Need suggestions for a quiet dual-core system

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 1:11 am

I am going the X2 3800+ route and must see to it that the resultant system is as quiet as economically possible. Current system is:

Intel P4 2.4Ghz Northwood (on Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu)
MSI 645 Ultra
Antec TruePower 330
Generic case
2x512MB PC-3200 Kingston HyperX
Seagate 250GB PATA 7200.8
ATI Radeon 9800Pro (on Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer rev. 3)
* rest of components not relevant *

I plan to replace the mainboard, CPU and possibly the PSU and case. While the choice of mainboard is not quite decided yet, a VIA-based board should satisfy in terms of heat and silence. As for the CPU cooler, what are the quieter alternatives to the Zalman? Is it possible to get a XP-120 and cool it fanlessly (with a chassis fan blowing on it)? How about the PSU? The Antec Truepower is still not quiet enough.

I am in Australia, so australian-availability is desirable. Cheers!

spworley · Post by **spworley** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:32 am

Yes, an XP-120 can cool passively, but really, it DEPENDS on having rather brisk case airflow. Even your Zalman 7000-AlCu can do it if you have a lot of case air moving and very low heat CPU. [but the 3800+ is probably mid-low heat, not really low.]

A much much better passive cooler would be a tower style like the Scythe Ninja. That deals a lot better with passive cooling not just from size but the fact that the fins are all horizontal, allowing case air to pass through (in any direction. Your Zalman, and the XP-120 are designed for air to be pushed DOWN through them with a fan, so fanless, they actually BLOCK case airflow)

Also, passive cooling for the CPU is really only for TRUE silent machines. Even a super-slow and weak CPU fan will give vastly superior cooling. And with the (great!) x2 3800+, you still have some real heat to get rid of. I know you're trying to optimize your noise, but make sure the CPU fan really is a limiting noise source. VGA + Northbridge fans tend to be much more noticable.

My brand new 4800+ quiet system is still in progress, report here:
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=24898

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 5:25 pm

Hello,

The Scythe is a better bet for "passive" CPU cooling. The wider spacing on the fins helps a lot -- the narrow spacing on the XP-120 really need some air pressure to get much efficiency.

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 3:59 am

What quiet PSU (preferrably with 120mm silent fan) is available in Australia? Do you think the Zalman 7000AlCu will work well with the X2 3800+ @lowest speed? (I am getting the Scythe separately and at a later date)

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 7:58 am

I finally bought the CPU and motherboard, namely the X2 3800+ and ASUS A8V-Deluxe, along with the Scythe Ninja. I simply swapped out the old mobo+cpu+hsf with the new platform and re-used the rest of the components.

Initially I tried running the scythe fanless and with only the Antec PSU sucking out air near it (no chassis fan). Temperature peaked at around 50C idle. Not feeling too comfortable with the temp, I 'stuck' a 92mm fan on the rear chassis' 80mm fan bracket (I will get a case that can accomodate 120mm fans at a later date) and idle temp went down by a whopping 10C! Is 40C an acceptable temperature for an X2 chip running fanless and with CnQ disabled(*)?

Thanks!

* I can't get CnQ working! I have installed the AMD CPU driver and enabled CnQ in the BIOS (and whatever else the manual suggested), but it's still not working. Help me please!

aidanjm2004 · Post by **aidanjm2004** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:47 am

Zorander wrote:I finally bought the CPU and motherboard, namely the X2 3800+ and ASUS A8V-Deluxe, along with the Scythe Ninja.

Choosing a VIA chipset for quiet computing with the X2s would seem to be a good idea. How is the motherboard going with your 3800?

maxxxim · Post by **maxxxim** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 10:48 am

Zorander wrote:I can't get CnQ working! I have installed the AMD CPU driver and enabled CnQ in the BIOS (and whatever else the manual suggested), but it's still not working. Help me please!

Did you changed from Display Properties-Screen Saver-Power-Power schemes to Minimal Power Management?

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 5:37 pm

Yes.

Is there a problem with VIA K8T800Pro in regards to CnQ?

spworley · Post by **spworley** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 5:40 pm

Zorander wrote:Initially I tried running the scythe fanless and with only the Antec PSU sucking out air near it (no chassis fan). Temperature peaked at around 50C idle. Is 40C an acceptable temperature for an X2 chip running fanless and with CnQ disabled(*)?

