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Anonymous   04-08-2001 at 10:34:35 PM

I am gonna use a Athlon 1.33GHz and don't wanna overclock. My only requirement is quietness. Could you recommend a quietest CPU cooler and fan?
Appreciate your help!

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Anonymous   04-09-2001 at 01:38:38 AM
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check <A HREF="http://www4.tomshardware.com/cpu/00q4/001211/cpu_cooler-07.html" target="_new">http://www4.tomshardware.com/cpu/00q4/001211/cpu_cooler-07.html</A>. but really even 52dB is pretty quiet, keep in mind that the bell scale is logarithmic in nature. This means that a fan at 52dB is 10 times as loud as one at 42dB.

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hmg57   04-09-2001 at 01:42:19 AM
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Nah, 10 dB increase means two times more noise, not ten.

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair...

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Anonymous   04-09-2001 at 03:41:52 AM
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I read the article and still was not satisfied with the noise level. Is there a Athlon cooler whose noise is less than 30db?

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Anonymous   04-09-2001 at 03:48:02 AM
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Less than 30dB? I don't think so. That's very quiet. Besides, the case will muffle some of the noise. Noise measurements are generally done in open air with the microphone or whatever they use a certain distance from the fan. Even the Apple iMacs which don't have heatsinks or fans aren't completely silent. It's an unrealistic hope.

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Anonymous   04-09-2001 at 03:55:25 AM
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So how much db is normal and acceptable, 35db or 40db?

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ejsmith2   04-09-2001 at 04:04:27 AM
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Let me put it like this. Any stock Dell system runs right around 32dB. Go into the local computer lab, and look for a dell system. Most likey it will have two 80mm fans, which are running around 1200 rpm and pull 22cfm each. One fan is the power supply fan, and the other is mounted near the cpu. Needless to say, it's not well ventilated.

You can pick up any 120mm fan, and run it at 7V. The halfway decent quality ones will run at 5V, but sometimes you'll have to let it spin up at 7V, and then turn it down. There's no reason you can't build a system which moves 100+cfm through your case, in the 32-33dB range.

For me, 40dB is acceptable, but I prefer 37 or less. 45 is getting rather loud; You'll be able to hear the fan 6-10 meters away at 45dB. At 32 dB, you won't be able to hear the fan at 6m.

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Anonymous   04-09-2001 at 04:54:09 AM
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Pulling out the old physics book, I found a nice chart of decibel levels.

80 - City traffic
60 - Normal conversation, at 1m distance
40 - Mosquito
20 - Whisper, at 1m distance
10 - Normal breathing
0 - Threshold of hearing

Now the thing with fans is that they are a constant sound. For some people this means they fade into the background easily. For others, that constant drone is very annoying. So what level is acceptable is very much a personal choice. Personally I have no trouble sleeping in the same room as my computer with 2 decent 80mm case fans, 1 good fan in the power supply, and a coolermaster heatsink/fan combo that is fairly noisy since it's cheap and needs to be upgraded. I'm not sure what the actual dB of my system is, but I would guess around 40-45dB.

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Anonymous   04-09-2001 at 05:20:41 AM
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I searched online and found several fans at www.subzeropc.com and www.sunno.com.tw, listed below:

Y.S. Tech:
28db, 21cfm, 3200 rpm
Sunon:
KD1206PTV1 33.5db, 23.5cfm, 4500rpm
KD1206PTB1 34.5db, 23.5cfm, 4500rpm
KD1206PTB2 31db, 19.3cfm, 3100rpm

So for an Athlon 1.33GHZ, suppose there is already a good HSF installed, which fan above is capable enough?

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ejsmith2   04-09-2001 at 05:43:52 AM
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I hope you've got a few fans in the case too. You'll want at least 40 cfm in the case, <font color=red> minimum</font color=red>.

Reply to ejsmith2
Anonymous   04-09-2001 at 06:10:50 AM
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um no, the dB scale is logarithmic, from 0dB to 10 dB is 10^1 louder, or 10 times louder. and increase from 10 dB to 30 dB is 10^2 times louder, or 100 times louder. from 0 dB to 30 dB is 10^3 times louder, or 1000 times louder.... ur wrong about the "only 2 times louder".

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ejsmith2   04-09-2001 at 08:53:42 AM
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Yeah, the power differential varies with sound and electrical signal. 3dB gain on an antenna is double the power output. I always get them confused....

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Crashman   04-09-2001 at 10:10:25 AM
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45 loud? Mine runs around 60db, with an anoying whistle from the hard drives. What? huh? did someone say something! Everytime the power goes down the first thing I think is that I went deaf! Then I realize the power is out!

Suicide is painless...........

Reply to Crashman
Crashman   04-09-2001 at 10:28:11 AM
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You can use an FOP 32, remove the stock fan, and add a nice quite 80MM fan using an adapter. <A HREF="http://www.overclockers.com.au/techstuff/r_fan_adapters/" target="_new">http://www.overclockers.com.au/techstuff/r_fan_adapters/</A>
Or you can fasten one directly <A HREF="http://www.ocshoot.com/foprocks.htm" target="_new">http://www.ocshoot.com/foprocks.htm</A>
or get a Noise Control Silverado

Suicide is painless...........

Reply to Crashman
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