I need help and suggestion to silence my system

nzone · Post by **nzone** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:14 am

I am not satisfy with the noise of my system produces. These are my system components:

Case: Zalman Z-Machine GT-1000
MB: eVGA 680i SLI A1
CPU: Intel Q6600
CPU Cooler: Ultra ChillTEC w/mod fan
Memory: 1GB x 4 Patriot 6400 LLK
GPU: PNY 8800GTX
GPU Cooler: Zalman VF-1000 / RHS88
DVD: Memorex DVD-ROM
HD: 2x160GB WD in RAID 0; 1x80 Maxtor
FANS: 1x120mm rear by Zalman @ 5v
2x92mm front by Zalman @ 5v
1x120mm PSU by Corsair @??
1x92mm CPU Cooler by SilenX @50%
1x40mm NB Chipset by eVGA @50%
1x92mm GPU by Zalman @75%
2x80mm Fancard by Vantec @lowest setting

PS: This is an underclocked system. The Q6600 is operated using SpeedStep and C1E. In normal usage the Q6600 is operated (6x266=1600GHz) and under load (gaming session) it is operated at (9x266=2400GHz).

The challenge:
The PC is on the desktop and it is about a foot away from where I sit. I want my system to be inaudible from this distant. My preference is performance, silence, and power efficiency.

The problems:
Fan noises even at the lowest voltage setting. The loudest fans are those two 92mm@5v in the front. The next noisiest fan is the 40mm@50% and the 120mm@5v rear. I cannot hear the silenx fan, gpu fan, and psu fan.
The vantec fancard is loud too, I'll remove it.

Current Thermal Performance:
MB: idle 36C; load 38C
CPU: idle 25C, load 34C
GPU: idle 52C, load 59C -- without Vantec fancard; idle 55C, load 65C

The questions:
Because of the proximity between me the pc, does air cooling have any chance to be inaudible? Will watercooling be the choice?

frank2003 · Post by **frank2003** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 6:15 pm

8 fans and 3 HDs, that's 11 spindles. At such close distance I think you will have a very difficult time silencing your rig. You can probably hear the disk drives even if you ripped out all the fans.

nzone · Post by **nzone** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 8:18 am

You're correct I am having a very difficult time silencing this rig.

I experimented last night by unplugging the two front 92mm fans. To my surprise, I got about 50% improvement in term of noise reduction but at the expense of raising 4C degree on the motherboard (idle increased to 40C). I don't know if it is okay at this temp for the mb. Even with the front fans off; there is still fresh air going in -- proved it by placing a Klenix tissue paper in front and it got sucked in. I think the noise comes from these front fans may be caused by air dispersion or air reflex back to the fans. The distance between the fans and the hard drive cage is about 1/2 inch.

Do you know if any 92mm fan that has low RPM (<800) and has LED or UV LED?

You're right about the hard drive, I always have the impression they would be the quietest of all the components but to my surprise they make a lot of noises. Maybe at least >35dBA.

Which hard drive company out of these (Maxter/Samsung/WD/Seagate) makes the quietest HD? I'm going to rebuild the OS using a single hard drive.

My next To-Do List:
1.Replace Ultra ChillTEC with maybe Zalman 9700 NT. ChillTEC dumps high amount of heat in the case because of the Peltier. This way I could use 800RPM 120MM Evercool fan in the rear.

2.Run NB/SB passively.

frank2003 · Post by **frank2003** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:30 am

The old Seagate Barracuda IVs with capacity of <= 160GB are the quietest drives I've ever owned. Over the years I believe Seagate has lost the low-noise crown to other manufacturers.

Samsung also has a good reputation for making quiet drives, but personally I never had any experience with their drives.

The only drives that ever went bad on me were Maxtors (5 of them). So I avoid them at all costs.

If you don't need all your drives on line at the same time, consider using a disk draw/caddy system like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817998021

ronrem · Post by **ronrem** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 5:59 pm

nzone wrote:You're correct I am having a very difficult time silencing this rig.

I experimented last night by unplugging the two front 92mm fans. To my surprise, I got about 50% improvement in term of noise reduction but at the expense of raising 4C degree on the motherboard (idle increased to 40C). I don't know if it is okay at this temp for the mb. Even with the front fans off; there is still fresh air going in -- proved it by placing a Klenix tissue paper in front and it got sucked in. I think the noise comes from these front fans may be caused by air dispersion or air reflex back to the fans. The distance between the fans and the hard drive cage is about 1/2 inch.

Do you know if any 92mm fan that has low RPM (<800) and has LED or UV LED?

You're right about the hard drive, I always have the impression they would be the quietest of all the components but to my surprise they make a lot of noises. Maybe at least >35dBA.

Which hard drive company out of these (Maxter/Samsung/WD/Seagate) makes the quietest HD? I'm going to rebuild the OS using a single hard drive.

