building a low noise pc, need advice

[Lt_Dan]

Hi,
I'm aiming to build a low noise pc, i'm useing:
1.heat pipe graphics card, (8600GTS) - [Gigabyte - GV-NX86S256H]
2. zalman CNPS7700-AlCu cpu fan
3. psu - Zalman - ZM460-APS OR ThermalTake TR2 Power 470W
4. Gigabyte Poseidon case (2 fans included)

my specs are:
1. 2GB Ram 800, [PQI DDR2 2GB 800MHz PC6400 CL5 DUAL PACK 2 x 1 GB]
2. E6600
3. 2 HDD (250+320 seagate Barakuda),
4. Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3

what do you think? can you recommend any different better (without a big difference in price - it already will cost me around 1200$) specs that will suit my requirements - i don't plan on playing games very much - as you can tell from the GPU.

Thanks a lot!!!!

Dan

 

[brick88]

silverstone psu's are known to be very quiet. and they're amazing psus powerwise. umm zalman 7700 is good but maybe look into the scythe katana or the scythe brand in general. i have a seagate barracuda 7200.10 and a western digital aajs and i can safely say that the wd aajs hard drive is definitely quieter. i would also recommend the p180.

 

[Lt_Dan]

thanks.
what WD HDD is that? (aajs?)
And who's the p180?
also, Zalman PSU aren't known to be quiet?

 

[Alsone]

Case fans:

Syche X-Flex - not only the some of the quietest but also probably the best engineered in the world.

67.CFM at 28db :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-005-SY&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4

For lower airflow:

49cfm at 20db:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-004-SY&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4

For cpu cooler, try the Thermalright Ultra 120 with a 69cfm Scythe X-Flex:

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2941

Best CPU Cooler in the world (apart from extreme version of same product).

 

[tool_462]

Good recommendations. I have 5 S-Flexs in my case (2 on a rad at full speed, others at 5-7v) and love them.

I wouldn't use the stock fans from the Poseidon as they are somewhat whiny from the two times I have built with that case.

Antec makes the P180 and it is very well designed to be quiet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129017

 

[Lt_Dan]

the 180 is much too expensive for me and so is the sonata 2.
also, a friend of mine has the Aurora from Gigabyte and he says it's quiet - and he's into audio.
the fans are different?

the Scythe look good, but they seem too big

 

[brick88]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075

This is the 160 gig model. It is a one platter design so it runs pretty cool and quiet. The scythe flex fans will fit into any 120mm slot. I suggest getting the medium or higher rpm ones as I heard the lower rpm fan makes a slight whining noise because of aerodynamics. The noise vanishes at higher speeds though.

 

[utaka95]

I would recommend the Zalman 7000 over the 7700, it's lighter and very quiet when turned down. Seasonics are the quietest PSU's. I would also discourage using 2 hard drives if you are worried about noise - one 500 gig SE16 WD or Samsung 500 gig would be a better choice.

 

[Lt_Dan]

i meant they seem big for attaching to the cpu. i know it's suppose to' but their big size fright me (that doesn't sound good at all..).

going by tom's' the WD are a bit slower then the seagate' is that why they are quieter? is it noticeable?

this is what it says on the WD in newegg: "have the lowest power consumption of any high-capacity, desktop-class hard drive which lowers the operating temperature for enhanced drive reliability. Whisper quiet"

and the segate also: "Whisper-quiet operation Enhanced G-Force Protection"

go figure what's best....(better)

the Seasonics are actually crosair? they seam a bit pricey.
i need 2 HDD i can't go around that.

 

[rojito]

Hi,
I'm aiming to build a low noise pc, i'm useing:
1.heat pipe graphics card, (8600GTS) - [Gigabyte - GV-NX86S256H]
2. zalman CNPS7700-AlCu cpu fan
3. psu - Zalman - ZM460-APS OR ThermalTake TR2 Power 470W
4. Gigabyte Poseidon case (2 fans included)

my specs are:
1. 2GB Ram 800, [PQI DDR2 2GB 800MHz PC6400 CL5 DUAL PACK 2 x 1 GB]
2. E6600
3. 2 HDD (250+320 seagate Barakuda),
4. Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3

what do you think? can you recommend any different better (without a big difference in price - it already will cost me around 1200$) specs that will suit my requirements - i don't plan on playing games very much - as you can tell from the GPU.

Thanks a lot!!!!

