High Performance with Absolute SILENCE

lb_felipe · Post by **lb_felipe** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 1:38 am

Will be a Silent PC?

Processor:          Intel Core i7-920
Motherboard:        GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5
Video Card:         EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 - 55nm 896-P3-1255-AR
Sound Card:         ASUS Xonar DX
Memory:             Crucial 6GB kit PC3-8500 CT3KIT25664BA1067
Hard Disk:          SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ
DVD Burner:         Pioneer DVR-216D
Monitor:            SAMSUNG T220
Keyboard:           Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
Mouse:              Razer DeathAdder
Mousepad:           SteelSeries QcK heavy
Speakers:           M-Audio Studiophile AV 40
Headset:            SteelSeries 5H v2
Webcam:             Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000
Gamepad:            Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller
Case:               Antec P182
Power Supply:       Enermax MODU82+ 625W EMD625AWT
Surge Protector:    Belkin BE112234-10
CPU Heatsink:       Thermalright HR-01 PLUS
Mounting Kit:       Thermalright LGA1366 Bolt-Thru-Kit
Thermal Interface:  Arctic Cooling MX-2
CPU Fan:            Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Rear Fan:           Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Top Fan:            Noctua NF-S12-800
Lower Fan:          Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Front Fan:          Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L

Happy 2009!

mentawl · Post by **mentawl** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 3:01 am

With 5 fans and a mechanical HD, it won't operate in absolute silence, no. It will be fairly quiet with that selection of fans though.

zhai · Post by **zhai** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 6:35 am

I think the fan on the gtx 260 will be the main noise offender in that system, so you might want to have a plan for that. It might be tricky though, as the (afaik) best silent option is to use thermalright hr-03 gtx, which I'm not even sure is really on the market yet.

Also, you could consider putting the hard drive in an enclosure, as well as suspending it, I'm using scythe quiet drive which works nicely for dampening most of the idle noise, and it's sitting on some bubble plastic in the bottom of my case so there is no vibration transmission to the case.

ntavlas · Post by **ntavlas** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 7:47 am

I agree with what the others said. Perhaps you could block the top exhaust and avoid using the bottom fan.

Hopefully you can slow down the fan in the gtx260 using bios or software tools. It`s a pretty good cooler and it would be a shame if it can`t be made quieter.

Cistron · Post by **Cistron** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:45 am

Is this a gaming rig only?

FartingBob · Post by **FartingBob** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:46 am

Your spending alot of money. If its mostly for gaming purposes i would suggest a bigger monitor. What will you be using it for?

lb_felipe · Post by **lb_felipe** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:21 pm

Thank you!

My english is very bad and my language is portuguese, so I apologize for grammatical errors.

The main use of wanted PC is gaming, but other aplications too are importants.

Here in Brazil is very big price difference between 1200p and 1050p monitors. This fact does my choise for a 22-inch monitor.

Five Slip Stream L fans @ 7V will be noisy?

I want more advices and recommendations of friends here of SPCR!

protellect · Post by **protellect** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:52 am

I'd cut the sound card unless you're going to use a 5.1/7.1 surround set.... Looks like you have headphones.

5 fans + PS fan even in a P182 will be audible/able to be heard. You never will really know until you get it and plug it in, and turn it on.

2 fans [one front, one back] + CPU + PSU fan should be sufficient with the hard drive in the upper chamber somewhere.

Spending a lot of CPU, RAM, and Video Card, when you're going to be held back by hd access. Might look into a 150 or 300GB velociraptor for the OS.

Cistron · Post by **Cistron** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 1:19 pm

lb_felipe wrote:The main use of wanted PC is gaming, but other aplications too are importants.

In this case, I wouldn't chose the still quite expensive i7 platform, but go with a normal Core2Duo instead. Unless your other applications benefit very strongly from multiple cores and high memory bandwidth.

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 1:34 pm

drop the noctua fan, it might give you too many problems with noise, that and you'll want to block off the top grill anyway to avoid problems with airflow.

considering there's no surround speakers, avoid it. basic stereo will do plenty fine, the sound card would give you a slight boost in FPS while gaming though, by freeing up just a slight bit of your CPU. negligible in most cases though.

if you're going to game, maybe go for more than one hard disk, maybe a 1TB for storage, but maybe a velociraptor or Solid State Disk as the OS drive would make more of a difference. for speed.

as for the fans, they'd make it to around ~25dB all together (without the Noctua)...this isn't loud, but it'll have a low whooshing sound. noticeable, but not irritating.

everything else looks good though.

i'd suggest a different sound card, however since you'll need to run a 64 bit OS to handle the RAM, it's a losing battle. the card i use has terrible drivers.

danielG · Post by **danielG** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 4:46 pm

I don't understand why people are recommending using onboard sound instead of a Xonar DX. I have one, connected to stereo speakers, and I'm running Vista x64. I haven't had any problems yet and the sound clarity of the Xonar DX is immensely superior to that of onboard sound.

