I have two ITX builds, with the following hardware:
i5 3570K + stock cooler
Zotac Z77ITX-A-E
2x 4GB DDR3 @ 1.25v (G.Skill Sniper)
240GB SSD (one of the Agility models)
1.5GB WD Green (3.5")
Antec Earthwatts 380w
Gigabyte HD7850 2GB, with the Windforce cooler
Yate Loon 120mm (from Petra's)
i3 4150 + stock cooler
ASRock H97M-ITX/ac
2x 4GB DDR3 @ 1.35v (Crucial Ballistix, low profile)
80GB X25M-G2
Seagate Momentus XT 500GB hybrid drive (2.5")
Antec Earthwatts 380w
HIS HD7850 2GB
Yate Loon 120mm low speed (from Petra's)
if the hardware selection looks a bit erratic, it's because the current incarnations were built mostly out of parts I've shuffled around or picked up for next to nothing. The fans, for instance, were the quietest two I had in a box of around 30-40 fans in my closet, and the Zotac board I got from parting out a SFF barebones at a profit.
Neither PC is particularly noisy, but neither are they super quiet. I already have some sound dampening foam attached to the side panels, but I'm considering some more low-cost improvements on the acoustics that will also be applied to a third build I'm doing for my sister.
Focusing on just the i5 system, in terms of noise when idle on the desktop, I'd say it's:
PSU fan >> Yate Loon @ 7v > Video card @ auto >> Yate Loon @ 5v ~ Video card @ manual 20% > Stock CPU cooler
So, my questions:
1. I have a mild overclock and mild undervolt on my i5, and I'm thermally restricted from clocking it slightly higher. I'm not dissatisfied with the stock cooler's acoustics; it's actually one of the quieter components when idle on the desktop and I'll generally have headphones or speakers when the card would be under load, but I have reason outside of pure noise to replace it. I have a Hyper212 Evo lying around, but the Zotac board has components on the back and won't work with any heatsink that has a backplate. The layout of the case would allow for a 92mm tower heatsink, possibly a 120mm (not ideal), but either would make working inside somewhat more difficult. Because of this, I'm currently eyeing the Noctua NH-L9i for this PC after reading a review on it here.
Does anyone have any data on the noise levels of the Ivy Bridge i5 stock cooler (with copper insert) and the Haswell i3 stock cooler (solid aluminum)? How does it compare at idle to the Noctua, and which of the two stock coolers should I put on the i3? It's somewhat difficult to do an apples-to-apples comparison of the two.
I may be able to put the 212 on the i3 and run it fanless (with the Yate Loon being nearby), but I haven't inspected the back of the ASRock board yet to see if it'll work, and it may not be worth the trouble since the CPU heat sinks are probably the quietest components anyway.
2. What program do you recommend for making a custom fan RPM curve on the 7850's? The stock coolers on these have a rather non-offensive sound, but every bit helps.
3. Regarding the 120mm fans, this post suggest that Yate Loons are already an excellent choice. Mine are not anywhere near silent at 7v, with a small but noticeable hum from the hub, but are pretty nice at 5v. They're several years old at this point and I was wondering if there would be any good choices for replacing them in the <$15 range.
4. The elephant in the living room is the power supply. The 80mm fan hums and ticks. I wouldn't call it "loud", but it's definitely where I need to focus some attention. Neither power supply will be coming remotely close to its maximum duty cycle so I'm not concerned with them overheating, but will it mess up the automatic fan speed control if I swap in something else and splice it into the old fan's wiring? Do they feed a set voltage when at a given load/temperature, or do they aim for a certain RPM?
Which fan do you recommend? A recent post asking for budget 80mm fans turned up Noctua and Nexus fans to be current winners, but there seem to be quite a few models and I haven't sorted out what the differences are yet. Any specific recommendations? I don't mind spending $17 vs $14, and I doubt the PSU fans are 4-wire, but cheaper is obviously better if the difference is negligible.
Thanks,
Ecky