Dan

The Antec p180 is completely inaudible (at 1meter or more) when the fans are in low speed and at that speed it still has god airflow. And I have a Scythe Infinity and two WD 160 GB Hard drives that ads no noise whatsoever thanks to the awesome case.

 

[jblow89577]

if you want quiet dont use any fans over 25db incuding psu/cpu
try and keep them under 20db

my case use
4x120 fans 18db
1x225 drum fan 22db
cpu 92 fan 14db
and the only sound other then a very fait hum is the dam psu

 

[tool_462]

You won't notice any difference between the speeds of the Seagate or the Western Digital.

 

[TSIMonster]

On the Case deal. AMS makes some very nice cases for the money. I have the silver G-Mono with a side window and the metal is very thick and makes it nice and quiet. With my ASUS x1950, Stock AMD, and 3 case fans all turning at 100%, it is very quiet. Also, I use Apevia fans and love them for the price. The are very quiet, but not made for super air flow.

Just thought I would through that out there. I am pretty budget conscience and like quiet as well. This case isn't made to run extremely cool though, but can with slight modification.

 

[Lt_Dan]

the 180 is to expensive.

so if i go for the WD' should i take the SE series or SE16:
- http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=298
- http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=135

i'm getting confused with the PSU's, i think that at the moment the Zalman 460 is good and quiet option, it will cost me 140$ (where i live so you can guess the other prices i have to pay).

as for the scythe, i have yet to decide if to buy it - considering availability, model, price and size.

 

[RetiredChief]

Reference to Case Fans - Received a Silex IXrema Pro yesterday. Installed it last night. Lives up to Specs. 72 CFM at 14dBA - Very Quite, But also expensive. They also have a model rated at 90 CFM at 18 dBA; However it is 38 mm thick vs standard 25 mm

 

[Rugger]

Chief,
I don't doubt that they're quiet, but I seriously doubt they actually meet the specs in the way that the average person would anticipate. There are three major specs that most people will look at when considering fans: RPM, dBa, and CFM. It's not uncommon for the marketing bubbas to take the best specs from different data sets and present them in such a way that it looks like they are from the same test. The perfect example is what you just said: "72 CFM at 14dBA." In no place on the mfrs website did they say that the fan produced 72CFM while only emitting 14dBa - you inferred that from the stats they listed. I would be interested in seeing the white papers that gives their testing procedures and that document all the fan stats at each phase of testing.

I'm not disparaging your choice in fans and I'm sure the fans are quiet. I just hate that mfrs feel the need to inflate their products stats to sell product at ridiculous profit margins. If you've got an extra $5, then I seriously recommend you try out this Yate Loon D12SL-12. You could even get 4 of them for around $8 less than the cost of one Ixtrema. Test them back to back on a fan controller in your case and measure temp differences. I think you'll be surprised at how quiet the D12SLs are and the relatively small difference in temps - even compared the Ixtrema.

 

[RetiredChief]

Your Right about getting 4 fans, and 8 bucks in change. They are too expensive. It replaced a "Listed" 76.4 CFM at 30 dBa. I Just checked the LED to make sure it was running (almost - It is that quite); And my temps are the same as the loud one it replace. I would replace the back fan with this one.

 

[Alsone]

I have to say I'm sceptical about those claims, especially as sites such as Extreme Overclockers and Anandtech don't seem to recommend them from what I've seen.

I'm also even more sceptical when I've seen thsi report on their PSU, it seems it doesn't deliver anywhere near the power claimed:

http://www.custompc.co.uk/custompc/labs/79288/silenx-ixtrema-pro-apfc-520w.html

I'd be inclined to pick Scythe or Noctua fans as they're proven favourite with the Overclock market.

 

[RetiredChief]

You are probably correct - I needed a fan, went to newegg - no reviews, should have checked a liitle further, may not have bought them. Not sure about reliabilty - but they are quite, and APPEAR to move the advert. air. Have DVM, Digital o'scope - but nothing to measure air flow.

 

[Rugger]

Was that meant for me? If yes, then thanks for the backup.
If you haven't tried them already, then I really suggest taking a look at the Yate Loon D12SL-12 fans. The Nexus Real Silent Case Fans - tied with the Scythe's on SPCR for their number two 120mm fan ranking - are rebadged Loons.

 

[eric54]

How am I the first to wholey recommend the Noctua fans? They run 1200rpm at 17 dba. Thats pretty much silent, i'm putting five of these in a antec 900 case which will run virtually silent, aka, less than 25 dba's.

