Recent build HTPC noise issues

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 10:36 am

I just built my first HTPC with the following components:

Silverstone LC10B (replaced case fans, see below)
MSI K8N Neo Plat
Athlon 64 3000 with a Zalman CNPS 7000 AlCu HSF
Coolmax 400w PSU
Samsung HD 7200 160G SATA
Plextor 712a SATA
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256mg with an Artic Cooling VGA silencer rev 1

I replaced the included case fans (2x60mm. (out in back) and 1 80mm (intake in friont)) with 2 vantec Stealth SF6025 fans and 1 Enermax thermal 80mm based on reviews comments of the case sayin gthey were noisy, i never did hear the included fans.

Well after everything was up and running I will have to say the PC is louder than I thought it would be. Based on an initial look through it sounds as if the loudest items are the 2 60mm outtake case fans, the vga fan, and the Zalman CPU fan in that order. I have set the silent mode feature on the optical drive, it is certainly audible but not too loud and the HD is audible as well but again these two drives do not bother me as much as the fan noise.

The PSU fan (120mm) is virtually silent and the front 80mm intake fan is also not very audible.

I am considering replacing the artic cooling vga silencer with the zalman heat pipe but I have read that if you have a 9800, you will need the optional "silent" fan as well for additional cooling.

Question 1) Has anybody here installed this heat pipe and fan on the 9800 pro 256 card? Does it fit? Is the fan silent?

Question 2) What other option do I have for the 2 60mm case fans? SHut them off and watch heat, mod the case by cutting away grate, thus reducing air flow noise, or find another silent fan.

Question 3) I would assume there is not a whole lot to do about the Zalman CPU HSF, I have the speed controler hooked and at the lowest setting.

I do not want to do a water cool and I am not over clocking.

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 3:24 pm

This case has been in the lab for a month. So pleased about its looks and so disappointed at its inner construction. The steel case + alum. front panel is a great mix, but they really really blew it for airflow.

To get the best from this case....

A. That front intake vent and the vent holes in the bezel all need to be expanded. The front 80mm fan has got to be choking for intake airflow. This is a terrible design flaw. Your fan might be quiet but it's not doing much cooling.

B. Both the 60mm fan grills need to be removed. They are nearly 50% restrictive.

To tackle your specific questions --

1) I'd leave that AC VGA Silencer alone. It's quieter than the Z. w/fan and does more for cooling. It's also quieter than the newer ACs.

2) Cut grills as mentioned; quieter fans would help but just slowing them down becomes an option with the grills cut.

3) Yup.

One more thing to consider: HDD's ALWAYS add a level of vibration-induced buzzing from the case. Even if you don't notice now, take it away and you will be shocked. Find a way to suspend the drive or decouple it in some way. There should be room enough somewhere...

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 6:54 pm

Thanks for the reply. After I got home this eve I played around abit more and found that the front fan was infact the loudest. I have now disconected that fan and also do not have the 2 rear 60s running. My TV is now louder than the PC (the tv has a fan in it to cool the on board direct tv receiver, runs 24/7

) The HD is kind of loud when it runs I will look at doing a suspension, it may be possible by removing the mounting plate it attaches to.

The vga silencer is now the loudest item but the HP would not fit due to the Z HSF on the cpu.

Right now at idle the cpu is reading 35C and the sys temp reads 7C but that can not be right. I am using the Core Cell soft ware that came with the MSI board to monitor. Is there other monitoring software out there that may be better. Is 35C an acceptable level? I am new at cpu temp readings.

Thanks again, this was my first post here.

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 8:27 pm

I guess I forgot the Welcome to SPCR!

So only the CPU and PSU fan are running? Well I guess as long as the system is running stable. I'd personally leave those 60mm fans on -- maybe at 5V or something, but turning them off means the PSU is the only fan moving any air through the case. Things wil tend to get hot.