Yes, 40C is reasonable. (though what's your ambient room temp?).
But as you found, fully passive coolingis really really sensitive and tricky. Even a SMALL amount of airflow will help a lot.
I'd suggest putting a 12cm Nexus onto the Ninja, and run it at a low 5V. Or, if your MB supports thermal throttling fan headers, have the MB ramp the voltage up starting say at 35 and going to full speed by 45.
It's really pretty impossible to hear a 5V 12cm Nexus if it's inside your case.. you can barely hear it if it's an exhaust fan (and therefore right next to the case opening) but not in the center of the case.

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 6:01 pm

Ambient room is around 20-23C, will be more if I turn on the room heater.

Anyway, the 92mm fan on the 80mm fan bracket is only a temporary measure. I need something that 'inhales' more cold air and is not so noisy. Poor my Antec PSU... it is exhausting very warm air all the time. What case (with accomodation for 120mm fans on the back and front) would you recommend? I am interested in the Antec P180, but I'm not so sure if it will be worth the $$$.

Cheers!

Edit: I 'sandwiched' my HD with foam and aluminium foil, and put it at the case. It runs at around 52C (while case is 37C and CPU 45C). Is that a safe temperature for the HD?

maxxxim · Post by **maxxxim** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 9:05 pm

Zorander wrote:Yes.

Is there a problem with VIA K8T800Pro in regards to CnQ?

I don't know, I can try today at work. I think we have Abit VIA K8T800Pro motherboards on stock (unfortunately not Asus). Which CPU do you have, ADA3800DKA5BV or ADA3800DAA5CD (E4 or E6 stepping)?

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:27 pm

maxxxim wrote: Which CPU do you have, ADA3800DKA5BV or ADA3800DAA5CD (E4 or E6 stepping)?

I didn't note it down when installing the CPU. Any way I can find out through software?

maxxxim · Post by **maxxxim** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:31 pm

Yes, with CPU-Z example (http://www.cpuid.org/cpuz.php), there is "Stepping" (E4 or E6).

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 1:48 am

Stepping: 2
Revision: JH-E6

I guess its an 'E6'. What's the significance of this (and does E6 mean it's a newer version to E4)?[/img]

maxxxim · Post by **maxxxim** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 1:58 am

Ys, it's then ADA3800DAA5CD, newer revision and we have these on stock.

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 2:06 am

Looking forward to your further reply then.

Would this problem have anything to do with my memory running at 2x166MHz (CAS2)? I can't get it to run at 2x200MHz (even at CAS 2.5), since the mainboard BIOS seems to prefer the lower latency as opposed to the higher bandwith.

Cheers!

maxxxim · Post by **maxxxim** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 2:08 am

No I don't think so.

maxxxim · Post by **maxxxim** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 11:16 pm

I can confirm now that VIA K8T800Pro chipset supports Qool'n'Quiet. Testboard: A-Bit AV8 (VIA K8T800Pro), CPU AMD X2 3800+ (E6 stepping, ADA3800DAA5CD), RAM 1x512MB PC3200 AM/PQI;
In BIOS Qool'n'quiet set to Auto;
Installed: Windows XP Pro SP2; VIA 4-in-1 drivers; LAN and Soundcard drivers; AMD X2 CPU driver (http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/Tec ... 18,00.html);
(not that driver that was shipped with motherboard and not Abit EQ, only AMD original driver);
Power Management set to minimal;
CPU-Z shows immediately Core Speed: 1021,5 MHz (Abit motherboard seems to be overclocked little bit - default core speed is 2040 MHz).
I suggest to not install Asus Q-fan and other utilities that came with MB but try first only with AMD CPU driver.

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 11:35 pm

Thanks for verifying that! I'm going to try updating the mainboard BIOS to the latest (and see if it gets CnQ working).

Einllel · Post by **Einllel** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 4:22 am

Zorander wrote: * I can't get CnQ working! I have installed the AMD CPU driver and enabled CnQ in the BIOS (and whatever else the manual suggested), but it's still not working. Help me please!

Have you set your power scheme to maxium batery? (by default it's at Home/Office that is always at 100% speed and no power savings enabled). With Cool & Quiet activated the OS can see your PC as a laptop or notebook (from the power managenment point of view of course, because the performance drop is barely noticeable)

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 2:25 am

Updated the mainboard BIOS to the latest and voila! CnQ is working now!