Looking to replace a cpu (with a new heat sink/fan combo) and my power supply. My understanding is that these two components are a large portion of the noise produced by my pc.
I know several of you recently lookied into quieting your pc's. How were the results? worth it? any brands to look for? Stay away from? Waste of time? good thing?
silent running
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dfs
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EvilHomer3k
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The cpu heat sink/fan and the PSU are generally a good part of the problem with noise. There are lots of other things that can affect it, though.
First, I'd check to see what is making the most noise in your system. Start by opening the case up and using a pencil eraser to stop each fan in your case. You can stop the PSU fan before you start up but most of the others can be stopped while running. Put the pencil in the middle! of the fan so you don't break the fan blades. Once you find out which is the culprit, you can go about replacing it.
For your cpu, I'd recommend the Zalman 7000 series or the thermalright SP series. The sp series, such as the SP94, have heat pipes and generally use a larger fan (up to 92mm). I'd pair them up with a panaflo or enermax adjustable 92mm fan. Panaflo's are fairly quiet to begin with and the enermax's have a resistor so you can set the speed you like.
If you decide that the PSU needs replacing, look for somethign with a 120mm fan on it. ANtec makes good, quiet PSU's.
Another thing to look at is your case. Replacing the case and cpu heat sink/fan may be the best option. The antec SOnata and BQE series are excellent cases that run quiet and have quiet power supplies included. If your system temp is high you might try a new case.
First, I'd check to see what is making the most noise in your system. Start by opening the case up and using a pencil eraser to stop each fan in your case. You can stop the PSU fan before you start up but most of the others can be stopped while running. Put the pencil in the middle! of the fan so you don't break the fan blades. Once you find out which is the culprit, you can go about replacing it.
For your cpu, I'd recommend the Zalman 7000 series or the thermalright SP series. The sp series, such as the SP94, have heat pipes and generally use a larger fan (up to 92mm). I'd pair them up with a panaflo or enermax adjustable 92mm fan. Panaflo's are fairly quiet to begin with and the enermax's have a resistor so you can set the speed you like.
If you decide that the PSU needs replacing, look for somethign with a 120mm fan on it. ANtec makes good, quiet PSU's.
Another thing to look at is your case. Replacing the case and cpu heat sink/fan may be the best option. The antec SOnata and BQE series are excellent cases that run quiet and have quiet power supplies included. If your system temp is high you might try a new case.
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Rich in KCK
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Kasey Chang
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There's a website called QuietPC or SilentPC or something like that. All they sell are the stuff that makes your PC quiet, like foam insulator, large radius fan, passive heatsinks, and so on.
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Gedd
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There's actually an article about building a quiet PC in this month's MaximumPC (not sure if it's hit the newsstands yet). They actually built one from the ground up to be quiet, but some of the info there might be useful. They didn't do any water cooling or anything extreme like that, but one thing they did do was build a system built off the P4M (aka Centrino) chip.
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Smoove_B
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I have a Zalman Heat Pipe on my 9700 Pro video card -- had to replace the stock cooling after the fan died about a month after I installed it.EvilHomer3k wrote:
For your cpu, I'd recommend the Zalman 7000 series or the thermalright SP series. The sp series, such as the SP94, have heat pipes and generally use a larger fan (up to 92mm). I'd pair them up with a panaflo or enermax adjustable 92mm fan. Panaflo's are fairly quiet to begin with and the enermax's have a resistor so you can set the speed you like.
My Shuttle case has a heat pipe on the CPU and it works great.
Heat pipes rock.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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LawBeefaroni
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Just picked one of these to my HTPC to replace a clanky WD drive. Very nice form factor. Promises much quieter running. Haven't had a chance to install yet, but thought I'd throw the idea out there. Once you quiet your video card, PSU, and CPU, the HDD could be the loudest component.
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animal114
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This site is a great resource for what you're looking for:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/
Personally I've replaced my CPU cooler and video card fan with Zalman products and my HDD with the Samsung Spinpoint model and I've noticed a huge difference in noise from my PC. I'm waiting for the prices to drop on the fanless power supplies (like the new Antec Phantom) so I can replace my existing P/S as well.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/
Personally I've replaced my CPU cooler and video card fan with Zalman products and my HDD with the Samsung Spinpoint model and I've noticed a huge difference in noise from my PC. I'm waiting for the prices to drop on the fanless power supplies (like the new Antec Phantom) so I can replace my existing P/S as well.