Just ignore the silentx crap, go for the enermax fans before getting that silentx stuff, they've been accused numerous times of false advertising, the noise created by 70+cfm's of air alone would be more than the dba's they advertise. As mentioned by another toms member, silentx are a prime example of false advertising and misleading marketing, except its not misleading, its all out lies.

Just go for Noctua NF-S12 fans, its a sure thing as far as how quiet they are. Here's some metric for ya, they move 81 m^3/h.

Oh yeah, the enermax ones look intriguing, they have the actuator floating in a magnetic field, so their is zero motor noise, as far as flow noise i dont know. Either way, everyone here will recommend the Noctua being the best silent fan out there.


No i dont work for noctua. If they didnt work do you really think they'd get away with "salmon" colored holdings?

 

[Rugger]

I think the Noctua's are probably great fans. I just can't justify spending $20 on a fan when I know how great the $5 Yate Loons are. Do yourself and your pocket a favor: Get four Yate Loon D12SL-12 fans for $15.96 - less than the cost of one Noctua - and try it. If you like it, then you can put the rest of the money towards another upgrade. If not, then you only spent $16.

 

[Alsone]

The Noctuas are great fans but don't confuse Cubic Metres per hour with Cubic Feet per minute

According to here (CPU cooler test with Noctua fan):

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2976&p=2

The Noctua fan moves 47.7 cfm per minute = 89 cubic metres per hour.

Point is its quiet but you can't compare this to the 1,600 rpm Scythe directly as the Sycthe does 69 CFM whereas the Noctua does 47.7 CFM - far less which is why its quieter.

Both are great fans, but the Scythe is shifting 1/2 as much air again which is why its noiser.

You need to be careful to distinguish between CFM and CMH.

If comparing it you need to compare it to the 47cfm Scythe which is the 1,200 rpm model.

 

[FH]

I just built a PC with the same objective, see my signature. What bears mentioning? Here we go:

The Antec Solo is based on their P150 model, a bit smaller and cheaper than the P180. Airflow is very good, I also have a passively cooled graphics card and it's heatsink is noticeably cooler after just opening the case than if it's sitting there with the case open. A sign of good airflow, wouldn't you say? I only have 2 fans, the stock Antec case fan and the PSU fan. Of these the case fan, which I keep on the lowest setting, is perhaps slightly louder, but the hard disk is still the loudest of the 3 noise-making components, if only by a smidgeon. Cooling appears completely adequate, I even have the machine overclocked to 3.2GHz (VCore 1.35V nominal), with which I get the following temperatures:

CPU junction temps (idle): Low to mid 30 degrees C.
CPU junction temps (sustained full load with TAT): Below 60 degrees C.
Motherboard (Northbridge?) temps: Around 40 degrees C.

The case fan is constant, not temperature controlled and I have not noticed the PSU ever ramping up it's fan in this "modest" system. So it's quiet even under load (gaming). It cannot be heard in an office environment, where I have it at the moment, but only slightly late at night. It makes a "pleasant" low hum, no whining.

The Thermalright heatsink bears mentioning. It is passive (no CPU fan), but comes with a fan duct, which attaches between the case fan and the heat sink. This makes all the difference, the heatsink remaining completely cool to the touch, even under load. Without it, the heat sink does warm up over time.

What else? I can't complain about the The Corsair / Seasonic-built PSU. Perhaps also check out the "ZeroDba" PSU recommended by Tom's Hardware in their recent mid-range marathon-built system article.

Finally I went with the DS4 motherboard instead of DS3. Bought it for the features (Firewire) really, but it's got those extra radiators and heatpipes. Don't know how important that is, but I figured it must be a good thing in a quiet system with potentially lowish airflow.

 

[Lt_Dan]

hmm, i think the DS3 has a firewire connection.
also, which Scythe fan (for CPU) is recommended? i'm looking for some think not too bulky.
so what do you think about the HDD? WD or Sea'?

wanted to add' I'm not planning to OC my comp' so any suggestions doesn't have to take this into account.

edit - i think i'll go for the Scythe but i'm debateing which, i don't want something to heavy (well relatively speaking...) and not to big (again...)
i was thinking between the ANDY SAMURAI MASTER or KATANA Cu, what can you tell about the KATANA Cu?

thanks a lot!!!