Sandybridge Celeron and ISK 300 65w

[manikin]

Hi SPCR

I'm looking to build a fairly quiet, low power desktop, centred around the ISK 300 65 case and Noctua NF R8 fan I already have in my posession. I will be using it mostly for work and occasionally for HTPC duties (if I ever buy a TV). I might also play some Project 1999 for nostalgia's sake, but considering Project 1999 can run >100fps on a Clarkdale i3 integrated, I imagine I will be fine with the GPU capabilities of the Celeron.

I have two questions: first, will the components of my planned build (the Celeron G530, Asus P8H61-I, 8gb of RAM, 1x 500gb WD Blue 2.5" drive and 1x80gb Intel SSD) be alright on the 65 watts available to the ISK? I will not be adding an optical drive, although I may plug in external flash drives or 2.5" drives from time to time.

Secondly, can anyone comment on the noise level of the stock Celeron heatsink and fan? This computer will likely be sitting right behind my monitor on my desk, about 2 feet from my head. Thank you for any input SPCR!

~S

[HFat]

I don't know how much that motherboard draws but there's no reason it shouldn't be OK.

As long as you keep the case fairly cool and don't mind letting the CPU get a bit hot, you should be able to have the stock heatsink fan spin at the lowest speed. It's not silent but if you're not too picky it should do. Lots of people wouldn't mind the noise but this is SPCR. Why don't you try it anyway?

[manikin]

Hi HFat,

Thanks for the reply. I figured that the 65w should be enough, but I just wanted to make double sure. I'm going to go ahead and order the parts now, put it together and see what the noise level is. I'll report back, hopefully someone can learn from my success or my failure!

~S

[evandyk]

I have a 2100T with an SSD, HDD and DVD burner in that case and power supply, and have no problems.

I used the stock case fans. It's not silent, but is definitely drowned out by very small amounts of ambient noise.

[manikin]

I ordered the parts and put the thing together last night. I decided not to install the mechanical disk in the case and instead chose to keep it in an external USB drive, as the ISK seemed quite 'echoey' after the build was finished. Windows 7 64 took less than 5 minutes to install from USB to SSD, it was amazing.

The parts I chose are very quiet, but I am having a small problem: with the lid off the case, the computer is inaudible except at load. However, putting the lid of the case on seems to amplify the CPU fan noise - it is still much quieter than my old laptop, but the humming of the case closed is slightly frustrating. I have tried bracing the case lid with some rigid foam strips I had, and I have also tried different positioning (flat, sitting in its stand, sitting on a piece of foam, etc) and nothing seems to help. Is there any way I can get the case to sound like the lid is off without actually having the lid off?

[HFat]

Does the fan spin faster when you close the lid or are you talking about a purely acoustic effect?

[manikin]

HFat: Thanks for the reply. It is a purely accoustical effect, the fan speed doesn't increase or decrease at all when I put the lid on.

[HFat]

Well then as far as I can see you have two options: acoustic foam and opening some holes in the case if that's possible. I used the stock heatsink/fan in an open case and it worked well.
Obviously you could also try to reduce the amount of noise by changing the fan or the whole heatsink. Maybe you could also try to spin the existing fan slower.

[manikin]

I'm going to try applying some rigid foam I have to the top of the lid of the case, as I suspect that's where I'm getting the 'echo chamber' effect from - I'll write back with the results of my experiment. Worst case scenario is I run my computer out of the case (which, to be honest, is pretty freaking cool looking) - maybe get one of those fancy Lian-Li tech bench dealies.

[HFat]

A totally open case like this testing gadjet you're talking about would be unsafe in many environments. Better get an case designed for fanless use or simply make your own mesh cover for your existing case. A simple mesh wouldn't protect your mobo against liquids or the more energetic falls/shocks but it would protect it against more common threats.
If you're willing to go that far, simply getting rid of the noisy fan instead would be best however.

Different foams have different properties by the way.