How quiet is everyone's system???

[surefire]

Trust me, the non contacting Zalman cannot compete with a decent contacting fan/heatsink such as a Thermalright SLK-800 or an Alpha PAL8045.

Maybe it depends on the system under test but this is one of many reviews that sings the Zalmans praises:

http://www.trainwrecker.com/Reviews/Zalman/ZALMANCNPS_2.htm

[Craig Tucker]

I am not saying they are bad, in fact they do a very good job for a silent cooling system (well as long as the bastard does not break the lug off you m/b cpu socket). I am just saying there are much better contacting cooling fan/heatsink arrangements available providing you don't mind a bit of noise.

Overclockers.co.uk had a comparison of about 15 cooling systems on their site about a year ago, unfortunately it is not there anymore so you will just have to take my word for it. The Zalman flower performed admirably but was way down the list compared to other coolers on the market. For example I dont think anyone would recommend using a Zalman flower if you were into serious overclocking.

[rallynavvie]

My OEM Dell is pretty noisy, though I think the alcove it sits in enhances the noise it makes. Or it means I need to dust it out again. The Dual G4 isn't so bad since it sits behind the desk I use it on so it's a bit displaced to cause much noise, otherwise it's pretty quiet.

The dual machine I built, however, is something completely different. When I first got it the OEM heatsink fans made an almost whistling noise that could be heard throughout the house. Also all the case fans on the Lian Li were brushless rather than ball-bearing fans. So I set out to make the computer quiter, or at least less piercing. I ended up using Thermalright SK-7s since the SLK series won't fit with each other with the two CPUs and the VGA board so close and mounted a couple Sunon 80mm ball-bearing fans to the them. I replaced all the case and PSU fans with Vantec ball-bearing units, put a Coolermaster VGA cooler on my video card, and added a Microcool chipset cooler. For good measure I have a Digital Doc5 monitoring all the fans and temps in the system, as well as acting as a HDD cooler. After all this the shrill noise is gone so I don't hear it in the other room, but overall the noise increased. It's far better than it was before, and a lot quieter than friends' computers with even less fans. The 15k RPM SCSI drives actually added very little noise to the system, only making their cool noise on startup. For some reason my DVD-ROM rattles a little when it's ripping at 12x but I think it's because my aluminum side panel is slapping against the chassis. I'll have to put some rubber dampers on it.

For all that I usually wear a fantastic set of Sennheiser headphones when at that PC just to get the best sound from it for regular use. Otherwise it's strapped into a 600W stereo receiver with a digital optical cable for a JBL 6.1 theater system for when I want to be LOUD

[energy80s]

Energy,
Is the fan in the PSU the only fan exhausting air from your system?

Yes it is the only one there, although I dob't know how hot air is getting into the PSU from the PC case as I don't see any vents in it! It's just a little sealed tin box screwed to the top of the case (it's a tower case btw).

[flaninacupboard]

as I don't see any vents in it!

Hmmm, then how on earth does it have any airflow....? that means the air is being pushed out by the fan, and the lower pressure pushes air back in through the fan. not a good setup at all!! the first thing i'd do would be drill some holes in the side opposite the fan.

[gmatov]

Energy, and, Flanina,

I've never seen a PSU without entry for the air. If it's a standard size, there are vents to draw air in, as the fan is on the outlet side of the PSU, pointed out the back of the case. Pulling the hot air out of the case over the PSU components, more or less.

If it's a MicroATX, the fan is on the 'puter side of the fan, the box is a sealed tin case to allow the fan to push the ambient air over the PSU components, and out the vent in the back.

In that case you would disrupt the airflow by drilling holes, as part of the air would be "pushed" out the back, part would be pushed back into the case.

All the CASES I've ever seen have open vents in the front bottom for fresh air intake, and most have either some sort of bracket, or are drilled to allow you to install an 80mm fan, as well as, on larger cases anyway, another perforated area on the back to install yet another fan, one pulling air in, the other pushing it out.

One problem is when you get up to 6 or 8 IDE devices, the damn flat ribbon cables disrupt the airflow. Rounded cables are too dear at the moment, but might check the price at the next show, might go to some of them, or roll up some of my own, to see if they help.

[flaninacupboard]

this is too expensive for you??

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3...duct_uid=60622

Yes, i'd forgotten about the micro setup, but it doesn't sound like that's what he has. energy, any chance of a piccie or model number of the PSU?

[pixel]

My PC is custom built. 4 fans. 2 of these are in the PSU and have a slight hum, but are very annoying. I would not think about disabling these fans as this was done to another PSU and my PC got very warm indeed, but now the case stays as cool as if it is switched off.

I do have a built-in fan over an integrated chip on my mobo which used to give the worst grinding noises you've ever heard (brand new mobo and everything, good one as well) but luckily this was solved with a drip of oil on the spindle of the fan.

[Craig Tucker]

CCL computers sell round cables for around a fiver, however you can always convert your own with a sharp knife to split the ribbon cable and some heat shrink or small cable ties.

[gmatov]

Yeah, I know, some things I consider too costly, like a 5 buck cable, but another drive can be a spur of the moment thing, cost be damned.

Pixel,
Good for you with the drop of oil. I've never gotten that to work, even with a needle oiler. If it began making noise, not from the start, but after months, the ball bearings are going, and you will have to replace it eventually ( just re-read, brand new MOBO, etc. ) Any how, new fan would be good to have in stock, JIC. Be a bitch if it quits after shop hours.

Craig,

Back in the days of 40 wire cables, that was popular, and even then you could nick or clip a wire with a little slip. I don't think I care to try with these damn fine 80's. The old eyes aren't what they used to be.
Just gonna have to spring for round ones. There's a show in a week or two, see what they go for there.

I have too few bays in my main machine, will lay temp drives on the floor of the case, like 6 inches away from the ATA card. Thecables are 12 inches on the board end. If their not flexibe enough, I may have a problem.

[pixel]

@ gmatov. The fan was making a noise straight from the start, I took it off to check it and after that I had managed to make the noise even worse.

As for fixing it with the oil. I just used plain 3-in-1 oil (don't know if that is available in the UK only), turned the fan upside down, span it round with my fingers for a few minutes, replaced it and all worked well.

[rallynavvie]

www.sidewindercomputers.com

This is where I buy most of my cooling supplies from. They have a chart showing how loud each fan is and what its flowrate is. Useful even if you don't buy from them. They also have sound clip of each fan if you really want to know what they'll sound like.