Your PC before SPCR and after

smifou · Post by **smifou** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:10 pm

Just for the laugh.. I thought about a post where people would detailed their noisy pc they had before SPCR and what they have now after SPCR. Before SPCR I had an NoiseControl Silverado which was cooling half the heatsink cause of it's own design. It rapidly became a NoiseSource monsterado. I then got an Enermax 350 watt whisper, it is a damn solid psu but wasn't whispering after a few month so i removed the 92mm fan underneath and ran like this for at least 6 month. Had a noisy Western digital which died while i was in windows. A vantec "stealth" 80mm on the side panel too.

After SPCR, i have two durable maxtor hdd suspended (i dropped one on the floor and still works perfectly). A zalman 400A psu modded with a papst80ngl, slk800A with panaflo@8volt, and another papst80ngl on my side panel that shoots a bit of air on my zalman 80C vga cooler. Replaced that tiny noisy northbridge fan with some heatsink. It is ridiculously more quiet then my old pc. I'm sure that if I would have spotted SPCR sooner, i would have saved lots of money. I prefer having papst as case fan and panaflo on heatsink for the noise even though one of my papst clicks (the one in the psu)

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:21 pm

Well, it was before SPCR existed, but the sytem that finally made me start learning how to build quiet computers was a 1.4 TBird, OCed to 1575(?) with a Swiftech MCX370+60mm Papst (@12V) HSF, Enermax 350W "Whisper" PSU, a whiney IBM Deathstar + whiney Maxtor HDD in an Antec SX10x0 case with 4 80mm L1As running at 12V.

nutball · Post by **nutball** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:23 pm

Before SPCR I had a perfectly functional, noisy PC.

Now I have a very quiet(-ish) PC, that is still too noisy for my liking, a pile of fans that are too loud, several power supplies that don't cut the mustard, and whole lot less cash than I had beforehand. Also a heap of other stuff which is yet to go into Iteration 2 of my quiet PC (which cost more money).

Am I happy I came here? Hell yeah!

smifou · Post by **smifou** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:30 pm

thunderbird.. that does lots of heat i think

I had a palomino xp1900+ and the silverado was not enough.. i had to stick another fan on the side of the heatsink to make it work.. lol

Steve Rosenthal · Post by **Steve Rosenthal** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:33 pm

Before SPCR:

Me: "Honey, I built a new computer."
My Wife: "It's really loud."

After SPCR:

Me: "Honey, I 'fixed' the computer."
My Wife: "Is it on???"

--Steve

P.S. Before SPCR: $$$$$; After SPCR: $$.

sorenbro · Post by **sorenbro** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:37 pm

When I bought my system I didn't know about spcr.com but had searched for some fairly quiet hardware, and later I found out that alot of hardware interested people are hearing-impared, because the hardware I got was not quiet.

Before:
P4 in-a-box CPU cooler
Chieftec Dragon miditower
Chieftec 360W PSU
Hardmounted Seagate Baracudda V
Asus GF4 TI4400 standard cooler

After:
P4 with Zalman CNPS7000cu
First Chieftec 360W with Papst 12db fan later SilenX 350W PSU (before all the "fraud" was discovered)
GF4 now with Zalman HP80A
Antec Sonata with Papst 120mm fan and still the SilenX PSU
The harddrive is not mounted with any screws.

Soon to come:
Sorbothane mounted harddrive
Perhaps a new Ati Radeon GFX with Arctic VGA cooler

smifou · Post by **smifou** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:40 pm

hi sorenbro! what did you think of your psu chieftec with the papst mod. Sounds pretty quiet to me except if there are any kind of coil buzz. Was your papst clicking?[/img]

Post by **MikeC** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:50 pm

1 GHz T-bird (oc'd to 1.4?) on ABIT KT7A-RAID with Swiftech MC462A + humongous Sanyo-Denki 80x38 50cfm @ 5000 rpm & 120 dBA, Enermax 375(?) "whisper" dual-fan PSU, and dual whining IBM 75GXP in RAID-0. One week after taking possession and >20 dB hearing loss, hacking and modding for quieting began.

>6 months later, same PC, now undervolted & underclocked to 933, with innumerable mods & hacks is ~20 dBA/1m. Backup system, P3-600 oc'd to 733, is ~16 dBA/1m.

>12 mos later, launch SPCR to share learned knowledge and gather more.

The rest is history...

Skylined · Post by **Skylined** » Wed May 19, 2004 2:02 pm

I started with noise reduction but it wasn't because of SPCR...

B - All fans where 80mm
A - All fans are 92mm

B - PSU with 2 noisy 80mm fans.
A - PSU with 1 silent 92mm fan with a controller.

