Best way to get quiet?

[jaw6]

So. I've got an old system. The Case, Power supply, and CPU (Intel) are all 4 years old now (while other systems are more recent - ah, the joy of building/upgrading yourself.)

I've been having problems with power loss lately. I'm looking into a UPS, but... well, this is more a "this got me thinking..." kind of thing.

Current PC is not terribly quiet. Loud "whirring" noise all the time. And hot. The CPU frequently pushes to 69C during gaming. For me, quiet is more important than fast.

I've been looking at SFF cases, on the theory that they should be quieter, but... Maybe that isn't so? Any recommendations here?

 

[fishmahn]

SFF isnt' necessarily quieter - they're usually hotter.

Replace your current CPU HSF with a quieter one - this will do 2 things - make it quieter and cooler.

Replace your PSU with a quieter one.

Add one or 2 quiet fans to your current case if you need more cooling after upgrading the other fans to quiet versions.

Need to know what socket your CPU is (478?), what mobo you have, case type, etc., and some recommendations can be made. Possibly something like a Sonic Tower (if it fits) or an XP90 or similar with a quiet fan, but that depends.

Oh, was your PC quiet 4 yrs ago? It could be you have a fan going bad and its getting louder. May be able to just replace that with a new, quieter one.

Mike.

<font color=blue>Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside the dog its too dark to read.
-- Groucho Marx</font color=blue>

 

[jaw6]

Thanks for the reply.

My CPU is a P4 1.5Ghz 478 pin. Motherboard is an ASUS P4PE (845PE).

The PC has probably always been this loud, but we're living in a smaller space, and I'm probably getting more sensitive. It had gotten *really* loud, but I replaced the hard drive and that quieted it up good.

This is *mostly* high-end office apps (Photoshop) with occasional gaming (Warcraft). Like I said before, I'm more concerned with quiet than power, but it's old and the idea of an upgrade is so tempting...

 

[_WW_]

Wow! I have the same mobo. Is it really that old? Seems like just yesterday...

....WW (5.1)

 

[jaw6]

Yeah, well... This is one of the joys of building it myself. The CPU, Case & Power supply were purchased in 2001. The system was freakin' out after our move, and the old motherboard was replaced early in 2003. At the moment, I'm thinking about upgrading the older components, but, obviously, if I do go with a SFF case, there'll be a new motherboard involved...

 

[function9]

Easy way to quiet it down is get a pair of <A HREF="http://www.gradolabs.com/frameset_main.htm" target="_new">these</A> and one of <A HREF="http://www.apple.com/itunes/overview/" target="_new">these</A>.

 

[Crashman]

SFF is a bad idea all the way around. True SFF uses Flex ATX, the same form factor as Gateway mini PC's, or Pico BTX. Some Micro ATX cubes (look like SFF, but bigger) are around, but I'd just stick with a tower if you want something narrow (narrower than SFF actually) or a desktop if you want something short (shorter than SFF as well).

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[jaw6]

Can you (anyone really) recommend a good, quiet case and power supply, then?

SFF had been attractive for space issues. Also, we move around a bit, and they seem designed for portability. But I'm not stuck on it.

 

[Crashman]

The easiest cases to move around are those shaped like an old carry-on suitcase (about the size of a briefcase but twice as thick). Finding one with a handle is more difficult.

For reference, <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.asp?Image=11-124-109-13.jpg,11-124-109-14.jpg,11-124-109-15.jpg,11-124-109-16.jpg,11-124-109-17.jpg,11-124-109-18.jpg,11-124-109-19.jpg,11-124-109-20.jpg,11-124-109-21.jpg,11-124-109-09.jpg,11-124-109-10.jpg,11-124-109-11.jpg&CurImage=11-124-109-13.jpg&Description=ENERMAX Venus CS-10068-B Black SECC 0.8 mm MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case Enermax SFX 270W Power Supply" target="_new">Here's one with nearly ideal dimmensions</A> Why nearly ideal? Narrower cases use rizers or half-height slots. SFF cubes are actually 2 inches wider or more, while offering less room for expansion.



<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>