Fundamental (noob) video/system build question

cerulean.blue · Post by **cerulean.blue** » Thu May 05, 2005 10:49 am

First, a gracious thank you to all those contributing to these forums. To say that perusing them (and the SPCR content) has been immensely helpful is an understatement.

Apologies for what may be a rehash of something obvious to experienced system builders, but not to me as a first time system builder (and poster)...

I'm in the process of building what I hope will be a quiet system that I'd use for moderate gaming (in addition to other less intensive tasks). Per I have mostly settled on the components as follows (based on reviewing the SPCR forums):

Case: Antec SLK3000-B
PSU: Seasonic S12-380
MOBO: Chaintech VNF4 Socket 939
CPU: Athlon 64 3000+
Memory: 1GB (2x512) Corsair ValueSelect DDR 400 PC3200

Then, there is the video conundrum. It seems there are three options:

1) Fanless video card (e.g. Gigabyte GV-N66T128VP)
2) Video card with stock fan (e.g. MSI NX6600GT-TD128E)
3) Video card with (a quieter than stock) third-party fan

I'm leaning towards option 1 going with the Gigabyte GV-N66T128VP (the 6600GT seems to be the best bang per buck card in my video card price range (~$200). My specific question:

1) Do fanless systems require case cooling that is noisier than what the with-fan model of the same card would be (either option 2 or 3 above)?

My goal is to have the quietest system possible with a 6600GT caliber card in it and in reading the excellent thread on the Gigabyte fanless 6600GT here http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... 10&start=0

but it's not quite clear to me which of the three options above would result in the quietest system. I'm happy paying an extra $50-70 to have a quiet system whether that means a fanless version of the 6600GT or a third party fan added to a stock 6600GT.

Any advice on this matter (or the other component choices) would be greatly appreciated...

ChooChoo · Post by **ChooChoo** » Fri May 06, 2005 11:22 am

I have no doubt that option (1) a fanless card would be the quietest option. However, given that you are willing to spend an additional sum of money I would get opt to pick up the cheapest 6600GT card you can find and slap on a third party cooler. GPU and possibly case temps will be lowered and the only tradeoff is a small(depending on the cooler) increase in noise.

Green Shoes · Post by **Green Shoes** » Fri May 06, 2005 1:14 pm

cerulean.blue,

Welcome to SPCR!!!

In my mind this is currently the $64,000 question. Fanless options obviously are the lowest noise on the card...but while GPUs are okay with 70C temps, that's a lot of heat to be belching into the rest of the case, exhausted by the power supply (whose fan has to ramp up quite a bit to take care of it). Stock coolers on VGA cards are incredibly noisy. In my mind the best option is to duct the heat from the card directly out of the case via a (hopefully) free PCI slot, whether by a VGA silencer (people have had varying success with these) or a home-brewed method. There is a bit of a trade-off, in that ducting directly gives a more direct path for fan noise to escape...but then so does the PSU if that fan is screaming.

If you don't plan on doing any gaming, i.e. just using the good ol' 2-D desktop and surfing the net, a passive option is probably your best bet, as the card won't get hot enough to really matter. If you want to game, though, I personally would duct.

BrianE · Post by **BrianE** » Fri May 06, 2005 1:17 pm

I think it depends on your individual setup and the details about how you implement it... if the case is really free-flowing (or is made to be) then it lets you use undervolted fans that reportedly are virtually silent. On the other hand if everything is more restricted then you might have to run more or faster fans to cool things well enough....

I think for anything fanless the trick to using them is to ensure you have airflow around them or even just directed at them, with some way to evacuate the hot air effectively.

$0.02 from someone still hashing things out himself.... HTH

lenny · Post by **lenny** » Fri May 06, 2005 2:28 pm

cerulean.blue wrote:]1) Do fanless systems require case cooling that is noisier than what the with-fan model of the same card would be (either option 2 or 3 above)?

Isn't "cerulean blue" redundant?

I look at it this way :

1. A HSF inside the case merely removes heat from a hot spot (GPU, CPU or NB).
2. A passive heatpipe cooler does pretty much the same thing.
3. The amount of heat generated does not change. In both (1) and (2) the heat gets dumped inside the case.

So you should not need more case airflow.

That's the theory. In practice, if the heatpipe dumps their heat near another component you're trying to cool (like the CPU), you may need additional airflow just to keep that component at the same temperature.

If you have one of the cards that come with a VGA Silencer, or if you add one, then you should be able to reduce the speed of your other exhaust fan(s).

cerulean.blue · Post by **cerulean.blue** » Mon May 09, 2005 6:03 am

Thanks for all the replies... It sounds like there are enough variables (noise of case fans, type of case, type of application running...) that there is no hard and fast rule here.

I think I'm going to go with the option of getting a w/fan version of the 6600GT and then find a third party fan that is quieter than the stock fan.

The Antec SLK3000-B allows 120mm case fans and I suppose if I get the fan speed regulator that seem to be used (at least based on readings in other forum topics) then the w/fan 6600GT option gives me the most flexibility in terms of trying to keep the machine quiet (throttling case fans or 6600GT fans).

From the anandtech review here

http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2295

it seems the Leadtek looks like it's relatively cool and quiet so seems like a reasonable option.

If I'm offbase let me know...

Thanks again for the help...

Green Shoes · Post by **Green Shoes** » Mon May 09, 2005 6:41 am

since you're using the SLK3000B, the fanless card might actually be an option; the intake grills on the side panel are right next to the VGA slot, and could help out in getting fresh air to the card.

I would probably still go with a fanned option, like you, and put an after-market cooler on it. I can tell you from owning one myself that the Leadtek is not quiet....Anand may think so, but his standards are a bit different than ours

. I haven't had time to mod mine with a VGA silencer or anything b/c I've been busy with another build, but from what I understand it is not difficult and works very well.

Hope that helps.

Fundamental (noob) video/system build question

Fundamental (noob) video/system build question

Re: Fundamental (noob) video/system build question