Quiet !COOL! P4 3.2 System Advice
Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 7:25 am
Hello everyone
I'm a newcomer to SPCR, and have been avidly (and thoroughly) trawling the boards for all information about silencing and cooling pc's.
Can i just say what a fantastic board and community this is! I really respect the advice given here, and can see there is a wealth of knowledge to be tapped.
Anyway, i am putting a high end pc together to be used as a workhorse for 3d animation. It needs to be fast, cool (=stable), and as quiet as possible so i can sleep with it on while its rendering. Therefore absolute silence ISN'T a priority (e.g water cooling) as long as its nicely quiet.
Temperature and stability however IS a priority.
Ok, this is the list of what i'm planning on getting so far..
P4 3.2 Northwood 800fsb
IC7-MAX 3 Mobo
Chieftec BX case
2x Geil 1GB 3200 400mhz Value Ram
Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro
1x Raptor 36GB SATA
2x Maxtor DiamondMax 200GB SATA
Enermax Noisetaker 470w PSU
Zalman CNPS7000A-ALCU HSF
Nexus 80mm Case Fan x 4
or
SilenX 80mm Case Fan x 4
PSU: Ok, i've decided to go for the Noisetaker PSU. I was originally going for the Tagan 480, but after hearing about the clicking problems and reading shathal's many informative posts, i've gone with his advice and chosen the Noisetaker.
HSF: This i'm 90% sure of. I know the 7000A is a good HSF. Question is, is it good enough to cool a 3.2ghz Northwood? The other alternative is a Thermalright SP94 with maybe a SilenX 92mm on, but that beast is 590g!! Surely if i take my PC anywhere, it could damage the cpu/mobo? What do you think?
Case Fans: Now, in terms of fans i really don't know what to do. The chieftec case will probably only support 5x 80mm fans (the latest revision has 2x 120mm front and back, but its unlikely this version is available in the UK yet).
So, 4x Nexus fans are £43. 4x SilenX fans are £55. Are the SilenX worth the extra money? I've read they have the best dBa/CFM ratio (at least for 80mm fans). I've ruled out AcoustiFans because they would be £60 for 4. So the price doesn't warrant the difference. And i've ruled out Panaflo because i can't be sure if i can get the Japanese versions. What about an aluminium Evercool (Titan) 80mm?
Also, do i NEED 4x case fans?
Anything else i need? Northbridge cooling?
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated
Apologies for the essay length.. lol
I'm a newcomer to SPCR, and have been avidly (and thoroughly) trawling the boards for all information about silencing and cooling pc's.
Can i just say what a fantastic board and community this is! I really respect the advice given here, and can see there is a wealth of knowledge to be tapped.
Anyway, i am putting a high end pc together to be used as a workhorse for 3d animation. It needs to be fast, cool (=stable), and as quiet as possible so i can sleep with it on while its rendering. Therefore absolute silence ISN'T a priority (e.g water cooling) as long as its nicely quiet.
Temperature and stability however IS a priority.
Ok, this is the list of what i'm planning on getting so far..
P4 3.2 Northwood 800fsb
IC7-MAX 3 Mobo
Chieftec BX case
2x Geil 1GB 3200 400mhz Value Ram
Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro
1x Raptor 36GB SATA
2x Maxtor DiamondMax 200GB SATA
Enermax Noisetaker 470w PSU
Zalman CNPS7000A-ALCU HSF
Nexus 80mm Case Fan x 4
or
SilenX 80mm Case Fan x 4
PSU: Ok, i've decided to go for the Noisetaker PSU. I was originally going for the Tagan 480, but after hearing about the clicking problems and reading shathal's many informative posts, i've gone with his advice and chosen the Noisetaker.
HSF: This i'm 90% sure of. I know the 7000A is a good HSF. Question is, is it good enough to cool a 3.2ghz Northwood? The other alternative is a Thermalright SP94 with maybe a SilenX 92mm on, but that beast is 590g!! Surely if i take my PC anywhere, it could damage the cpu/mobo? What do you think?
Case Fans: Now, in terms of fans i really don't know what to do. The chieftec case will probably only support 5x 80mm fans (the latest revision has 2x 120mm front and back, but its unlikely this version is available in the UK yet).
So, 4x Nexus fans are £43. 4x SilenX fans are £55. Are the SilenX worth the extra money? I've read they have the best dBa/CFM ratio (at least for 80mm fans). I've ruled out AcoustiFans because they would be £60 for 4. So the price doesn't warrant the difference. And i've ruled out Panaflo because i can't be sure if i can get the Japanese versions. What about an aluminium Evercool (Titan) 80mm?
Also, do i NEED 4x case fans?
Anything else i need? Northbridge cooling?
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated
Apologies for the essay length.. lol