P182 - 0DB setup (kind of)

almalino · Post by **almalino** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:30 am

Hello,

This is my first post here although I have been reading this web site for 4 years already and found it extremelly interesting and useful.

My previous rig was Shuttle SB81P barebone. It had really excellent exterrior and , according review on this web site, should have been extremelly quite. Actually it was not

It was loud like hell but I survived for 2 years because all my friends were excited by it look.

So, after 2 years I decided to do something really silent.

My new rig was inspired by The.Jackal and his excellent post here:
viewtopic.php?t=42462

Case: Antec P182
Processor: Intel E6750 Core 2Duo
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4
RAM: 4GB = 2x2GB OCZ DDR2 800 MHz Gold edition
PSU:Corsair HX620W
PSU Heatsink: Scythe Ninja Rev B + self made bolt through kit
GPU: Gigabyte Nvidia 7600 GS Passive
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint 500GB and Samsung SpinPoint 160GB
Fans: Nexus Real Silent x 4 - Black and white
Audio: Creative XtremeGamer X-Fi
Damping: NexusDamptek
Optical: LG DVD-ROM Drive
OS: Windows Vista

Computer located in my bedroom and must be:
- runing 24/7
- extremelly quiet so that I can sleep
- able to run all modern and coming games

Some comments:
- 620 watt PSU is overkill for this setup but I chose it because it was the only one available at the moment of purchase. So far I'm happy.
- Nvidia 7600 GS is a temporary card that let me play Battlefield 2142 on 1600x1200 with medium settings till I wait for the next generation of high-end Nvidia or ATI cards.

Final result

I will not post any detailed pictures because those are absolutelly identical to The.Jackal setup. I will post what I made differently:

Self made bolt through installation of Ninja:

Nexus Damptek applied to side wall:

and bottom side

and top

This is how I made it 0DB

- THE WALL

I also bought nice 5.1 speakers to my bedrom and can listen music without background computer noise.

So , hopefully, this post will help someone else to build silent computer setup.

Cheers,
Alexei

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 11:14 am

Well, that certainly makes case quiet. Now you should get External USB DVD ram with USB 2.0 extension cable and you can keep your case there, while have access to Optical drive by your desktop. Then you can play games without changing room when inserting DVD's /CD's.

I love the selfmade bolt thru kit. Very well made.

almalino · Post by **almalino** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:05 pm

thejamppa wrote: I love the selfmade bolt thru kit. Very well made.

Thank you! Yes, it looks nice and keeps Ninja in place well. The only thing I'm afraid of that it migh unscrew with time due to vibrations from the fan installed on Ninja. Probably, I should put some paint to the open sides of the bolts to avoid this.

protellect · Post by **protellect** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:24 pm

haha. I used to do this with a noisy PC and a walk in closet! Worked pretty well. But it was a very noisy PC with FSP power supply and CPU fans that sucked.

Now I just have my PC on my desk, I'd guess its >25dB. Which is fine with me.

Mr. B · Post by **Mr. B** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 1:10 pm

I'd be curious to see how cleanly you made a hole in your wall... good idea, i'd consider it myself if there wasn't a toilet on the wall opposite my computer desk.

dangman4ever · Post by **dangman4ever** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 11:10 am

Wouldn't the PC get hit by someone getting in or out of those seats?

But nice work! What did you use to make that bolt kit for the ninja?

christopher3393 · Post by **christopher3393** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 4:17 pm

The placement in the kitchen does look impractical. Given that this is already a quiet case/system, what motivated placing it in another room? If this is for comic effect, I get it. Otherwise...

almalino · Post by **almalino** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:10 am

Mr. B wrote:I'd be curious to see how cleanly you made a hole in your wall... good idea, i'd consider it myself if there wasn't a toilet on the wall opposite my computer desk.

In my case I was lucky since I have wooden wall between my bedroom and kitchen. So, it took me 1 minute to drill big enough hole to put through all needed wires and I didn't need to extend them. I added one picture above showing wires going through the wall.

almalino · Post by **almalino** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:13 am

dangman4ever wrote:Wouldn't the PC get hit by someone getting in or out of those seats?

