After working my butt off for the past 2 months, I managed to scrounge up the cash for my new PC just a few weeks ago. Just today, I got my latest paycheck and I'm ready to get my system silent and wet.
System Specs:
CPU: Athlon64 3500+ (venice core)
Mobo: MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon x800XL
Hard Drives: 2x200gb Seagate 7200.8 mounted on the rubber grommets included with the case.
current thermal setup:
Case: Thermaltake Tsunami
2x120mm (thermaltake) + 1 additional in the PSU (OCZ Modstream).
1x92mm side intake
stock cpu cooler
stock GPU cooler (2nd loudest fan I have)
I replaced the Northbridge cooler with a Vantec Iceberq (for temporary use). The stock one was the loudest fan in the system and could be heard in the next room. The new one is also louder than the rest of the system, but nowhere near the deafening high pitched scream of the stock fan. I couldn't find a passive cooler at any local stores so for the time being this will do.
For thermaltake fans, I'm surprised that they're as silent as they are. Their noise is completely muffled by the sound of my Northbridge cooler. My video card comes close to the northbridge, but only when it's under stress (gaming).
Temperatures (Idle/Stress)
CPU: 42 / 50ish (Currently experiencing hdd failure so I have to by memory here)
System: 38 / 40ish - doesn't seem right to me. The exhaust air is relatively cool.
Video card: mid-low 40's / 60+ (I think it maxes around 70-75 degrees)
HDD: low 30's / 37
As far as noise is concerned, this pc is audible from nearly 20 feet away in a near silent environment. There's a lot of high rpm fans in here and they're probably pretty inefficient. I want to begin this project by first silencing as much as I can without spending unnecessarily (keeping in mind that this system will likely run wet). On that end, I plan on starting with the noisiest parts that come to mind with the lowest cost to replace - starting with the new Northbridge cooler with a zalman passive cooler. Their blue one looks perfect, and now that I've seen pictures of it installed, I'm not *too* worried about the space constraints between my video card and the northbridge.
Next, I plan on replacing my case fans. The Thermaltake ones are nice, but they're probably more noisy than the better brands out there. To be honest, I should probably do a finger test on my PSU fan beforehand because I'm certain that it's also making make sure that it's not making too much noise as well.
My first predicament here is in which case fans to get. I'm ok with my rear exhaust not being lit up by LEDs since I can toss in a cold cathode, but I'd prefer to avoid anything that really detracts from the aesthetics of the case (ie, bright orange). Currently, www.bigfootcomputers.com and www.adpmods.com carry Panaflo fans. I've heard that they're hit or miss in terms of quality. Is this true? Unfortunately, Panaflo is also the only fan that bigfoot carries that most people would consider as being really silent. That said, would I go for the Medium variety or their "Ultra" fans?
Back on the topic of Nexus, is there anyplace that carries those or a similar variety in black at a reasonable price?
Another thing I could add is some Dynamat (automotive grade). Would it be worth the $25-30? It is after all an aluminum case, I'd like to know if the automotive stuff work out since it's designed for subwoofer enclosures.
--
Now, on to the water
For water blocks, I plan on using the Danger Den TDX and a DD Maze4 for the radeon.
The pump will be either a Swiftech MCP-350 or a Danger Den DDC-12v. Both appear to be exactly the same pump from the pictures and both cost the same.
For the radiator, my research leads me to believe that a heatercore will be the ideal choice. For my case, I'm thinking of either a 120mm sized core or a dual 120. The easy way out is the single 120 size, but I can't decide where to mount it. The hdd bay is removable and that would probably be the ideal place to mount it since there's already a 120mm intake, but I'd like to have some air blowing over my hard drives. The rear exhaust is also an option for rad mounting since the exhausting air is relatively cool. Would the slightly higher temp cause a hit on cooling performance?
My other option is a dual 120 heatercore. I considered mounting something like that at the top of my case, but I use the top of my case to hold cds and my external HDD sits up there since I don't want it sitting near my speakers. That leaves a side mount as an available option. The problem I see there is the protrusion sticking out of the side of my case as well as the fact that I've never done any drilling into metal before. This is also a fairly nice and expensive case so I don't want to cause any damage by screwing up.
Then again, if I side mount, I have space for a much larger radiator which could potentially result in the ability to passively cool the computer.. Any suggestions if I go that route?
Is there a major cooling benefit in going from a 120mm core to a dual120 heater core? Is it worth the drilling effort? More importantly, would either be efficient enough to be powered off a single (or dual) 120mm fan undervolted to around 6 or 7v. I'd also like to ask if the dual120 would be efficient enough for completely fanless operation.
For my budget, lets say I can do around $350 canadian. That should be sufficient for most of what I have in mind I think...
