Hi guys, I'm trying to put together a shopping list for a completely silent (hence fanless) cheap mid-range pc. Not for high end gaming but hopefully it'll meet some the min spec for today's games. The case will be completely open -- like a tech bench -- completely open. This is the list I've put together from reading these forums. Please let me know if you think it'll work and if you have any other ideas or suggestions. Thanks.
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP35 DS4
Graphics: Radeon HD 2600 XT (passive)
Chip: Intel Core 2 Duo (about 2.8 Ghz) -- any suggestions on cool Intel options?
Heatsink: Thermalright HR-01 Plus -- any other good options for passive?
Case: completely open tech bench
HD: 2 x SATA Drives -- dont have to be large -- any good silent, reliable choices?
CD/DVD Drive -- standard
RAM: 2GB -- standard
Power Supply: -- undecided, any tips? about 300W should be ok. Needs to be fanless.
Any tips? Thanks!
help on completely silent/fanless mid range pc
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xan_user
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WELCOME TO SPCR!
Fan less still needs airflow.
Ninja would be best bet for passive cooling.
I would place the mob on edge to promote convection.
Use a pico PSU.
Suspend drives.
You will most likely find the HDD seeks bothersome without at least one quiet fan to mask the sound.
You might need to explore undervolting... to achieve a stable passive system.
Fan less still needs airflow.
Ninja would be best bet for passive cooling.
I would place the mob on edge to promote convection.
Use a pico PSU.
Suspend drives.
You will most likely find the HDD seeks bothersome without at least one quiet fan to mask the sound.
You might need to explore undervolting... to achieve a stable passive system.
xan_user, thanks for the welcome and the tips. I looked up the pico PSU but I couldn't find one more than 120W. Is this the one you mean? Do you think it should be enough for these components? Also when you say mob on edge, you mean keep the motherboard vertical right? Thanksxan_user wrote:WELCOME TO SPCR!
Fan less still needs airflow.
Ninja would be best bet for passive cooling.
I would place the mob on edge to promote convection.
Use a pico PSU.
Suspend drives.
You will most likely find the HDD seeks bothersome without at least one quiet fan to mask the sound.
You might need to explore undervolting... to achieve a stable passive system.
Since it's an open test bench, I don't think the PicoPSU is necessary. Any passive PSU will do fine. There are lots of options, get the one you like. Unfortunately they're pretty expensive. I have just bought a PW-200-V PSU (much like PicoPSU, just for 200 W) and a Dell 200 W power brick - that is also an option to consider.
You're gonna like Scythe Quiet Drives for hard drives out in the open. Why do you want to have two hard drives? What is your requirements for the drives and what are they going to have on them, etc?
I agree that a Ninja would probably be the best for a completely fanless open setup. I think my Xeon E3110 would run fine fanless that way, so any E8x00 or E7x00 should do fine. I have a feeling that an E7x00 would be the better, safer choice though.
That's was my 2 cents!
You're gonna like Scythe Quiet Drives for hard drives out in the open. Why do you want to have two hard drives? What is your requirements for the drives and what are they going to have on them, etc?
I agree that a Ninja would probably be the best for a completely fanless open setup. I think my Xeon E3110 would run fine fanless that way, so any E8x00 or E7x00 should do fine. I have a feeling that an E7x00 would be the better, safer choice though.
That's was my 2 cents!
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xan_user
- *Lifetime Patron*
- Posts: 2269
- Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 9:09 am
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Yes mobo on edge, and even better vga card vertical too. (but that makes the cables come out the top or bottom- so its a cumbersome hassle)
the pico and its bigger brother's are the most inexpensive passive psu ive found yet.
One fan will save you a ton of headache trying to cool everything and silence HDDs.
The intermittent HDD seek noise is easily concealed by the right fan operating at or near you computer rooms noise floor. usually above 20db anyway.
HDD's have a way of ganging up on your ears when the different frequencies of the multiple spindles and seek times cause weird spikes from wave resonance. So one is better imo.
the pico and its bigger brother's are the most inexpensive passive psu ive found yet.
One fan will save you a ton of headache trying to cool everything and silence HDDs.
The intermittent HDD seek noise is easily concealed by the right fan operating at or near you computer rooms noise floor. usually above 20db anyway.
HDD's have a way of ganging up on your ears when the different frequencies of the multiple spindles and seek times cause weird spikes from wave resonance. So one is better imo.
Put motherboard vertically. I think HR-01 or Ninja with proper mounting would work. And take only one HDD. Put it in Scythe Quiet Drive and that on foam. For CPU take those never C2D:s as they run cooler. You still might have to undervolt it.
I would say that you might have a success with no fan thing. Maybe one or two silent fans when gaming...
I would say that you might have a success with no fan thing. Maybe one or two silent fans when gaming...