My next To-Do List:
1.Replace Ultra ChillTEC with maybe Zalman 9700 NT. ChillTEC dumps high amount of heat in the case because of the Peltier. This way I could use 800RPM 120MM Evercool fan in the rear.

2.Run NB/SB passively.

Not sure about the layout of the ChillTec---but a Peltier has a HOT SIDE and you want to DUCT that out-not circulate it

Front fans suck. Little fans suck. With the 2 92's REMOVED---you get less obstruction. A FRONT fan is typically closer to your ear. The same fan in the back,or the floor-won't sound near as loud.

I'd worry if temps hit 50C but temps over 40C are a GOOD sign...means you are not using too many fans. 8 total is too many. 4 is pretty good.

The noise will be related to RPM's. Every fan maker seems to measure DB different-so that's only relevant as a relative guide to that brand. Fans that at 12V run at 2500 rpm would not be silent at 6v....and some won't run at that voltage.

Samsung T series drives (SATA2) are good in just about all regards. Putting a second drive in an external USB2 or eSATA-lets you leave it off if not in use.

The biggest fan at any given rpm-pushes the most air,and pushes the most air relative to noise. I'd mickey mouse a bracket to aim an 80mm at that NB heatsink and toss that little fan. Maybe one of your spare 92's if it will run at 800 rpm.

I guess you looked at the silent storage threads? Suspension-enclosures,gel-pacs,foam beds...there's many ways to decouple a HD and cut seek noises a LOT.

nzone · Post by **nzone** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:12 am

Not sure about the layout of the ChillTec---but a Peltier has a HOT SIDE and you want to DUCT that out-not circulate it

The chilltec has the cool sink in the front, the hot sink in the rear. I was thinking about ducting too, but part of me said no because it would not look good. My case has windows which would be very distracting.

The other day I saw a thread in the 'CPU Cooling' section stated that a HR-01 could be capable of cooling a Q6600. Since I already had HR-01 laying around, I went ahead and replaced the ChillTec. To my surprise, the HR-01 is capable of cooling the Q6600 with fanless. With this setup, with front and rear fans are still at 5v:

CPU idle at 48C, load at 64C
MB idle at 37C, load at 37C (I don't know, but that's nTune report)

Although I eliminated one 92mm on the cpu heatsink, the noise level is still the same because it was inaudible before. At least I eliminated one moving part; and by replacing the ChillTEC, I reduced the MB temp down to 37C (idle/load). I also did a test again by disconnecting the front 92mm fans while the cpu cooler in fanless mode. To my surprise again, the MB temp did not change -- still at 37C (idle/load) ,however, it has a side effect on the 8800GTX and CPU. Now the GPU is idled at 60C, load at 75C and CPU is idled at 50C, load 66C -- which is still good temperature.

In summary:

Total Fans reduced to: 4
(1 120mm rear@5v; 1 120mm PSU, 1 92mm GPU@60%, 1 50mm NB @50%)

Thermal Performance (not full stress load but with playing game for 2+ hours at room temperature of 26.5C):

CPU: idle 50C; load 59C
MB: stay constant at 37C
GPU: idle 60C; load 75C

The way I see it now is that my system can potentially operate with just 1 120mm @ 5v and the 120mm PSU fan while still maintain operational temperature.

This weekend I will do this:

1. replace Southbridge with http://www.enzotechnology.com/cnb_s1l.htm
repleace Northbridge with http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/vie ... 0&code=014

2. Replace HR-01 with Zalman 9700 NT for aesthetic

I hope it doesn't increase a lot of noise.

I may decided to replace Zalman VF-1000/RHS88 with a thermalright HR-03 Plus for fanless operation. I don't know if I can swallow it after spending $100 for the Zalman GPU heatsink.

nzone · Post by **nzone** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:07 am

I replaced:

SB with http://www.enzotechnology.com/cnb_s1l.htm
NB with http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/vie ... 0&code=014

CPU Cooler: Zalman 9700NT

Now I am completely satisfied with my system noise. I couldn't hear my system

but after the wee hour (pass 1 AM) I could hear a little bit of whoosh air rushing at the rear fan. hhehe my breathe is actually louder

However the affect of the changes:

Pluses: NB/SB heatsinks are now small and produce no noise.
Minuses: SB idle 62C; load 70C -- NB idle 73C, load 79-80C

As for the Zalman 9700NT, it isn't any better than the HR-01. If I were to attach a slow fan (800RPM) on the HR-01, it would probably perform on par with the 9700NT. But I was looking for aesthetic, so no complain here

ExiT · Post by **ExiT** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:27 am

Hey nzone,

Could you post a few pics of your rig?

