So, anyone that knows me is aware that I'm all about bang-for-the-buck.
I love shopping to find quality products that perform about 95% as good as the best, but are priced 50% lower.
Example: I would much rather pay $5 for a fan that runs at 20dba than $13 for one that runs at 19dba. Also, with heat sinks, I don't really care if one saves me 3 degrees.
The system: Will be a pretty mid-level system. Assume no overclocking. The video card should be the most powerful available that can use passive cooling.
That said, I'd like suggestions for:
(1) CPU heatsink + fan (most likely 120mm, 92mm acceptable ).
I'm a little overwhelmed with the options here. Please suggest something < $30. Assume it will be an intel chip.
(2) Case fan ( most likely 120mm, 92mm acceptable )
From what I'm seeing, Yate Loon fans seem to be a good balance for price/performance for case fans. ($7 shipped, or 2 for about $12).
The Scythe's are closer to $13 shipped for 1, or 2 for $23, basically 2x the price of the yate loon's. If I went this route should I go with 500/800/1200 rpm?
(3) Options for hard drive quieting - home made suspension may be best.
(4) Any other must-have quieting options?
Budget quiet build - which components
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
HDT-D1264 hard to beat at $23-24. SPCR's Review.
120mm is the way to go and though subjective, I consider anything beyond 700-800rpm loud, no matter what fan. Two Slipstream 1200rpm @ 5v is what I would recommend (the 500rpm @ 12v may not be sufficient to cool your hardware choice), one for heatsink, one for case, but if you're new to this an really want to go cheap, the D12SL-12 may suffice for you for the time being. A word of warning if you go the cheapest route though - you may later wish you had gone quieter. Your call ultimately.
jab-tech.com is probably the way to go. Newegg has the D1264 for $1-2 cheaper, but jab-tech comes out the cheapest when you factor in the fans.
Hope this helps,
DrCR
120mm is the way to go and though subjective, I consider anything beyond 700-800rpm loud, no matter what fan. Two Slipstream 1200rpm @ 5v is what I would recommend (the 500rpm @ 12v may not be sufficient to cool your hardware choice), one for heatsink, one for case, but if you're new to this an really want to go cheap, the D12SL-12 may suffice for you for the time being. A word of warning if you go the cheapest route though - you may later wish you had gone quieter. Your call ultimately.
jab-tech.com is probably the way to go. Newegg has the D1264 for $1-2 cheaper, but jab-tech comes out the cheapest when you factor in the fans.
Hope this helps,
DrCR
Why the 1200rpm models @ 5v rather than just buying an 800rpm model to keep it simple?DrCR wrote:HDT-D1264 hard to beat at $23-24. SPCR's Review.
Two Slipstream 1200rpm @ 5v is what I would recommend (the 500rpm @ 12v may not be sufficient to cool your hardware choice), one for heatsink, one for case, but if you're new to this an really want to go cheap, the D12SL-12 may suffice for you for the time being.