Hey guys,

I spent an absolute fortune trying to make my PC silent, got the Seasonic X-560 with the hybrid fan changed my case to the Fractal R3 and my fans for Noctua NF-S12B FLX's. I did all that only to realise that my graphics card was making most of the noise haha. I'm not too bothered because as soon as I silence my graphics card I would be replacing the rest to make it as silent as possible anyway.

I have plenty of quiet 120mm fans lying around but does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to attach one to my GPU? Also will I be able to attach a PWM fan to a port on the graphics card? (Since the stock fan is PWM)

Failing that, any other suggestions on silencing it? I'm hoping for a relatively cheap solution, I don't mind if I have to underclock it.

My PC specs are as follows:

Intel Core i5-760 @ 2.8Ghz (Stock)
2x4GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600Mhz
ASRock P55 Deluxe
Palit GTX 460 1GB
Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM (I only use ~100GB so I might replace it with a SSD and put this in an enclosure or something.)
Seasonic X-560 560W
Noctua NH-D14
Fractal Design Define R3

I have all of the stock fans that come along with those parts and also a big bag of fans. If memory serves, I also have:

1 x 120mm Zaward Golf Fan (Very low RPM version that pushes virtually no air. Not sure exactly on the RPM)
3 x 120mm Noctua NF-S12B FLX
1 x 120mm Noctua NF-P12
1 x 120mm Noctua NF-P12 PWM


Thanks guys

There aren't really a lot of options for silencing GPUs, particularly high end ones.

The first thing to do is download some fan control software (like MSI Afterburner) and create a custom fan profile.
The second thing to do, if you're up for it, is to undervolt and underclock your card, but that's not for everyone.

To make a significant difference in noise you'll have to buy an aftermarket cooler. The Accelero line is really popular here, but most of the newer air coolers will perform similarly so whatever works for you should be good.

Another option is to try the Accelero Hybrid, steep at $140, or try "The Mod," which you can read about in this forum a few threads down.

Try MSI Afterburner first. If it doesn't work as well as you want...think about whether you want to throw $80 at a decent aftermarket solution on a 2 year old card...the HD 7770 is down to $115 for cards with decent cooling solutions. It's slightly slower than the GTX 460. Or, the 7850 is in the $200 range and is faster. Or, wait until sometime this fall for the GTX 650 Ti or 660.

For the 460 the Artic Accelero Mono Plus is worth considering. It comes with a 400 to 1500 rpm range 120mm PWM fan that will be quieter than the existing cooler. As a single large fan it is probably going to have less clearance/compatability issues than the the twin or triple fan alternatives. Costs around $50 from sources such as NewEgg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186063&Tpk=Artic%20Accelero%20Mono%20Plus.

The GPU is listed in Europe as Palit GTX 460 1 GB, but there are several models sporting different coolers. Wich cooler do you really have on your card?

Two choices
1. Do the "mod" where you fit Antec Kuhler 620 onto the videocard
http://www.overclock.net/t/1203528/offi ... ka-the-mod

2. Get some tools and fit Accelero S1 onto your videocard
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showt ... p?t=129694
http://www.overclock.net/t/625281/radeo ... ev1-how-to

Thanks guys,

I've read through all of the advice:

(My card is the Sonic Platinum 1GB edition of the card)

- I have tried MSI Afterburner and my minimum fan speed on my GPU is 40% and that isn't quiet by any means.
- I have tried disabling the fan but obviously it got way too hot, even when I underclocked/undervolted it heavily and added several case fans.
- I have considered an aftermarket cooler but I am seriously short on options, my card uses the old G92 mounting holes and the card is too small to fit most of the coolers.
- I was considering modifying the card's BIOS to allow me to lower the fan speed further but I wussed out, didn't want to brick the card. My motherboard doesn't have integrated graphics so I would be screwed haha.

Another option I thought of was to remove the shroud on my card and throw one of those 120mm Noctuas on it. I was just struggling to find ways to do that properly. In the end I just thought screw that and just then, I attached one of those Noctuas onto it and I'm quite happy with the temps bearing in mind this is a 160W card with a pathetically small heatsink in a case that isn't exactly built for airflow. (Ambient temps aren't exactly high here in sunny old England though )

I attached my Noctua NF-P12 to the GPU and have it running at ~700RPM, I have the PWM version of the same fan running on my heatsink on its own, that ranges from ~300RPM upwards. I then have a 120mm bottom intake and rear exhaust (NF-S12B FLX), both running at what is supposed to be 600RPM but my PC detects it as just over 700RPM.

Tried some stress tests and with P95 and Furmark running at the same time, I top out at their safe maximum temperatures of ~70c and ~90c for CPU and GPU respectively. I'm happy with that because the PC is now really quiet, the hard drive is by far the loudest thing in the case. I don't put my PC through much stress anyway so I doubt I will even push 60/80c.

I might pick up a SSD when I get paid this weekend I've noticed the Intel 330 Series 180GB at £114, that's pretty good. I'll either grab that or the Samsung 830 Series 128GB at £90.


P.S. My PWM fan seems to be refusing to change speed via PWM despite me using the correct 4 pin connector and setting it correctly in the BIOS so I ended up setting it to 800RPM.

Congrats on the bootleg fix! I'd go with the Samsung 830 over the Intel, btw.

Bit skeptical about the Samsung, I have that one in my laptop and although it is reliable, the performance has deteriorated massively in the last 6 months, to the point where it feels just the same as a HDD.

Does your laptop OS support TRIM and is it enabled?

It is running Windows 7 Home Premium, think it is 64 bit. I installed the ssd magician software that came with the SSD and it optimised my settings for use with a SSD so I assume that is the case.