare, still can't get it to recognize SATA]
1 Gig [2x 512 of PC3200 OCZ]
nVIDIA 6800GT [Artic Cooling fan mod on it]
200 Gig Seagate [ATA, sadly]
Nec 8x Dual layer dvd drive
3 "Artic-Cooling, Artic Fan Pro2L" [They say 14-22db, I have them all set to high because they simply wont spin at a medium or low setting, I fail to see these being 22db, and they have an annoying blue LED in them]



How much sound would a Lian Li case cut out?[I am thinking
this case. Which is what I wanted to buy when I built my rig, had it ordered, waited 2 weeks and they hadn't processed my order. Called them and they told me they didn't have any instock and wouldnt for awhile [Odd seeing that the site has never shown it is/was out of stock]

Suggestions on a QUALITY, QUIET PSU? Preferably no 'fancy' leds or anything of that sort

Are there any fans more quiet than the vantec stealths?

How much sound can a hard drive silencer cut out?

 

[akira34]

Look at this case... I went from an Antec case that was not too bad (better than many) to it and it's a lot quieter. I also went with the neopower PSU, which reduced the sound inside the box. The loudest thing now in the case is the fan on the processor (got plans for that)... When it's in the more quiet part of cool 'n' quiet it can barely be heard from just a few feet away.

As for your issue with the asus board... Just another reason I stick with MSI these days... Had nothing but headaches whenever I try to use an asus board...

 

[Weeeman]

Originally posted by: akira34
Look at this case... I went from an Antec case that was not too bad (better than many) to it and it's a lot quieter. I also went with the neopower PSU, which reduced the sound inside the box. The loudest thing now in the case is the fan on the processor (got plans for that)... When it's in the more quiet part of cool 'n' quiet it can barely be heard from just a few feet away.

As for your issue with the asus board... Just another reason I stick with MSI these days... Had nothing but headaches whenever I try to use an asus board...

Ahh.. when I tried out cool n quiet, my fan would just STOP spinning... wouldn't kick back on until ASUS probe made it.. Im fairly certain the fan is still supposed to spin.. right?

The K8V has been pitiful.. ive used all my resources and I still cant get it. Read a big chunk of the thread dedicated to the board.. and it would appear I'm not alone.

Quick question on the case, is it just me or does the front look a bit weird? Is that just the picture? Other than that the case looks sweet

 

[akira34]

The V1100??? It's got the ridges running down the front... Looks really nice in black and when you see it... The door is solid and has an excellent retention mechanism too.

Something else, the MSI cool 'n' quiet keeps the processor fan spinning, just slower... You could have either a bad fan on your chip, or a crap-ass mobo... I vote for the second

 

[Operandi]

I have the Lian-Li 6070, choose it over the Wave Master. It's an awesome case and incorporates many of the features in the V1100, and is just as well made. The only significant difference is the use of 80mm fans vs 120mm but I don't think thats a big deal.

I would first get rid of you PSU, HS/F, and case fans before you get a different case, what?s inside the case is more important then the case itself generally. Look into the Zalman 7000 series or Thermalright or Alpha with a good fan, say Panaflow for your CPU. For quiet PSUs check out Tagan, Zalman and Seasonic (the Neo Power is good too). For case fans Panaflows are hard to beat and defiantly better the stealth?s.

 

[Spike]

Another brand of fans to look at is Enermax. They push alot of air for the sound and are pretty quiet even running full voltage. When the voltage is reduced they are pretty close to silent. Panaflows are also good and you can find them for not so much $, though people are reporting their quality has gone down hill somewhat (still better than most other fans out there).

-spike

 

[Operandi]

Enermax's are quiet but they are on the cheaper side, just a sleeve fan. Panaflows are Some of the best fans made period, easily the most available high quality fan. Some of the first Panaflows coming from china were said to be slightly louder (clicks) but the current ones are to be just as good as the Japanese versions.

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Operandi
Enermax's are quiet but they are on the cheaper side, just a sleeve fan. Panaflows are Some of the best fans made period, easily the most available high quality fan. Some of the first Panaflows coming from china were said to be slightly louder (clicks) but the current ones are to be just as good as the Japanese versions.

I don't know about other sizes, but my Enermax 120x25 is quieter than my Panaflo M1A 120x39 at full 12v and also at 7v. Though I have no way to scientifically prove this, it also feels like the Enermax is pushing more air. This is based on one day of observation (just got both of them) so I still need more time to determine if this is actually the case.

