SPCR

Hi all. New to these forums, and to building quiet computers, but since my old computer system sounds like a turbo jet, figured i'd ask for some advice.

Here are the proposed specks:
Antec SLK3700-BQE
Athlon 64 3500+ Winchester
Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu
Msi Neo2 Platinum
1Gb Corsair Memory
BFG 6800 OC
WD Raptor 36GB
Maxtor DiamondPlus 9 160GB (already have this one, so it's going in)

Now, i don't need my system to be silent, just reasonably quite. I have a few specific questions:
1) Is the Raptor really that loud? I think i'd like the performance boost that comes from having a fast hard drive. Would forking out a bit more money for the 74GB version help with the noise (i've heard that it has fluid bearings which are quieter)?
2) I want to replace the stock cooler on the 6800 with something quieter. What should I go for? People seem to have space issues with the NV5 silencer. Should i just try to get a card with a cooler already installed? IF so, please suggest models (i know Gigabyte makes one with a passive cooler).
3) On a related note, is the Neo2 a good motherboard choice, or should i go with a different 939 motherboard?
4) What kind of fan configuration would be optimal for this setup? I'm planning on using the stock PS that comes with the case.
5) Any other tips will be appreciated.

I had first hand experience with a 36 gig rapter drive and imho its horrible for noise. At the time I was using it the drive was not even in a silence system but an oced system. The case had 5 stock ball bearing fans at full speed in an alum case and you could hear the seeking of the drive over everything. When you can hear your hard drive over all that stuff it just isnt very encouraging when you consider in a silent system every little thing is amplified 10x.

This doesnt mean that it wouldnt be impossible to get the drive noise down by using some kind of enclosure or suspension just that it is going to take a whole heck of alot of work.

The MSI has reviewed as well as any Socket 939 board available.

Don't know what your timing is but, ASUS has a new socket 939 board on the way...
http://usa.asus.com/news/2004/20041117.htm

It's too bad the 36 gb raptor is that loud. Does anyone know if the 74GB one is any quiter, or if there's a good way to silence a raptor in the antec case (enclosure maybe)?

As for the MSI board, i know it's good, i just remeber reading somewhere that the NV5 was fitting really tight with a Zalman HSF, so I was wondering how good it is in terms of layout, if in fact there is no better way to silnce the video card than an NV5.

So it seems that I'm gonna go with the passively cooled Gigabyte 6800, assuming the stores that i'm considering carry it... Still waiting on input on how loud the 74GB Raptor is, and/or if there's a good way to silence it if it's obnoxiously loud. For whatever it's worth, storage review said it was pretty quiet.

Thanks for the help
Paul

I set up a similar system - see my sig for details, and check the link for build info. The NV5 silencer fan is directly above the chipset on the MSI Nforce 3 and 4 layout, preventing the use of an NB-47J chipset heatsink. The Raptor 74GB mounted on (free sample!) EAR grommets is quiet enough for me in idle - the noisiest thing is the NV5 silencer, which I might buy another fanmate for.

Thanks for the reply, spod. I think it was your build that i came across and which got me worrying about space the first time around. So, do you know if the NV5 will fit with a zalman cpns7000B hsf? In general, your system seems pretty similar to what i'm trying to build - what would you do different if you were to build yours again?

Thanks
Paul

Because the NV Silencer 5 doesn't have that big passive heatsink backplate that the ATI Silencer 4 uses on the X800 (because the 6800 series has all the RAM on the same side as the GPU), the NV5 silencer won't interfere at all with the CPU cooler. The only reason it interfered with the big chipset cooler was because the chipset is located to the GPU side of the video card, and not on the CPU side as it is with most (non-nForce 3/4) motherboard designs.

I still believe the XP-90 + Nexus 92mm is a better HSF than the CNPS-7000 - at 12V, it's noise is similar to the CNPS-7000 at 5V, and there's room to quieten it further if your temps are okay.