First Quiet System in P180

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mcgerard
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Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:55 am
Location: UK

First Quiet System in P180

Post by mcgerard » Mon Dec 11, 2006 10:47 am

I have been reading the forums and articles here for some time and have learned a lot. My new build will not be first build but will be my first with "quiet" being a major objective. Here is my proposed build. I intend to get the parts on order when the holiday rush is over.

I will not be playing games. I will not overclock. The most demanding task will be video editing, but not HDTV stuff.

Case: Antec P180 (black of course :D )
CPU: C2D E6600
M/B: Asus P5B Deluxe
RAM: Kingston DDR2-533 (2 X 512MB kit)
Graphics: ASUS EN7300LE/TD/128M
PSU: Silverstone ST30NF (fanless)
CPU cooler: Scythe Ninja (passive)
H/D: Samsung Spinpoint T400
DVD Writer: LG GSA-H22NBRL
TV Card: Nebula DVB PCI (from existing PC)
Fans: 2 total Noctua or Nexus
Also DVD-ROM drive and floppy

Most of the above is based on advice from these forums so hopefully, my choices will find favour here.

Specific issues on which I would welcome comment are:

Graphics card: I selected the Asus EN7300LE/TD/128 because, not only is it passively cooled but it is also low wattage (= low added heat). As I said I will not be gaming but I might want to run Vista Aero sometime next year. Alternative suggestions would be appreciated.

Fans: I plan to have one fan in the lower chamber to cool the HD and push air past the fanless Silverstone. I will have another fan as an exhaust (rear) in the upper chamber. I plan to control fans by using either Asus Q-fan, Speedfan of just a Fanmate. I still have much to learn about fan control and may have to find from usage which type of control suits me best. Comments on the my proposal for fans would be appreciated, in particular is one fan enough for the upper chamber.

Scythe Ninja: I read on the forums about problems with the Ninja on the P5B board. Some people had problems, others reported no problems. Is this still an issue with recent P5B boards or do I just have to keep my fingers crossed?

where?wolf
Posts: 198
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:10 am
Location: Southern Sweden

Re: First Quiet System in P180

Post by where?wolf » Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:30 pm

[quote="mcgerard"]I have been reading the forums and articles here for some time and have learned a lot. My new build will not be first build but will be my first with "quiet" being a major objective. Here is my proposed build. I intend to get the parts on order when the holiday rush is over.

I will not be playing games. I will not overclock. The most demanding task will be video editing, but not HDTV stuff.

Case: Antec P180 (black of course :D )
CPU: C2D E6600
M/B: Asus P5B Deluxe
RAM: Kingston DDR2-533 (2 X 512MB kit)
Graphics: ASUS EN7300LE/TD/128M
PSU: Silverstone ST30NF (fanless)
CPU cooler: Scythe Ninja (passive)
H/D: Samsung Spinpoint T400
DVD Writer: LG GSA-H22NBRL
TV Card: Nebula DVB PCI (from existing PC)
Fans: 2 total Noctua or Nexus
Also DVD-ROM drive and floppy

Most of the above is based on advice from these forums so hopefully, my choices will find favour here.

Specific issues on which I would welcome comment are:

[b]Graphics card[/b]: I selected the Asus EN7300LE/TD/128 because, not only is it passively cooled but it is also low wattage (= low added heat). As I said I will not be gaming but I might want to run Vista Aero sometime next year. Alternative suggestions would be appreciated.

[b]Fans[/b]: I plan to have one fan in the lower chamber to cool the HD and push air past the fanless Silverstone. I will have another fan as an exhaust (rear) in the upper chamber. I plan to control fans by using either Asus Q-fan, Speedfan of just a Fanmate. I still have much to learn about fan control and may have to find from usage which type of control suits me best. Comments on the my proposal for fans would be appreciated, in particular is one fan enough for the upper chamber.

[b]Scythe Ninja[/b]: I read on the forums about problems with the Ninja on the P5B board. Some people had problems, others reported no problems. Is this still an issue with recent P5B boards or do I just have to keep my fingers crossed?[/quote]



Hi! If you want a more powerful videocard that still is fanless? Look at the MSI 7600GS for ex. It's decently priced and is powerful enough for most games on good quality settings. Not much more heat than the 7300 . And better image quality.


Another heatsink that maybe have better compability with that mobo, may be Thermalright HR-01 and duct? That way you can use the duct on the top or rear exhaust fan. Othervice your list of hardware for the rig looks nice. Noctua fans is really good. I have 4 of them in my P180B myself.

cmthomson
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Location: Pleasanton, CA

Post by cmthomson » Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:12 pm

I would second that. Although I am definitely a Ninja booster (carefully avoiding the "fan" word!), for folks not overclocking, simplicity has its benefits, and the included duct with the HR-01 definitely qualifies.

mcgerard
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:55 am
Location: UK

Post by mcgerard » Tue Dec 12, 2006 12:55 am

Thanks for the replies where?wolf and cmthomson. I had a look at the Thermalright HR-01 with duct and agree that with the duct it would seem to make a very efficient C2D cooler. But I was hoping to use only one fan in the upper chamber and so would the use of the duct arrangement lead to less airflow around other components? I see that you both you guys have four fans.

I also looked at the MSI 7600GS but as I don't intend to do games do I really need to move to a 7600?

where?wolf
Posts: 198
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:10 am
Location: Southern Sweden

Post by where?wolf » Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:38 am

xxxxx
Last edited by where?wolf on Tue Dec 12, 2006 2:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

where?wolf
Posts: 198
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:10 am
Location: Southern Sweden

Post by where?wolf » Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:42 am

xxxxxxx
Last edited by where?wolf on Tue Dec 12, 2006 2:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

where?wolf
Posts: 198
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:10 am
Location: Southern Sweden

Post by where?wolf » Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:52 am

[quote="where?wolf"][quote="where?wolf"][quote="mcgerard"]Thanks for the replies where?wolf and cmthomson. I had a look at the Thermalright HR-01 with duct and agree that with the duct it would seem to make a very efficient C2D cooler. But I was hoping to use only one fan in the upper chamber and so would the use of the duct arrangement lead to less airflow around other components? I see that you both you guys have four fans.

I also looked at the MSI 7600GS but as I don't intend to do games do I really need to move to a 7600?[/quote]



No, I dont think you have to worrie about restricted airflow caused by the duct. But it of coarce forces you to use both the exhaust fans. But with a couple of Noctua fans, there wont be much of difference in noise. Especially, if you remove those honeycombed grilles in front of the exhaust fans.Then the Noctua fans is very quiet, even at full speed. And you could always use the resistor cable that comes with the fans to slow them down, if you still find them to noisy too your liking. Then just try the duct on both fans, to see what gives the best results?


Even if you dont play games. The 7600GS, would give you better image quality.


Btw, here is a silent videocard roundup for you.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2825




You're welcome.[/quote][/quote]

mcgerard
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:55 am
Location: UK

Post by mcgerard » Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:30 am

where?wolf - I looked at that Anandtech report and I can see that there seems to be little difference between the 7300GS and the 7600GS with different implementations showing idle power around 125 Watts and load power around 200W. However I am now confused because my choice was based on this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=7753

where a post by beyonder on Aug 21 2006 showed power dissipations for 7600GS of 14 Watts idle and for the 7300GS of 9 Watts idle. These results seem to worlds apart :?: .

Can you (or anyone else) explain this anomaly? What am I missing?

I really want a low wattage card which can run Windows Vista Aero.

where?wolf
Posts: 198
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:10 am
Location: Southern Sweden

Post by where?wolf » Tue Dec 12, 2006 9:02 am

[quote="mcgerard"]where?wolf - I looked at that Anandtech report and I can see that there seems to be little difference between the 7300GS and the 7600GS with different implementations showing idle power around 125 Watts and load power around 200W. However I am now confused because my choice was based on this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=7753

where a post by beyonder on Aug 21 2006 showed power dissipations for 7600GS of 14 Watts idle and for the 7300GS of 9 Watts idle. These results seem to worlds apart :?: .

Can you (or anyone else) explain this anomaly? What am I missing?

I really want a low wattage card which can run Windows Vista Aero.[/quote]




Well, that's really confusing. And even more confusing it will get if you look at what X-Bit labs test say sin their conclusion.


Quote:

If you compare competing graphics cards on ATI’s Radeon and Nvidia’s GeForce GPUs, you will nearly always find that the latter consume less power than the former. If you are looking for the most economical graphics card with all modern features supported, then the GeForce 7300 GS consuming only 16W of power is a remarkable solution.#

But if 2 tests says the 7300GS is somewhere between 9 Watts and 16W. That must be the card with the lowest power consumption.

According to X-Bit labs the passive 7600GS draws 32 Watts. Wich is respectable too.

But if you look at the temperatures both idle and load, according to AnanTech test. The coolest running card is eVGA 7600GS with 43C idle and 67C load.

The 7300GT, that is in the same league is Albatron, 50C idle and 64 load.

The 7300GS cards, seems strangely enough run much hotter.

jackylman
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Joined: Sun May 22, 2005 8:13 am
Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Post by jackylman » Tue Dec 12, 2006 9:17 am

I'd like to point out that the power draw numbers for 3D load are representative of gaming and not for simply running Vista's Aero interface, and the OP seems more interested in the latter. I forget which site it was (Anandtech?), but there was an article about graphics card power draw in Vista. If I remember right, the power draw from the Aero interface was close to the idle power draw.

I'm going to look for that article now and I'll edit my post if I find it.
Edit: It was Tech Report
http://techreport.com/onearticle.x/10945

BTW, my vote is to get whatever card (7300 or 7600) has the features you want for the lowest price possible. I'm personally running a passive X1300 and with just a small amount of airflow from a 5V Yate Loon, and it's only warm to the touch.

mcgerard
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:55 am
Location: UK

Post by mcgerard » Wed Dec 13, 2006 9:29 am

where?wolf - I think I get it. One set of tests is quoting total system power while the other is quoting power from grahics card alone.

I like the quote from Xbit labs -
If you are looking for the most economical graphics card with all modern features supported, then the GeForce 7300 GS consuming only 16W of power is a remarkable solution
So I think I will go with a 7300 GS. Thanks for your comments.

andyL
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Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2006 9:11 pm
Location: Alabama

Post by andyL » Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:10 pm

If you are sold on running Vista, I would recommend you bump the ram to 2 GB. If you are planning to add memory later, why not get a single 1GB stick of DDR2? Nice build, BTW.
Andy

mcgerard
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:55 am
Location: UK

Post by mcgerard » Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:08 pm

AndyL said:
If you are sold on running Vista, I would recommend you bump the ram to 2 GB.
Thanks - I take the suggestion. I wasn't planning to jump into Vista as soon as it came out, not least because I might have a problem with drivers for my ageing printer and scanner. However I expect I will move to it sometime.
I went for 2 X 512 MB rather than a single 1GB to take advantage of dual channel on the P5B. I can always add another 2 X 512 kit later. Is this the right stratgey?

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