On the flip side the panaflo looks MUCH better built than the Enermax. It seems like it will last alot longer as the Enermax has a cheaper feel to to it, even though it was more expensive. Here are some quotes from Silentpcreview:

"The Enermax 120mm (like this one) is apparently a Globe relation as well (link1, link2). Most Enermaxes use ball bearings rather than sleeved like the quieter Globes and AcousticFans (which equals louder bearing noise). However, what's pulling for these fans is they are available from just about every wide-selection PC vendor and as a resultant have very good name recognition among the general computer savvy. In addition, they are usually bundled with some sort of simple speed controller. I believe this fan would be correctly considered decently quiet. On the quiet side of loud, but on the loud side of quiet. It seems to be pretty popular among "quieter" computing guys who have not yet tasted the fruit of a genuinely quiet fan or are not quite as intent on a truly quiet setup. Spend your money elsewere. Just including it here so you know where it stands. "

NOTE: The paragraph below is about the L1A, I have the M1A. More dB and more CFM

"The Panaflo L1A 120mm, unlike the Japanaflo L1A 80mm fans, is not really considered in the most quiet fan category. It still can be pretty quiet though, esp. a 'good' one on a lower undervolt, and it is not uncommon to see it being used by some of the more hardcore quiet gurus. Most (basically all) will want to look at other options though unless you are willing to accept a lot of not so good to pretty bad samples in the hunt for good ones. "

-spike

 

[Operandi]

Yeah, Enermax = Globe.

 

[Weeeman]

Originally posted by: Operandi
Yeah, Enermax = Globe.

these?

4 of those bad boys are getting kind of pricey for fans, but I suppose they are hard to beat and are worth it.

Does anyone suggest getting a new HS? Or just tossing a panaflo on it and call it good? It seems to keep it decently cool [37c right now]

Also, right now I have a rather... large hole in the top of my wavemaster [Where the "easy access" usb and such were, i found it rather annoying, and if i barely touched it, it would pop open. Saw a mod or 2 online that just had a larger fan there, but I really dont think the case needs it... suggestions for what to do to cover it up?


Also.. any specific PSU known for its quietness? I had a noisetaker which crapped out, not too shabby but not much quieter than the one I have now

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: Weeeman

Originally posted by: Operandi
Yeah, Enermax = Globe.

these?

4 of those bad boys are getting kind of pricey for fans, but I suppose they are hard to beat and are worth it.

Does anyone suggest getting a new HS? Or just tossing a panaflo on it and call it good? It seems to keep it decently cool [37c right now]

Also, right now I have a rather... large hole in the top of my wavemaster [Where the "easy access" usb and such were, i found it rather annoying, and if i barely touched it, it would pop open. Saw a mod or 2 online that just had a larger fan there, but I really dont think the case needs it... suggestions for what to do to cover it up?


Also.. any specific PSU known for its quietness? I had a noisetaker which crapped out, not too shabby but not much quieter than the one I have now

look here.

Originally posted by: klah
http://www.bgmicro.com/prodinf...186&prodid=FAN1003

 

[nataku00]

Originally posted by: Weeeman

Originally posted by: Operandi
Yeah, Enermax = Globe.

these?

4 of those bad boys are getting kind of pricey for fans, but I suppose they are hard to beat and are worth it.

Does anyone suggest getting a new HS? Or just tossing a panaflo on it and call it good? It seems to keep it decently cool [37c right now]

Also, right now I have a rather... large hole in the top of my wavemaster [Where the "easy access" usb and such were, i found it rather annoying, and if i barely touched it, it would pop open. Saw a mod or 2 online that just had a larger fan there, but I really dont think the case needs it... suggestions for what to do to cover it up?


Also.. any specific PSU known for its quietness? I had a noisetaker which crapped out, not too shabby but not much quieter than the one I have now

These fans are very pricey (bought 4 myself...) and are quiet in the right case. In my old chieftec dragon case, the 2 intake fans pulling air through a metal grill and the plastic slots of front of the case do create a bit of sound. However, these panaflo fans move a lot of air for an 80 mm and I would highly recommend them.

Regarding the original poster's problems with the asus K8V mobo and sata, I had similar problems setting up sata, but finally worked it out with the info posted in the K8V thread in the mobo forums (a very long thread...). My problem was getting the sata drivers from the driver cd installed on the floppy and then choosing the right sata controller on the board. Had trouble getting windows installation to boot the sata drivers from the diskette. I think ASUS could solve many of the headaches involved with the sata driver installation by providing a floppy with the drivers like MSI does but hey, this isn't the mobo forum.