As for the temp monitoring, I am sure other MSI K8N Neo Plat owners will chime in. Generally, if the system is running stable, the temps are OK -- it really is as simple as that. The test is to try the most intensive thing you do... and if it runs stable, then really, you're OK.

Also, is the fan speed switch on the VGA silencer on high or low? If low, you should not be able to hear it. Or very close to that. And with a small amount of case airlow around it, it should stay cool enough. Easy to spot VGA overheating -- you get a worse picture, jaggies, etc...

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 4:57 am

I was playing half life and the cpu got up to 49C. the sys temp kept going down and ended up reading 1C, obviously this was wrong. I noticed no problem with the game though so I think I was fine. I do intend to try and get at least one exhaust fan running. May do some cutting this week end.

As far as the vga silencer is conserned, it is pretty quiet. I don't think the rev 1 version has a high low fan and it plugs into the card. Could this be pluged into another fan pin local? One that could be controled?

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 5:14 am

Any suggestions on what to use to cut the case?

Interitus · Post by **Interitus** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 9:39 am

Few things you might want to consider...

1) The Zalman CPU heatsink CAN be modded. Quite easily too with a Nexus 92mm fan or 92mm of your choice. I've modded mine with a 92mm Evercool (Don't recommend this btw) All you need is to cut the frame from the fan (easy 1 minute job) and some good strong double sided tape. I used 3M outdoor mounting tape and trust me, that fan will be a $*)#@$ to take off if I ever try. Voila. Quiet Zalman

2) Do you really need that much graphics horsepower for a HTPC? I'm thinking there are plenty of passively cooled cards that will do the job unless you plan on gaming from this box. That'd solve your video card cooling issues.

3) I'm not sure how well it would work, but with the ziptie fan mounting method you might be able to mount an 80mm in the 60mm slot. Not real sure about this, just a thought.

Good luck!

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 10:05 am

Thanks for the input Interitus!!

Just clarify a few things:
Regarding the Zalmen mod: 1) Are you disabling or removing the existing fan? 2) Does the new 92mm lay ontop of the HS? and if so, is it blowing into or away from the HS?

On the video card:
I am doing some gaming so I think I will keep this card. I got the arctic cooling vga silencer 1 due to the three pin conector on the card. Does anyody know if the vga silencer rev 3, with a 2 pin power connector, will work on the 9800m pro 256? That version has a high low switch to help quiet the fan. Or is there a way to install a fan controller between the card and the fan?

The ziptie idea for an 80mm fan might be a good idea to eliminate the 60mm whine, but I think I will still have to cut the case to increase air flow. See back of case: http://silverstonetek.com/products/lc10 ... /LC10M.jpg

ckolivas · Post by **ckolivas** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 12:27 pm

rcaw wrote:Just clarify a few things:
Regarding the Zalmen mod: 1) Are you disabling or removing the existing fan? 2) Does the new 92mm lay ontop of the HS? and if so, is it blowing into or away from the HS?

To mod the 7000, unscrew the top mounting clip that holds on the fan and remove the fan. Get your nexus/whatever 92mm fan and cut the case just outside the circular section - you can leave a small amount of the case "legs" sticking out to use to screw them into the metal bracket if you're good. Then find some way of mounting the fan to the metal bracket. Strong double sided tape will do and provides some decoupling too.

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 12:08 pm

Anybody got pics of this mod?

ckolivas · Post by **ckolivas** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 12:16 pm

rcaw wrote:Anybody got pics of this mod?

Only of the modified hsf combination. Ignore the dust; I was just too lazy to clean it properly at the time

There are better pics by someone else of the cut fan etc somewhere else in the forum (can't recall where).

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:12 pm

Cool, So you are just replacing the Zalman fan with your 92mm fan of choice.

I also found fan adapters for a 80mm fan to a 60mm mount. I think I will still need to cut the case to remove the grate but the 80mm fan I have is much quieter than the 60mm.

Thanks, This gives me some stuff to work on.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 5:07 pm

rcaw wrote:Anybody got pics of this mod?