Also, people who recommend blocking off the top fan are usually from cold countries. The OP, being from Brazil, needs the top fan running to keep his system cool when ambient temp goes over 35ÂºC. I did a bit of testing during summer and my PC overheats when gaming during a very hot day (about 37ÂºC) if the top is blocked. Intake fan is mandatory for my system.

My P182 also has 5 fans, and I must say it would be a lot quieter with just 2 or 3.

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 4:57 pm

with the right fans, all you need is 3. Scythe Slipstream fans have a very high static pressure and they have a very high CFM for their RPM rating. you don't need any more than 3, maybe 4 Slipstream fans to cool very adequately.

as for the Xonar DX, it's not that we're saying that the cards are bad, but think for a minute about how a motherboard is laid out today. the PCI-e (x1 and x16) are grouped very close together. considering that he's going to have a hulking graphics card basically right on top of it. this is going to cause a fair amount of interference, especially while gaming. there's just no getting around it. using the onboard sound or a PCI card would solve those problems before they ever start.

I'd personally suggest the M-Audio Audiophile 24/96, however the current state of drivers leaves much to be desired. the Xonar might be good, but it has it's own flaws.

Monkeh16 · Post by **Monkeh16** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:15 pm

bonestonne wrote:as for the Xonar DX, it's not that we're saying that the cards are bad, but think for a minute about how a motherboard is laid out today. the PCI-e (x1 and x16) are grouped very close together. considering that he's going to have a hulking graphics card basically right on top of it. this is going to cause a fair amount of interference, especially while gaming. there's just no getting around it. using the onboard sound or a PCI card would solve those problems before they ever start.

Except you're not considering the fact that the Xonar is isolated from the rest of the components, and onboard audio is not. Trust me, I speak from experience: No onboard device has a noise floor anywhere near as low as the Xonar. Placing the card in the lowest slot available all but eliminates any interference. Speaker or headphone cables can and do pick up a lot more than the card itself.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:47 pm

Hiya,

Why so many fans?

lb_felipe · Post by **lb_felipe** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 8:07 pm

I'm learning.

I slowly translating the messages, but in any event have a comment about post of the portuguese user:

hahaha you know how here in Brazil is very hot, especially in the summer

so I want a good cooling, but not drop silence!

thanks

lm · Post by lm » Thu Jan 01, 2009 9:21 pm

For how long do you expect to use this system before replacing it?

Gaming on a 30" is awesome, and you can get a 5 year warranty on such a monitor, so it should last at least that long in use, while probably your system otherwise needs to be replaced much more often to stay a top notch gaming rig. So if you want massive immersion, consider it.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 4:45 am

lb_felipe wrote:I'm learning.

I slowly translating the messages, but in any event have a comment about post of the portuguese user:

hahaha you know how here in Brazil is very hot, especially in the summer

so I want a good cooling, but not drop silence!

thanks

Have you tried Yahoo's Babelfish online translation? Just checked, and it seems to be able to translate from english to portuguese - and the other way around. It'll not be perfect, but likely it'll make your life easier

And happy learning - quiting a PC might be frustrating at times, but also fun and entertaining

Thomas

lb_felipe · Post by **lb_felipe** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:59 am

To those whom I haven't said, please, excuse me and thank them for your help!

lm wrote:For how long do you expect to use this system before replacing it?

Gaming on a 30" is awesome, and you can get a 5 year warranty on such a monitor, so it should last at least that long in use, while probably your system otherwise needs to be replaced much more often to stay a top notch gaming rig. So if you want massive immersion, consider it.

Five years warranty? Where? in Brazil?

hahaha Here is a poor country in term of the technologic products and support to the consumer!

btw, thank you for the message.

Thomas wrote:
lb_felipe wrote:I'm learning.

