Building a (Near) Silent PC on a budget
Discussion
Gents,
Situation is thus. I have been using notebook computers for the past five years as I cannot stand the drone that is made by most desktop computers. However, even my current laptop gets a bit noisy when asked to do anything more than Word Processing or Internet surfing.
Am in the process of moving in with the girlfriend and she has a Dell P4 3.0GHz... Plenty fast enough for what we use it for, BUT... it's one of the noisiest computers I've ever heard!
My original intention was to try to make it 'Silent', using a few quality components - better case, new PSU, better fans etc... but I've found that Dell are a royal PITA by using a weird PSU/Mobo connector. It seems I need to replace the Mobo if I want to go change the PSU... Nevermind.
I am looking for reccomendations for the following components:-
1. PC Case - Something simple & stylish, preferably aluminium. I like the look of the Lian-Li basic cases.
2. PSU - Quite keen on the 400-450W Fanless PSU's such as the QTechnology QT-07400F, £90 is a bit steep but the "Near-Silent" ones from £35-60 seem to run about 20dBA anyway...
3. CPU/Graphics fans - No idea, so many to choose from and all seem to advertise themselves as "Super Silent"
4. Watercooling using the Zalman Reserator V1/2... Not sure if this is worth it, and it adds bulk to the system... but it looks cool!
Any reccomendations for the above? Especially points 1-3. Loads of info available on the Web, but I'd rather get owners opinions than sales talk!
Situation is thus. I have been using notebook computers for the past five years as I cannot stand the drone that is made by most desktop computers. However, even my current laptop gets a bit noisy when asked to do anything more than Word Processing or Internet surfing.
Am in the process of moving in with the girlfriend and she has a Dell P4 3.0GHz... Plenty fast enough for what we use it for, BUT... it's one of the noisiest computers I've ever heard!
My original intention was to try to make it 'Silent', using a few quality components - better case, new PSU, better fans etc... but I've found that Dell are a royal PITA by using a weird PSU/Mobo connector. It seems I need to replace the Mobo if I want to go change the PSU... Nevermind.
I am looking for reccomendations for the following components:-
1. PC Case - Something simple & stylish, preferably aluminium. I like the look of the Lian-Li basic cases.
2. PSU - Quite keen on the 400-450W Fanless PSU's such as the QTechnology QT-07400F, £90 is a bit steep but the "Near-Silent" ones from £35-60 seem to run about 20dBA anyway...
3. CPU/Graphics fans - No idea, so many to choose from and all seem to advertise themselves as "Super Silent"
4. Watercooling using the Zalman Reserator V1/2... Not sure if this is worth it, and it adds bulk to the system... but it looks cool!
Any reccomendations for the above? Especially points 1-3. Loads of info available on the Web, but I'd rather get owners opinions than sales talk!
This is how I did it (general rules):
1. Get a case built with silence, or quietness, in mind. This means it takes 120mm fans (the more the merrier) and has rubber or silicone seals and mounts, rather than a sealed case (can't seal it - you need airflow). I use an Antec P180. Superb for this.
2. PSU is critical. A large source of sound for a regular PC. Avoid fanless. Fanless PSUs rely on the airflow from other components or fans in the case to help keep it cool, which negates the whole need in going "silent" in the first place. Even the largest heatsinks overheat when there is no airflow to remove the heat away from them. A PSU with a massive 120mm fan that is reputed to be silent will do the job well enough. I had an Antec TruePower II, till it started causing problems due to leaking capacitors (a known issue). So avoid Antec. Now I am using an Enermax Liberty. Both are exceedingly quiet - you can only tell they are on in an absolutely silent room or with your ear next to the PSU.
3. Get expensive, "silent", case fans. 120mm only. Run them off a variable fan controller to keep them undervolted for general usage, and pump them up when you are doing anything graphics or processor intensive.
4. A silent motherboard helps, as northbridge fans can be very loud. My board, an Antec M2N32, is fanless.
5. Get a huge heatsink for your CPU and attach one of those 120mm fans to it. I use to have a Scythe Ninja, which was excellent.
6. The very latest graphics (e.g. nVidia 8800 series) cards don't have aftermarket fan options. The cards come with very quiet fans on them, when compared with stock fans that came on graphics cards a couple of years ago, but of you follow all my tips above they will very easily be the loudest component in your system. An older card, like a 7800GTX, will take a Zalman cooler, which has a fan you can connect to a controller and make absolutely silent.
All of this costs money, but not a huge amount. Don't worry with the really hardcore stuff like silent hard drive enclosures and things like that.
Do all this, and the only thing that will tell you that your PC is on is the light on the front (assuming you keep the main unit on the floor, rather than on your desk).
My PC is quieter than my brand new Dell notebook, which whirs up once in a while to cool down.
One caveat though: expect the failure rate of your components to increase. Additional heat exponentially kills things. Most fragile are hard drives, so make sure you get a case that places an intake fan right in front of your HDDs.
Backup often.
Good luck - since I went "silent", I will never, ever look back.
1. Get a case built with silence, or quietness, in mind. This means it takes 120mm fans (the more the merrier) and has rubber or silicone seals and mounts, rather than a sealed case (can't seal it - you need airflow). I use an Antec P180. Superb for this.
2. PSU is critical. A large source of sound for a regular PC. Avoid fanless. Fanless PSUs rely on the airflow from other components or fans in the case to help keep it cool, which negates the whole need in going "silent" in the first place. Even the largest heatsinks overheat when there is no airflow to remove the heat away from them. A PSU with a massive 120mm fan that is reputed to be silent will do the job well enough. I had an Antec TruePower II, till it started causing problems due to leaking capacitors (a known issue). So avoid Antec. Now I am using an Enermax Liberty. Both are exceedingly quiet - you can only tell they are on in an absolutely silent room or with your ear next to the PSU.
3. Get expensive, "silent", case fans. 120mm only. Run them off a variable fan controller to keep them undervolted for general usage, and pump them up when you are doing anything graphics or processor intensive.
4. A silent motherboard helps, as northbridge fans can be very loud. My board, an Antec M2N32, is fanless.
5. Get a huge heatsink for your CPU and attach one of those 120mm fans to it. I use to have a Scythe Ninja, which was excellent.
6. The very latest graphics (e.g. nVidia 8800 series) cards don't have aftermarket fan options. The cards come with very quiet fans on them, when compared with stock fans that came on graphics cards a couple of years ago, but of you follow all my tips above they will very easily be the loudest component in your system. An older card, like a 7800GTX, will take a Zalman cooler, which has a fan you can connect to a controller and make absolutely silent.
All of this costs money, but not a huge amount. Don't worry with the really hardcore stuff like silent hard drive enclosures and things like that.
Do all this, and the only thing that will tell you that your PC is on is the light on the front (assuming you keep the main unit on the floor, rather than on your desk).
My PC is quieter than my brand new Dell notebook, which whirs up once in a while to cool down.
One caveat though: expect the failure rate of your components to increase. Additional heat exponentially kills things. Most fragile are hard drives, so make sure you get a case that places an intake fan right in front of your HDDs.
Backup often.
Good luck - since I went "silent", I will never, ever look back.
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff