• Noisy Liberty. Should I Buy: A) NeoHE -OR- B) P180B

[EvilNick]

I'm in a bit of a predicament now. My system is not as quiet as I'd like it to be (you can see the specs in my sig) and I've identified the main cause of noise as my Liberty 500W. Take a look at this screenie of full load:



I have no problems with my temps there, but you'll notice that when I'm loading the CPU, my Liberty fan spins up to 1700rpm. The main reason is because inside the case, it's like this:



My PSU is so near the Ninja that even though the fan on the Ninja is pointed towards the exhaust fan, most of the air is being picked up by the PSU and since it's hot from the Ninja, the PSU fan is ramping up. I can confirm this because under load, the air coming out my exhaust is relatively cool while the air coming out the PSU is warm-hot.

So in my own view, I have 2 choices:
A) Get a NeoHE. This means I can then duct an intake for the PSU from my front unused 5.25" bays and theoretically the PSU fan should never ever ramp up. I doubt getting a Seasonic would help since they too have the big 120mm at the bottom.

OR

B) Get a P180B. This way, the Liberty will be in its own seperate area of the case and with fresh intake air from the front, should be kept happy. The only problem with this is, whether the 24pin and 8pin power cables from the Liberty are long enough to reach the top of the mobo neatly. Anyway with a similar setup to confirm this?

So what do you guys think? Or do you have any ideas for my current setup which does not involve spending money. I tried making a duct for the Ninja to prevent the PSU from picking up air from it, but it didn't really work well. (Basically, I stuck a big, flat piece of cardboard right up against the Ninja to block air from going to the PSU fan)

Sorry for the long post, had to be descriptive.

[natethegreat]

Well according to SPCR the main cables on your Liberty are ~4" longer than the cables on my RealPower. I would go with the P180B. I love how the Ninja is so well suited to the airflow setup on the P180.

[StanF]

Two ideas if you might want to keep your existing case...

Have you considered a different power supply like the Antec SP-450 that draws air in from the back? It should be easier to add an effective duct to the rear of the power supply. I'm not familiar with your case...could you add a duct all the way up to the front of the case?

Another idea would be to rotate the power supply 180 degrees and cut an air inlet into the case. That way the power supply would be pulling in cool air. I use a Liberty in a Silverstone LC-20. The LC-20 is designed to work like this.

That being said, the P180 looks like a very nice case. So I don't think you could go wrong with it.

[EvilNick]

natethegreat: Do you have a P180? So your RealPower is long enough to route properly, maybe under the mobo? Cause I read somewhere that the P180 uses really high standoffs, so hiding stuff under the mobo is easier than most cases.

StanF: First idea, yeah that's what I was referring to when I said I wanna get a NeoHE and stick with my existing case. It would be easy enough to add a duct with some work.

The other idea sounds interesting, but that would mean needing to think about dust and also I'd always have to watch out for stuff falling into the top.

[silon]

i have a 400W liberty and it barely ramps up, even under load .

if the fan stays slow most of the time, it wont need vast volumes of air. if you were to duct the top part of the ninja to force hot air out through the exhaust fan, then there would be very little room for the liberty's fan to 'breathe' but since it spins slowly... it *could* work, dont you think?

[natethegreat]

natethegreat: Do you have a P180? So your RealPower is long enough to route properly, maybe under the mobo? Cause I read somewhere that the P180 uses really high standoffs, so hiding stuff under the mobo is easier than most cases.

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[EvilNick]

natethegreat: Nice rig, but I noticed your mobo is the DFI Expert and your ATX connectors are both at the right side of the board. My mobo has the 4pin connector on the left side middle, and my future P5B Deluxe will be worse, all the way at the top on the left side.

silon: Hey funny I should see you here. (I hope I'm not mistaking you for someone else who happens to use the same forum nick)
Well that's what I thought, perhaps I will try the duct idea again soon, not sure what material to use though.

[silon]

EvilNick, no, you certainly have not mistaken me for someone else

ive been having quite a good run using poster boards! its tough [broke one of my scissors], easy to bend and can be cut to any shape you want.
it aint expensive either, i got 2 4ft x 3ft pieces for less than 5 bucks!

good luck

[kogi]

What case are you using Nick?
From the picture it looks like it has only 1 x 80mm exhaust fan. Does it have space for another 80mm?

kogi

[Thomas]

...The other idea sounds interesting, but that would mean needing to think about dust and also I'd always have to watch out for stuff falling into the top.

Especially water, or other liquids. Could be very dangerous...!

[Thomas]

Hmmm... I'm in doubt if it's enough to only replace the CPU or the case. But of course, it depends on HOW obsessed are you about quietness...

With that big Q in mind... Would the Liberty be good enough, if placed in a P180, or are there some chances that you'll end with upgrading it anyway? If so, and money still matter, then I believe you'll be better suited with a NeoHE from the beginning.

On the other hand, a 6600GT is nearly 50 watt full load. As far as I know, your CPU is quite power hungry too, thus there's a lot of heat to exhaust during load. So the question is, do your current case got enough airflow? Can it be improved, or is the P180b the next logical step?

What about your HDD, does it also generate noise? If it needs suspension, then the P180b would serve two goals...

EDIT: Checked your sig again. I'm not into overclocking, but it appears to me, that both your CPU and GPU is OC'ed? If so, I believe you'll definately need more airflow...

EDIT 2: The Liberty aint on the recommended list anymore. I dont say it's bad, but maybe it's time for a upgrade. Have you considered a SOLO + NeoHE? Around 20% more money than a P180...

EDIT 3: According to the SPCR Liberty review, then the Liberty is quiet BELOW 150 watt. Now, what's your actual power draw under load? If your CPU is 90 watt + 50 w GPU + 10% for OC... + RAM + HDD + ODD + mobo...