I slowly translating the messages, but in any event have a comment about post of the portuguese user:

hahaha you know how here in Brazil is very hot, especially in the summer

so I want a good cooling, but not drop silence!

thanks
Have you tried Yahoo's Babelfish online translation? Just checked, and it seems to be able to translate from english to portuguese - and the other way around. It'll not be perfect, but likely it'll make your life easier

And happy learning - quiting a PC might be frustrating at times, but also fun and entertaining

Thomas

Oh yeah, I use the Google's Translator and the Yahoo's Babel Fish.

Even so, thank you for the suggestion.

if I have used a few words is because I am still illiterate in English

Coming soon i post more messages and answers to the my new friends of the SPCR...

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:52 pm

Hi,

You may find this SPCR article useful:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article293-page1.html

Translated to Portuguese:

http://translate.google.com/translate?u ... n&ie=UTF-8

lb_felipe · Post by **lb_felipe** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:55 am

mentawl, I was reduce the number of the fans.

zhai, I hope that is not noisy, I am opting for it just by having cooler original reputation for quiet. I will not want to change the cooler, but...

ntavlas, will use the top fan just not to leave without the use rear fan control of the P182...

Cistron, no.

FartingBob, I'm poor (about money)

protellect, I'm thinking

Cistron, I'm thinking about Core 2, but I want Core i7...

bonestonne, I'm thinking about its recommendations, but you're not confusing NF-S12 with NF-P12?

danielG, you have a different opinion ... I think you are right

bonestonne, I am still thinking about recommendation

Monkeh16, yes, onboard audio has noise when I move the mouse...

NeilBlanchard, I cut few fans.

lm, 30-inch is very costly in Brasil.

Thomas, OK

NeilBlanchard, I was see

Please, see:

Intel Core i7-920
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5
EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 SSC - 55nm 896-P3-1258-AR
EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 SSC - 55nm 896-P3-1258-AR
ASUS Xonar DX
Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D
WD Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS
WD Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS
Pioneer BDC-2202
HP LP2475w
Saitek Eclipse II
Razer DeathAdder
SteelSeries QcK heavy
M-Audio Studiophile AV 40
Sennheiser PC 350
Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000
Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller
Antec P182
Zalman ZM850-HP
Belkin BE112234-10
Thermalright HR-01 PLUS
Thermalright LGA1366 Bolt-Thru-Kit
Arctic Cooling MX-2
Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Noctua NF-S12-800

And now? Is It a "High Performance with Absolute SILENCE"?

Notes:

I know that two HDDs are relativity noisy, but the word "absolute" is just a "allusion" to a "Silent PC", because a little noise I know that will there.

This rig is a very more expansive than the last, but I think that it is very much performance and quality, right?

Redzo · Post by **Redzo** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:41 am

It is a very fast and able machine you got there but with 2 GTX260 you can forget about silence.

lb_felipe · Post by **lb_felipe** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:57 am

What? If one idle GTX 260 make 15 dBA, Two are noisy? Why?

lb_felipe · Post by **lb_felipe** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:03 am

devices that emit noise:

CPU fan, Rear case fan, top case fan, GPU fan, GPU fan, PSU fan, HDD and HDD.

Fans Total:

4 x 120mm (PSU, NF-S12 and two Silp Stream L)

2 x 80mm (stock fan GTX 260 55nm)

HDDs Total:

2 x WD6400AAKS

lb_felipe · Post by **lb_felipe** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 6:05 am

I saw Newegg's review that the EVGA GTX 260 55nm is a bit loud, so I changed my plan (note that I removed the topfan for the your happiness

)

Link to Newegg review: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRe ... 6814130433

The plan:

Intel Core i7-920
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5
ASUS ENGTX260/HTDI/896M
ASUS ENGTX260/HTDI/896M
ASUS Xonar DX
OCZ PC3-12800 Platinum 6GB OCZ3P1600LV6GK
WD Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS
WD Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS
Pioneer BDC-2202
HP LP2475w
Saitek Eclipse II
Razer DeathAdder
SteelSeries QcK heavy
M-Audio Studiophile AV 40
Sennheiser PC 350
Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000
Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller
Antec P182
Zalman ZM850-HP
Belkin BE112234-10
Thermalright HR-01 PLUS
Thermalright LGA1366 Bolt-Thru-Kit
Arctic Cooling MX-2
Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L

Only two 120mm fans (rear case n cpu)
One 140mm fan (psu)
Two 80mm fan at low rpm (ASUS GTX 260)
And... two HDDs considered quiet.

lb_felipe · Post by **lb_felipe** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:08 am

