Silence is Golden -- but is it Hot?

The forum for non-component-related silent pc discussions.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
dvisic
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm

Post by dvisic » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

Hello, all. Welcome to my first post. <IMG SRC="modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif">
<br>
<br>I've been mucking about on the interior of my sleek new Athlon XP 1800+, Via KT266a based hyper-abacus here, and making some phenomenal progress with the silence issue. As with you all (I'm sure), I got it to a quite quiet state, whisper level (to my ears; no SPL meter available), with temps running at 25c case/28c CPU idle (38c full bore)--and it wasn't enough. I've got acoustic liners and adjustable fans, SilentDrive hard drive enclosure, and the VIA HALT tweak. I've tin-snipped out all the cutout fan guards, replacing them with circular fan grills. Still...that whisper. Well, after disconnecting half of the fans and turning the rest down to their bare minimum, I have this thing a hair's breadth away from silence. Right now, I can only hear the barest of sounds when the house AC is cycled off. Really, my monitor is putting off a louder hum than my system.
<br>
<br>BUT...the temps are up to 35c case/35c CPU idle (53c full bore). How bad is this? Should I set about compromising a little? And if it's too much, what is the ideal temp I should shoot for?
<br>
<br>Thanks for your help!
<br>
<br>--> dvis.
<br>

dvisic
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm

Post by dvisic » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

Dump the SilentDrive? How sad. It works so well! But I understand the heat issue...I debated this purchase awhile before making it. I guess I let myself be convinced by the claims that it *probably* would work fine with 7200 rpm drives. <IMG SRC="modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif">
<br>
<br>I checked out the mods in question. Have there been any direct comparisons (even subjective) of these mods to the effectiveness of the SilentDrive?
<br>
<br>Also, I'm considering upgrading my hard drive--and preliminary research shows the Seagate Barracuda IV 40 or 80 gig drives to be all the rage. What's the true story on this? Are they as quiet as everyone seems to claim?
<br>
<br>thx...
<br>
<br>--> dvis.
[addsig]

dvisic
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm

Post by dvisic » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

Thanks! I'll definitely go check that deal out. Right now, I'm running a 20gb Maxtor, and am not even close to filling it up. Of course, I've only recently gotten a computer that is worth anything speed wise (after having the same old pentium I for 6 years), and I've been ripping cd tracks...so I'm sure it will start to fill up fast. <IMG SRC="modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif">
[addsig]

Post Reply