my work in progress...

steeef · Post by **steeef** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 4:55 pm

After lurking here a few weeks, I was inspired to build my own quiet (or at least quieter) PC. My current PC is fine, but I'm kind of tired of the case. I decided to buy a new case with a few parts to go along with it. Here's what I've got so far:

case: Antec SLK-3000B
power supply: SeaSonic Super Silencer 460W
intake fan: Nexus D12SL-12
northbridge heatsink: Zalman ZM-NB47J (motherboard came with a lame fan on it)
fan controller: Sumbeam Rheobus

Currently I've got an ABIT NF7-S nForce2 motherboard with an Athlon 2400+. The CPU has a ThermalTake SilentBoost on it. I plan to replace these eventually, but for now they're fine. I've got rounded IDE cables, and I think I'll stick with them for now. I know, I should attempt some cablegami, but I'm lazy.

I've just started putting stuff together. I decided I wanted to get rid of both fan grills, so I picked up a decent Dremel and got started (watching the sparks fly makes me feel powerful, hehe). Here's what I've got so far:

(Luckily my Antec came with holes to install the fan without a mount.)

Antec 3-speed

My old PC's interior (pretty gross).

Here it is all hooked up. You can't really see it, but I spaced the cables out so that there's a nice gap between the hard drives.

And here's the front. The Rheobus' LEDs are so bright I had to adjust the camera to compensate. I'm running the Nexus and the PSU at full because I can't even hear them without limiting their voltage. The Antec is on its lowest setting. I know, I need black components, but I don't have the money yet, and these drives are too nice to waste.

The hard drives were emitting a humming/throbbing noise that was quite audible over the HSF, so I used the cage from my old case and set it on some foam. Not as airflow-friendly, but it'll do until I can suspend them without a cage.

I already noticed an improvement in temperature. The CPU used to run between 40 and 50C in the old case. With the new case, it started out at 32, and I can't seem to get it past 35. Sweet. Case is currently at 21C.

The worst noise offenders are the SilentBoost and the HDs. I can handle the HD noise, but I'll probably replace the HSF with a quieter one.

I'm considering a few more parts, like a Zalman heatpipe for my video card, fan isolators (already cut the corners on the Nexus), another Nexus fan, a Zalman 7000B-AlCu HSF, and a grill for the back.

Any suggestions? I noticed quite a few setups have the intake fan on the front of the case instead of inside. Is this just for more room? Any tips on routing cables so that they're out of the way?

Here's a link to my gallery for more pictures. I'll update when I add more stuff later.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 1:01 am

Welcome to SPCR

len509 · Post by **len509** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 3:03 am

Great job steeef. Check out fredars rig to see how he routed his cables on his 3000-B. If the pics don't show, try copy and pasting the img url and refreshing the page. You might also wanna put some uchannel / c-strip on your fan holes.

steeef · Post by **steeef** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 12:34 pm

Thanks for the advice. After spending a night in the same room with this PC, I noticed that in addition to the HSF fan being the loudest noise emanating from the case, there's a throbbing coming from the hard drives. At first I thought it might be a fan, but I noticed when I removed the HD cage, the throbbing was limited to the cage alone. Guess I should seriously consider suspending the drives.

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 3:45 pm

i recommend upgrading from the silentboost to an SI-97 with a 120mm Nexus on it at 7v ( = inaudible), because that's what i did. Temps improved as well.

steeef · Post by **steeef** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 3:54 pm

I'll keep that in mind, but the Zalman is cheaper and more compatible. I'm probably going to upgrade my motherboard/cpu/ram within a year, and I'd rather not spend $45 on something temporary.