Please give me ideas on making my systems quiet!

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PossumBoy
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Please give me ideas on making my systems quiet!

Post by PossumBoy » Tue Oct 22, 2002 10:11 pm

Hi guys;

First post, so please be gentle. I got my new system on the weekend. Aside from usual software teething trouble, she runs like a dream. The only problem is that the noise being made is more than i can tolerate.

I was considering putting in sound deadening foam, but well informed friends have told me that their effect is minimal at best. I dont mind doing large scale changing of equipment as this is going to be my workhorse PC and the noise will drive me nuts quicker that you can say "mmm.. dual athlons".

Anyway, system specs are as below, thanks for your help.

Regards

Sid

Sids System:

MSI 650I K7D
1.8Ghz Athlon MP (*2). Both are with the stock AMD heatsink + cooler.
Maxtor 80Gb HD
ATI Radeon 9000 Pro
400W Codegen PWS

The fans that are on the system are :

Small motherboard (no real noise)
Radeon (again, nothing discernable)
CPU's (HUGE output)
PWS

There are no case fans on this machine.

With the HDD, it runs pretty quiet as it is.. either that or, the noise from the box is so great, i just cant make out whats happening to the system)

quokked
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Post by quokked » Tue Oct 22, 2002 11:19 pm

Hello :) what I said with the acoustic foam it does help heaps but it isn't a silver bullet for noise reduction (I walked down that path b4 :oops: ) what u need to do 1st dude is to get rid of the stock heatsinks I think... depends on how much heat those MP's generate... and how much money u want to spend..... the cheapest solution would be a ghetto rigged setup with 80MM Panaflow L1A fans strapped onto a Cu Heatsink... also u need some case cooling as well to keep cooler air in your case.....
with the northbridge that fan usually in my experience is LOUD as well but u'll hear that after u got rid of the noise from the two CPU fans,
Anyone else got any experience with the AMD stock coolers?

Justin_R
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Post by Justin_R » Wed Oct 23, 2002 5:29 pm

It seems like you've already come up with a rank order for how loud each component is, which is the first step to quieting your system. Generally speaking, the noise from a system is totally dominated by the loudest component, so you should always replace whatever's loudest first.

Something it seems you haven't decided is how quiet you want the system to be in the end. It's fine to just keep replacing the loudest thing until you are satisfied, but it's nice if you have a target in mind.

The other thing that you have to decide is how much money you want to spend. You can do quiet on the cheap, but if you spend it right, more money will get you a quieter/cooler system.

CPUs:
I think your best option is to go with a heatsink that can accomodate an 80mm fan like the Thermalright SLK-800 or SK-7, or the Alpha 8045. The consensus seems to be that the SLK-800 is the best performer, but it's expensive and very heavy. The SK-7 is slightly less effective, but much cheaper. With these heatsinks, you can mount a low-speed 80mm fan (if you're in the US, Panaflo FBA0812L, if you're in Europe, Papst 8412N/2GML) directly on the heatsink and still get excellent cooling capability.

The Panaflos are less than $5 each. The SK-7s are about $30 each, and the SLK-800s are around $50 each.

Motherboard Northbridge:
The Zalman ZMNB32J will passively cool your Northbridge just fine. At under $10, it's a pretty cheap way to kill some high-pitched whiny noise.

Video Card:
Again, Zalman delivers with the passive cooling ZM80-HP. Pricier at $40, but well worth it if you want quiet.

Power Supply:
I think the only truly quiet PSU (not pretenders like the Vantec Stealth or Enermax Whispers) capable of powering your system would be the 400W Seasonic SS-400FS. If you're feeling frisky, you could replace the fans in your current PSU with Panaflos or Papsts. But this is a pretty risky maneuver on generic PSUs; lowering the airflow could prematurely kill the PSU.

Whatever you do, you should definitely add some case fans. Again, use the Panaflos or Papsts. Given the very high power requirements of a dual Athlon, I'd say at least one intake and one exhaust. These are especially necessary if you use the passive Zalman heatsinks.

Michael_qrt
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Post by Michael_qrt » Thu Oct 24, 2002 8:34 pm

Remember that more slow fans is quieter (often appreciably) than few fast fans. With a dual athlon system you're going to need decent airflow so I'd think you'd want around 4 slowed down panaflos(or equivalent) for your case fans. Then, as others have said, swap out the heatsinks for something with slow 80mm fans. If you then find your hard drive or northbridge and vid card fans annoying think of trying the passive heatsinks mentioned or a new hard drive.

ChiefWeasel
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Post by ChiefWeasel » Fri Oct 25, 2002 1:06 am

Yeah, i definetly think you need some case fans! I would normally say you'd want 2 in - 2 out panaflo L1As at around 5 or 7V, but i think they are difficult to find in Aus? Im sure quokked can sort you out with a good place to buy some other quiet fans :D

One of the HSs (or two, obviously :roll: ) Justin mentioned will quieten your CPU cooling requirements immensely. Maybe you could also try ducting the fans to the exhaust fans, its definetly worth trying different arrangements, to find the quietest and coolest.

After that i would imagine the PSU and your HD will be the main problems, and theres articles on the site here on how to quiet those too.

Justin_R
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Post by Justin_R » Fri Oct 25, 2002 10:09 am

Yeah, I definitely should have said more case fans than just 1 intake and 1 exhaust. :)

PossumBoy
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Thanks for the info

Post by PossumBoy » Sun Oct 27, 2002 8:59 pm

Hi guys;

Well, I didn't expect this level of help :)

Anyways, I was wondering wether it is ok to simply use the same heatsink, but better (read quieter) fans with the CPU's. This is more as I'm trying to keep the budget for Project SilentSMP as low as possible :)

Also, once the CPU's have been quietened, the main noise sources remaining will be that of the power supply. Im VERY tempted to change this over to the Seasonic SS-400FS. Of course, I'll attempt to change over the fan to a PanaFlo by mylsef, but in the case of it not working out, ill jsut get the Seasonic.

