New quiet computer advice

[Pezerinno]

Hello! I'm after a new PC but it must be really quiet as it is going in the same room as my hifi which is my main passion. The copmuter will be used for gaming, encoding, general work, PS etc KI have a 7800GTX sitting here currently not doing anything which I think I'll use - it has a zalman on it currently which can be set at 5v, I think this will be quiet enough.

I would like to go with a conroe setup and would love to have a little overclocking headroom if possible as I used to be really into it. I'm thinking probably of a 6600 with a Scythe Ninja. Not sure on which motherboard? One with a passive cooler would be good. Case wise I was thinking of a Antec Solo with a Seasonic S12 Energy Plus 550W PSU. Noctua NF-S12-800 as the rear exhaust and on the ninja. Not sure on which 2 92mm for the front? Would like to get a fan controller also so I can crank the fans up when gaming and down to 5v when not. Am after 2GB of memory but coming from an AMD setup I'm out of the loop on DDR2. Harddrive will probably be a seagate - not much storage is needed as it will be conneted to a server on the network.

Does all the above sound OK? Any further advice would be great

Many thanks,

Nick.

[stromgald]

Welcome to SPCR!!

For the most part, your setup looks fine, but I have a few suggestions that might improve it some:

1) 550W PSU is in the range of doing SLI. If you're not planning on doing that, a 430W should be plenty to future-proof your system from any DX10 cards. I'm not sure if Seasonic makes an Energy Plus model with that wattage, but there is an S12 at 430W.

2) Do you really need intake fans if you only have one hard drive? I would say no. More fans = more noise, even if those fans are very quiet.

3) For the motherboard, I would look at the the ASUS P5B series of motherboards. They have the newest Intel chipset, and come in a variety of flavors from the plain P5B at $125 to the P5B Deluxe w/WiFi at $200. There are also motherboards based on the nVidia 650i and 680i chips, but they're new and a little buggy. You can read up on all the chipsets here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=710828 . They also have links to a ton of reviews in that thread, so plenty of reading there.

4) I would recommend against getting a Seagate hard drive. The new ones are fairly noisy, especially the mult-platter ones. My brother got a 160GB Seagate after last Thanksgiving for dirt cheap and its fairly quiet and cool, but it only uses one platter. If you're thinking of something in the 200GB+ range, I'd suggest getting a Western Digital drive.

P.S. Make sure to check on motherboard compatibility between the Ninja and the motherboard you select. Core 2 motherboards have a tendency to put capacitors very close to the socket.

[where?wolf]

I agree to the stuff above.

The Ninja is great. Try ducting it to the exhaust fan first. Just make a duct out of cardboard for ex. And maybe you wont even need any fan on the Ninja?

I have done this myself. And the exhaust fan(s) I'm using is 1200 rpm Noctua fans at 840 rpm speed. Antec P180 B case. Great temperatures and very quiet. The duct is connected to the rear exhaust fan in my case.

[Pezerinno]

Thanks very much for the replies.

I think I will stick to the 550W as I'll most probably upgrade my components again later in the year and will keep the PSU. You could well be right in regard to not needing any intakes if I'm just using one harddrive - by the way, no idea why I say Seagate when I actually meant to say Hitachi Deskstar

Any idea if the Ninja would fit the Asus P5WDG2-WS Professional board?

Where?wolf can I ask what cpu you are running, if it is overclocked and what your load temps are with just the one exhaust. Good idea about the duct - may knock one up out of plexi.

Does the Antec Solo case still come with those rubber band type HD holder straps?

Thanks again,
Nick.

[where?wolf]

Thanks very much for the replies.

I think I will stick to the 550W as I'll most probably upgrade my components again later in the year and will keep the PSU. You could well be right in regard to not needing any intakes if I'm just using one harddrive - by the way, no idea why I say Seagate when I actually meant to say Hitachi Deskstar

Any idea if the Ninja would fit the Asus P5WDG2-WS Professional board?

Where?wolf can I ask what cpu you are running, if it is overclocked and what your load temps are with just the one exhaust. Good idea about the duct - may knock one up out of plexi.

Does the Antec Solo case still come with those rubber band type HD holder straps?

Thanks again,
Nick.

I'm running a AMD64 3000+ @ 400MHz undervolted to 1.48V.

I have max load 50C after 1 1/2 hour 19.3 C room temp.

My duct is embracing the distance between the fan and the edge of the heatsink fins on 4 sides. Then on 3 sides on the sink itself. Make sure the duct fits snugly to the sides of the Ninja. I have about 1 1/2 cm gap between the top of the Ninja and the duct.

