Building a quiet PC.

[deepdown]

I have read other aricles here, about building..
But not so much about making them quiet..

Please advice:
Chieftec with noisereduction
QuietFeet™ Heavy Duty (4 pack)
Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz or higher..
CPU FAN http://www.pcabusers.com/reviews/z6000/p1.html
ATX Ultra-Quiet PSU 350W (QT-02350G) Gold Series
Motherboard: Abit IC7-MAX3
2x 512MB Kingston DDR-DIMM
Plextor DVD IDE PX-708A or Pioneer 107D
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7
Sapphire Radeon 9800SE, 128MB

Need help on other stuff to buy - that are quiet too!
Any suggestions ?

[rallynavvie]

The current machine I'm building is aiming to be pretty quiet. My current rig isn't distracting, but it's still a bit loud. I got an Antec P160 case since it used big 120mm fans for intake and exhaust. It also uses silicone rubber mounts for the exhaust fan so you don't get vibration from it through the case. It also has plastic rails for optical drives which help reduce vibration noise. It has rubber grommets on the drive trays for mounting hard drives which is one of the best way to eliminate your case humming from hard drive activity. The Antec TruePower PSUs are very quiet. My 550w PSUs use ball-bearing fans, a 92mm intake and 80mm exhaust. You can take this further and get one of those silicone gaskets for the PSU to reduce vibration as well. Antec makes these kits for PSUs and most sizes of fans. I wouldn't suggest that CPU cooler though. Just get a Swiftech and put a low-speed or variable-speed ball-bearing 80mm fan on top of it. There are troubles with the Zalmans, notably how that fan mounts for it (which is just as noisy as any other fan) and the weight of the heatsink itself damaging the mounts on the board.

In the end the best bet for a truly quiet machine would be liquid cooling, but I don't know much about it nor do I have any interest in using it.

[deepdown]

Good reading. You seem to have good controll!

Taking notes:
silicone rubber mounts on fan's
rubber grommets on the drive trays for mounting hard drives
CPU, 80MM with ball bearing. (low speed or variable)

So zalman isn't any good choice ? (ok then..)

My store (local webshop) dosen't offer Swiftech or the Antec case ;(
But I see that my shop only offers P4 2.8 and higher - BOXED version.
That means I can't put another fan on it, or ?
Do these BOXED version make alot more noise ?

[rallynavvie]

You can remove the HSF from the retail version CPUs easily, in fact they're usually seperate in the box. You just end up paying a few dollars more for the retail box so it isn't a big deal. The stock coolers are usually pretty noisy, even the Xeon windtunnels are noisy though people swear they aren't. I'd look around for the Swiftechs. I get mine at www.sidewindercomputers.com . They'll run about $45 USD for a socket 478 cooler, and another $10-15 for a fan depending on which you get. Does your motherboard have variable fan headers? Mine actually controls the fan speed according to how hot the CPU is.

[deepdown]

I'm not sure which to buy..

AcoustiCase C6607B Black Super Midi Tower
http://www.quietpc.com/uk/cases.php#acc6607

or
Antec Miditower 380W ATX Sonata Black
- SONATA PIANO BLACK QUIET MIDI TOWER
http://www.antec-inc.com/ec/pro_details_enclosure.php?ProdID=15138
http://www.antec-inc.com/pdf/article/Antec_Sonata_Far_Quieter.html

or
Antec Miditower 350W ATX SLK3700BQE
http://www.antec-inc.com/ec/pro_details_enclosure.php?ProdID=00362

..
I have read that the SONATA is great. If you use a 120mm fan on the bak, run it at low rpm.. you can hardly hear the PC, when going to bed

[muskgrave]

I know this might now be as creative as you would like but I was pretty impressed with the Dell GX150's and 250's..of course they have the insulated case but they also use blower fans on the cpu instead of regular ball bearing fans and it makes for a REALLY quiet pc.

dlv

[indolikaa]

Where you can't do without a fan, look at using magnetic levitation fans. They're pretty quiet.

[flaninacupboard]

*busy rigging one up*

hang on, powerful electromagnets inside my pc.... that's not a good idea!

