This is the quietest PC I have ever been around, including my previous Koolance water cooled system (which developed an irritating grinding noise after 6 months). The solution for me was to replace both the CPU and power supply fans with Panaflo 80 mm low-rpm case fans. Here are the specifics:
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<BR>Athlon XP 1800 (palomino core)
<BR>Giga-byte GA-7VRX
<BR>256 Mb PC2700
<BR>Abit siluro Geforce 4 Ti 4200 (overclocked to 280/550 MHz)
<BR>Seagate Barracuda IV 40 Gb
<BR>OCZ Goliath SE CPU heatsink (nice pure copper heat sink with 80 mm fan adapter)
<BR>Cheapo Enlight mid tower with 250W power supply
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<BR>There was a very significant decrease in noise after replacing the Goliath SE fan with the Panaflo. It wasn't that loud to begin with since it spun at only 3800 RPM, but the Panaflo is seriously quiet. Replacing the PSU fan had less of an effect but still noticable. Now it's so quiet you can clearly hear the Seagate accessing (and we all know how quiet Barracudas are). Also the noise is a low whooshing sound, not an irritating whine.
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<BR>The downside is the average CPU temp under moderate load went up 2-4 degrees to 51-54. But as long as the CPU can handle it thats ok with me...that's what we pay them for.
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<BR>Bottom line is a nicely quiet system for $10 worth of Panaflo fans. Not fancy but effective!
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[addsig]
a really cheap quiet solution...panaflo for everything
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