 

[cyberknight]

I put an Arctic Cooling 80mm Pro TC fan (also recommended by Silent PC Reviewer) in to my brother's comp, and it's quiet as hell as it only spins at 1400 and provides better cooling at that speed than his noisy ass 80mm Sunon fan that was there before.

Quiet PSU? I don't think any stores have them yet, but there's a new Antec Phantom coming out. It's a 350W fanless PSU. It apparently has a good +12 (24A I think) and is rated at 80-85% efficiency.

 

[Weeeman]

Originally posted by: nataku00

Originally posted by: Weeeman

Originally posted by: Operandi
Yeah, Enermax = Globe.

these?

4 of those bad boys are getting kind of pricey for fans, but I suppose they are hard to beat and are worth it.

Does anyone suggest getting a new HS? Or just tossing a panaflo on it and call it good? It seems to keep it decently cool [37c right now]

Also, right now I have a rather... large hole in the top of my wavemaster [Where the "easy access" usb and such were, i found it rather annoying, and if i barely touched it, it would pop open. Saw a mod or 2 online that just had a larger fan there, but I really dont think the case needs it... suggestions for what to do to cover it up?


Also.. any specific PSU known for its quietness? I had a noisetaker which crapped out, not too shabby but not much quieter than the one I have now

These fans are very pricey (bought 4 myself...) and are quiet in the right case. In my old chieftec dragon case, the 2 intake fans pulling air through a metal grill and the plastic slots of front of the case do create a bit of sound. However, these panaflo fans move a lot of air for an 80 mm and I would highly recommend them.

Regarding the original poster's problems with the asus K8V mobo and sata, I had similar problems setting up sata, but finally worked it out with the info posted in the K8V thread in the mobo forums (a very long thread...). My problem was getting the sata drivers from the driver cd installed on the floppy and then choosing the right sata controller on the board. Had trouble getting windows installation to boot the sata drivers from the diskette. I think ASUS could solve many of the headaches involved with the sata driver installation by providing a floppy with the drivers like MSI does but hey, this isn't the mobo forum.

I got it working originally. My harddrive shat out right away, and when I got the new one back I tried to reinstall with THE SAME floppy, same drivers and it wouldn't go. Possesed I say!

 

[Weeeman]

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: Weeeman

Originally posted by: Operandi
Yeah, Enermax = Globe.

these?

4 of those bad boys are getting kind of pricey for fans, but I suppose they are hard to beat and are worth it.

Does anyone suggest getting a new HS? Or just tossing a panaflo on it and call it good? It seems to keep it decently cool [37c right now]

Also, right now I have a rather... large hole in the top of my wavemaster [Where the "easy access" usb and such were, i found it rather annoying, and if i barely touched it, it would pop open. Saw a mod or 2 online that just had a larger fan there, but I really dont think the case needs it... suggestions for what to do to cover it up?


Also.. any specific PSU known for its quietness? I had a noisetaker which crapped out, not too shabby but not much quieter than the one I have now

look here.

Originally posted by: klah
http://www.bgmicro.com/prodinf...186&prodid=FAN1003

Wow! Nice price, much appreciated.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I dumped my CoolerMaster WaveMaster because there wasn't enough airflow from the front intake holes, the exhaust fan hole and top blowhole are only 80mm, and it just doesn't provide for good enough cooling without some serious alterations. That Lian Li V1100 is much more promising. But there is a new Silverstone model which is even more promising than the Lian Li, for the size of the front and rear fans and the ducting solution across an ATX mobo in "BTX" orientation.

My own air-cooled solution is approaching perfection. Although I focused primarily on cooling, I have the noise level down now to absolutely no motor-whine, bearing rattle, or motor related "groan"; the fan rpm's are all in the 1,500 to 2,500 range; most of the white-noise from turbulence is muffled, coming out the rear, and from a distance of three feet, it just sounds "like a breeze".

There are two 120x25mm front intake fans, stacked one on top of the other, sucking air through wire-filters and the vertical bezel-louvred vents. The CPU fan is 120x38mm, filtered, drawing air through a ducted side-panel blow-hole. The rear exhaust fans are dual 92mm's running around 2,400 rpms each.

I have used silicone grommets for all fans except those built in to the power-supply, and a silicone grommet for the PSU where it bolts to the case-rear. I used Akasa PaxMate on the case side-panels and top.

There IS more wind-turbulence at the CPU blow-hole; but I still don't hear it because the computer sits on my left under the desk.

 

[Mrvile]

I use the V1000B, which is about the same as the V1100, just a bit smaller and the front bezel is one piece (no door). The cooling is a beast, my case is about on par with a wind tunnel, but yes, it is kinda loud.

I have to agree that Panaflos are loud.