Suggestion for Quieter PC

[paramthegreat]

Hi Guys. This is my first post in this forum although I have been reading things on here for a while. I recently built this system. I was hoping to build a budget computer using components I brought in various deals. I do not plan to overclock this system as can be seen with my choice of Intel board and OEM memory. I am quite happy with the performance but I the system is much louder than I expected. I need suggestions on reducing noise in here.

This is my current system configuration:

• * Intel Core2 Duo E6300 1.86Ghz Socket 775
  * Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 CPU Cooler
  * Intel DG965RYCK Socket 775 Motherboard
  * Centon 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz x2 (Total 2GB) in Dual Channel Mode
  * Seagate 320GB 7200/16MB/SATA-3G SATA HDD
  * Maxtor 60 GB DiamondMax Plus 9 IDE/PATA HDD
  * Maxtor 40GB DiamondMax Plus 8 IDE/PATA HDD
  * EVGA GeForce 7300 GS 256MB PCIe Display Card
  * PCI Wireless Card
  * PCI IDE Controller Card
  * Raidmax Scorpio 868w Midtower ATX Case
  * Raidmax stock 420W power supply that came with the case
  * 5 80mm case fans that came installed in Raidmax case

I have identified the following components responsible for noise generation:

• * Power Supply is quite loud with a distinct hum all the time and 2 power supply fans are loud, but the fan-noise is primarily of pushing air.
  * 5 Case Fans produce quite a bit of noise. Most of the fans are blocked with restrictive grills reducing air-flow and increasing noise. I have 2 in front as intake, 2 in rear as exhaust and one on side windows as intake. I would like to cut them out but I do not have the tools for it. Maybe someone in-around New York City area on this forum could help me out
  * Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 fan is not really quite. I have disable PWM on it because the PWM function on this motherboard keeps the fan speed around 900rpm, idle temps of 47 degrees celsius and load temps of as high 68 degress celsius as reported by Intel TAT. With PWM disabled, the temps are much lower, 44 degrees celsius idle and 56 degrees load. But I have to put up with noise.

So, concluding, I need suggestion with what kinda of power supply and case fans should I get for replacement. I would also appreciate any suggestion with Freezer Pro 7

Thanks everyone and I really appreciate your responses.

[JaYp146]

Suppose you could replace the case. As per experience, a Raidmax case + 5 80mm fans = rather noticeable noise output. If I were you (and on a budget), I'd scrap the case and spring for a Cooler Master Centurion 5. Install a decent quiet 80mm intake (recommendations, anyone) to keep the three HDs cool.

As far as the power supply goes, it doesn't appear as though your system needs anything super powerful. Again, IMHO, the Raidmax has to go.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-E5140GH
^Enhance 400w, 80%+ efficiency, and super quiet. Same unit as the Silverstone Strider 400w.

[mrzed]

I second the idea of replacing the case. Given the cost of a high quality PSU, it would probably be the most cost effective option. You would probably have great success with one of the budget favorites from around here, such as the Antec 3700BQE.

5 case fans is usually a red flag to me. The baseline quiet tower system is almost always a single 120mm exhaust fan at the rear, with open intakes at the lower front.

Once you've done that, you'll likely start noticing HD noise. Those earlier Maxtors can be whiney. If you get to that point, a single 250Gb Western Digital (the safest HD option these days IMO) will be quieter and provide more storage.

[paramthegreat]

Thanks for the responses guys. I have been considering a the Seasonic S12 430W power supply as a replacement for my noisy power supply. I think that is the biggest noise maker in my system.

As for the case, I do not have the money for buying a case and a power supply. The only thing I can do right now, would be to replace the rear 2 fans with a low noise fan. The side fan is actually quite useless, so that will go. I plan to cut the front 2 fans out to make space for 1 120 mm fan. I want to wait and get a quite full tower case.


The only thing that bothers me is that my Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 is quite loud and does not cool my E6300 enough. I have ideal temps of 42 and fill load temps of 60 as reported by Intel TAT.

[stromgald]

Have you considered a Case/PSU combo like the Antec NSK5600? The Antec NSK4400 is also a fairly inexpensive case with a PSU (less than $50 from newegg after rebate), but only has a 380W PSU, whereas the NSK5600 has a 430W. Neither of them are as good as a Seasonic S12 in terms of noise, but it should be an improvement over your current situation. Personally, I'd recommend getting the NSK5600 since you're interested in a full tower. Its only a little more than a Seasonic S12 in cost and the noise level of the included SmartPower 2 PSU, while not as low as an S12, is still very good.

Those temperatures seem OK, but will probably go up when you lower the speed of your Freezer Pro's fan. An E6300 shouldn't be very taxing on a Freezer Pro 7. I would try reinstalling the heatsink to make sure you have good contact with the chip's heatspreader. Also, make sure you don't use too much thermal paste. Usually just enough to discolor the bottom of the heatsink is enough. You can use Speedfan to slow down your fan speed if its noisy, but keep an eye on your temperatures when you do so.

[paramthegreat]

Hi Guys,

So the power supply on my machine went out yesterday. The computer just won't boot. I am currently out of town so cannot check some other things, but what is your opinion to the power-supply mentioned below in terms on noise, stable output and durability.

As far as the power supply goes, it doesn't appear as though your system needs anything super powerful. Again, IMHO, the Raidmax has to go.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-E5140GH
^Enhance 400w, 80%+ efficiency, and super quiet. Same unit as the Silverstone Strider 400w.

