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Silencing my system. Opinions? Suggestions?

Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 1:08 pm
by mathus
Hi guys,

I've been lurking around this site for a while now and have finally decided that my computer needs silencing. I built this computer about 4 years ago. My current system specs are:

Coolermaster ATC-200 (similar to 201C http://www.phamcomputer.com/coolermaste ... c201c.html )
AMD Thunderbird 1GHZ
Speeze CPU Cooler
Abit KT7-Raid <--- Actively cooled. Have a zalman nb available.
Muskin 512MB sdram
Geforce2 GTS <--- Actively cooled. Passive cooling recommendation?
Turtlebeach Santacruz
Seagate 7200.7 200GB x 2
Western Digital 250GB
Western Digital 160GB
Liteon 48x CD-RW/DVD Combo
Fortran 300W w/ 120mm fan


I think the noisiest part of my system right now is the CPU cooler. I am also only running the 2 front intake fans while the back and top exhaust fans are off. I was wondering if you guys can give me some suggestions on which way i should go about upgrading. My budget is about $150 but lower is always better :)
So far i plan to buy:

Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu ($30.99 @ SVC)
Panaflo 80mm L1A x4 ($3.99 ea @ SVC)
Fan Isolators x5 ($2.00 ea @ SiliconAcoustics)
Nexus Damptek ($49.95 @ SiliconAcoustics)

Grand total of: $106.90 + tax and shipping = ~$130


But reading through posts and hearing talk about hard drive vibration, im thinking of maybe getting a new case (i can feel my case vibrating, maybe due to hard drives?). I have 4 hard drives total and with my current case there is no possibility of suspending or decoupling them in anyway. So i was thinking about this alternative:

Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu ($30.99 @ SVC)
Compucase LX-6A19 ($39.00 @ Directron)
Papst 120mm 4412FGL ($17.99 @ Directron)
Fan Isolators x 5 ($2.00 ea @ Silicon Acoustics)

Grand Total of: $97.98 + tax and shipping = ~$130

So they basically cost the same, but the later one gives me a chance to try suspension later on i guess? Which do you recommend me getting? How well do you think the first option would work compared to the second? If i go with the first route, I somewhat plan on running the 2x panaflos in front at full 12v to cool my hard drives. Even though i checked the hd temps by hand and found them cool, one of them died recently, so better safe than sorry i guess. If i go the second route, ill probably mount the hard drives as is using those rubber grommets and maybe suspend them later.

Also, is there any speculation on how well the Nexus Damptek work? Ive looked around for reviews but nothing with too much info. And one more question, would i be able to cool the geforce2 gts with a passive zalman nb heatsink?

Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks for your help.

Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 8:06 pm
by sthayashi
Don't think... Know. There are a ton of noisemakers in your computer and it would be prudent to identify which is making the most noise.

Everything will survive if you only stop a fan for 30 seconds, so try stopping fans in order to identify noise sources. Also, your system won't die a horrible death if you unplug the hard drives BEFORE you turn on your computer. Doing this can help you to know which fans/drives are generating the most noise. I'm suggesting this because reading your hard drive list made me cringe almost as much as reading your case.

BTW, Panaflos and Pabsts are a bit loud at full 12v. If you're planning on purchasing and using them, expect to undervolt them as well for quiet computing.

Also Speeze makes both loud coolers and quiet coolers, so it's helpful to know which one you have. The Zalman is definitely quiet, but I would dare say that it's overkill for your 1GHz Thunderbird. You'll also need to make sure that your PSU doesn't interfere with the HS.

Sadly, I have no idea on how to silence your video card. Perhaps someone else in these forums can help you in that regard.

However, just so I can't be accused of dodging your question, I think the 2nd plan is a better idea.

WELCOME TO SPCR!!!

Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:55 pm
by pangit
The noisiest components in a system like yours are usually in the following order (noisiest first):
- Case/CPU fans
- PSU fans (although yours should be OK if it's the FSP300-60PN)
- Other fans i.e. NB, video card.
- Hard drives, although this can be higher on the list depending on make

So it makes sense to tackle them in that order. You can check this the way sthayashi says.

I would also go for option 2, as the damptek won't make as much difference as drive suspension etc. You shouldn't need to run any fans at 12V if you have good open airflow in your system, so opening up fan grills and tidying up your cabling should help a lot.

Get the passive NB cooler if it is within your budget, and as long as there is airflow around your video card there shouldn't be any problems running that with a decent passive heatsink on it too. Don't know for sure if the zalman will be adequate for that, but it should be.

Suspending 4 HDDs is going to be tricky unless you have plenty of space in the case, but will definitely help a lot if you do. You should also put Samsungs or Seagates on your shopping list next time you upgrade those WDs, but in the meantime suspend/decouple them if you can, but try not to block the air intake from getting to the rest of the system too much.

Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 10:56 pm
by mathus
Thanks to both of you for your input. Its greatly appreciated. My psu is indeed the FSP300-60PN and as for my heatsink it is the Speeze "WhisperRock" but i think its gotten too old? I'll try to disconnect and check out each of the components independently tomorrow to identify which ones are the noisemakers.

So far I've also started to lean towards the 6A19 case. The overall design seems better than my current coolermaster for quiet computing. If i got the 6A19 i was planning on cutting out both front and back fan grills and running both of the 120s at 5v mounted using the ear grommets. Do any of you have experience with the default 120mm that comes with the case? Should i replace that fan also or it should be fine at 5v?

Anyways, thanks once again. I'll check out the components tomorrow and report back when done.

AGP cooling

Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 1:31 am
by MainframeGuy
may I refer you to this thread - I believe this heatsink solution will give you more than enough cooling for that card - I just fitted one to a 9600XT and it was a pleasure to do (take your time to get it right though!).

I recollect the instructions (sadly binned now) made reference to a GEforce card, so it sounds highly likely yours will be compatible. Perhaps someone else here could confirm that though?

Welcome to the forums also.

PS

Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 4:50 am
by MainframeGuy
http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/product/vi ... e=013]Here is the link to the product - do check the notes, should enable you to tell if you can fit it to your card!

Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 12:27 pm
by mathus
Hi MainframeGuy. Thanks for the suggestion. That is definitely more than enough to cool my vid card :) I looked through the manual and it says as long as there are mounting holes then i can install it. I checked out my card and there are no mounting holes so i guess this is my chance to updrage :D

Anyways, I went through and checked out each component. So far this is what I observed:

Gfx card: high pitch whine...very annoying
Mobo Chipset: also whiny but not as bad as as gfx
2x Front intake fans: lots of wind noise? i can hear it moving air.
CPU: at 12V, its somewhat annoying. i can hear the air moving. Using zalman fanmate and turning it all the way down, i think its silent but its hard to say cuz mobo and gfx is noisy.
Hard Drives: Besides the initial start up, i cant really tell the difference when its on or off. I didnt boot into windows though. Kept it in dos.
PSU: I dont think it makes much noise at all.

Thats about all i noticed so far. So it looks like i need to replace the gfx card, chipset heatsink, maybe replace the intake fans and undervolt, and maybe just undervolt the speeze? How much would fan mounts or grommets help?

Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:29 pm
by pangit
In that case I would suggest tackling the graphics card and other fans first, and maybe leave the CPU HSF for now with the fanmate on it. If you can't afford a new graphics card (or were you just looking for an excuse :wink: ) you can attach a small passive HS with Arctic Silver epoxy (not the ZM80D HP though, which is probably overkill in any case)

When you've dealt with the biggest noisemakers you'll start hearing the other ones such as the Speeze, or you may find your CPU temps start going up if you undervolt your case fans. Then you can go for the CNPS7000A-AlCu if you find that to be the case.

Fan mounts or grommets would only help when the rest of your system is pretty quiet, but every little bit helps!