I have the GT1000-T as well and currently planning on silencing it prior to purchasing any additional air cooling parts. Though still conflicted whether to invest in the Zalman resoratorXT for the best possible silencing results but dishing out another $400US is a bit too much considering the cost of the case itself.

Have you tried removing the HDD cage completely and installing only 2 of your HDDs at the bottom and running the front 92mm fans at 5v to see if the noise level is still the same?

This could also improve your highten SB & NB temperatures.

As for replacing the 2x92mm LED Fans with silent ones but preserving the LED or UV look, I have yet to find ANY silent fans with similar criteria and I've been searching for quite a while for something to match the Nexus one but with no progress.

However, I have a yate loon 120mm blue LED Sleeve bearing fan which when undervolted is fairly similar to nexus sound levels. Though they do not manufacture 92mm blue led fans.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:21 am

NB runs very hot. Have you consider changing it to Heat pipe cooler like:
http://www.nexustek.nl/nhp2200_heat_pip ... cooler.htm
or
http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main ... r05sli.htm
or
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=prod ... d=7&lng=en

That might help reducing the temps bit for more safer, without actually increasing noise at all.

nzone · Post by **nzone** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 8:21 am

ExiT,

I have tried to take some pictures at night (I couldn't do during the day) but the flash from the digital camera made the pictures looked washed. I'll try to get a clean looking one.

For GT-1000, it's an amazing case. If you want serious silencing and doesn't care about aesthetic looks, you can just have the rear fan at 5v and unplug or remove the front 2 92mm fans. You still get a major airflow with just the rear fan and a little help from the PSU fan. For me, I compromise for a little bit of noise for the Kick*** look of the front 2 LED fan. You can basically run everything passive with this case with just a single rear fan at 5v (I removed the case fan grill). You can get a fan controller to lower the fan voltage to less than 5v. I don't know how lower, but the fans seemed to spin slower and the fan LED is dimmed. I use Zalman ZM-MFC2.

I don't think you would need Reserator XT or any other watercooling equipment with this case unless you are a watercooling advocate and want one. If you buy all the cooling components from Thermalright, you're pretty much guaranteed to have your pc runs dead silent.

I have 3 hard drives so I need the hard drive cage. However, I did try to remove it once but I couldn't remove one of the screw so I gave up. My intention was not to remove it out of the case but to flip it around so that I could hide the cables better.

What are your hardware specs?

nzone · Post by **nzone** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 8:35 am

thejamppa wrote:NB runs very hot. Have you consider changing it to Heat pipe cooler like:
http://www.nexustek.nl/nhp2200_heat_pip ... cooler.htm
or
http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main ... r05sli.htm
or
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=prod ... d=7&lng=en

That might help reducing the temps bit for more safer, without actually increasing noise at all.

The nexustek NB cooler is not any better than the Zalman NB cooler in passive mode. And Zalman NB cooler is only $9.99

I should have gone with the Thermalright ones, but I was looking for something small and could do the job. I thought Zalman and Enzo fit the bills. May be I'll replace them with the Thermalright later on.

I think the NB/SB temperatures I got are within the operational condition. I have an evga 680i SLI A1 and in the manual it said if you don't overclock, the stock NB/SB cooler can be operated without the optional fan. I've read other forum posts, they said anything less than 100C is okay for the NB/SB but should keep to below 60C. So far I haven't got a system crash once yet.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:22 am

nzone wrote:
thejamppa wrote:NB runs very hot. Have you consider changing it to Heat pipe cooler like:
http://www.nexustek.nl/nhp2200_heat_pip ... cooler.htm
or
http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main ... r05sli.htm
or
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=prod ... d=7&lng=en

That might help reducing the temps bit for more safer, without actually increasing noise at all.
The nexustek NB cooler is not any better than the Zalman NB cooler in passive mode. And Zalman NB cooler is only $9.99

I should have gone with the Thermalright ones, but I was looking for something small and could do the job. I thought Zalman and Enzo fit the bills. May be I'll replace them with the Thermalright later on.

I think the NB/SB temperatures I got are within the operational condition. I have an evga 680i SLI A1 and in the manual it said if you don't overclock, the stock NB/SB cooler can be operated without the optional fan. I've read other forum posts, they said anything less than 100C is okay for the NB/SB but should keep to below 60C. So far I haven't got a system crash once yet.

That's great. I am bit jealouse of you though. That enzotech SB cooler looks awesome. But no enzotech in Finland. Aslong your system runs stable, there is no dangers.

nzone · Post by **nzone** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:24 am

thejamppa,

www.frozencpu.com have Enzo and they do ship oversea.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 8:15 pm

Thanks I will look their product when I have money.

