Help for building whisper-silent PC

[Teo]

I’m buying new PC after 7 years and I want to have the Quiet (whisper-silent) PC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiet_PC Extremely quiet. I mean, I have to get close to it to realize if it's still running or not.

I’m not going to play games on my PC. Beside other use of PC, I will do music editing.

I have read some parts of useful websites like www.silent.se

As for hardware, I’m thinking of Intel Core2Due 6600 which is very cool and MSI main board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130052 with SilentSink - chipset heat sinks without fans, so, no noise
If I need to put a fan I will get Thermaltake or Coolermaster.
Which company you recommend most?

I wanted to know which of their products is most silent?

And the photo below http://www.ohropax.de/files/laerm_e.gif says 15 dBA is sound of breathing.
Some of their products are about 17 dBA. And some are 24 dBA. Dose 24 dBA super silent?

Like http://www.coolermaster.com/index.php?L ... er_title=0



I will also line the inside of a case with dampening materials (Using Thermaltake Noise Dampening Kit, Application for PC Case. P/N a2384
http://www.thermaltake.com/product/acce ... /a2384.asp

Or from this company : http://www.acoustiproducts.com/en/multi ... erials.asp

And for the Graphic Card, I will but fanless one.

Thanks for answers.

[IsaacKuo]

Don't worry about dampening materials yet. Compared to choosing good components in the first place, it's not very effective.

As for manufacturer claims of dBA ratings--ignore them. ALL of them. Instead, look at reviews here on SPCR and other places which actually put multiple products up against each other head-to-head. There are simply too many variables on dBA measurements for anything other than a head-to-head comparison to yield trustworthy results.

If you look at the SPCR reviews, you'll notice that every CPU heatsink gets compared to the Scythe Ninja. This is because for quiet PC purposes, it's more or less the best CPU heatsink available. Even Scythe's more recent products fail to meet the standard it set.

For your purposes, you'll be able to use a Scythe Ninja heatsink without any CPU fan. Thus, the noise generated by the CPU heatsink is zero. The real question is choice of overall layout (i.e. the computer case), rear case fan (if any), and PSU.

It's entirely possible to run your non-gaming system virtually silently with just one fan--the PSU fan, and a traditional case layout. However, most PSUs have a thermally controlled fan which will ramp up when it detects warm air from the CPU heatsink. You typically need to do a modification on the PSU fan in order to prevent it from ramping up. If you're not comfortable with such modifications, then using a rear case fan is the way to go.

This can reduce fan noise to near silence.

What's left is the other major noise producer, the hard drive. This is where you've got the hardest choices.

A 3.5" drive provides the best value, but will it be quiet enough? At the very least, you're going to want to use a suspension system to eliminate vibration noises.

A 2.5" drive can be made silent using a full enclosure, but it has about half the performance of a 3.5" drive, and much less capacity.

A solid state drive can be very fast and completely silent, but with very low capacities and great expense.

Personally, I find 3.5" drives too noisy. They all have a certain high pitched whine which is difficult to eliminate without cooking the drives. Even 2.5" drives have some of this whine, but at least they are engineered from the start to live entombed in the hot confines of a laptop (so I am safe entombing them in an enclosure).

[Teo]

Dear Isaac, thank you for explanations.


I will also do the following proper installation of the PC that will also improve the user's comfort:
Putting the case on the carpet on the floor and on the back on PC and around it, will put dampening material, like the one used in sofas.

And yes, you are right about ignoring manufacturer claims of dBA ratings.

AS printed on silent.se “The notion decibel, dB, is a relative one. For to be able to use dB as valuable information we need to know how its figures has been obtained and declared. Much of today's rare use of dB figures represents deliberate customer misleading, sanctioned by corrupted thinking.â€

[Teo]

Extreme Quiet SPCR Core 2 PC
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std ... d=6G7W7sAg

This Extreme Quiet Core 2 PC is an extreme system designed in collaboration with Silent PC Review (SPCR). It is designed to have bleeding edge performance, with extreme silence. This system incorporates custom duct work, a bullet fast core 2 processor, and the energy-efficient, noise-minimizing P5B-E motherboard.

I think buying this PC is better. What do you think?

[jaganath]

I think buying this PC is better. What do you think?

yeah, sure, that's a good option if your budget is sufficient. what would your final spec be?

[MikeC]

The EPCN-built SPCR-designed PC is a good choice if you want it done right without fussing & don't mind paying for the expert service. They are obliged to build it exactly the way it's detailed in the SPCR articles about the designs.

If you want to do it yourself, I would stay away from any product not explicitly recommended here at SPCR -- unless you've fully absorbed the knowledge and can apply it to accurately assess products (w/regard to their thermal/acoustic properties) via pictures and descriptions in online shops/reviews.

[Teo]

Thank you Mike and others,
I see I have to do it myself.

Dose the company endpcnoise.com has partner in Dubai to buy from store or the product will ship from Amercia?
My cousin in Dubai at least can get me recommend products on endpcnoise like, Power Supply, and case :
But what about their guarantee ?


CPU fan: Quiet CPU Fans Intel : Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B Fanless or with Replaceable Fan
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std ... d=57978zFs


Case : Quiet Computer Cases : Antec Solo Quiet Case
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=antec_solo

OR Thermaltake Tsunami: A Complete Visual Overhaul
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2202&p=2v . Can you tell me which one is better and silent?
or mid tower > Soprano DX


Power : Quiet Power Supplies : Nexus 80 Plus Efficiency 400 Watt Silent PSU
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std ... d=vzq58C5V


MOBO :

I think the main board of the system, on http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std ... ome_system which is ASUS P5B Deluxe WiFi motherboard is better than MSI MSI P965 Platinum http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func ... at2_no=170 ?


RAM: GeIL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

CPU: Core2 Duo E6600


So my system will be whisper silent.
Will also add Thermaltake or http://www.acoustiproducts.com

[~El~Jefe~]

here you go... screw that acousti stuff.

go for the real deal, big, heavy, dense, high quality... cheap too

soundproofing.org
i plug them because they are REALLY nice people on the phone and also their stuff is so weighty and effective.