Need advice for an almost silent AM3 build?

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Which of these are best for cooling, But also need to be silent?

Noctua NH-D14
7
88%
CoolIT ECO A.L.C.
1
13%
 
Total votes: 8

Hayate19XX
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 7:28 am
Location: Denmark

Need advice for an almost silent AM3 build?

Post by Hayate19XX » Mon May 24, 2010 8:12 am

Yo!

Have been lurking around for some time and i wanted to know if these components are good for an almost silent AM3 build, It's been a while since i last put one together one. (Have been using laptops since then and is quite tired of noise they make DX)

Case: Antec P183 (Maybe removing the included fans and using some 3rd party)
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE 120W (Can the MB itself do the undervolting when it runs on idle)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 (Thinking that maybe i could remove the fans) or CoolIT ECO A.L.C.
Mothership ;P: Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H
Storage: x1 80GB Intel X25-M G2 (OS) + x2 2TB WD Caviar Green WD20EARS (Raid 1) (Storage)
PSU: ENERMAX Modu87+Go 500W
RAM: Kingston HyperX LoVo 1333MHz 1.25V CL9 (9-9-9-27) 4GB 2x2GB or OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 1333MHz 1.65V CL7 (7-7-7-20) 4GB 2x2GB
GPU: Will be using the IGP until Nvidia releases those GF106 or GF108 cards.

Hayate M.

P.S: Sorry if my English is bad XD

widdlecat
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Location: missouri
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Post by widdlecat » Mon May 24, 2010 9:26 am

If you're adding fans, I don't see why you couldn't also consider the Thermalright HR-01 plus w/ fan duct running passive. The duct does help with the CPU temp, but, more importantly, makes a tremendous difference on mobo temps as it doesn't allow the CPU heat to linger within the case.

I don't think you would need the additional fan on the heatsink itself if you set up a good airflow with a front fan or two depending upon your other needs. If you're going for a big overclock, then I can see going for the coolers you mentioned in the poll. I'm a fan of simpler being better, so I'd go with the Noctua cooler over the liquid cooling system, in spite of it being a more efficient cooler.

Hayate19XX
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 7:28 am
Location: Denmark

Post by Hayate19XX » Mon May 24, 2010 10:09 am

Completely forgot to add, that i didn't want to overclock, just wanted it to stay cool, so perhaps i don't really need any of the coolers, but which passive cooler do you so suggest i need?

EDIT: Didn't see that you had written about the Thermalright HR-01, I didn't think about it since i pretty much cant find it where i live :/

widdlecat
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Post by widdlecat » Tue May 25, 2010 9:09 am

Are you able to obtain a Scythe Ninja 3? I'm not aware of any passive coolers that can perform as well as the Thermalright HR-01 plus. There are other active air cooling designs that will work well with the phenom IIx4 965BE if you're not going to OC. I would recommend something from the recommended heatsinks list at http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks

BTW, reviews I've read seem to indicate that the Coolit ECO isn't particularly quiet.

Mats
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Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2003 6:54 am
Location: Sweden

Post by Mats » Tue May 25, 2010 1:45 pm

Hayate19XX: Välkommen till SPCR!!

Avoid the CoolIT unless you know the pump is silent, which I doubt it is. Edit: Seems quiet, but not everyone think so.

Have a look at this list to see how little difference the most expensive heatsinks makes. The Cogage TRUE Spirit 1366 is a bargain with its low price of €28 in Germany, haven't seen it in Denmark or Sweden.

Here's the Scythe NINJA 2 Rev.B SCNJ-2100.

Here's a passive cooling review in German.

I can't find the Ninja 3.

faugusztin
Posts: 450
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:47 am
Location: Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Post by faugusztin » Tue May 25, 2010 11:30 pm

@widdlecat:
1) it would be useful if you would not use pink/violet color through your whole post, as it is pretty much unreadable on the standard grey background. What is next ? Grey on grey ?
2) There is no such thing as Ninja 3 in EU/USA market. The only versions are sold in non-Japansese markets are Ninja 2 and NINJA 2 Rev.B (before that Ninja, Ninja rev.B and Ninja Copper). Ninja 3 is maybe comming out somewhere next month according to post on Scythe forums - but we all know how good these estimates are (usually they miss the mark by few months) for Europe release dates (if i translated Hayate's location correctly as in Coppenhagen, Denmark).

@Hayate:
1) removing fans in any Antec case is a must, no offense to Antec but their fans are garbage. Replace them with Noctua, Noiseblocker Multiframe, Enermax Magma,...
2) for a silent rig, it is a good idea to use some inteligent fan controller, like T-Balancer bigNG together with their software.
3) For passive cooling, the only real possibilities are Scythe Ninja and HR-01 Plus. Any other CPU cooler known to me has their fins too close to each other to allow effective passive cooling. Now if you are thinking about going semi-passive (300-400RPM fan in idle), then you can choose pretty much any cooler, NH-D14 is a good idea in this case as you can run their fans on low RPM pretty much whole time.
4) PSU - If you want to go silent, get Seasonic X 650 or 750. Those are dead silent PSU's, and i mean it seriously - they spin their fans in my i5 + HD5870 rig just once in a while, and even that is impossible to hear.
5) RAM - be aware that if you will use NH-D14, then this is the only possible mounting direction (another pic), this you will need standard height RAM modules (=RAM modules with height of Corsair Dominator or even higher are a problem).