ExiT · Post by **ExiT** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:29 am

Current PC (I'll post some pics Later):

Case: Cooler Master Praetorian Black /Modified
MB: DFI NF4 SLI-DR S939
MB Chipset Cooler: Thermalright HR-05 SLI - Passive Mode
CPU: AMD ATHLON 64 X2 3800+
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS-7000b-cu /Modified
Memory: OCZ EL Platinum PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL2-3-2-5
GPU: XFX 7800GT SLI w/Zalman VF-900-cu LED
DVD: Pioneer 212 SATA DVD-RW
HD: WD RaptorX 160GB
PS: Silverstone ST60F 600W PS /Modified with Noctua 120mm NF-S12-1200
Fans: TOO MANY!! All Fans Undervolted to 5v and still too loud for my taste
2x80mm white LED intake front fans by Cooler Master
2x80mm white LED exhaust back/top fans by Cooler Master
1x120mm white LED Intake Side window Fan by cooler Master
1x92mm CPU Cooler by Yateloon D90SL-12 Painted UV Yellow
2x80mm blue LED Zalman GPU Fans @ 5v

Upcoming Upgrades:

Case: Zalman GT1000-T
MB: DFI LANParty UT P35-T2R LGA775 P35
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (Hopefully G0 Stepping)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright ULTRA-120 Extreme
Memory: OCZ Reaper Hpc Edition PC2-8500 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15
GPU: Bfg Geforce 8800GTX Oc 600MHZ 768MB 1.8GHZ GDDR3
GPU Cooler: Thermalright HR-03

I will be definitely remove the HDD cage once I have all components to improve airflow though as you already mentioned, running the rear 120mm fan @ 5v alone was enough to cool the Q6600.

On a side note, If I had known earlier how loud the WD RaptorX is, I would've gone with 2xWD RAID Edition Drives instead. The seek noise is the loudest in my current setup.

Most likely I will end up buying the Scythe Quiet Drive Case to reduce the noise since I highly doubt suspending it will be adequate enough.

nzone · Post by **nzone** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 7:19 pm

Here are a few pics....

A view from exterior
http://home.comcast.net/~n.ith/IMG_7196.JPG

A view from interior with full of spaghetti...
http://home.comcast.net/~n.ith/IMG_7232.JPG

One side door open. And some bling factor!
http://home.comcast.net/~n.ith/IMG_7225.JPG

I've put back the stock NB/SB heatsink. I use Fan Mate2 controller to control the NB fan. Now it is the quietest fan in the system and with the benefit of cooling the NB/SB nicely. All other fans are controlled by Zalman ZM-MFC2 controller. Two hard drives were moved from the front cage to the bottom of the case. Now I could no longer hear hard drives noise or their seeking.

EDIT BY ADMIN: YOUR PICS WERE WAY TOO BIG, REDUCE OR JUST LINK!!!!

ExiT · Post by **ExiT** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:20 am

Nice Large Pics =P

Though you probably should work on cable management.

Been very busy lately so I barely had time to take proper pictures of mine but here is a sneak peak. Will post some more this weekend.

ExiT · Post by **ExiT** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:31 am

Oops, my bad... Here is the proper link

nzone · Post by **nzone** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 7:48 am

Yeah the cables are kinda like spaghetti. The power cables supplied with the Corsair HX620W are short so I have to run them in the foreground rather than hidden in the background. It was nice and neat until I added the fan controller. However, after the case doors are closed I see no trace of wires looking through the window.

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 2:31 pm

drop the 2x front 92mm fans. intake fans are only useful to cool hard drives, and i doubt your hard drives really need that much extra airflow. They arnt adding any additional case airflow at all.

replace the northbridge HSF with a passive heatsink
replace the silenx fan with a nexus fan (while you may not hear it now, it will likely become the loudest fan in your system if you do my other suggestions)
remove the 2x 80mm fancards

your temps are fine, specially since your underclocking and not overclocking, so temps arnt as big of an issue for you. i wouldnt worry about GPU temps unless they go over 100c, cpu around 60c, and HD around 55c. long as all your temps are below those at load, your fine.

You really shouldnt have any more than 4 fans max in a single VGA system. 1 in psu, 1 for case exhaust, 1 on CPU, and 1 on VGA card. With a ninja near a case exhaust fan, and a passive video card you could even drop it down to 2 fans for a system. psu and case exhaust.

I'd recommend either Scythe Sflex 120mm's, or nexus fans. If you need a 92mm or 80mm fan, go with nexus.

nzone · Post by **nzone** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:41 am

With this case, the appearance would look so plain and vanilla without those front two LED fans. The front case fans help lower about 5C though.

All the fans in my case are now controlled by a fan controller. For the NB fan, I set the fan speed in the BIOS to operate at 50% and then I used FANMATE2 to control it even lower. Now the NB is not the noise maker anymore.

I rotated my pc about 15 degree away and with the fan controller I cannot hear the fans noise anymore