Also make sure, to "softmount" the case fan(s) with some elastic straps. Dont use screws! They transfer the vibrations from the fan to the case. And before you mount anything into the case. Remove the stamped fan grilles in front of the fans. Will reduce noise and improve airflow. If you have pets or children? Then you may wanna get get a finger guard, made out of rounded wire instead for the exhaust. Such a rounded wire guard, makes less noise and does'nt hinder the airflow as much as the stamped ones.

If you want to make the edge on the fan holes look better after the cutting? Get some "U" shaped door, or window isolation. And glue this to the edge.

Just make sure you stretch it enough, so it wont get in contact with the fan blades. Also clean the case throughout after the cutting.

Tip for 92 mm intake for the Solo case (If you feel you need one)? Get a Nexus 92mm or a Akasa amber series fan. Those are quiet for beeing a 92mm fan. Unfortunatly, Noctua, have'nt started to sell any 92mm fan separatly yet. At least to my knowlege.



EDIT.


Just for the sake of it. As I guess your cpu may eventually run slightly more hot than mine. I mounted a 1200 rpm ( in reality, is this fan 1250 rpm) Noctua on the Ninja (Still ducted to the exhaust fan). Then I connected the U.L.N.A. resistor that comes with the Noctua fan. This will take it down to about 640 rpm. and about 30CFM, 19DbA noise, (according to SPCR measure). This as the U.L.N.A. will cut the speed down to half). So it's vely, vely quiet, as Elmer Fudd would have said.

And at this point. I cant hear the fan at at all, sitting in front of the pc . Not even if I open the case door I cant distinguish it from the other 2 Noctua fans at 840 rpm. And the Nexus fan on my videocard at low rpm. I'm about 50 cm away from the case then. I live in the countryside. So it's a very quiet enviromment.

This addition of the low rpm Noctua, gave 31C idle and 47C load
Case temp 30 idle 33 load

Today when testing. I had 19.8 C room temp

[Pezerinno]

Where?wolf - thank you for all the details. I will update the thread when I have it all up & running.

Nick.

[where?wolf]

Hi again!

You're welcome.

It will be interesting to hear what results you did get?

[Pezerinno]

Update:

viewtopic.php?p=319859#319859

[where?wolf]

Update:

viewtopic.php?p=319859#319859

Very, VERY nice!

Now I guess you have really quiet PC's.

What temperatures do you have?

[Pezerinno]

Thanks Where?wolf,

In regards to temps - 49C reported by TAT (100% dual core load) if I understand correctly TAT measures the actual core temperature and its load test probably generates more heat than my normal load would create. 7800GTX is 55C under load and my hardrive is around 38C under load.

Very happy with the results thus far and I plan to overclock a little when I get time

[where?wolf]

Thanks Where?wolf,

In regards to temps - 49C reported by TAT (100% dual core load) if I understand correctly TAT measures the actual core temperature and its load test probably generates more heat than my normal load would create. 7800GTX is 55C under load and my hardrive is around 38C under load.

Very happy with the results thus far and I plan to overclock a little when I get time

That's good temps.

You got nice cases and fans. And the Ninja is always the Ninja. Cool n' quiet.

So now you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your work.

Btw, have you removed the stamped grilles yet?

[Pezerinno]

Thanks Where?wolf,

In regards to temps - 49C reported by TAT (100% dual core load) if I understand correctly TAT measures the actual core temperature and its load test probably generates more heat than my normal load would create. 7800GTX is 55C under load and my hardrive is around 38C under load.

Very happy with the results thus far and I plan to overclock a little when I get time

That's good temps.

You got nice cases and fans. And the Ninja is always the Ninja. Cool n' quiet.

So now you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your work.

Btw, have you removed the stamped grilles yet?

No I haven't yet - I need to get some tin cutters and then I willl. Does it make much difference?

[where?wolf]

Yes definite.

Especially since you are using low rpm fans like the Noctua and the Akasa fans. But especially the Noctua fans will benefit from it. Because of their different blade angle.

Those grills are restrictive, and adds noise to the case+ creates small mini vortexes, that disturbs the air flow.

Any case will be better after removing those grilles.

Just make sure, as I said before. To tape a small but strong, plastic bag on the inside of the fan hole(s) ( After you dismounted the fans) when snipping. This will catch the electrical conductive metal shards. But take a close look inside the case, after removing that bag. Some metal shards may have escaped into the case.

You can't be too careful there.

And if you have'nt done it allready? Seal all unnessisairy holes and vents in the case. This will improve the air pressure.

[Pezerinno]

Ok thanks Where?Wolf

[where?wolf]

Just glad if I could help you out in any small way.

You're welcome.