Hey guys, ive been here for references and opinions before and i wanted to give something back. Finished off my 0db rig about 6 months ago and have been very happy.

key components
i7-2600k, its a bit outdated but still a top tier processor.
CR-95C (black pearl) the copper one will oxidize over time.
two intel series 520 ssd's w/sata iii capable motherboard
corsiar AX650
and finally a Sapphire 7970 Dual-X video card

The 7970 was really the key component. I was running a gtx 660ti with a modified bios and a mini pwm controller, from the card itself, to a Nexus 120mm pwm real silent fan. It was quiet but i could still hear it. The 7970 idles at 0db and that made all the difference in the world. About every 2 months the 7970 will idle at a few db's above 0. if i put my ear next to the case i can faintly hear it so i know its time to clean it up and get it back to 0db. I game for about 2-3 hours a day and have never had a problem. I have 0 case fans in this system and it does just fine when gaming. Sure, it heats up like you would expect a fanless system to do but it does cool off on its own after a few minutes.

I have been on the trial and error quest for a 0 db rig for about 3 years and just wanted to show how i did it.

Hello!

Very nice rig, what are the temps? I understand, that during gaming the gpu fan goes into high rpm and You're wearing headphones so You can't hear it? If You play very little, wouldn't it be better if You just use the integrated graphics from CPU?

Here are my temps under typical gaming load.


I do not want to use the integrated HD3000 graphics because it is a very poor graphics system. The 7970 scores a 5,088 on passmark while the integrated HD3000 scores a measly 305.

I also wanted to wanted to emphasize that my rig is 0 db at idle AND during normal everyday use. While gaming the gpu and the power supply fans will kick in but this is to be expected.

Thanks for the questions Horgrim

Thanks for sharing your experience wiht nofan, just wondering have you tested Prime95 to see if can still cool the 2600K passively?

Hi Abula

Since you asked i have tested for you.


Indeed the CR-95C can handle Prime95 on "Max Heat". If you are running sustained CPU loads of 100% you will need a case cooling solution to vent all that hot air.

Thank you for running the test, this gives a clear picture of the Nofan95, too hot for me, even though Prime95 is a scenario that rarely happens, its getting close to the TJmax. I have one on my way one that i want to use on my download station, more to have it run with single case fan but its a dual core, so im expecting it to behave.

The title is misleading!

A big thing would have been if it was 0 db during gaming!

Anyway, 0db is overrated. 12CM fans spinning @ ~450-500 RPM in a good (insulated) case are imposible to hear at 1 meter. Check out my "lots of slow fans" approach to see a "0 db" pc while idle/moderate load and SILENT during gaming/high load. viewtopic.php?f=14&t=64355

Since then it's been tuned a little, and the fans are 430 RPM idle, 800 RPM at load and it never gets hot. That's where i would improve yours. Better gpu cooling and manual control over it's fan/fans.

Edited title to clarify.

Thanks for the suggestions Tzeb but i have no interest in adding any case fans. Agreed, my GPU and CPU temps are not as good as they could be. I have by design sacrificed temps for beautiful graphics, amazingly fast system speeds, and heavenly silence. This rig has been running the noFan for a year and the 7970 for 6 months and handles everything i throw at it like a red hot knife through butter. Can it fold or run prime95 at ice cold temps?? No, but it was never designed to do those things in the first place.

The gpu and psu fans ruin your nice setup.
Here is what i would do to make it much quieter, even when gaming:

Get the Accelero Xtreme III for the gpu. Use speedfan to keep its fans close to zero @idle and ramp to ~1200-1500 rpm for gaming.

Open the psu and pull out the fan plug (or change the fan altogether). Stick it in a mobo header with speedfan control. Have the fan at ~500 RPM when idle and 850 RPM when gaming.

Nice setup useful_idiot !!
Fanless = bragging rights ! Congrats.

Nice temps too. What's the dust situation ?

I have the NoFan in my fanless setup too, it's priced about the same as high end air coolers which is a great deal.

That rig isn't 0 db at idle. Even the quietest PSUs emit 10db noise.

Anyway, my rig is completely inaudible at idle. Still extremely quiet during full load. Not to mention everything is overclocked.



