Making PC less noise with not a lot of money :P

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 5:00 am

Hey,

I have a
-Coolermaster Stacker 810.
-4 Zalman 120mm casefans (2 intake, 2 outtake) (2 1100rpm, 2 900 rpm).
-An Antec Truepower Quattro 850watt.
-Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme with 1 Zalman 120mm fan (900 rpm)
-Club3d 8800GTS (640mb)

This combined make a lot of noise (or that's my opinion). Can i make it a lot more quieter with not a lot of money?

Any suggestions?

seraphyn · Post by **seraphyn** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:07 am

Undervolt your fans if you haven't already, this should be a massive improvement.

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:08 am

they are already at 900rpm and 1100rpm.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:21 am

Hello & welcome to SPCR,

You need to determine what is making the most noise -- check out the sticky on this. You should not need more than two case fans -- turn off the two 1100RPM ones, and turn the 900 down to 700-800 and see if that helps.

seraphyn · Post by **seraphyn** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:27 am

Destroyertje wrote:they are already at 900rpm and 1100rpm.

Mine have a sweatspot (silence wise) at 600RPM, at 1000 my system is pretty audible.

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:40 am

Thanks, my Power Supply is making the most noise i think.. 35dB and my videocard (stock cooler). Why are 2 fans enough? My case is kinda big... so 4 are better I think or am I having it totally wrong now?

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:11 am

Hello,

If you want to use four fans, then you really have to run them as slow as possible. Do they start at 5v? If you can get them down to 600-700RPM, then you have a chance of getting them quiet -- if they don't have bearing noise. Zalman is not known for quiet fans, however.

What are the fan grills like? If the PSU and the video card are making the most noise, then you'll need to improve them.

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:37 am

Not sure if four fans are necessary but i'm having a bigtower so I thought that was maybe necessary. Replacing a PSU cost a lot of money and I can't slow the Zalman fans down to 600rpm

. 900rpm is minimum otherwise they are doing weird

(really high rpm).

I maybe want to buy a Video card cooler, I was thinking about a Thermalright HR-03 PLUS. It needs a 92mm fan. I want the quietest fan of course so what do you recommend?

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:25 pm

Hello,

What about this one?

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article793-page1.html

You can replace the fan in the PSU -- what size is in there?

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 6:20 am

hmm looks nice but if you want to use a fan with it you need to use cable ties:S and I don't like that

looks awful. And the cooler doesn't fit I think. The Artic Cooling site says this: 8800GTS(G92) and I don't have that card, I have a 8800GTS but an older version (the one with 640mb).

I'm not going to replace the fan in the PSU because of the guarantee.

VanWaGuy · Post by **VanWaGuy** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 8:02 am

Hi Destroyertje,

Not at all be disrespectful to what you are doing, but to point out to others that this is why the best approach is to start out with a silent PC in mind from the start.

In affect, you are now saying that you wish that your system were quieter, but you are also saying that probably the most beneficial changes are off the table. You have good reasons, it just ties your hands pretty well in terms of silence now equipment has been purchased and warranties are going to be honored.

If your power supply is making the most noise, and it can not be changed, they you are probably not going to get quiet.

I built a pretty quiet system. At first, I replaced everything noise generating except I forgot about the graphics card. The whiny little fan on the 6200 video card still made the whole system seem very noisy, and I was pretty disappointed with my PC build till I also bought a passively cooled video card.

If your video card is a close second in terms of noise, a slower moving 92mm fan should be better than the high speed stock one, but long term, if you really want to work towards silent, Neil offers expert advice and the passive one that he suggests should be given full consideration.

How are you controlling the speeds of the 4 Zalman fans? Are they running at stock voltage, or being controlled to get the RPMs you list? Just asking because if they go wierd because of the controlled, maybe they can be controlled in a different manner and be made a little quieter. Although it does not seem to be that popular, whenever I see pairs of fans, I first think of running them in series, in affect 6-volting them.

Last idea I have, and maybe does not help much. I am not familiar with that case. Is there possibly some coupling of Power supply noise to the case making it worse? (That is the only thing left that I can think of that might help PSU or Vid card and not affect warrantee.)

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 10:41 am

I use a Zalman fan controller (ZM-MFC2) for 3 fans (all ZM-F3) (2 in front and cpu fan). and the other 2 fans (all ZM-F3) (back), they are connected to the motherboard with the Zalman "Noiseless Connector (RC56)". They have 1100rpm.

My budget is 50 euro or close to that so I was thinking about a videocard cooler or different casefans.

I already said that according to the Antec site the cooler doesn't fit my videocard. Maybe that's not true (hopefully) and if it's true will the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 only be enough for my videocard (so no fan attached to it).

This is the official site of my case: http://www.coolermaster.com/products/pr ... e=17&id=13.

But if you will only hear the power supply (35dB) and the rest is quiet. Then I think I won't hear a lot. The Zalman site says that the ZM-F3 makes 20dB at 900rpm. So that is not really quiet I think. I bought Zalman because I thought they were silent but a lot of people here says they are not

. And the videocard stock cooler makes a lot of noise I think. Not sure but most of the times stock coolers are making a lot of noise.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:07 pm

Hello,

Any 120mm fan at 1100RPM is probably not quiet. Five of them is likely to be pretty noisy, because having multiple similar sound sources "sums" them into a louder sound.

How slow can you get all of them? Can you try running it with 2 case fans -- each at 600-800RPM?

Do your hard drives make any noise (that you can hear above all the fans)?

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 6:47 am

The Zalman site says that the ZM-F3 makes 20dB at 900rpm. So that is not really quiet I think.

