This is my super quiet, almost silent build, any thoughts?

capecodbackup · Post by **capecodbackup** » Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:48 pm

Antec Mini P-180
GA-H55M-USB3
i7-860
6 GB RAM
onboard video
Stock CPU fan to start, I'll see how quiet it is.

Spare DVD drive
current 1TB Black 32mb cache WD drive that I love.

One question is, would a Antec Sonata Elite be quieter out of the box?

And, has anyone decided they did not want the HUGE fan on top of the mini p-180 and blocked it off for noise purposes? If so, how?

I think with the passive video even just the one case fan this will be cool and quiet.

I reserve the right to get a super silent CPU fan if necessary. Nice to keep costs down for now.

And if anyone can recommend some good RAM this is great.

Thanks,

Dave

maalitehdas · Post by **maalitehdas** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:14 am

"superquiet, almost silent" with a stock PSU? And DVD? I'm sorry but I'd like to ask if you've heard a quiet PC yet?

To your question about the cases: Sonata Elite 19-37dB, Mini P180 22-44dB (measured in 19dB ambient noise with different stock fan setups.) Temperatures varies too. But read yourself:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article963-page4.html
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article810-page4.html

Any RAM within your own requirements is ok, but if you want to run your system with very low fan speeds then I would recommend RAM with heatsinks.

sub · Post by **sub** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 5:49 am

Hi,

Everybody has a different evaluation of Noise, but i agree with maalitehdas

First change the cpu cooler, remove the big 200mm fan on top and cover with damping, swap antec tricool for a quiet 120mm fan (nexus) nexus 430w psu and for the almost silent go for ssd

capecodbackup · Post by **capecodbackup** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 9:11 am

Thanks. I did some further research and determined that the mini-P180, in spite of some excellent features, is not the case for me. As I really do not need to large fan for what I will build. Thanks for pointing that out.

And come to think of it, maybe I have not heard a silent PC yet

My Dell Optiplex is kind of my baseline, and although not silent, what noise it makes I can easily live with. The CPU fan is shrouded to a heatsink on the CPU and the PSU is very quiet.

I was looking at reviews of the Sonata Designer 500 last night and it looked pretty good for my needs.

And, unless the Dell Studio 8100 XPS, that I am sending back because it is too loud, has a stock Intel CPU fan, then I have never heard one of those either.

I am also thinking of going with no DVD player as I have an external one for when I really need it.

My quest continues. Thank you all for SPCR, my home away from home. LOUD computers suck

wickchucker · Post by **wickchucker** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 5:10 pm

FYI...the CPU you listed will not allow the use of "onboard" video. You will need a i3 or i5 Clarkdale series chip with that GA-H55M-USB3 to take advantage of integrated video, because the video is now on the chip, not the motherboard.

hybrid2d4x4 · Post by **hybrid2d4x4** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 5:22 pm

wickchucker wrote:FYI...the CPU you listed will not allow the use of "onboard" video. You will need a i3 or i5 Clarkdale series chip with that GA-H55M-USB3 to take advantage of integrated video, because the video is now on the chip, not the motherboard.

+1

Also, the board/cpu doesn't use triple-channel RAM, so scratch off that 6GB kit as well.
I don't know how Dell desktops are built these days, but their heatsink-shrouded-to-rear-exhaust-fan setup was a big improvement over stock intel heatsinks some 5-6 years ago. I haven't heard either in a while, so I'm not sure how it is nowadays, but I'd be skeptical of the stock intel coolers.

capecodbackup · Post by **capecodbackup** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 10:51 pm

thanks. I had just figured that out about the onboard video. I guess I would need an i5 for that.

And I would go to a nice 8GB kit for the RAM

I am now having trouble deciding on a case. None seem to have ALL or even most of the quiet features that make sense for me.

I see some cases that have the PSU on the bottom, and of course there is a 120MM fan on the BOTTOM of must PSU's and yet there are no HOLES in the bottom of the case under that big bad slow quiet fan? What the heck gives with that? Even the mighty Mini P-180 has the vents ahead of the PSU. Weird.

I figure my case must be good as Dell is still selling the EXACT same case 4 years later. Solid, easy to work on, and strangely quiet. There is only the PSU fan and the shrouded CPU fan, a 120mm.

I can hardly hear the PSU at all but ordered a Nexus 5300 so I may just try throwing it in there if it will fit. Dave

OddSilence · Post by **OddSilence** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:09 pm

About the DVD drive, there are some that come with a software utility that allows to slow them down, making them less noisy (ex: Sofware "Nero" includes the "DriveSpeed" utility) - it allows to decrease the speed from a small to a large amount, so you can reduce the noise without afecting the performance much.

I see some cases that have the PSU on the bottom, and of course there is a 120MM fan on the BOTTOM of must PSU's and yet there are no HOLES in the bottom of the case under that big bad slow quiet fan? What the heck gives with that? Even the mighty Mini P-180 has the vents ahead of the PSU. Weird.

If I'm not wrong, on the cases that host the PSupply on the bottom but that don't have holes under it, a 120-bottom-fan-PSupply should be mounted with the fan side facing up.

capecodbackup · Post by **capecodbackup** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:55 pm

Ah, very interesting about the PSU. I did not realize that was an option. Makes perfect sense

I use a DVD drive so rarely that the noise it may or may not make is of no concern. Thankfully there is at least one thing I do not have to change.

Do others use it alot and so have to silence that as well?

capecodbackup · Post by **capecodbackup** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:14 am

I am now also considering this case...

http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=5843

I wish it did not come with a PSU as I want to choose mine carefully.

Dave