Final touch to a quiet system

jl2k2 · Post by **jl2k2** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 7:06 am

Hi guys,

After a long time of research and money I have managed to quieten all moving components in my system.

I would like some advice as a final touch to make the system very quiet, and hopefully doesn't need too much money too.

Spec.
Case: Cooler Master Elite 335 (the weakest link I guess)
http://www.coolermaster.com/products/pr ... il&id=5239.
PSU: Seasonic M12II 500W
CPU Cooler: Noctua C-12 w/Noctua P12 @ Ultra Low adaptor
Intake: Noctua P12 @ Ultra Low adaptor
Exhaust: Noctua P12 @ Ultra Low adaptor (not the best choice I know)
Video: Gigabyte 9800GTX+ w/ Accelero S1 + Noctua S12B @ ULNA
RAM: 2X2G TEAM value.
HDD: W.D. Green Cavier, suspended vertically

ambient temp around 20
CPU temp: idle - 40, load - 60
GPU temp: idle - 40, load -70
*CPU C2D E4300 1.8GHz @ 3.0GHz

Thanx in advance everyone!

danimal · Post by **danimal** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 11:03 am

have you modded the case panels with with any material? mass loading or sound absorbing foam? etc.

will the motherboard control the cpu fan, so you don't have to use the ulna on it?

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:31 pm

Looking at that case, I would cut out the fan grills for the front and rear fans - they look quite restrictive. This should give you a little more airflow and get rid of some turbulence noise.

I would also try blocking off the side panel intake areas near the CPU and GPU and seeing if that reduces the noise at all without affecting your temps much.

Alternatively, you could duct your CPU cooler fan to the intake area for CPU air on the side panel and see if that would allow you to remove the front intake fan.

As suggested by danimal, some sound dampening foam could also be useful. There are cheaper options out there than Acoustipack, which seems to be the best/default option.

Finally, I would just check to see if your PSU fan now isn't the loudest part of your system, especially at load. The SPCR review of the Seasonic M12II 430W put the PSU's noise at 21 dBA at what is probably your idle load but rising quickly past 200W. Assuming the 500W version of the same PSU has similar behaviour, your PSU might be a good candidate for a fan swap.

I would recommend a Scythe S-Flex F 1600rpm fan. If you wired this fan to your PSU's fan header, I'd guess that the noise would be reduced by a couple of dBA at idle and probably a bit more at load. A fan swap could be a good move if your PSU is the noisiest thing remaining.

jl2k2 · Post by **jl2k2** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 11:36 pm

danimal wrote:have you modded the case panels with with any material? mass loading or sound absorbing foam? etc.

will the motherboard control the cpu fan, so you don't have to use the ulna on it?

Haven't done that, acoustic foams are actually bit hard to get in Brisbane Australia, but I have thought about it. How much improvement can I expect? assuming I leave the two side exhausts open.

The CPU fan is directly attached to the PSU, I thought ULNA means it's sitting at 5V? besides, I dont think I can lower my fan speed any lower, otherwise the CPU will burn, it's a Noctua P12 btw.

JamieG wrote: I would also try blocking off the side panel intake areas near the CPU and GPU and seeing if that reduces the noise at all without affecting your temps much.

Good idea, I'll try that.

JamieG wrote: Alternatively, you could duct your CPU cooler fan to the intake area for CPU air on the side panel and see if that would allow you to remove the front intake fan.

I'll try that too, but then I'll need to find a way to cool the HDD, it goes to almost 50 under load....

JamieG wrote: I would recommend a Scythe S-Flex F 1600rpm fan

Too bad Brisbane Australia doesnt sell Scythe products....shipping from other state will cost half the price of the fan already....

Another question, how much improvement will I get if I simply buy a second hand Antec P183/182? and therefore by passing the modification bit (which tend to void warrenty)

Thanx again!

ame · Post by **ame** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 12:39 am

Its obvious that there is some good deal of heat buildup in the case, thats why I like your idea of getting a P182 case. It will likely improve your noise levels as well as run cooler.

From the list of gear it seems like the seasonic fan would be the loadest in your system. In the P182 PSU's noise will not be noticed as much and it will likely run cooler and therefor lower speed.

HDDs @ 50s seems high. I like drives to run @under 40s if possible. again it seems like case mods or a swap to P18x should do it...

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:21 am

jl2k2 wrote:Too bad Brisbane Australia doesnt sell Scythe products....shipping from other state will cost half the price of the fan already....

Is shipping from PC Case Gear the same Australia-wide? I was under the impression it was, for some reason. It's Melbourne-based though, so if you do want to buy something, buy a couple of items so you don't feel too put out by the shipping costs.

Otherwise, see this link via Static Ice. Are any of those stores listed there near you?

Those HDD load temps are a bit high. Is the HDD suspended in front of the front fan?

The P182/3 will help a lot. You could probably block off the top exhaust and just run with a front intake, rear exhaust and CPU and GPU fans. If you have just one HDD in the lower PSU chamber, you shouldn't need a fan there. If you get a P182, just tape up the exhaust holes around the PSU so as to not short circuit the air flow generated by the PSU fan.

I'd still recommend the PSU fan swap though. Maybe do the PSU fan swap and cut out your fan grills and block the side vents on your current case and see if it gets quiet enough. If not, then go the P182/3 option.

jl2k2 · Post by **jl2k2** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:33 pm

I must applogize I didn't make myself clear enough. The HDD without intake peaks at 50, and with intake fan it peaks just below 40, therefore I think it's kinda necessary to leave it there. I'll try to uses fanmate 2 to see if I can slow the fan any further though.

combining from opinions from you guys it seems like gettinig an p182/183 is the most effective way of further quietening the system with out voiding warrenty or effecting the resale value of exisiting parts.

I might try to see if I can find a second hand/B grade p182, found one on ebay for $AU140 but it was pick up only at other state. Hopefully I can find one that's close to $AU120 and sell my exisiting Elite 335 for $AU50....hopefully...

I also check www.pccasegear.com , it seems that they no longer sell acoustic foam, so I might need to check out a couple of car audio shops to see.

Also checked the staticice link from JamieG, none of the shops lets you pick up even though they are in the same city, therefore that's an automatic shipping fee at half the price of the fan....cheap bustards....the only 3 stores in Brisbane that allows you to pick up while not ripping you off are

www.msy.com.au
www.umart.com.au
www.coolpc.com.au

and none of them stocks any Scyethe and Nexsus products....

In the mean time, I'll try out everything and leave the fan swap as the last resort.