Proposed build; need suggestions!

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 8:00 pm

I'm proposing a new system to be built in about 3 months. So far, I have chosen the following:

Intel D975XBX2 mobo
Intel C2D E6600 at stock
Scythe Ninja with Nexus Real Silent case fan
2GB Corsair XMS DDR6400
WD Raptor 74GB WD740ADFD
Antec Solo
Corsair HX520 PSU
A future DX10 graphics card

Now, I would like this system to be as quiet as possible. The only fans I plan to have in my system are the PSU, CPU, GPU, and rear exhaust. I plan to use the Zalman VF900 or whatever is the quietest GPU cooler at the time I build this system. Would this system stay within safe temperature levels during load? Also, could I run the Ninja without a fan?

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 8:42 pm

The quietest GPU cooler is a passive cooler, and Arctic Cooling is introducing two such coolers that should be available in Q2 2007. Whether the Ninja can be run fanless depends mostly on what your bottom line is re max CPU temperatures. This means plan to use a CPU fan and then try running without it. The fanless Ninja works best with a duct, usually Ritz cracker cardboard and duct tape.

Further, there's a lot of noise and cooling ground between no fan at all and a Nexus 120 running at 12V. You'd need an analog fan controller, such as the Zalman Fan Mate, the Aspire, or the Sunbeam Rheostat (I'd suggest you stand clear of any PWM controllers).

Don't be afraid to experiment - it's your computer system and your choice(s).

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:17 pm

cmthomson · Post by **cmthomson** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:46 am

Like he said. You can run the Ninja without a fan if you duct it to the case fan, or you can do like I did, run the Ninja with a fan, and duct it to the case opening and remove the case fan.

Either way is quieter than the stock arrangement, and either will provide more than adequate cooling for a stock E6600.

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:31 pm

Would the E6600 temps. suffer if I didn't duct the Ninja and still ran it without a fan?

nutslap · Post by **nutslap** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 11:11 am

ck8-04 wrote:Would the E6600 temps. suffer if I didn't duct the Ninja and still ran it without a fan?

I have my e6600 running fanless in my P180 with no temperature problems. I've actually got nearly the same build you do, only with 4gb of OCZ 800mhz ram, the Corsair 620W PSU, and a Geforce 8800GTX. The 8800 is nearly silent, btw, even under load. The loudest thing in the entire build is the Raptor, and it's only really noticable because everything else is completely quiet.

I've overclocked my e6600 all the way to 3.2ghz without upping any voltage above stock values, and my system still runs cool and quiet at that speed. I have a pair of Nexus fans blowing out from the top of my P180, the supplied Antec fan in the lower bay by the HDDs, and another supplied Antec fan in front at low speed (going to replace it with another Nexus). You should have no trouble at stock speeds (and will probably be able to overclock to 3.0 at minimum without even touching voltages, thereby keeping temps low).

Running tests with OCCT, Orthos and Memtest86+, my temps rarely spike above 50c under load and idle in the high thirties. For running fanless on the Heat Sink, that's more than acceptable to me. The CPU doesn't throttle until 85c so there's tons of headroom ... the C2D is a very cool-running chip.

Only thing you might consider is buying a metal file alongside the Scythe Ninja. The Rev B of the cooler has a mounting plate that will probably touch the capacitor row next to the cpu ... all you need to do is file a few mm off the curved mounting plate to get it to fit. It's worth it as the Ninja is a good quality HS, and excellent for running fanless.

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:37 pm

Would there be a noticeable difference in noise if I used an Ultra 120 with a fan vs. a fanless Ninja? I'm kind of leaning towards putting a fan on the CPU heatsink because only 2 fans in the entire system seems risky as far as temperatures go. Also, wouldn't the PSU absorb some of the heat from the Ninja if it were run fanless? I would definitely not want the PSU fan to spin up.

firebane · Post by **firebane** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:40 pm

urgh stay away from Intel boards. They maybe stable but thats about it, go for the p5b or gigabyte 965-ds3 if you don't plan to overclock.

SockToy · Post by **SockToy** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:44 am

nutslap wrote:
ck8-04 wrote:Would the E6600 temps. suffer if I didn't duct the Ninja and still ran it without a fan?
I have my e6600 running fanless in my P180 with no temperature problems. I've actually got nearly the same build you do, only with 4gb of OCZ 800mhz ram, the Corsair 620W PSU, and a Geforce 8800GTX. The 8800 is nearly silent, btw, even under load. The loudest thing in the entire build is the Raptor, and it's only really noticable because everything else is completely quiet.

I've overclocked my e6600 all the way to 3.2ghz without upping any voltage above stock values, and my system still runs cool and quiet at that speed. I have a pair of Nexus fans blowing out from the top of my P180, the supplied Antec fan in the lower bay by the HDDs, and another supplied Antec fan in front at low speed (going to replace it with another Nexus). You should have no trouble at stock speeds (and will probably be able to overclock to 3.0 at minimum without even touching voltages, thereby keeping temps low).

Your system sounds almost identical to mine which is really anything but silent. Its _quiet_, but there is most definitely audible noise. I had figured turbulence against the honeycomb fan covers or something... can you peek at my setup and let me know if you did anything obvious to silence it? (link in sig). Thanks

DeltaForce · Post by **DeltaForce** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:12 am

System looks good, although I would go with a Samsung HD. They are very quiet at idle, and I've had very good results with them. The one you picked may work fine too. I've read good threads recently about Samsung HD's though.