No isolation needed. Keeping the fans quiet makes your rig quiet and still provide a lot of cooling.

Thx frenchie, The open case pic is the dust situation after 3 months. 5 minutes + some compressed air = brand new again. No need to take anything apart anymore.


Hello ohhgourami. Thanks for the criticism, i appreciate that. Technically the SPCR review numbers indicate LESS than 11db measurement of the ax850. For the sake or argument i hope we can agree that the ax850 and ax650 are identical except for power output. SPCR has a noise baseline of 11db so to say a measurement of 10 db has been measured would be inaccurate. Nobody really knows what the ax650's real db value is. From a human experience, if i remove the case cover, stop the 2 7970 fans, and listen to the ax650 at a range of 1 inch i cannot hear anything. No buzz, no whine, no fan spinning, its dead silent and that is what is important to me. Is my rig truly 0 db? Well to find out i would have to take it to NIST and use their chamber with a baseline of -9 db. I admit my statement of achieving 0 db is, technically speaking, blasphemously inaccurate but i am writing this from a human experience point of view and i believe most users understand 0 db to mean complete silence.

sure, "0 db above noise floor at idle rig achieved" would be a more accurate title. but regardless, its a nice build that would be silent to 99.9% of the populous.

Where do you see the most dust ? Bottom of case ? GPU ?
It's a lot of questions about dust but I'm curious to see how the natural airflow affects where the dust settles

PS : fanless is cool. And yes, you can always get a better "quieter" faster rig, but it's not fanless. And who knows, maybe you DO have a 0db computer

Just to point out that with ZeroCore support, any HD7850 or higher will shut down it's fan totally while the machine is idle.

My Asus HD7850 will go silent as long as it's running Windows 8.1 and latest AMD drivers.

Hey Fella's! Just an update on my relentless pursuit of silence.


click to enlarge


-New case from cooler master called the HAF EVO has really cleaned things up.
-280x modded with the artic accelero 7970 extreme heatsink.
-Fan controller for 2 case fans and a 220mm exhaust fan.
-Corsair AX860i digital power supply.
-Everything else is the same.

The fans are all currently off. I only installed them and the fan controller because i was litecoin mining over the winter. Im most happy with the new heatsink on the 280x. I actually RMA'd the 280x for a stock fan that had gone bad. I got back the same card with the same broken fan so i raged and decided to pay the 100 bucks or whatever for the accelero. The thing is HUGE!! Look how far it comes out in the picture! Its such a nice upgrade tho, I had no idea it was so well built or I would have got one as soon as I bought the 280x. I tried hooking the accelero's 3 fans up to the fan controller but for some reason it just does not work. Out of the box you only have 2 options for control of the acceleros fans, 50% or 100%. I tried 100% and it was like a mini hurricane. I would only use this 100% setting for constant 100% gpu load activities. At 50% though I dont notice the fans rumbling away unless the house goes silent like a library, even then its VERY tolerable. The great part is that since this heatsink is so massive 50% is more than enough to cool this bad boy when gaming. The fans never change speed and always stay quiet. Its as close to silent as you will get on a decent gaming card. I cant recommend it enough.

Fellas! Fellas!! Fellaaaaaaas!!!

My last post got me thinking about why i wasnt using the 280x's onboard pwm controller. There was a reason at the time i was setting it all up but i forget now. I revisited the issue and was able to get the fans controlled by the card. WOW what a difference! The fans idle at 29% which is inaudible until you get to a range of inches. I did a render test and the fans kicked up to about 45% which is slightly less than the 50% i was running fulltime before but still very very quiet. I went all out and went library mode, unplugged the fridge, closed all windows and doors, ect ect. I could swear i was hearing the accelero's fans so i started listening to them while getting closer and closer to the pc but it wasnt the accelero's fans i was hearing. Strange..it was coming from somewhere else. Turns out its my monitor. Yeah my monitor emits a constant buzz i have never noticed before. Will i spend money to get a new monitor? NO! This monitor noise is so quiet that i discovered it accidentally while sound testing. In everyday use background noises are far louder than my pc and monitor. This looks like the end of my journey guys, its been a long road, a great learning experience, and a rewarding challenge.

Enjoy your build