How to make homeserver more quiet?

[tandlj]

Hello,
I want to make our homeserver quieter by replacing the PSU and CPU fan. I looked up http://www.silentpcreview.com/, then planned to order this from Endpcnoise.com:

- Zalman CNPS5X Peforma CPU Cooler, (US$29.95), and
- Nexus 430w Compact ATX Quiet PSU, (US$59.99).

Alas they want US$226.97 for shipping to Australia!

Does someone have some affordable, local and similar or better suggestions? (The CPU is a socket 775 Intel Celeron E1200.)

Thanks.

 

[amuffin]

Noctua!

 

[buzznut]

Hello,
I want to make our homeserver quieter by replacing the PSU and CPU fan. I looked up http://www.silentpcreview.com/, then planned to order this from Endpcnoise.com:

- Zalman CNPS5X Peforma CPU Cooler, (US$29.95), and
- Nexus 430w Compact ATX Quiet PSU, (US$59.99).

Alas they want US$226.97 for shipping to Australia!

Does someone have some affordable, local and similar or better suggestions? (The CPU is a socket 775 Intel Celeron E1200.)

Thanks.

I think I'd stay away from that PSU frankly. Look for a quality unit with a 120mm fan or larger. Some power supplies have PWM fans that only ramp up when needed at high loads. I'm sorry I can't remember the local suppliers in Australia, but there are some available.

A couple of US links to PSUs:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703035

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

The number one thing I would look at though is your enclosure. More often than not the case is the one component which will detirmine how silent your PC can be. For instance, I have an Antec 900. This case is built for airflow foremost, so it has a lot of mesh and a side panel window and is not built for silence. In spite of this, it runs relatively quiet but that is mostly due to modifications I have made and use of large, slow running fans. Still, it will never be a silent PC because of all the mesh.

The are a numvber of cases that are built for silence. One I can recommend for $50 US is the BitFenix Outlaw. They are a small company so may be difficult to find there. The is also the Antec p180, and now the p280. The NZXT hush is also fairly quiet.

For heatsinks I say go to www.frostytech.com. Actually, I'll just link you to the top 5 quiet HSF page here:
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

Also, if you do end up getting a power supply if your case has a bottom mount you could install it with the fan facing downward which would also help with noise.

 

[buzznut]

Here's some Austalian links:

http://www.mwave.com.au/

http://www.techbuy.com.au/categories/POWERSUPPLIES.asp


Hey found some BitFenix cases here:

http://www.techbuy.com.au/searchcatbrand/CASINGS~BitFenix.asp

Check them out definitely.

 

[tandlj]

Best answer selected by tandlj.