Thanks for the replies everyone. To clarify, I'm a cheapskate at heart. I do want an 8800 GT because it's simply the fastest card out there (next to the 8800 GTX). Unfortunately, However, if the 3870 is slower but also comparatively less expensive (and that seems to be the case), then it becomes a t...

why would you use a stock cooler on the 8800gt or the 3870? Quite frankly, I don't want to spend any extra money on a video card. I don't want to void the warranty either. Also, if it's not particularly loud or unpleasant, then it's unnecessary for me to change the cooler. The 8800 GTS made a littl...

The 8800 GTS was pleasantly surprising with its acoustics. Although it made some noise during load, its two-slot cooler was pretty tame on the ears. The 8800 GT performs noticeably better than the old 8800 GTS, but it is a single-slot cooler and appears to be noisier. The Radeon 3870 has a dual-slot...

According to... http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/29/geforce_8800_gt/page13.html#noise_level the 8800 GT is pretty much on par with the 8800 GTS. As to how accurate or discriminating his techniques really are... *shrugs* But, at the least, this seems to indicate that the 8800 GT won't be a leaf bl...

In order to skimp on shipping costs, a friend of mine was looking to snap up a new 120mm fan along with a keyboard that they're buying from Newegg. It's supposed to be an intake fan. He's not the silent type but we're not looking for a particularly annoying fan either, so maybe we're looking for som...

Thanks for the NCB suggestion Mr. Neil. In addition to its quietness, it does look like it would be more durable than, at the least, sleeve bearings. However, I can't quite tell if the GlobalWin NCB fan is open cornered or not. Do you know if the corners are amicable to being mounted with rubber gro...

I'd avoid the Silverstone FN121. I have one gathering dust :( According to specifications, the Silverstone FN121 moves more air than the "L" model of the Yate Loon. Perhaps that attributed to some of the extra noise? I intend on using the motherboard to somewhat modulate the speed of whatever fan I...

Thanks for the replies guys. =) I'm afraid I have a few newbie'ish questions here then: There seem to be multiple speeds of the Yate Loon, such as a low, medium, and high speed model. Do you guys know how the high and medium speeds compare with the low speed model? Additionally, it says that it's a ...

At heart I'm somewhat of a cheapskate. My predicament, then, is to find a fan that is quiet yet somehow cheap. Personally, I'm hoping to find a fan that is somehow: 1.) Under $10 (before shipping) 2.) Widely available (from retailers like Newegg, or Fry's) 3.) Quiet (but not necessarily silent) 4.) ...

Hello everyone. I have a Zalman 9700 as the HSF for a future computer, and given its size I've been concerned about its compatibilities with motherboards. I've been zooming in on the Gigabyte P35-DS3R but I haven't seen the board in person yet. I wanted to ask if anyone has paired a 9700 with the P3...

All the current PSU I've tested draw about 6-8w when they are off which seems like a waste. Is that because of poor PSU design or because something downstream of the PSU is creating a load, such as Wake-On-LAN or other nefarious BIOS settings? Modern motherboards and PSUs also support soft power-of...

Hello, If you are gentle moving it room to room, then you'll be fine. In a 4 hour car ride, it might be fine, but you could also stuff the inside of the case with bubble wrap, to support the HSF, to be a s little more sure that it won't move. Thank you for the response Neil. Hm, it kinda concerns m...

Given the hefty size of the 9700 (690 grams), I've heard of people being concerned with moving around a case with this monster of a heatsink. I need some perspective on this, though. Given your typical computer, case, and whatnot with a CNPS9700 sitting on the CPU... Would it be safe to move the cas...

I think I read somewhere that the Sonata III will exclude the plastic ducting from the Sonata II. When I saw the case at Fry's, indeed the ducting system was missing. So, the main changes with the Sonata III seem to be 1.) A new P.S., 2.) No more ducting, and 3.) Cosmetic exterior changes. Nothing f...

Thanks for the response. Does anyone know if there's a discernable sound difference between manufacturers? Like... whether BFG is louder than eVGA? I probably won't be wanting to get a silent heatpipe or an aftermarket cooler for the card. The addition of the CNPS-9700 is probably as far out as I wa...

Hiyas everyone. I'm a lurker of sorts here, and while I don't post much, it has always astounded me at how much detail you guys have in your ear canals. So, looking at so many well-crafted occipital lobes in this forum, I wanted to ask if anyone could describe how noisy a Geforce 8800 GTS is? With t...

Eh, I have the 160GB S-ATA version (ST...023AS) of the 7200.7 and so far it seems to be doing fine. It has been quiet and, contrary to some of the Seagates I hear in the nearby library, they don't make a sound while accessing. There is no whine and... well, I think it has been a good, quiet drive f...

Unfortunately, the subject pretty much explains my question, so if this is a no-brainer, I'm afraid I have nothing to mitigate my brainlessness. I think I remember reading somewhere that oiling the ball bearings on a fan might smother some noise from vibration by reducing friction. I don't think I'...

The stock Radeon 9800 fan is not as loud as... say, a GeForceFX 5900 fan, but it's not quiet at all. I have two 120mm fans (running around 1400rpm each,) a Zalman 7000-AlCu, Western Digital HD, and the Antec Sonata case with the one-fan TruePower, and the Radeon 9800 is easily the loudest thing ins...

I've also heard of i865 motherboards mimicking PAT. I doubt any of us really know how it works. "Performance Acceleration Technology" is just as descriptive as "Infiniband" or "Communications Sharing Architecture." It's a marketing term. Anyho, check out http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=1...

Oh, I forgot to mention that I have a 120mm blowing near in front of my hard drive as well, so that probably lowers the temperature on the little thing. (In response to Modman) I'm not running it at the lowest setting specifically because I don't have the Fanmate1 installed. Looking at the cable cl...

Holas! To be honest, my HD diagnosis and benchmark skills leave much to be desired. If you can give me poitners on how to benchmark, or test the temperature of the HD, then I'll try to take a shot at it. By putting my pinky finger on it, it feels lukewarm, but not hot. It's not painful to touch and...

I just wanted to follow up on my little HD spiel. The WD1200JD certainly is not a Seagate, and I doubt it has a FDB motor either, however, it isn't a particularly loud hard drive. With my case enclosed, I can't hear a hum from it. Admittingly, a Zalman 7000-AlCu running at 2400 rpm drowns most of t...

Good early morning! I imagine Western Digital hasn't won any acoustic awards in a while. However, a few days ago, on Newegg, I saw a Serial ATA version of the WD1200JD prop itself up. Other than the addition of Serial ATA compability, it shared several specifications with the original WD1200JB (suc...

Oiy! Thanks for the replies and information everyone! I was considering on checking back for any information in the night but... well, I guess not. ;) I had no idea on the nomenclature of the the Panaflow breed and you guys have certainly cleared up a bit of confusion on my part. I'll keep an eyeba...

Hi everyone! I'm... well, new to these boards and also kinda new to the concept of silent computers, so if I state any truisms and miss some in the same sentence... I'll probably be making more later. I've been thinking about buying a new computer with an Antec Sonata to house the little bundle of ...