There's a series of pics in this thread.

ckolivas · Post by **ckolivas** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 5:09 pm

Ralf Hutter wrote:
rcaw wrote:Anybody got pics of this mod?
There's a series of pics in this thread.

Ah yes that's the one

Note this is well worth doing; the zalman cooler fan is ok but not a silent fan. Any quietness from it is as a result of running low rpms. A decent quiet fan makes a massive difference to the sound of this HSF combo.

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 4:53 am

Thanks again, this looks very doable. I took a look inside my case last night and I think I will try the following to start:

1) Cut out all case fan grates. very restrictive on air flow.
2) Replace my arctic cooling vga silencer 1 with rev 3 (has high/low switch)
3) Put a 60 to 80 adapter on the rear case fans and use an 80mm fan for exhaust, could do both fans if mounted on opposite sides of case.
4) Do the Zalman mod.

ruprag · Post by **ruprag** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:13 am

I would consider just creating my own 12v/5v switch instead of
buying a new vga silencer.

2) Replace my arctic cooling vga silencer 1 with rev 3 (has high/low switch)

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:23 am

I would assume this involes simply splicing a switch into the power line from the silencer to the card power jack.

Where do I get the switch?

Is this something I can pick up at radio shack?

Is there another thread that has instructions on this?

Edit
I saw the thread on making a switch from a male IDE power connector but not on a video card power connector.

Does it matter that the power would come from an IDE connector vs the card connector?

Qwertyiopisme · Post by **Qwertyiopisme** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:33 am

rcaw wrote:Does it matter that the power would come from an IDE connector vs the card connector?

Nope, shouldn't matter at all, the card may however hiss at you for not having a fan plugged in, however I doubt this as I have not heard of it, it is however possible... (really really doubt it).

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 12:07 pm

Well radioshack has a bunch of these dpdt switches with varying electrical ratings.

I would guess that I am looking for the one that supports 12vdc not 125vac.

Linus · Post by **Linus** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 12:46 pm

One fan won't draw more than an ampere, so almost any Radio Shack switch will be fine (don't worry about the voltage ratings - they're all fine for this). Use this one for 12v/5v or this one for 12v/off/5v.

UncleFestis · Post by **UncleFestis** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 2:59 pm

MikeC: Are there any other issues with this case other than restrictive fan openings? I am looking at purchasing this case next week and want to make sure what mods I will need to make.

Any pics of your mods?

Any trouble suspending 3.5' drives?

How much clearance between the PS and the edge of the motherboard? I want to make sure a zalman 7000 will fit...

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 6:23 pm

Well I installed the 12v/5v switch for the arctic cooler vga silencer and it does the job well. setting it at 5v takest the whine out of the fan.

I also did the front fan mod (cut away the fan grate) I also cut out larger air holes in the bottom of the front panel. This makes a noticable difference in the amount air pulled into the front. It is also a bit quieter with reduced air turbulance.

One thing I did discover in doing the front fan mod is another design flaw with this case. The hardware for the on/off and reset switches is mounted directly infront of and blocking the front fan. After I cut out the grate and did a practice fit of the front panel I saw that the wires from the switchs were going to rest on the fan. I just taped them down to secure them. It would be much better for air flow if the front fan was mounted either on the side or maybe where the HD mount is and move the HD mount to the side. You could mod this by remounting the HDD else where (under the Opt drive or suspend behind the on/off switch) and cut a hole here.

UncleFestis: In my set up the PSU is pretty close to the mobo, you can see my parts in the first post. I have a Zalman 7000 in mine, ther is plenty of room.

UncleFestis · Post by **UncleFestis** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 4:06 am

rcaw: Can you measure how far the edge of the board is from the PS. By my calculations I need at least 1/2" of clearance.

rcaw · Post by **rcaw** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 4:55 am

I'll measure it out when I get home tonight. I'll try and post some pics also.