Anyway guys, thanks again.

BTW, how cold is it getting in Canada now? Snow falling yet?

Regards

Sid

powergyoza
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Post by powergyoza » Sun Oct 27, 2002 10:46 pm

Hey Sid, I'm trying to quiet/silence my duallie too!

A few questions & comments to add to this thread:

1) What case do you have?

2) Are those 1.8GHz MPs (QS: 2200+) or Athlon 1800+ (1.53GHz)? Hang on, the Athlon 2200+ MPs don't seem widely available yet. It makes a difference 'cuz the 2200+ are based on the easier-to-cool .13u core. In either case, I think you'll need to upgrade your HSF's. AX-7s are probably your best compromise between cost and performance. I don't think the stock HSF can absorb and radiate all that heat if you switch to lower cfm fans.

3) I agree with the others in this thread that you absolutely need case fans. 2 exhausts if possible. No intake fans (I believe it disrupts the air currents inside).

Red Dawn
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Post by Red Dawn » Mon Oct 28, 2002 12:16 pm

I'd like to comment on your #2 observation powergyoza:

The .13u core does allow for 'cooler' chips, ie. less wattage. BUT (and this is important), due to the smaller interface between the chip and the heatsink, it becomes harder to make all that heat pass onto, and into, the heatsink, resulting in higher temperatures. This is exactly the sort of thing we saw with the XP +2200's, that is, if they haven't changed something dramatically with the server version core, but I wouldn't think so.

PossumBoy
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Post by PossumBoy » Mon Oct 28, 2002 3:34 pm

Hi guys;

Firstly, I went for the MP1800+, meaning that they're not the .13u core. and are running at 1.53Ghz.

Having said this, I think I have a long road ahead of me for optimum silent cooling. I had the chance to pick quokked's head while we were on a drive and realised that a lot of my problems will be due to the quality of my case(or lack of it).

So, this will be my game plan:

1) Get better case. Im budgetting in the range of $200 AUD. quokked assures me i can pick up a good quality one with a good PWS for this.
2) Change fan set on heatsinks to quieter build. I bought the chips from a standard retail pack, so they came with the stock(CoolerMaster) set. So, i tihnk ill have to change them to a better one.
3) Panaflow's - 2 in rear and 1 huge volume one in front.
4) acoustic foam on sides/all.

Im hoping this will let me keep the comp on while i sleep, as right now, the turbine setup is too much to bear... :(

Sid

Red Dawn
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Post by Red Dawn » Mon Oct 28, 2002 4:11 pm

You might want to have a look at the case I'm searching all around for (have only found it in stores in the US so far) -- the LiteOn FS020.
Three 120 mm. standard holes/mountings for fans equates to... cooling goodness (and quite possibly quietness)!

Find some clever way to duct things, and you'd be well on your way I'd say. Maybe put filters at the back on the fans might help reduce overall noise if you have to run them fast to keep the system cool, though this should be less of a problem if you utilize a good way of transporting the heat to the outside, instead of relying on massive airflow.

PossumBoy
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mmm.. droolage case

Post by PossumBoy » Tue Oct 29, 2002 6:35 pm

heh, I looked up the specs on this beasty last night. Im still amazed at how huge it is/will be :P

But, as allways, us poor guys in Oz, wont get it for a while. So, im holding out on getting a "good" case until the next time I'm in SG.

/Sid

Red Dawn
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Post by Red Dawn » Wed Oct 30, 2002 12:43 pm

Alright, I was only trying to broaden your view of available options. It is quite huge, but for me, that's a good thing. :)

One question though: What is SG?

Beyonder
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Post by Beyonder » Wed Oct 30, 2002 1:07 pm

Yep, I'd agree with most people here that your best bet is to get some really nice heatsinks and some low RPM 80mm fans to cool them. Also, you don't even need the fan on the northbridge - those are largely cosmetic and actually serve no purpose (generally speaking) whatsoever.

I know I've been running my soltek sl-75drv with no northbridge fan for months now - with no noticable effect on anything.


A better PS would also help - and wouldn't be a bad idea. A lot of times those generic PS's blow on you, and take the rest of your system with them - especially on systems where you're drawing a lot of power (IE: dualies :D).

PossumBoy
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Post by PossumBoy » Wed Oct 30, 2002 5:10 pm

Red Dawn wrote:One question though: What is SG?
SG = Singapore. I live in melbourne and have to make trips to Asia reasonably regularly, hence acronyms for places e.g: KL = Kuala Lumpur, etc..

***Update on my system***
The stock fans are ALREADY making a racket (i.e: vibrating). I think ill have to check the mountings again OR, replace them now itself. im starting to like the idea using dual Thermalright SLK800.

/Sid

Red Dawn
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Post by Red Dawn » Thu Oct 31, 2002 12:23 pm

Oh alright, what business are you in? And would you be any chance be able to pick up a pair of copper smartdrives on one of your trips?

Have you tried using rubber/silicone to prevent the fans from shaking/vibrating so much?

PossumBoy
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Post by PossumBoy » Wed Nov 06, 2002 9:17 pm

Actually, the trips I made were for a company that let me go last week(Telecomms company, swedish, name starts with E and ends in N.)

Anyways, im working for a small testing company now, so no more chances of getting frequent trips.

Having said this, Im prolly going to go on a trip to KL+SG+HK early in the new year, so I should be able to pick up a fair bit of equipment :D

As for quietening my system further, im going to wait until quokked is free in coming weeks and then will grab him to help me with my box.

/Sid

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