B - Baybus 7V/off/12V for 4 fans.
A - Variable controller from 6.5V to 12V for 6 fans.

B - Small Evercool HS
A - SLK900A

B - 60mm HSF @ 12V
A - 92mm HSF with a variable controller from 6.5V to 10.5V

B - Noisy Quantum 30GB HDD
A - Silent Seagate 120GB HDD

B - Noisy HDD cooler with 2 50mm fans @ 12V
A - Silent 92mm fan with connected to my variable controller.

B - GF telling me "it's a little bit noisy..."
A - GF telling me "stop complaining about noise! I can't even hear your PC!!!"

johnc · Post by **johnc** » Wed May 19, 2004 3:05 pm

My family had one computer for a long time. I had refused to get very involved with it, because I had read in a Susan Sontag book that guns, cameras and automobiles are fantasy objects whose use is addictive. I believed her. I stayed away from computers because I thought they probably belonged in the same cluster. I was right.

Eventually I had no choice. We went to 2 computers, then my wife needed a separate computer, and that was the deal breaker. It was a small, budget Gateway that had an integrated power supply and one fan. That fan did the job for the whole system, and it could have provided lift-off for the USS Constitution. My first thought whenever that computer was unoccupied was to shut it off so that I could think in peace.

Making that computer quiet led me into the whole motherboard scene, which I had studiously avoided. At about that time I stumbled onto SPCR, which was just starting up. I really liked the tone of this site from the outset, and have enjoyed coming here ever since.

I am now sitting in a room with 7 computers running. The wind is blowing hard in the trees, and that's all I can hear. Thanks, Mike.

SometimesWarrior · Post by **SometimesWarrior** » Wed May 19, 2004 3:36 pm

I like Skylined's format, so I'll follow it.

B: Three Maxtor ball-bearing hard drives, hard-mounted to the case.
A: Two soft-mounted Samsung Spinpoint 160GB drives.

B: Two 12V 80mm Antec case fans in back, two 12V 4000RPM 80mm monstrosities in front.
A: One 5V 80mm Panaflo L1a in front. Some extra heatsinks glued to VRM's.

B: Two Vantec 6027D heatsinks, each with 60mm, 30CFM fans that ran at 7000RPM. (yes, a dual-CPU system.)
A: Two Thermalright SK-7 heatsinks, each with 80mm Panaflo L1a ducted in push-pull configuration (6.5V, 7.5V).

B: Stock Antec 400W PSU, 80mm and 92mm fans.
A: Same PSU, with external soft-mounted Panaflo 80mm L1a @ 7.5V, intake ducted from the front of the case. Bottom 92mm opening sealed.

B: Gainward Geforce3 stock whiny 40mm fan.
A: Vantec 6027D heatsink, fan removed, fins spread in Zalman "flower" configuration. 80mm Panaflo L1a @ 5V blowing from side, mounted on Zalman bracket.

I didn't have to underclock anything to go from 60dBa to 30dBa (my wild guesses at noise levels).

bigred · Post by **bigred** » Wed May 19, 2004 5:51 pm

Fans
B: All fans were stock or Thermaltake
A: All fans are Panaflo or Pabst @5v - 7v

PSU
B: Stock sparkle and Vantec "Stealth" (not even close to stealth...)
A: SilentMaxx fanless 350PCS

Heatsink
B: Thermaltake Volcano 7
A: Thermalright SLK-800 (w/Panaflo @7v)

Hard Drive
B: Western Digital WD1200JB
A: Samsung SP1604N

Video Cooler
B: Stock fan on Radeon 9700Pro
A: Arctic Cooling Rev:2

Case
B: Generic case, no sound dampening
A: YeongYang cube, PowerSnooze

mdaniel · Post by **mdaniel** » Wed May 19, 2004 5:57 pm

Oh where do I begin?

Let's start from the outside and work our way in for the pre & post SPCR practices.

Before:
No-name case with FOUR 80mm Sunon (later changed to Vantec Stealths) case fans...front, back, side & top, How I missed the left side and bottom I will never know. XP 2200+ at 2400+ with the original heatpipe HSF...Coolermaster HCC01 (or something like that) with a screaming delta 60mm on it. And if all that wasn't enough noise for you, a whopping Vantec Stealth (Yeah Right) 520w PSU. Eventually swapped out the 60mm delta and added an 60mm to 80mm adapter with a sunon 80mm. Still...VERY Loud. Oh, and ALL fans at 12v and the case with some cheap Akasa noise dampending stuff that didn't work. A WD and a Maxtor HDD.