[paramthegreat]

i went ahead and ordered the enhance 400w power supply specified above which made quite a bit of change in my system. i also cut out the restricting grills both on the front and rear of my case, soft mounted the fans and that reduced the system noise to a point where i feel it is acceptable.

the only other problem that remains in my display card. it has a small 40mm fan that spins quite fast and create a high pitched but low volume hum that is begining to bother me. i cannot use a regular 40mm fan because it has not standard mounting, the heat sink is 65mm and fans has 45mm mounting base. i have looked over the internet and came up with empty idea as to how to replace the fan or cool it passively. Can anyone please help me with that? here is the fan below:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =E145-7840

[JaYp146]

i went ahead and ordered the enhance 400w power supply specified above which made quite a bit of change in my system. i also cut out the restricting grills both on the front and rear of my case, soft mounted the fans and that reduced the system noise to a point where i feel it is acceptable.

the only other problem that remains in my display card. it has a small 40mm fan that spins quite fast and create a high pitched but low volume hum that is begining to bother me. i cannot use a regular 40mm fan because it has not standard mounting, the heat sink is 65mm and fans has 45mm mounting base. i have looked over the internet and came up with empty idea as to how to replace the fan or cool it passively. Can anyone please help me with that? here is the fan below:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =E145-7840

Awesome, glad to hear you went with the Enhance.

I'm guessing your graphics card doesn't generate much heat ... you could try a passive cooler, I suppose:

http://www.svc.com/vhc-l61.html
(CoolerMaster CoolViva, with easily removeable top-mounted fan.)


*shrugs* The price is right. CM claims the CoolViva fits all VGA cards, but since it was released a year or two ago, this might be a bit of a YMMV.

[paramthegreat]

Thanks JaYp146!

The Enhance was a great choice. The power supply is now the quietest component in my system. infact i can barely hear it.

i guess i will go for this cooler. i actually broke the fan on the video card while messing around with it. had to call eVGA and they will be sending me a replacement fan. but i do not expect the replacement to be any quieter.

[paramthegreat]

I checked the vga cooler recommend earlier and to my utter dismay it will not work for me. i have only about 12mm clearance between my PCI-E slot and the large heatsink for the integrated G965 chipset on my motherboard. the card needs about 22mm on the back of vga card and a lot more on the front.

oh well, looks like my only option is to either try selling this vga card and find a passively cooled one or live with the noise. i am already thinking of selling my case and getting an antec slk3000b. this will become too much of a hassle.

i was really hoping to find one of those large heatsinks, but i cannot seem to find one.

[ronrem]

So....you have 3 fans on PSU-VGA-CPU and 5 case fans? You need to trim it down to ONE case fan,single fan PSU,Ninja the Core 2,donate that vid card to a hearing impaired gamer....get down to a pair of 120 fans at a moderate speed.

Suspend or soft mount 2 of those hdds. The 3rd,use for that storage you only access a few hr a week---put that in a fanless external case. It then is switched on ONLY when needed. Off...zero db.

Have air able to enter up front-but no front fan. You can re-invent your HDD mount setup to locate the drives in the main airflow. I used a saw,cut out the 3 1/2" HD cage,mounted 2 HDDs in it--then hung the whole assembly by elastic. Nice improvement.

Getting the Ninja,passive,will make more diff than another case,at less $.

[paramthegreat]

while all those are excellent suggestions, i am quite limited with my choices on cpu cooler because of my motherboard. see the image below, the distance between the right edge of heat sink "N" and end of motherboard gives me only 104mm for a cpu cooler. the height of heat sink "N" is about 35mm. the clearance between the PSU and motherboard is about 15mm. so that widest cpu cooler i can get is 114mm, leaving 5mm for clearance between heat sink and PSU. thats why i choose arctic cooling freezer pro 7. none of the others work for me due to their dimensions, but frankly i am not happy with the performance of this cpu cooler. i would like something better and quieter within these dimension restrictions; unfortunately i cannot seem to find anything. a suggestion on cpu cooler will be helpful.



i have already sold one hard drive and my case. so that leaves me with 2 hard drives that i am planning to suspend by elastic or something. i bought a coolermaster centurion 5 (liked the looks better than antec 3000b, couldn't resist ) that will bring it down to 1 fan on case, 1 cpu, 1 PSU and 1 VGA cad.

but at this point the vga card is what i cannot silence. i will try selling that too, but even then i will have to spend something close to $120 to get a passively cooled vga card that will let me occasionally play games like ghost recon. i might have to leave that for a later date

So....you have 3 fans on PSU-VGA-CPU and 5 case fans? You need to trim it down to ONE case fan,single fan PSU,Ninja the Core 2,donate that vid card to a hearing impaired gamer....get down to a pair of 120 fans at a moderate speed.

Suspend or soft mount 2 of those hdds. The 3rd,use for that storage you only access a few hr a week---put that in a fanless external case. It then is switched on ONLY when needed. Off...zero db.

Have air able to enter up front-but no front fan. You can re-invent your HDD mount setup to locate the drives in the main airflow. I used a saw,cut out the 3 1/2" HD cage,mounted 2 HDDs in it--then hung the whole assembly by elastic. Nice improvement.

Getting the Ninja,passive,will make more diff than another case,at less $.