Hello everyone~

Recently I'm building an silent i7 rig for PS and double as a HTPC but I found myself in trouble now.

I did some research and put together the following components:

i7 920 (Scythe Big Shuriken cooler)
Asus Rampage II gene
Asus HD4350 silent
3X2G OCZ DDR3 1600
2XOCZ AGILITY 60GB
Silverstone ST45NF
Lian Li PC-C37B(case fans removed due to no space)

I thought the only thing that will possibly make a sound is the cpu cooler but when I finally finished on it thing doesn't work so well.

When the system is on high load the fan on the Big Shuriken will accelerate to ~1750RPM and emits a horrible wind blowing sound. AND the fanless PSU will have a squeaking noise from time to time.

I tried to set all the voltage in CMOS to a fixed value and like 80% of the squeaking noise from PSU are gone, But the remaining is still very annoying.

I also tried to replace the fan on Big shuriken with a Noctua P12 which turned out to be even louder(maybe because it's closer to the mesh on the top of the case) and even the ULNA resistor didn't help much. And in such a case there aren't many choice for a CPU cooler.

I also looked at water cooling but almost everyone says that passive ones like a Zalman reserator won't be enough for i7, and the pump for active kits or custom built sets won't be silent(like the D5/MCP655 or MCP335), meanwhile it would be really messy course I can by no means fit the whole RAD in an already crowded case and there's no place to mount it outside as well.

Meanwhile it is really really hot under load. After 30 min of prime95, The cpu cores can hit 77C, cpu will be like 67C, Both NB and SB near 78C and the GPU which is actually idling can hit 74C. I don't even dare to put my hand on the left part of the case

So I've no idea what to do with the cooling.

So my question boils down to be:
1. Is the ST45NF supposed to emit a squeaking noise or I just got a lemon? Is there anything other than fix voltage to reduce that?

2. What shall I do about the cooling? Maybe change to a bigger case? Any suggestions on that?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

given the cpu cooler that you are using, 77 degrees centigrade for the cpu cores on prime95 isn't all that bad... just don't try overclocking it.

remember that there aren't hardly any real-world applications that will hammer the cpu cores like that, so you'll always be cooler than what you get with prime95... the main reason that you run prime95 is to prove that your system is stable; it's a great memory tester, among other things.

you said something about cmos voltages? does that mean that you tried undervolting the cpu? because undervolting the cpu can cool it down.

i think that the nb/sb/gpu are within tolerance levels, although the gpu is so cheap that it isn't worth worrying about.

Thanks for the reply and sorry for my poor english.

I'll try to make it clearer.

Yap 77C sounds okay under prime95 but sth that high for NB and SB is never seen by me and they don't go down that much even when the CPU is idling(NB is still higher than 75 and that doesn't look right). For the GPU you're very right I'd actually rather go with an integrated gpu if there exists an X58 motherboard with one.
Meanwhile the cooler is very noisy once CPU is under load.

As for the CMOS setting, I did undervolted the CPU to ~1.1v but my point is to fix all the voltages so that they don't change(I remember hearing someone say that doing so will help with the electrical current noise from PSU), it helps but it didn't solve the problem completely(the electrical current noise are less frequent but they are still there).

Wow, a i7 920 in a slim HTPC case with no case fans.

My ST45NF is always dead silent. Sounds like you're hearing coil whine. If you're certain the noise is coming from the PSU, RMA it or ask for a refund.

i7 920 should undervolt to around 0.95v @ stock speed.

Manufacturer's website suggests that a PSU with a fan will aid case airflow. Link
"There is a space for ATX power supply. When user used a PSU with a 8cm cooling fan which will help the system to remove the hot air out of the chassis. If user used a PSU with 12-14cm cooling fan, there are vent on top cover to intake cool air to cool the PSU down."

Alternatively, if you aren't happy with the temps/noise and you really need a HTPC case, an Antec Fusion Remote Max or similar case would be worth considering. Find a case that will accept a tower or mini tower cpu cooler and 120mm fans.

How horrible is that sound? I was thinking of replacing my stock i7 860 cooler with a big shuriken because i heard that the big shuriken is the most silent low profile cooler from different sources (one is this: http://www.frostytech.com/top5_lowprofile_heatsinks.cfm ) but if it's noisy as you describe at 1750 rpms then I should look for something else.
With the stock i7 860 cooler I get 90C on 'real temp' and A LOT OF NOISE after 4 mins of prime95 so I wish I had your temps

I want the temps to stay at 90C but the noise to be reduced A LOT!!! Might look for zalman 8700 although I heard it's the most loud lowprofile one. I wonder how's zalmans noise at low speed and if it can keep my cpu at the same temp as the stock intel cooler but with a lot less noise.

according to frostytech the zalman 8700 at low speed is quieter than the shuriken at same temps:
first col is C 150W second C85W and third dba



I was also looking of replacing the fan with a nexus 120mm one

Thanks for replying~

Maybe I shouldn't hoped an i7 will be cool and quiet inside such a case at first place, I'm indeed searching for another case now and what I really don't like about antec's Fusion series is that they have 2 kinds of feet, 2 flashy ones at the front and 2 rubber/plastic ones in the back. Also seriously thinking about trade the HTPC look for silent and cool now.

May I ask what's your impression of P18x cases? I'm looking at the smaller version(mini P180). Or do you have any suggestions about similar ones(not really big, built in noise dampening, not too eye catching)?

And I'm pretty sure that the coil whine comes from PSU cause 1. When only the PSU is on(PC off) it's weaker but still there; 2.I once moved the whole MB out of the case and PSU still in it, the sound comes from the direction of the case and if I move my ear closer to PSU it becomes loader; 3. I was suspecting the Video card but removing it doesn't help.