Now:
Amd 2500+ @ 3200+. Antec3700AMB with two 120mm fans. Intake is Tt Led smartfan @ 7v AND set lower with a vantec fanmate set to low (I like the blue glow). Exhaust is a 120mm Enermax adjustable at low. PSU is a brand new SPCR recommended Enermax Noisetaker 470w. The HSF is an SLK900A w/ a 92mm Enermax adjustable @ 2200 RPMs (Loudest part of my rig). Seagate SATA & WD HDDs.

By the end of this weekend (hopefully), I will have started & finished my first WC rig that will use a Hydor L25, BIPro, DD TDX and DD Bay Res. Should remove the noise from that loud cpu fan.

Talk about "Silence is Golden." Its not a silent computer, but after I get my WC setup, it should be almost like having a 286 cpu again. I went from investing $$$$ in crazy overclocking to investing $$ for mild overclocking at a quiet level.

chylld · Post by **chylld** » Wed May 19, 2004 6:31 pm

I used to have a Shuttle.

bigred · Post by **bigred** » Thu May 20, 2004 2:58 am

MikeC wrote:launch SPCR to share learned knowledge and gather more.
The rest is history...

Cheers to that!

the_smell · Post by **the_smell** » Thu May 20, 2004 3:39 am

Before:
1.4 GHx T-Bird with Thermo Engine screamer
ABit KG7-RAID with actively annoying nothbridge cooling
Lian-Li PC60 + generic fans of doom
Western Digital noisey thing
Enermax PSU 'whisper quiet'

(apparently they used to whisper quite loadly in the enermax offices)

After: see sig
Got the via C3 based PC!
Modded with lian li a lot (powersnooze, grills, panaflos)
Still got that really bad WD hard disk

(part of me still likes a little speed - need to get spinpoint RAID array)

Edit: Just replaced wester digital disk of annoyance with a shiney new spinpoint

. Also ducted zalman PSU from top blowhole of the Lian-Li, now things are appraching the noise the via C3 system makes.

lucienrau · Post by **lucienrau** » Thu May 20, 2004 5:05 am

Before: Overclocked XP1700, Seagate Barracuda III, Antec PSU, hard mounted ADDA fans (80mm 12v with fan grils), Enlite full tower, Loud stock ATI radeon, Thermaltake heatsink and my fiancee wouldn't let me play computer games on account of the noise.

Now: Overclocked/undervolted XP2500M, Thermalright 900A w/7v 92mm Panaflo L1a, Antec 3700AMB, Isolater mounted 120mm OEM panaflo fan 5V, Radeon 9500 Softmodded with VGA silencer, Baracuda IV suspended, L1A modded Seasonic. The loudest thing in my pc is the VGA silencer on low and the CPU only gets to 54C or so on hot days. My wife (then fiancee) now says 'enough already, I can't hear it so neither should you.

Much less cash with 2 cases, 5 heatsinks, 2 power supplies and a box of fans as casualties silence.

Sledge · Post by **Sledge** » Thu May 20, 2004 5:33 am

Before: 4 80mm 30cfm Antec case fans
After: 4 80mm L1A's on Fanmates

Before: dual fan 600W PS
After: Seasonic Super Tornado 400W PS

Before: Thermalright SLK800U w/ 80mm 30cfm Antec fan & Arctic Silver 1
After: Zalman 7000Cu on Fanmate w/ Arctic Silver 5

Before: Leadtek GFFX5900 with dual warp-speed 40mm fans
After: ummm... noisy little buggers are still there

Haven't gotten around to getting a Zalman ZM80C

mdaniel · Post by **mdaniel** » Thu May 20, 2004 7:56 am

As for wife quotes:

Before SPCR:

"Will you turn off the computer and come watch TV so that I can hear the TV?"

Now:

Silence = uninterupted computer enthusiast time.

dasman · Post by **dasman** » Thu May 20, 2004 8:33 am

Before -- ignorant newbie looking for help

After -- dasman's take on the PSU duct

Since my psu duct post, I've moved my raided 7200.7's into a basement server, put in a 120gb spinpoint boot drive and completed josephclemente's CPU duct (thanks josephclemente!)

I guess should probably update my gallery post with the new stuff...

Dave

PS my wife is very happy I found this site

Copper · Post by **Copper** » Thu May 20, 2004 8:52 am

Before SPCR:

Iwill XP4 (SFF)
70mm PSU fan
40mm case fan
3.06B P4 with stock heatsink & fan
Dual Raptors in Raid0

I can't really imagine a louder system! I feel sorry for anyone owning one that actually is louder. It performed very well, but the noise was unbearable.

