HTPC Advice Needed

[luzer]

hi.

i read the FAQs, and would love some expert advice on quieting my system.

DVine 5 HTPC Case (comes with 2 60mm fans) *
Pentium 4 3.2 ghz CPU
Fujitsu d1675 MB
Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu HSF *
Maxtor 200GB HDD
NEC DVDR+ internal

i feel the 2 noisiest items are marked with an *.

any suggestions?

thanks
cj

[Aris]

dont use fans smaller than 80mm no matter what.
dont use monster heat output devices like P4's
dont use maxtor hard drives

[luzer]

dont use fans smaller than 80mm no matter what.
dont use monster heat output devices like P4's
dont use maxtor hard drives

thank you for the advice. however, i have a budget and currently have these items.

my question is what can i do to bring the noise down.

the dvine5 is a great htpc case, comes with the small fans...
p4 is necessary for HDTV decoding.
maxtor is all i have.

what can i do now? water cooling?

[jaganath]

DVine 5 HTPC Case (comes with 2 60mm fans) *

Are these 60mm fans operating as case fans (ie exhausting hot air from the case rather than cooling any individual component)? In which case is it possible to change the two small fans for one big, quiet one (80/120mm)?

p4 is necessary for HDTV decoding

Does your motherboard allow you to undervolt the CPU (ie can you change VCore to below the default setting)?

maxtor is all i have.

Hard drive noise can be reduced by using enclosure devices like a SmartDrive/SilentDrive:

EndPCNoise.com -HDD Enclosures

I only have experience with aircooled systems so cannot tell you much about W/C; however the FAQ in this forum should be able to help you.

[luzer]

here is a pic of the fans.
http://htpcnews.com/images/dvine5/unpac ... kempty.jpg

cant really replace it - afaik.

will look into undervolting

what about the HSF?

[jaganath]

here is a pic of the fans.
http://htpcnews.com/images/dvine5/unpac ... kempty.jpg

Thanks, that helps.

cant really replace it - afaik.

From looking at the way the fan is attached to the case, it looks like it is held in place by two self-tapping screws screwed into the soft plastic of the fan. IMO it should be possible to unscrew these and replace the fan with a quieter (60mm) one fairly easily. However the fan you have there looks similar to a Panaflo FB-80T-H, so should already be quite quiet (?). If you are not happy with the noise the two 60mm fans are making currently you can try undervolting them as well with a Zalman Fanmate each:

Zalman Fanmate

Be aware, however, that as well as making less noise when undervolted the fans will push less air, so cooling may suffer.

what about the HSF?

The 7000A-Alcu is a good heatsink, so we have to look at either:

1) reducing the amount of heat that the CPU puts out (by undervolting) so we can slow down the fan

2) dealing with the heat that the CPU produces in a different way (ie watercooling, different heatsink, ducting, etc)

You said you were on a budget, so totally changing to watercooling may be out of the question (watercooling equipment is expensive!). Also this may ruin the looks of your HTPC.

If undervolting the CPU turns out to be impossible, you may have to look into getting a bigger heatsink (like this one) but it might not fit in your case.

hope that helps,

[Aleksi]

Hi,

The 60mm fan blades may look like the Panaflo 80x15mm, but having a similar blade profile (Alliance blade design too probably) doesn't exactly mean it would be good. Will post more on the blade matter if someone is really interested.

But to the HTPC...

Undervolting the CPU is the first thing to look into. I agree with the other gentlemen in this thread, use sorbothane, foam or drive enclosure for the HDD. Use a fan mate or similar to test different speeds and cooling with the rear fans. That really is a problematic case, similar to my Silverstone LC03. The 60mm exhaust fan holes aren't the best possible choice. I did solve my case problems (short story) by undervolting the hell out of my Athlon and using a Antec Neopower 120mm PSU (with a a Papst 4412F/2GL) to do the exhaust. You have the micro-ATX PSU, which really can't aid in the exhaust.

[autoboy]

I fixed my dual 60mm fan problems in my LC03 by using an aerocool tower heatsink and ducting the exhast out the empty 60mm fan holes.

[jaganath]

having a similar blade profile (Alliance blade design too probably) doesn't exactly mean it would be good. Will post more on the blade matter if someone is really interested.

Yes please. I've recently become very interested in the area of fan blade design (particularly as it pertains to minimising turbulence and maximising silence) but can find absolutely nothing about it on the internet. A couple of questions to start you off:

1) What is the perfect fan blade shape (kidney-shaped?) and number to maximise silence?

2) Do fewer blades automatically mean more noise?

3) I suppose there are two types of fan noise: noise from the blades themselves cutting through the air, and then the noise from the accelerated air striking other surfaces and generating noise of it's own. Which is easier to eliminate/suppress?

4) How do fan blades use/avoid the Coanda effect to generate lift/thrust?

[dago]

As the others said, the 2 60mm fans are to scrap.

Also, I still don't get the interest of buying Intel Pentium 4 CPU if the goal is to have a fast & silent computer.

If you plan to buy a new CPU, why not taking an Athlon64 ? They can surely handle HDTV, and produce a fraction of the heat.

For the case, I know the mCubed HFX doesn't look as good as the DVine, but still, it may be an almost perfect HTPC case regarding cooling (waiting for SPCR review).

Otherwise, an alternative would be the following
1. remove the 2 60mm fan and duct tape the fan holes
2. use a 120mm fan quiet and efficient PSU
3. use a athlon64
4. with a fanless "tower" heatsink (Scythe Ninja, Aerocool ***, ...)

That way, you'll just have one fan system (you can search for frostedflakes systems in the forums).

BTW, for the record, my HTPC is in an antec aria, P3-S 1.26, external PSU, aerocool "tower" heatsink + back undervolted 120mm fan.

Oh, and ... Welcome to SPCR !

[Aleksi]

Hi Jaganath,

I'll try to send you a PM tonight when I get home, just to try and keep the thread on topic.

I most likely can't answer everything you want to know, but I'll try to get you atleast started. Finding proper info on fans, bearings and fan design is difficult.

[luzer]

Dago

i really appreciate your response.

based on suggestions, i will try and
1) get a fanless tower HS
2) remove the 60mm fans and replace with slower 120. (need to cut?)

another problem with the DVine5 is there are no intake fans/holes. maybe i will dremel it up.

thanks.
c

As the others said, the 2 60mm fans are to scrap.

Also, I still don't get the interest of buying Intel Pentium 4 CPU if the goal is to have a fast & silent computer.

If you plan to buy a new CPU, why not taking an Athlon64 ? They can surely handle HDTV, and produce a fraction of the heat.

For the case, I know the mCubed HFX doesn't look as good as the DVine, but still, it may be an almost perfect HTPC case regarding cooling (waiting for SPCR review).

Otherwise, an alternative would be the following
1. remove the 2 60mm fan and duct tape the fan holes
2. use a 120mm fan quiet and efficient PSU
3. use a athlon64
4. with a fanless "tower" heatsink (Scythe Ninja, Aerocool ***, ...)

That way, you'll just have one fan system (you can search for frostedflakes systems in the forums).

BTW, for the record, my HTPC is in an antec aria, P3-S 1.26, external PSU, aerocool "tower" heatsink + back undervolted 120mm fan.

Oh, and ... Welcome to SPCR !