But amazon doesn't have it in stock anymore

And my 920 can't do 0.95v, I only get 1.075V@2.4Ghz

I really can't recommend it. The reasons being:
1. Extremely hard to install, I indeed used their "775 stabilization kit" to replace the push-pin mount and finally got it inplace.
2. When the fan is at high speed(say ~1600R), you will hear it from 7meters away and you will find it irritating at that distance.
3. Even so, it can't cool an i7 920 down, I can easily push all the cores to 100C under prime95(room temp ~27C, OC to 3.4G at stock voltage) and the system will crash and reboot soon after that.
4. The fan is poorly made, it is indeed silent(have to put my ear right next to it to hear the smooth wind sound) at low RPM(~800), but it seems that the fan doesn't run smooth enough under that RPM and there's random mechanical noise from time to time which can be heard at 1Meter.
5. Change to a Noctua P12 fan doesn't help much(with the cooling). I don't have a nexus one though.

I won't try Zalman as well given the 130W tdp and I will stress the CPU in PS work from time to time. But you may since 860 only have 95W and you may or may not push it hard in regular use(if you don't, the fan will be quieter I guess). The truth is a low-profile cooler just can't handle the heat as good as taller ones.

I'd go for an Antec Solo. Solo is about the same size. Unless you're upgrading to a high-end graphics card in the future, the Mini P180 is overkill.



If Amazon cannot exchange, ask for a refund. Otherwise, contact Silverstone and explain the situation. This noise is not normal and makes it "unfit for purpose". Do everything you can.

I've had two other PSUs (different manufacturer) in my system that emit electrical noise, but my ST45NF has always been silent. I got mine from EndPCNoise.




This isn't important but I just checked again and mine does 0.928v idle and around 0.896v with prime95 load (@ 2.8Ghz). Bios core voltage was set at 0.95625v. I have a D0 revision.

Will take any size CPU cooler:
Lian Li A05* W 8.27; H 15.00; D 19.29;

Will take many CPU coolers:
Lian Li PC A03* W 7.40; H 14.49; D 17.60;

Will take an HR-01 plus sideways:
Apevia X-QPACK II* W 11.25; H 9.00; D 14.50;
RAIDMAX ICECUBE ATX-015B Dimensions (L x W x H) 17.00" x 12.25" x 9.75"

All of these are light aluminum

I tried the slow 140mm Noiseblocker on the little Shuriken. I was having a similar problem. It worked very nicely. Noise went way down. The cooling even improved a bit. It helped cool the NB and SB too.

Silverstone has a nice 700rpm 180mm fan. If that fits try that.

Personally I would NEVER use a Big Shuriken for an i7 -- it's just too small, and the i7s are just too hot. The ideal intended use for the BS is in a small SFF case w/ a 65W TDP or cooler CPU.

The case is also way too small for an i7; those CPUs run HOT. The NSK2480/Fusion or Silverstone GD05/06 (w/o optical drive) would be way better.

In either of those cases, midsize or bigger heatsinks can be used. Something like a Scythe mini ninja would cool much more quietly; in the GD05/06, a slight taller HS can be used (w/o optical drive).

As for the squealing from the PSU, it's probably some combination of components Plus the high stress test load that's doing it. If the noise does not happen in normal use, then don't worry.

Will the mini ninja cool better than the big shuriken?

Here is a small case that will handle pretty much any thermal load, accept pretty much any size heat sink and take a fairly large video card, and cool that too:
http://www.lan-gear.com/
But it is only H 8.6" x W 11.4" x D 14.6"

In total volume, it isn't much bigger than the Lian Li PC-C37B at:
Height 3.7"
Width 17.1"
Depth 14.9"

Of course it is more of a cubic form factor.

It is a little muscular in the fan department. But it gives you a lot of configuration options to add or remove them depending on your cooling needs. You can use a big top down or a tall tower or even something like the big Noctua.

I don't think there's any doubt -- just look at the total cooling surface area.

But it's such an ugly ungainly shape/size!

It is a bit crude. Though I personally prefer that form factor myself. I am thinking of buying it actually.

I have a Lian Li v351 that I like. The Lan gear is smaller, provides better ventilation has room for the largest cpu heatsinks, and a 120mm fan position that is perfect for cooling any passive or non-passive video card.

It is sort of like a shorter squatter more muscular Lian Li v351 on steroids - blue collar without the refinement or table manners of the Lian Li. But it sure seems like it packs the goods into a small space without making any performance compromises.

Of course you never see all the aspects of a case until you own it and have to live with it for a while.

On the high northbridge temp front, I would just like to chime in that it seems "normal" for the Rampage II Gene motherboard to run in the 70C range for the NB. That's where mine runs in a Silverstone TJ-08. It drops to about 50C if I point a spare 120mm fan at it from the side vent on the case, but I otherwise haven't found a decent solution for it, esp as I would rather try to close that side vent than add a fan

Some people have talked about sticking chipset coolers directly on the stock asus one like the Thermalright HR-05, or replacing the stock thermal paste, or replacing it entirely. Adding a small fan seems like the easiest route

In any case, with a side facing CPU heatsink fan on a sweet HS like the Prolimatech Megalahems, you will have the warm NB temps even after you switch cases, so don't be surprised

I have a MSI X58M in Silverstone TJ-08 case. With stock NB HSF, the IOH temp runs in the up 70C range. I changed the stock NB HSF to the Thermalright HR-05. The IOH temp drops to about 47C,