The CM range is pretty good as above you are better served replacing the fan though (lots of choices at various prices) I use either the 212 or the TX-3 models for most builds both are good and reasonably well priced. On the other hand if you crave a noisy CPU cooler I can suggest Thermaltake as a g...

I've ordered some MX-4 and Gelid GC-2 to try. I've a bit of AS5 left I won't be pulling stuff out to replace it with the newer paste, but it should be interesting to see how they stack up I don't expect a big difference between the top 5-10 products on the market AS5 well only downer really is the c...

Used to be a die hard AS-5 user I still use it a bit from time to time. Wondering what folks are using for thermal paste any suggestions?

I would tend to agree positive pressure is not always the way to go. I remember watching some youtube video with a guy bitterly complaining about an Antec Sonata and the negative pressure. The Sonata isn't the best for airflow only because it has relatively few front air intake areas, not because it...

Just a personal view previously lurked here for a number of years, and in various ways I've been experiementing with making quieter computers since before this thread was started. I don't have a problem with the OP's view though in my case I was driven to distraction with an exceptionally loud Dr. c...

The AMD coolers are pretty quiet (95w and under ones) if you ramp down the settings in bios etc etc. They're nothing fancy mind but they do the job. I did try a Gelid siberian for a 65w dual core AMD it's inexpensive and you get a decent PWM fan. Playing about a bit in bios on an Asrock budget board...

I've had good luck with the CM TX-3 coolers I've used I would advise to replace the fan with one of your own choice/use decent thermal paste, it's quite economical and the performance is good. I'm running a Ph II x4 (albeit 95w) and it's no hassle at all keeping it very very quite on that cooler

If you don't want to modify a card you're limited in options on this if you demand a high performance card. I'm not a heavy gamer so I stick to passive cooling only and I'm happy enough with that. You can't get more quiet than passive cooling Some of the cards on the market allow some degree of user...

Yup I'll buy into that any maker who is willing to back up their product with a long warranty gets a thumbs up from me One problem is well Nexus give a 3 year warranty, but I suspect if your fan still "works" they probably won't do much even if it's noisy. (if I'm wrong on that I'll stand corrected)...

I've had issues with Nexus and worn bearings too. I've replaced all Nexus fans with Gelid ones and have no issues to report currently. IMO and this comes from using various fans for some time. Normal sleeve bearings are not the way to go. Hybrid ones seem to fare better, and I've had ball bearing fa...

It's not hard just at the moment it's limited to the top end Intel boards. Personally until it comes to more mainstream products it's not really something that's worth shelling out a premium for. I doubt the cost is much either probably very little. It should turn up on mid level boards in the futur...

Interesting and welcomed though it becomes more useful when it arrives on mid to lower end boards. I can't say (with some good fan selection) that it's been a problem making a quiet pc even without controls like this as I've tended to go for lower speed case fans and just about every board out there...

Competition is good I'm FX ready so let's hope piledriver sorts things out for AMD in both performance and power consumption and yes price too. Regardless, I continue to support AMD as I have done for many years now. I simply can't build an Intel PC because we need AMD to be there. Overall despite l...

Of course I think over a period of time I might chew over an update in 2-3 years or so. Right now this seems to meet my needs. Like I say I'm not hardcore gaming, and you can always drop down the AA a bit and get quite decent improvements in performance. You have to take things in context too, even ...

Yes the top one sure I could have gone to the 6670..but as ever you have to pick what you want/need It's quite enough for what I do..and has good enough performance for the games and tasks I have at the moment. In about 2-3 years I'm sure the next models will be worth a look :shock: Actually it's th...

Last year I built the pc and picked the Asus model, however I overlooked the fact it was using DDR2 memory. I play the odd game though not a hard core gamer. Anyway I was getting quite a big jump in performance v my old Gainward 256Mb Nvidia 7600GS which was also passive. As expected it's quite date...

I don't see much choice if I am honest. They are all cut from the same cloth (sadly) Current moron, or new moron pretending to be "different" And you can apply that to just about every nation out there. Lots of promises, mostly brown envelopes and a desire for "power/glory" fuel these people. Not a ...

My coolermaster is very quiet so I'm not sure where this "loud loud loud" comes from.
Not the silent M series thats for sure. I think some folks stick to a list and ignore some good products because it's not on the SPCR recommended list.
This is a useful site but the lists are out of date quite a bit.

There is no worry with a 5 year warranty on the CM PSU :) I would point out that the review on this site..is a bit dated and these units are now rated at 80 plus "bronze" not the normal 80 plus. I'm not sure where the concern is regarding capacitors as most of the Caps are made in Japan. I think fol...

The NF-B9 is a bit of a let down airflow to noise wise. The PWM is just a version of the same one. Really only 2 Notcua fans are worth a look the NF-S12B flex (for options all round) and the ULN 120mm version for a quiet slower speed straight out of the box fan. I can't say I care much for the NF-R8...

The package is good with Noctua that is beyond doubt sleeving high quality, and the packaging (but hey do most care?) I think they're going for the "buy the best" buyer so on paper they will get people to buy them. If they make the best fans is open to a lot of debate they make good fans. But I'm no...

More odd stuff from AMD This time they're supposed to be working on Phenom II branded CPU's that are cut down FX processors http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20111222231004_AMD_May_Be_Preparing_Phenom_II_X8_Microprocessors.html Unless they have some decent performance improvements and better ...

Well coolermaster can be hit and miss at times overall though I rate them quite decently at least on recent experiences. The coolermaster silent M PSU's are good I've got one in my own build (just to try something different) and I've used some for other builds I've done. So far so good no problems, ...

Hate to say it but Marketing hype seems to be at work here. I'm sure we appreciate there is an element to fan design such as blade angles, bearing design and well known that rubber mounts help reduce vibration. But not a lot more than that, cutting bits out of the blade and putting moulded dimples o...

Hate to say it but Marketing hype seems to be at work here. I'm sure we appreciate there is an element to fan design such as blade angles, bearing design and well known that rubber mounts help reduce vibration. But not a lot more than that, cutting bits out of the blade and putting moulded dimples o...

How long the fan bearings last is also a major factor. Because worn bearings can make a quiet fan a lot louder during it's lifespan. Ball bearing fans or double ball bearings do last the distance as I've run many for heavy duty long running machines for years, but they are not the quietest but over ...

I vote for Gelid they have a longer warranty and I've been very pleased with them so far.

Use the Gigabyte easy tune to adjust the fan speed this will write the setting you make to bios so you don't have to have it auto start to take effect. Personally whilst I like the coolermaster heatsinks and they are priced well, it's worth swapping out the fan for a better one, even so you should s...

Been using the Cooler Master Silent Pro M series for some (better) builds and so far I've no problems and been very pleased with them (yes they are quiet and so far at least reliable)
Main appeal is decent PSU, modular, quiet, long warranty and reasonable price.

Interesting! Quote: "Now onto Noctua's trademark style: the sound of this fan is fairly unimpressive in some regards. Noctua made some bold claims about frequency control and low noise operations of this fan, which just did not pan out. The overall sound signature of this fan was quiet, but not once...