Mats
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Location: Sweden

Post by Mats » Wed May 26, 2010 4:08 am

faugusztin wrote: 4) PSU - If you want to go silent, get Seasonic X 650 or 750. Those are dead silent PSU's, and i mean it seriously - they spin their fans in my i5 + HD5870 rig just once in a while, and even that is impossible to hear.
I think his choice will be just fine: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1044-page5.htm
The Enermax Modu/Pro87+ 500W actually manages to be quieter than any other PSUs at every load, with the sole exception of <100W where the Seasonic X-650 fanless operation may have a dB or two edge — if indeed the 11 dBA@1m level is audible to anyone. Up to 250W, it is simply inaudible, period.

faugusztin
Posts: 450
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:47 am
Location: Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Post by faugusztin » Wed May 26, 2010 10:04 am

True Mats, but because both are in same price category, i would prefer Seasonic X-650 in his case, compared to Enermax Modu87+ 500W.

Hayate19XX
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 7:28 am
Location: Denmark

Post by Hayate19XX » Wed May 26, 2010 10:36 am

Final specs:
Case: Antec P183 (Removing included fans, will be using some Noctua or Nexus fans instead)
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE 120W
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Thor's Hammer (And it seems i got an CoolIT ECO A.L.C too, since i pretty much got it for free :D)
MB: Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H
Storage: x1 80GB Intel X25-M G2 (OS) + x2 1.5TB WD Caviar Green WD15EARS (Raid 1) (Storage)
PSU: ENERMAX Modu87+Go 500W (Couldn't get the Seasonic X-650 since there where not in stock :/)
RAM: Kingston HyperX LoVo 1333MHz 1.25V CL9 (9-9-9-27) (Quite the Low Voltage)
GPU: Using the IGP until Nvidia releases those GF106 or GF108 cards.

With good airflow i could use the Thor's Hammer passive, since they also states it on their site.

Hayate M.

Mats
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Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2003 6:54 am
Location: Sweden

Post by Mats » Thu May 27, 2010 2:30 pm

Hayate19XX wrote:(And it seems i got an CoolIT ECO A.L.C too, since i pretty much got it for free :D)
Nice!
Could you plug in the pump only before you mount it, just to check the noise?
Thanks.

Hayate19XX
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 7:28 am
Location: Denmark

Post by Hayate19XX » Thu May 27, 2010 5:32 pm

Will do that as soon i receive the Mothership (And the rest of them =.=') :D

Hayate19XX
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 7:28 am
Location: Denmark

Post by Hayate19XX » Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:24 pm

I finally received all my things and ended with this:

Case: Antec P183
Fans: x3 Nexus 120MM
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE 120W
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Thor's Hammer
MB: Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H
Storage: x1 80GB Intel X25-M G2 (OS) + x2 1.5TB WD Caviar Green WD15EARS (Storage) (Don't know how the hell i get these two set up for Raid 1 with the bios)
PSU: ENERMAX Modu87+Go 500W
RAM: Kingston HyperX LoVo 1333MHz 1.25V CL9 (9-9-9-27) (Made for Intel based boards, but could get it down to 1.275V instead :/)
GPU: ASUS BRAVO 220 (Passive :D) http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=HLK4Pmu9lXkm0Q8o


Mats: What i can say about pump? it sucks (not the temps), it makes more noise than the fan that came with it :/
Last edited by Hayate19XX on Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mats
Posts: 3044
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2003 6:54 am
Location: Sweden

Post by Mats » Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:33 pm

Hayate19XX wrote:Mats: What i can say about pump? it sucks (not the temps), it makes more noise than the fan that came with it :/
That's too bad, but that's what I suspected. You can probably sell it quite easy.
I hope your air cooler is better!

Can you give me some advice about some decent computer stores in Copenhagen that sells components?

Hayate19XX
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 7:28 am
Location: Denmark

Post by Hayate19XX » Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:45 pm

Getmore.dk is one the sites that is quite cheap but also has good services, but most of the time, they don't have anything in stock =.='

there is also Proshop.dk, shopitonline.dk

:D

Mats
Posts: 3044
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2003 6:54 am
Location: Sweden

Post by Mats » Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:54 pm

That's great, thanks! Any physical stores in byen worth mentioning, or are they overpriced? :D

Hayate19XX
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 7:28 am
Location: Denmark

Post by Hayate19XX » Tue Jun 01, 2010 3:24 pm

There's many good store's, but not as cheap as the webshop's, but yeah they are around the place called "Falkoner allé" in the part of Copenhagen called "Frederiksberg" :)
Last edited by Hayate19XX on Thu Jul 01, 2010 2:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hayate19XX
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 7:28 am
Location: Denmark

Post by Hayate19XX » Thu Jul 01, 2010 2:06 am

Completely forgot about pictures XD

http://img84.imageshack.us/g/dsc00312r.jpg/

Sorry about the quality >.<'

The GT220's passive heatsink did not quite work so swapped it out with the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev.2, it almost couldn't fit but got it on somehow =.='

Thinking maybe swapping out the NH-D14 with the HR-02 from Thermalright when it arrive's :D

Else i might think about adding some AcoustiPack if that helps?

Edit: Asked Noiselimit when they will release the Silentflux, http://www.noiselimit.com/sw/frontend/s ... 0&layout=0 but the info i got from them was that they still wanted to ship OEM's only, for this year :/

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