Hi all:
This PC is used for audio work and some video work, so quiet is a concern.
I will upgrade my E6700 dual Core, 4 Gig RAM to a 2600K using a Z68 board and the built in graphics. I plan on having 16 Gig of RAM .
Right now I do overclock it to 3.2 GHZ, and have only a NInja and the 3 speed Tri Cool fan for cooling. It is on the edge with the Tri Cool at the lowest setting.
I think I will use the Mux 120 as a CPU cooler, as it fits in the case according to others on this forum. I have a few questions:
1. Is the Mux 120 fan quiet enough?
2. I think I want to replace the 3 speed Tri Cool fan in the rear of the case. Since I can use a PWM fan , I am thinking about a Noiseblocker or equivalent. Any opinions?
3. I think I want to get a 92mm fan for the front of the case. Good Idea?
4. Finally, is is worth it to replace the stock PSU for a fanless (X460?) or a X560 type for noise?

Thanks to all I want to order this stuff ASAP

The first thing that I would do is replace all the stock fans with ones that are known to be super-quiet. The Nexus 120 mm fan at low speed is popular here at SilentPCReview. You will need two or three.

Nexus 120 mm fan at low speed

Thanks!
I only have one fan, the 3 speed Tri Cool. I am planning on replacing that with........Nexus. Noiseblocker, Slipstream. I plan on adding a 92 in the front.
Upon researching motherboards they seem to have at most two PWM headers, and one or two more 3 pins(voltage controlled?) headers. I understand I can "double up" on the PWM headers. I guess I need to not exceed the amp ratings.
Still undecided about the PSU.

If you have no use for a second PSU, then it might be best to modify the current unit. As the fan in the PSU has to deal with a lot of heat, you want to use something other then a sleeve bearing fan. Ball bearings are best, but it might work to use a "long life" sleeve bearing fan (or similar).

You can find a lot of info about moding power supplies to change the default fan. A quality non-sleeve 80mm fan will cost $6-12. GELID Solutions FN-SX08-16 or Noctua NF-R8-1800 might work well but they are not dual-ball bearing units.
Computer Power Supply Fan Replacement

The first thing to do is to replace the case and CPU heatsink fans with quiet units. Then you can use a soft twist tie to stop the PSU fan to see if that is making the most noise. If that corrects your problem, then you can mod the PSU or buy a fancy unit.



The following controller will solve your problems, I believe. I do not have one.

Sunbeam PL-RS-PCI Rheosmart PCI 20W Fan Controller

Hi :
Thanks for the response! I have purchased a case fan(Noiseblocker Silent Pro) and a Mux 120 CPU heatsink. I'll wait on the PSU until after the install. I suspect I might need an intake fan.....
One more question if I may:
Where should the quietest fan be placed? CPU or exhaust? Both are 120mm PMW so I believe I could swap them.
Again, thanks for the support

I have a similar setup (check out the link in my sig). I tested it quite a bit and finally found what worked best (for me) is to have a fixed speed 500-600 RPM fan on the CPU cooler, and an exhaust fan that is variable speed 600-850 RPM that is controlled by the CPU fan header. This worked best in terms of keeping the system cool even on 100% synthetic load testing. The rear fan being on the back of the case makes it unnoticeable in terms of noise even when the room is very quiet.

I have 2 Nexus intakes hardwired to 5V. they spin at about 700RPM. at first I though I could hear them whoosh, but then it turned out to be a noisy HDD. Once I replaced it the system is as quiet as it will ever be.

About the PSU, I think you can try using it, and swap it later if its too noisy. It should be much less audioable than the Tricool fan you had.

How are your HDD temps? That's about the only reason why you'd want a front intake fan on a 150/solo...a 400-500rpm silent fan lowered my HDD temp to case temp.

HDDs are very comfortable at low 30s while working. They are set to 'turn off HDD'=Never in the Win7 control panel. This is recommended for audio drives. On any other rig that does not require to have them always on I would probably use only one intake fan, or even no fan.

EDIT:oops, question was probably meant for the OP,

Thanks. I am still undecided about intake fans. My hard drives temps are up, but I can't remember the numbers. Also, it will change with a new motherboard and cpu. I am hoping that with better fans, and better cable management that I can avoid the intake fans. Anyway, I am still unclear on which fan to use as exhaust and which to use on the cpu......

<shrugs> easy enough to swap, eh? Anyway, I'd try the Noiseblocker on the CPU first.

Yeah, I figure I will have to just swap them and try for myself. I had an outside hope that there would be a definitive answer. Many PC's ago I used to enjoy building them. Now, with three home built PCs in the house it is mostly a never ending maintenance project. Hopefully, if I put the Noiseblocker on the CPU it will be quiet enough for recording.

Thanks for all the help everyone, parts are due in July 5th.

Put the quietest fan on the exhaust. The CPU is further into the case, so its noise will be slightly contained by the case.

If your hard drives are under 42 Celsius, then you don't need more cooling for them. Look up the google labs study of hard drive failure.

Thanks Dr.
Seems logical to me. Again, thanks for the reference to HD temps!

Except it's likely that the CPU fan will run at a higher rpm than the exhaust fan. So, then you have to ask: will the fan that's quieter at ~500rpm be quieter at ~800rpm vs the other ~500rpm fan Which makes my head explode. So, I go back to: try one configuration. If you don't like it, swap them.

Yep, the fans run at slightly different max speeds(1200 and 1500) and the air they move is slightly different as well, so, who knows? It make sense to try the cooling fan provided with the cooling tower and the Noiseblocker as the exhaust, put it together and see if it is quiet enough. If it is not, or the temps rise too much, I'll swap.

Well, have the PC built. CPU is running at 30c non overclocked(2600k), system is running at 34c. BUT......two of my four hard drives are at 45 and 50 respectively. So......a 92mm fan in front......temps are down to 42 and 45 with the intake running at full speed. Kind of frustrating. The CPU fan is turning at about 650 and the exhaust at 750 which is silent enough. The stinking intake fan has to run at about 1000 and is audible.
I was thinking about removing the filter(Antec Solo case) and cutting out the grill.
I hope that I do not get more noise out the front when I do the mods. Any other suggestions?
Thanks!

It's odd that your HDD temps remained high. Are they perhaps not in direct line with the one 92mm fan?

My front fan runs ~500rpm or so (silently) and my HDD temp stays around 35C.

Hi:
There is room for two 92mm fans, but I swapped the hard drive locations so that both drives are in line with the fan, Made a little difference. I am beginning to think that it is an old hardrive, It is tough to tell which hard drives are overheating as Smartfan calls them HD0, HD1 etc). I was hoping for my FanMate 2 to set the RPMs pretty low, but that is not happening. Kind of stumped.

If it isn't some RAID setup, just power down, pull all three non-OS drives. Add them back one by one, and you'd know. While you are at it, try running them outside of the case metal side down (circuit side up) on the case top. See if there's a diff in readings vs inside. Heck, grab the tricool, connect it to a spare molex connector, set it on high and aim it at the hdd sitting on top of the case. If the temp doesn't approach room +5C or so, then:
- speed fan is off on reading the drive temp
- the HDD temp sensor is off
- that's one poor HDD design.

Try HWMonitor, it should display your HDD temps.

Thanks for hwmonitor tip. Right now I am having hardware/driver issues so the silent issue is on the back burner(joke on purpose). After I straighten out this problem I will get back to the fan issues.