After SPCR:

Shuttle Zen (SFF)
Fanless PSU
Fanless CPU (undervolt & clock)
No case fan
Notebook hard drive wrapped in foam inside a Smart Drive.

The future holds:

A revamped Iwill XP4 to run in team with Shuttle for folding.
Fanless Coolmax 350W PSU (mounted externally)
2.4b P4 stock clock & volt
No case fan
Seagate 7200.7

Shuttle w/3.0c P4 @ stock clock but undervolted to 1.4vcore

And an attempt to cool both CPU's with a single Reserator.

If successful, the only noise producer to be dealt with will be the 7200.7.

sthayashi · Post by **sthayashi** » Thu May 20, 2004 8:55 am

To be honest, SPCR hasn't done anything dramatic to me. I was on the silencing path long before I came across this site.

At my worst, this was my setup:

2 Athlon MP 1500s
2 Vantec CCK-6027D (notably quiet and lightweight according to THG)
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 400
Matrox G400 32MB
1 Maxtor 30GB hard drive
2 IBM 60GXP 60GB hard drives in Raid-0
Coolermaster ATCS 201 w/ 4 stock YS-Tech fans.
Toshiba 1401 SCSI DVD drive.
Yamaha SCSI 16x CD-RW (when used it sounded like it was going to explode)

pre-SPCR:

PCP&C Silencer -> Antec TP550
CCK-6027D -> Zalman 6000AlCu
60GXP 60GBs -> Barracuda V 120GBs

GF-quotes: "..." (she accepted that computers make noise)

non-SPCR:

Toshiba & Yamaha -> Plextor 708A

I had actually browsed SPCR a number of times in order to look for quiet CD-RW drive and came up with nothing that seemed promising. My parents bought the 708A for me as a birthday present and it was coincidentally one of the quietest DVDR/CDR drives ever.

post-SPCR:

2 Athlon XP 2400+
1 SLK-800A w/ M1BX
1 Alpha S-PAL8055 w/ M1BX
FireGL X1 128MB w/ VGA Silencer
Zalman ZM400B
Antec SLK-3700BQE w/ 120mm FBK undervolted.
2 Samsung 40GB in Raid-1
2 Seagate Barracuda 120GB in Raid-0
Plextor 708A
1 computer that my GF built, but I bought all the parts based on SPCR recommendations (except for the Sonata Case)
Me actually doing minor mods (something I never would have done before)
And a hole in my wallet where my money used to be.

GF-quotes "You're becoming obsessed with silencing your computer..."

SometimesWarrior · Post by **SometimesWarrior** » Thu May 20, 2004 2:26 pm

sthayashi wrote:
2 Athlon MP 1500s
2 Vantec CCK-6027D (notably quiet and lightweight according to THG)

I see you got bit by the same heatsinks I did... only for me, it was HardOCP that called them "quiet". Grrr...

toonz · Post by **toonz** » Fri May 21, 2004 2:25 am

Before SPCR

Athlon 1800+ with Thermaltake Volcano 7+
Leadtek Ti4400 with annoying high pitched whine
Cheap case
loud 80mm case fan
loud cheap PSU

After SPCR

Athlon 1800+ with Arctic Cooling Copper Silent 2 TC
Leadtek Ti4400 passively cooled with stock heatsink + AS5
Antec BQE
Thermaltake Butterfly PSU
2x 120mm Stealth fans
Sunbeam Rheobus fan controller controlling PSU & 120mm fans

Thinking about suspending my HDD's, but worried about transporting my PC with them suspended.

andrew-on-spcr · Post by **andrew-on-spcr** » Fri May 21, 2004 3:26 am

nutball wrote:Before SPCR I had a perfectly functional, noisy PC.

Now I have a very quiet(-ish) PC, that is still too noisy for my liking, a pile of fans that are too loud, several power supplies that don't cut the mustard, and whole lot less cash than I had beforehand. Also a heap of other stuff which is yet to go into Iteration 2 of my quiet PC (which cost more money).

Am I happy I came here? Hell yeah!

right on

exactly the same here

miyagi_ · Post by **miyagi_** » Fri May 21, 2004 9:02 am

Before

AXP 3000+ with boxed heatsink + 12v Delta @ 6000rpm 5000000dB
120mm Panaflo @ 12v
92mm Sunon @ 12v
Shitty stock heatsink+fan on 9800Pro

After

Delta @ 5v
120mm Panaflo @ 7v
80mm Panaflo @ 12v
Zalman GPU HS cooled by 120mm Panaflo

I don't need my heatset to listen to music anymore!