Any thoughts/ideas on my planned silent pc?
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2004 11:49 pm
It's that time again - my current pc is starting to get dated and I can't upgrade it any further as the motherboard has no support for agp 8x, newer fsb frequencies, and newer ram speeds.
However, this time I want silence - at the expense of some power if necessary. I've sourced some essential parts which I think will provide a good base for a quiet high end pc. I was wondering if anyone can spot any issues with what I plan to do.
Case: Antec Sonta in conjunction with this soundproofing kit.
PSU: SilenX 400w iXtrema Pro rated at 14dba.
Case Fans: SilenX 120mm x 2 (supplied with dampening mounts) also rated at 14dba.
As for components, I plan to get one of Asus's high end nForce2 motherboards, and either an AthlonXP 2800+ or 3000+. Thermalright do a silent cooler (the SP-97) which has had very good reviews, and allows you to put any 92mm fan you like on it, so I'll get a 92mm SilenX fan for that (again, 14dba rating).
Fan controller: Probably the Sunbeam one as it allows you to turn the fans completely off while still having full range control
Memory: 2 x Cosair platinum 512Mb cas 2.0 PC2700 modules
Graphics: Sapphire Radeon 9800pro 256Mb ultimate edition (the "ultimate edition" bit means they've taken the fan off an pre-fitted a fanless Zalman heatpipe cooler)
Storage: 2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 Plus 200GB ATA-100 (8MB Cache)
Optical: A DVD +R/RW -R/RW combo drive (model yet to be decided on)
Other: Transfer TV/Radio card from my old pc
I'm hoping I've thought of everything here to make sure I can have a very quiet pc that still performs well.
Incidentally, I know the Antec case comes with a PSU. However, I want the quietest one I can get and the SilenX one is significantly better. I can always Ebay the one it comes with.
So far as I can see no other case has the silencing potential (the Antec harddrive mounts are rubberized, for example) so I really want to get that one.
Also, I know the Antec case has holes drilled near the top of both sides that could screw up airflow. However, from what i've read, the soundproofing kit I've pointed out covers those up, so that's not a problem.
If i've missed something obvious, let me know
However, this time I want silence - at the expense of some power if necessary. I've sourced some essential parts which I think will provide a good base for a quiet high end pc. I was wondering if anyone can spot any issues with what I plan to do.
Case: Antec Sonta in conjunction with this soundproofing kit.
PSU: SilenX 400w iXtrema Pro rated at 14dba.
Case Fans: SilenX 120mm x 2 (supplied with dampening mounts) also rated at 14dba.
As for components, I plan to get one of Asus's high end nForce2 motherboards, and either an AthlonXP 2800+ or 3000+. Thermalright do a silent cooler (the SP-97) which has had very good reviews, and allows you to put any 92mm fan you like on it, so I'll get a 92mm SilenX fan for that (again, 14dba rating).
Fan controller: Probably the Sunbeam one as it allows you to turn the fans completely off while still having full range control
Memory: 2 x Cosair platinum 512Mb cas 2.0 PC2700 modules
Graphics: Sapphire Radeon 9800pro 256Mb ultimate edition (the "ultimate edition" bit means they've taken the fan off an pre-fitted a fanless Zalman heatpipe cooler)
Storage: 2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 Plus 200GB ATA-100 (8MB Cache)
Optical: A DVD +R/RW -R/RW combo drive (model yet to be decided on)
Other: Transfer TV/Radio card from my old pc
I'm hoping I've thought of everything here to make sure I can have a very quiet pc that still performs well.
Incidentally, I know the Antec case comes with a PSU. However, I want the quietest one I can get and the SilenX one is significantly better. I can always Ebay the one it comes with.
So far as I can see no other case has the silencing potential (the Antec harddrive mounts are rubberized, for example) so I really want to get that one.
Also, I know the Antec case has holes drilled near the top of both sides that could screw up airflow. However, from what i've read, the soundproofing kit I've pointed out covers those up, so that's not a problem.
If i've missed something obvious, let me know