But nice work! What did you use to make that bolt kit for the ninja?

Thank you! I have the same concern about someone hitting the side of the PC. I'm planning to make wooden protection that will keep it safe from people in the kitchen:)

About bolt through kit I added one picture in the original post. Check it out. Basically I visited nearest shop, bougth 20 mm x 3 mm bolts and rubber temperature resistant washers. That is all:)

almalino · Post by **almalino** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:15 am

christopher3393 wrote:The placement in the kitchen does look impractical. Given that this is already a quiet case/system, what motivated placing it in another room? If this is for comic effect, I get it. Otherwise...

Originally I planned to put the case in the bedroom. When I assembled it was very silent but it is still noisier then my Dell laptop that is rated 24 DB. So, I decided to put it in the kitchen that didn't cost me too much becuase I have wooden wall that is very easy to drill:)

christopher3393 · Post by **christopher3393** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:24 am

It's just hard for me to imagine 4 nexus fans making distracting noise in a P182 w/ the front door shut! Looks like you've even covered the top vent.

almalino · Post by **almalino** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:29 am

christopher3393 wrote:It's just hard for me to imagine 4 nexus fans making distracting noise in a P182 w/ the front door shut! Looks like you've even covered the top vent.

Noise is not distracting, it is very soft but it is still noise. It's a very subjective topic, you know. Actually, I just noticed that I hear my DVD drive when it is rumping up through the wall!

Probably, it is because I live in Finland in a very small city with very little or even missing ambient noise:)

protellect · Post by **protellect** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 8:28 am

dunno if you guys have seen it, but gefen makes some really cool products that let you run USB/DVI signal over cat5.

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/cav-extenders.jsp

Their products work well and they have excellent tech support and warranties. But the stuff is expensive as heck.

I brought it up, because I know some of you feel restricted for putting your computer in a closet or another room, well, this can solve that problem for you. But it aint cheap ;~

JmanGTA · Post by **JmanGTA** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:46 pm

Alexei-

just an observation, I think your ram is in the wrong slot. For dual-channel it should be slot 1/3 or 2/4. I'm not familiar with that mb though.

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:50 pm

yes, dual channel RAM on a board like that one needs to be in 1/3 or 2/4 [although still check the manual].

even when slots 1 and 2 are one color and slots 3 and 4 are another color, its the slot numbers that are most important [threw me off with my build at first]

almalino · Post by **almalino** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 6:54 am

JmanGTA, bonestonne

Thank you for the tip! I didn't know that. Is there any way to check whether my computer started to work faster after I put RAM stick as you proposed?

almalino · Post by **almalino** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 11:43 am

almalino wrote:JmanGTA, bonestonne

Thank you for the tip! I didn't know that. Is there any way to check whether my computer started to work faster after I put RAM stick as you proposed?

I re installed memory sticks according Gigabyte MB installation guide to orange slots.

I guess memory is functioning in Dual channel mode. Unfortunatelly , I didn't get any memory performance gain after this according memory benchmark tests . Probably, it is because my CPU already running the same speed as memory 800 MHz?

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 1:38 pm

during Post your computer will show DDR2 and then a clock rate.

dual channel 800mhz ram will show up as DDR2 800. if its not in dual channel mode it will be recognized as 400mhz ram i think.

my RAM is a dual channel 667mhz set, when its not in Dual Channel its recognized as 333mhz. during post it will also say Dual Channel i think. it does with my board [MSI Neo-F P965]

FishLick · Post by **FishLick** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 3:43 am

bonestonne wrote:during Post your computer will show DDR2 and then a clock rate.

dual channel 800mhz ram will show up as DDR2 800. if its not in dual channel mode it will be recognized as 400mhz ram i think.

my RAM is a dual channel 667mhz set, when its not in Dual Channel its recognized as 333mhz. during post it will also say Dual Channel i think. it does with my board [MSI Neo-F P965]

Presume u are seeing these figs in CPUZ?

Thats fine, the ram runs at a ratio relative the the FSB speed.
Check overclocking forums for more info on it