I like your Intel board; it's reviewed well. It's not quite as fast as some, but it has good overclocking ability, good features/software, and Intel reliability. I've had the best results with Asus and Intel boards over the years.

And yes, get a Zalman Fan Mate for the CPU fan, and other 120mm fans, or get a master fan-speed controller. The solo has (2) 92mm fans in front, but I guess you are not using them.

When you buy your dx10 card, compare total wattage to try and have less power-draw and heat if there is a choice. That will make it easier for your Zalman cooler to work well.

P.S. I'm originally from Massachusetts -I saw you live there. I miss the seasons and the Red Sox.

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:03 am

firebane wrote:urgh stay away from Intel boards. They maybe stable but thats about it, go for the p5b or gigabyte 965-ds3 if you don't plan to overclock.

What's wrong with Intel boards? My experience with Intel boards has been better than any with any other board manufacturer. Some of them may be featureless but I hardly ever use the onboard features anyway. I actually like the fact that they're featureless. It keeps costs down and I don't even use half the crap that other board manufacturers throw in. If I did need to use something like audio or a RAID controller, I'd go out and buy a dedicated one, anyway, since a dedicated one would be higher quality.

DeltaForce wrote:System looks good, although I would go with a Samsung HD. They are very quiet at idle, and I've had very good results with them. The one you picked may work fine too. I've read good threads recently about Samsung HD's.

I like your Intel board; it's reviewed well. It's not quite as fast as some, but it has good overclocking ability, good features/software, and Intel reliability. I've had the best results with Asus and Intel boards over the years.

And yes, get a Zalman Fan Mate for the CPU fan, and other 120mm fans, or get a master fan-speed controller. The solo has (2) 92mm fans in front, but I guess you are not using them.

When you buy your dx10 card, compare total wattage to try and have less power-draw and heat if there is a choice. That will make it easier for your Zalman cooler to work well.

P.S. I'm originally from Massachusetts -I saw you live there. I miss the seasons and the Red Sox.

If the Raptor didn't have such fast seek times, I'd go with a Samsung. I currently have 4 Raptors on a dedicated RAID controller and I'm only looking to ditch RAID since it's not really necessary. I'll be putting the RAID controller inside my file server once I build my new system. The Raptor is not changing, though. It's a firm decision especially since they have FDB motors now and I don't mind the seek noises at all.

boze · Post by **boze** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:38 am

i'm about to assemble my first quiet pc this weekend.. my build list was as follows (just in case there are comparisons to be made):

Case Antec KSK3300
Case Fan just the 120mm TriCool it comes with
PSU included Antec SFX 300w
Motherboard ASUS P5B-VM
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 (2.13GHz)
CPU HSF Thermalright HR01-775
RAM G.Skill 2x2gig DDR2 6400
VIDEO CARD GIGABYTE GeForce 7600GT
HDD WD500AAKS (two of them)
DVD Burner Samsung 18x dvd-r

I had several folks over at my "help me shop" thread recommending the Western Digital AAKS drives for quietness, so they might be something to consider.

my whole thread (which is pretty much just me picking the brain of a helpful user called AngelKiller) is located here if you care to look it over. he also selected an Asus P5B-VM mobo for me, which confirms a suggestion you've already had here about swapping out the Intel mobo you'd selected.

good luck!

DeltaForce · Post by **DeltaForce** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:12 am

Boze -There was an Antec PSU issue with Asus MB's, I believe with the Antec NeoHE series. While the problem was supposedly fixed, I've seen later complaints with other Antec/Asus combo's. Just something to know.

Asus makes great MB's, but so does Intel. I've had the least problems with Intel boards. While that's only personal experience, it's consistent with reviews, and books on computing. The degree to which the bad axe 2 is slower than the fastest boards (reviewed at tomshardware) is so marginally tiny, that the probability it will be a stable board is an overall plus. However, Asus is good too. While there are variances in specific boards of course, both companies are good MB manufacturers.

Just my 2 cents.

ronrem · Post by **ronrem** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:50 pm

ck8-04 wrote:Would the E6600 temps. suffer if I didn't duct the Ninja and still ran it without a fan?

Keep in mind...it may be nice to have load temps at 30C....but it really is just important to keep max CPU temp under 50C or thereabouts. It ain't a beer cooler, If the Ninja is properly mounted,you should be in pretty good shape. Your PSU will help suck some heat,and a 120mm case fan you can adjust speeds on should be enough.

I'm not a gamer so I stay with low end passive Vid cards and they don't crank out lots of heat. A Duct bringing cooler outside air TO the Ninja
is another good strategy. The exhaust and PSU fans will still pull air. You decide the flowpath.

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:49 am

I'm still trying to decide if I should get the Ultra-120 or Ninja. Can a 120 do fanless on an E6600 fine? Keeping in mind the problematic mounting of the Ninja, would I get lower temps without a fan on a Ninja or Ultra 120? I also noticed that the HR-01 has the same push pin type mounting as the Ninja. Why doesn't Thermalright have mounting issues like the Ninja?

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 2:49 am