[indolikaa]

*busy rigging one up*

hang on, powerful electromagnets inside my pc.... that's not a good idea!

Smart-ass!

http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?T1=148+0375

[AND1]

Instead of paying so much money for one of those "quiet cases" why dont you just buy a case and put foam or padding in yourself and save so much money.

[rallynavvie]

Do they have 80mm mag-lev fans that are 3-wire for system headers? That might be a nice change from my screamin' meanies on my swiftechs.

[flaninacupboard]

i thought the third wire just provided RPM info, and as there's no physical contact i don't think that info would be available....

[randytsuch]

I use a Zalmon 7000cu fan, and it's very quiet, and does a great job of cooling my P4. My P4 temp is usually cooler than my MB temp, and I am overclocking it to over 3Gig. I did use artic ceramique, and not the paste that came with the Zalmon.

The Cu is heavy, not a problem if you are not going to move your PC. If you are worried, you could go with the Al-cu version, which is also cheaper.

Randy

[deepdown]

randytsuch;
But is it to heavy ? I mean,.. I read that zalman should be good.
I usually move my PC to vacume and so on. But hardly "move" the PC to other people etc.. But if the zalman is that heavy - it could make the PC unstable, right ?

AND1
But these foam stuf just keeps the heat inside the case. Using foam and big fans - that would be a good idea!

[Piccoro]

If I had to build a setup I probably would go with that Antec Sonata Piano Black case.
I know it has rubber pads that the harddrives mount on.
Comes with a 120mm in the back and you can mount a 120mm fan on the back of the harddrive rack if you need more airflow.

And I perfer the Thermalright SLK series with screw mounts for a heatsink.
SLK800 is what I have with a 2000RPM fan on it and I get 32C idle/40C load temps.
My case temp is usually 28C.

[deepdown]

Would be nice with some links!
Cause - sometimes its difficult to find the right stuff.. when searching through the local shop.

[indolikaa]

Do they have 80mm mag-lev fans that are 3-wire for system headers? That might be a nice change from my screamin' meanies on my swiftechs.

I haven't found one yet. The biggest I've purchased is 60mm, but they were 2-wire only.

[randytsuch]

randytsuch;
But is it to heavy ? I mean,.. I read that zalman should be good.
I usually move my PC to vacume and so on. But hardly "move" the PC to other people etc.. But if the zalman is that heavy - it could make the PC unstable, right ?

AND1
But these foam stuf just keeps the heat inside the case. Using foam and big fans - that would be a good idea!

It is heavy, but I think it would be OK for minor moves like vacuuming. Some people drag their machines to LAN parties, don't think I would do that with the CU. I move my PC occasionally to do something, and has not been a problem. Of course, it's only a couple of months old . I would get the alcu if you are worried about the weight. I was going to get the alcu, but the place I bought it from gave me the cu for the price of the alcu, because they took so long to ship my stuff.

Randy

[elmotheteapot]

Apart from the new Zalman 600 quid case, heres a pretty good setup

Antec Sonata PC Case (don t bother with acoustic pack, waste of time) Replace front 120mm with silenx fan
Tagan 480W PSU
THermalright cooler w/ 92mm SIlenX Fan
If mobo requires replace with Zalman Fanless Northbridge cooler
BUy Samsung HDD's and place in Acoustic Silent Drive enclosures
Graphics cads, wither use Artic Coolers CGA silence ron low settin or a Zalman PAssive GFX HEatsink.

Should be very quiet.

Edit: For optical drives use the asus whisper quiet ones.

[deepdown]

Although my webshop doesn't have all the parts, I have to buy from different suppliers, but that is ok.

Here are different kinds of 120mm fans:
ADDA AD1212DX-A73GL 120x120x25 38.9CFM 16dBA 3pin
Papst 4412F/2GL 120x120x25 26dBA 3pin
Papst 4412F/2M 120x120x25 2400rpm 38dBA 3-pin
Papst 4412FGL 120x120x25 55.3cfm 1600rpm +/- 10% 26dBA 3pin

Should I buy any filter, to insert in front/back of the fans ?

Help me choose!