My PC was so loud that it finally drove me to some upgrades to cut down on noise. The difference is night and day. Before, my system sounded like a vacuum--now it is quieter than my brothers AMD64 3200+. Here is what I did:
HSF: I originally had an Aeroflow HSF which was very loud. When I put this in I literally felt like I installed a vacuum.
I replaced this with a XP-90 for $30 (with a 92mm fan) from jab-tech. I replaced the stock Vantec fan with a Panaflow 92mm L1BX for $7. Installastion was a BREEZE (especially compared to how hard the Aeroflow was to install).
Result: MUCH quiter, plus it reduced my load temp 20*C!
Videocard Fan I have an eVGA 6800GT. The fan has gotten progressively louder, so I replaced it with a Zalman 700cu for $30 at case-mod.com. Installation was a PAIN (grrrrr... I had to use 5 different screwdrivers to get the right torque to undo different screws, spent 15min cleaning off sticky glue, the 2pin fan plug would not release do the enture unit had to be removed, and my bad I did not get the molex connecter in well when putting back in) BUT the results are great. I selected the 5W "silent/no vibration" mode over the 12W mode. I chose the Zalman over the VGA Cooler series because of complaints of the fan starting to whine over time.
Result: It reduced my load temps by about 10*C AND is near silent.
PSU I had a 2yo generic PSU (my bad I know) and the fans were getting louder and louder. I replaced this with an Enermax NOISETASKER 470W from case-mod.com for about $85. No real use comparing... great PSU so far. Highly regarded at silentpcreview.com.
Result: Near quiet. More cables. Better airflow with 2 fans. Runs after shutdown to remove hot air from case. Did I mention near quiet?
Rounded Cables I have 1x DVD/CDRW, 1x DVD+-RW, 1x WD 74GB SATA Raptor, 1x Maxtor 80GB 8MB cache, and 1x FDD in my system. I was able to replace all those ribbon cables with rounded cables for ~$20.
Result: Better airflow and looks a lot nicer.
CONCLUSION: My system is near quiet. I cannot hear it over my brothers computer across the room. The only noise is the very very VERY light "hum" of air slowly being pushed out of the case.
I thought making a high end PC near quiet would be hard--I was wrong. With the right parts and a little planning a normal *generic* case can cool down performance parts. I also thought I would have to sacrifice temp for noise reduction--I was also wrong there. Not only is my system quieter, it also runs a lot cooler (20*C CPU, 10*C GPU).
So, if you are bothered by the noise of your performance PC and spend a lot of time on your PC do not think you must get watercooling, phase change, or some extravagent upgrade to cool your system and make it quiet. You CAN air cool your system and keep it fairly quiet AND cooler than stock cooling for a small investment.
And the nice thing is that the HS+F and PSU will go in to my next system 8)
System Specs (for those wondering what I was working with):
• Generic Case
• Intel P4 2.533GHz OCed to 2.85GHz
• Asus P4PE MB (FSB set to 150MHz)
• 1GB (2x512MB) DDR400 Corsair Value Ram
• Vantex Aeroflow HSF => Thermalright XP-90 + Panaflow 92mm L1BX
• 6800GT eVGA => added Zalman 700cu
• Stock 350W PSU => 480W Enermax Noisetasker
• HDD: 1x 74GB WD Raptor SATA; 1x 80GB Maxtor 8MB cache
• Optical: 1x DVD+-RW; 1x DVD/CDRW
• SB A2 ZS
• FDD
The system is 2 years old less the video card which was added Augest (replaced a Radeon 9700). For being 2 years old it really is holding its own in the market--CPUs really have not advanced much and still do not look to advance much in the next 12months. When Longhorn and Multicore CPUs start taking hold in 2006 I will be ready for a new upgrade but I see this system doing well through the fall and into 2006--and with the sound reduction I am VERY happy with the performance/noise ratio
HSF: I originally had an Aeroflow HSF which was very loud. When I put this in I literally felt like I installed a vacuum.
I replaced this with a XP-90 for $30 (with a 92mm fan) from jab-tech. I replaced the stock Vantec fan with a Panaflow 92mm L1BX for $7. Installastion was a BREEZE (especially compared to how hard the Aeroflow was to install).
Result: MUCH quiter, plus it reduced my load temp 20*C!
Videocard Fan I have an eVGA 6800GT. The fan has gotten progressively louder, so I replaced it with a Zalman 700cu for $30 at case-mod.com. Installation was a PAIN (grrrrr... I had to use 5 different screwdrivers to get the right torque to undo different screws, spent 15min cleaning off sticky glue, the 2pin fan plug would not release do the enture unit had to be removed, and my bad I did not get the molex connecter in well when putting back in) BUT the results are great. I selected the 5W "silent/no vibration" mode over the 12W mode. I chose the Zalman over the VGA Cooler series because of complaints of the fan starting to whine over time.
Result: It reduced my load temps by about 10*C AND is near silent.
PSU I had a 2yo generic PSU (my bad I know) and the fans were getting louder and louder. I replaced this with an Enermax NOISETASKER 470W from case-mod.com for about $85. No real use comparing... great PSU so far. Highly regarded at silentpcreview.com.
Result: Near quiet. More cables. Better airflow with 2 fans. Runs after shutdown to remove hot air from case. Did I mention near quiet?
Rounded Cables I have 1x DVD/CDRW, 1x DVD+-RW, 1x WD 74GB SATA Raptor, 1x Maxtor 80GB 8MB cache, and 1x FDD in my system. I was able to replace all those ribbon cables with rounded cables for ~$20.
Result: Better airflow and looks a lot nicer.
CONCLUSION: My system is near quiet. I cannot hear it over my brothers computer across the room. The only noise is the very very VERY light "hum" of air slowly being pushed out of the case.
I thought making a high end PC near quiet would be hard--I was wrong. With the right parts and a little planning a normal *generic* case can cool down performance parts. I also thought I would have to sacrifice temp for noise reduction--I was also wrong there. Not only is my system quieter, it also runs a lot cooler (20*C CPU, 10*C GPU).
So, if you are bothered by the noise of your performance PC and spend a lot of time on your PC do not think you must get watercooling, phase change, or some extravagent upgrade to cool your system and make it quiet. You CAN air cool your system and keep it fairly quiet AND cooler than stock cooling for a small investment.
And the nice thing is that the HS+F and PSU will go in to my next system 8)
System Specs (for those wondering what I was working with):
• Generic Case
• Intel P4 2.533GHz OCed to 2.85GHz
• Asus P4PE MB (FSB set to 150MHz)
• 1GB (2x512MB) DDR400 Corsair Value Ram
• Vantex Aeroflow HSF => Thermalright XP-90 + Panaflow 92mm L1BX
• 6800GT eVGA => added Zalman 700cu
• Stock 350W PSU => 480W Enermax Noisetasker
• HDD: 1x 74GB WD Raptor SATA; 1x 80GB Maxtor 8MB cache
• Optical: 1x DVD+-RW; 1x DVD/CDRW
• SB A2 ZS
• FDD
The system is 2 years old less the video card which was added Augest (replaced a Radeon 9700). For being 2 years old it really is holding its own in the market--CPUs really have not advanced much and still do not look to advance much in the next 12months. When Longhorn and Multicore CPUs start taking hold in 2006 I will be ready for a new upgrade but I see this system doing well through the fall and into 2006--and with the sound reduction I am VERY happy with the performance/noise ratio
