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My Silent Computer Project


FaNta84

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Well, I started out building my first computer this summer which has been a blast. It seems like I am constantly working on it, however it never gets old and only seems to become more fun. However, I did not think about how loud it would be when everything was said and done. It gets annoying listening to this thing all day so I have decided to attempt to build as quiet a computer as I possibly can. I have decided against watercooling because I don't have the necessary modding material/skills to make it compact yet effective. So, I am going to try this on air cooling.

 

Here is what my computer will include in about a week or two:

 

Athlon 64 2800+

MSI K8T Neo Fis2r

1gb Crucial Ballistix pc3200 (awesome stuff)

Seagate 120gb 7200 rpm SATA hdd

Sony 16X dvd-rom

NU 8x dvd+rw

 

I may decide to get a mobo with the 250gb chipset so that I can lock my agp frequencies and get a better overclock out of this chip. It shouldn't be that much more expensive and I can sell the MSI board nonetheless.

 

 

For my new case I have looked at the coolermaster Praetorian. It looks awesome, has 4 spots for fans including a top mounted fan, a slide out motherboard tray, and from reviews it is suppossed to be extremely sturdy and well built. It can be seen here.

 

In order to make it silent with 4x80mm case fans, I am going to buy 4 of the silenX 80mm thermistor fans. They are only 14.4dba max which is below whisper, and they have great reviews. Details of them here.

 

I think I already have a quiet enough power supply with the Thermaltake Silent Purepower 480W, however if a quieter one can be recommended please let me know.

 

I am having a little trouble with the hsf. I purchased a Thermaltake Venus 12 because it has good reviews and what not, however it is rated at 21 dBA at 2000 rpm, and 48 dBA at 5500 rpm. Could someone recommend a quieter hsf that will fit my mobo but still provide sufficient cooling? I'd like to try to overclock my processor as much as I can and still keep it cool on air. Would it be better to get an xp-120 and slap another silenX fan on there or something equivalently quiet, or would the Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu be another good option?

 

Right now my costs would be:

 

Coolermaster Praetorian: +$98

4 SilenX 80mm Thermistor fans: +$48

Return Venus 12: -$30, or keeping: $0

New HSF: Zalman +$36, xp-120 + $63, or none $0

 

Max total: $210, min total: $150

 

Please give me some feedback on my ideas. If there are other cases, fans, heatsinks, PSUs, etc. that would help me out please let me know. As always thanks for the help, this site is great.

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What I would to do make my case quieter is to get a case that holds 120mm fans, or one that you can mod 120's into, that way you can push more air with less db. I know there are a few lian's with 120's the coolermaster waveamster has 120's I think, and same with the TT tsunami.

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What I would to do make my case quieter is to get a case that holds 120mm fans, or one that you can mod 120's into, that way you can push more air with less db. I know there are a few lian's with 120's the coolermaster waveamster has 120's I think, and same with the TT tsunami.

:withstupid:

 

 

 

exactly..

 

80mm in any flavor...bad

 

 

120mm silent fans...good..... can push more air with Less CFM...

 

cut bigger holes... do not use grills...

 

also...less fans the better

 

 

What PSU... the PSU can be VERY noisy...

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I have that PSU. It is pretty silent, and has 2 thermally controlled 80mm fans. I would suggest this Zalman HSF. It is very efficient and quiet. You can, of course, shop around for prices. Also, if you get the MSI mobo with the K8T800 Pro chipset, you can lock the AGP/PCI clocks also.

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wow thanks for the feedback and suggestions so far. Well, i guess the way to go is 120mm fans, so my best bet would be the TT tsunami? I dont want a side window because I have come to hate them, the lights and everything just become annoying after awhile. I really like the praetorian though, with the slide-out mobo tray and the top blowhole, is it really that much different with 120mm fans? The decibel rating on both of them are the same, and if i have 4 80mm is that just as good as 2 120mm? Also, I think that zalman cooler is the way to go, it seems alot quieter and most people seem to think highly of it. thanks for the help so far.

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I heard zalman makes good silent heatsinks, I'v seen them used in other silent pc projects like this. Also they make a silent card cooler, if you still use the stock gpu gan.

Oh yeah i forgot about the GPU cooler. I've heard their silent GPU coolers are great, but do they fit the 6800 series? If they do I will definitely look into them.

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