20dB @1m is very good indeed (although unlikely to be true). however the Nexus and Scythe Slipstream 120mm are undoubtedly better.

AuraAllan · Post by **AuraAllan** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 7:16 am

I had a ZM-F3 years ago and it definitely wasnt quiet. Tried slowing it down with a manual controller but it wasnt quiet before it stopped spinning due to too low voltage.

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 7:12 am

hmm but I still have a few questions

-Are two 120mm fans enough for my case (bigtower)?
-What are the quietest fans that are able to run at +/-600rpm?
-I'm having a Club3d 8800GTS (640MB). Which cooler would you recommend?

AuraAllan · Post by **AuraAllan** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:03 am

Destroyertje wrote:Are two 120mm fans enough for my case (bigtower)?

2 should be enough. Please post your system specs.

Destroyertje wrote:What are the quietest fans that are able to run at +/-600rpm?

The 800 RPM Slipstream might be your best bet here. Maybe not the quietest @ 600 RPM but probably the best CFM/Noise-wise.

Destroyertje wrote:I'm having a Club3d 8800GTS (640MB). Which cooler would you recommend?

Maybe one of the AC Accelero ones.

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:21 am

AuraAllan wrote:
Destroyertje wrote:Are two 120mm fans enough for my case (bigtower)?
2 should be enough. Please post your system specs.

Destroyertje wrote:What are the quietest fans that are able to run at +/-600rpm?
The 800 RPM Slipstream might be your best bet here. Maybe not the quietest @ 600 RPM but probably the best CFM/Noise-wise.

Destroyertje wrote:I'm having a Club3d 8800GTS (640MB). Which cooler would you recommend?
Maybe one of the AC Accelero ones.

-CPU Intel Core 2 Quad 6600 (B3)
-Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6
-Memory 4x1gb Team Xtreem Dark 800mhz
-GPU Club3d 8800GTS (640MB)
-Harddrive 2xHitachi 500gb
-cd/dvd Lite-On LH-20A1S
-Soundcard Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic
-Chassis Cooler Master Stacker 810
-Power Supply Antec TruePpower Quattro 850

-CPU Cooler Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme with Zalman ZM-F3 120mm (900rpm)
-GPU Cooler Stock Cooler
-Fans 2 back (1100rpm), 2 front (900rpm) all Zalman ZM-F3 120mm fans

The Scythe Slipstream looks nice (10.70 dBA). I have a fan controller so i'm able to slow or speed up fans so they don't need to run at 800rpm as long as i can get that speed with the fan controller.

I don't know if the Accelero S1 Rev. 2 or Accelero S1 fits because of the requirements, the say that only a 8800GTS(G92) and the say nothing about a 8800GTS(G80).

AuraAllan · Post by **AuraAllan** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:22 am

Im pretty sure someone on these forums said that the S1 or S2 fits on 8800GTS(G80) but im not sure.

A Slipstream on the TRUE and one in the back should be enough. Dont know anything about your case though.

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:39 am

I'm going to buy 3 Scythe Slip Stream 120mm 1600rpm (back, cpu, front) and use my fan controller to get them to 800rpm. Is that possible you think?

Still searching for a video card cooler

AuraAllan · Post by **AuraAllan** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:57 am

Dont know if the 1600 RPM version will start consistently @ 800 RPM.

Why not go for the 800 RPM ones and just plug them in to your board? Theyre supposed to be very quiet @ 12V. Or maybe the 1200 RPM version?

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 12:09 pm

You think the 1200rpm will run nice with 800rpm?

Because I want to set it higher if I want. (Lanparties etc.)

AuraAllan · Post by **AuraAllan** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:07 pm

Destroyertje wrote:You think the 1200rpm will run nice with 800rpm?

Because I want to set it higher if I want. (Lanparties etc.)

Yes. Im sure it will run very nicely @ 800 RPM.

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:17 pm

thx

Then i'm going to buy the 1200rpm version

Still don't know if Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 fits :/ (can't find it with google)

AuraAllan · Post by **AuraAllan** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:57 pm

Try searching the forums for an answer regarding the AC Accellero S1.

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:04 am

Don't think it will fit. The Arctic Cooling site says that only the G92 will fit and a few sites also says it will not fit

.

So are there any other great coolers

AuraAllan · Post by **AuraAllan** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:19 am

Thermalrights HR-03 coolers are really good too.

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:34 am

The Thermalright HR-03 PLUS support my 8800gts and is not that expensive (â‚¬40,00). What 92mm fan do you recommend? And there are two ways to install it.

1.

2.

what do you recommend?

AuraAllan · Post by **AuraAllan** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:59 am

I would try it passive (without a fan) to start with and add a fan if necessary. Dont know how hot those 8800GTS' run.

The second option. Mounting it with the heatsink on the back of the card (towards the top of the case) seems to be the best option.

Destroyertje · Post by **Destroyertje** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:39 am

"Question : Can I run the HR-03 Plus without a fan?

Answer : Due to the large amount of heat and the wattage (max of 300W)generated by the 8800 series, we would strongly recommend the usage of fan unless your case has a good air flow management that can have air blown directly at the HR-03 Plus.
Even though without a fan, the HR-03 Plus will have similar performance as stock cooler, with that kind of heat endured by the video card, in a long run, it will shorten the life span. So if you plan on sticking with your current 8800 series video card for the long haul, we suggest that you get HR-03 Plus and a fan to blow down on it."

From Thermalright site. So I think a fan is necessary. Do you know a good 92mm fan?

And is this fan: http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=prod ... d=5&lng=en not better then the Scythe Slip Stream?

Was searching for fans :p and found this one