I was thinking of a different setup, but it would be very very very very costly:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550S
Motherboard: ASUS P5E3 Premium/WiFi-AP @n
VGA: GIGABYTE GV-R485MC-1GH
VGA: GIGABYTE GV-R485MC-1GH
Sound Card: Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1
Memory: Corsair TWIN3X4096-1600C7DHX
SSD: Intel X25-E Extreme 64GB
SSD: Intel X25-E Extreme 64GB
SSD: Intel X25-M 160GB
SSD: Intel X25-M 160GB
SSD: Intel X25-M 160GB
SSD: Intel X25-M 160GB
ODD: Sony BWU-300S
Monitor: HP LP2475w
Monitor: HP LP2475w
Keyboard: Logitech G19
Mouse: Razer Mamba
Mousepad: Razer Destructor
Speakers: Axiom Audiobyte
Subwoofer: Axiom EPZero Subwoofer
Headset: Astro A40 Audio System
Webcam: Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF
Gamepad: Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows
Case: Antec P182
2.5" Drive Adapter: StarTech BRACKET25
2.5" Drive Adapter: StarTech BRACKET25
2.5" Drive Adapter: StarTech BRACKET25
2.5" Drive Adapter: StarTech BRACKET25
2.5" Drive Adapter: StarTech BRACKET25
2.5" Drive Adapter: StarTech BRACKET25
PSU: SilverStone Nightjar SST-ST45NF
Surge Protector: Monster MP PC 800 HP
CPU Heatsink: Thermalright HR-01 PLUS
Rear Fan: Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Middle Fan: Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Lower Chamber Fan: Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Top Fan: Noctua NF-S12-800
Thermal Compound: Arctic Cooling MX-2

lb_felipe · Post by **lb_felipe** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:03 am

AMD Low Noise Midrange por mim

Code: Select all

CPU:                AMD Phenom II X3 720
Motherboard:        GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P
Memory:             Crucial Ballistix 4GB kit PC3-10600 BL2KIT25664BA1336
VGA:                SAPPHIRE TOXIC HD 4870 1G GDDR5 PCI-E
Sound Card:         ASUS Xonar DX
HDD:                Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS
ODD:                Pioneer BDC-2202
Monitor:            BenQ E2400HD
Keyboard:           Microsoft SideWinder X6 Keyboard
Mouse:              Microsoft SideWinder Mouse
Mousepad:           SteelSeries QcK heavy
Speaker System:     Logitech G51 Surround Sound Speaker System
Headset:            Plantronics GameCom 377
Webcam:             Microsoft LifeCam VX-5500
Gamepad:            Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows
Case:               Antec SOLO
PSU:                Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX
Surge Protector:    Tripp Lite TLP810NET
CPU Heatsink:       ZEROtherm ZEN FZ120
VGA Heatsink:       Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev. 2
CPU Fan:            Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
VGA Fan:            Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D
Rear Fan:           Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Thermal Compound:   Arctic Cooling MX-2
Cleaner:            Arctic Silver ArctiClean
Ties:               D&S Cable 3T8-B

$2,089.57 in the Newegg.

What do you think of this setup?

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:35 am

eh, i wrote something but realistically, such a sytem is doomed for loudness.

lb_felipe · Post by **lb_felipe** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:24 am

It is possible that the below setup stay sub-30 dBA at idle?

CPU: Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition
Motherboard: EVGA X58 SLI Classified 141-BL-E759-A1
Memory: Corsair DOMINATOR-GT TR3X6G2000C7GTF
VGA: EVGA GeForce GTX 285 FTW 01G-P3-1288-AR
VGA: EVGA GeForce GTX 285 FTW 01G-P3-1288-AR
Sound Card: Creative PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series
SSD: Kingston SSDNow M Series SNM125-S2/160GB
SSD: Kingston SSDNow M Series SNM125-S2/160GB
HDD: Western Digital WD Caviar Green WD20EADS
HDD: Western Digital WD Caviar Green WD20EADS
ODD: Pioneer BDR-203
Monitor: NEC MultiSync LCD24WMGX3
Keyboard: Logitech G19 Keyboard for Gaming
Mouse: Logitech G9x Laser Mouse
Mousepad: Mionix Alioth 400
Speaker System: Dynaudio MC 15
Subwoofer: Dynaudio Sub 250MC
Headset: Astro A40 Audio System
Webcam: Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF
Gamepad: Saitek Cyborg Rumble Pad for Xbox 360 and PC
Case: Lian Li PC-V2110B
2.5" Drive Adapter: StarTech BRACKET25
2.5" Drive Adapter: StarTech BRACKET25
PSU: Enermax REVOLUTION85+ 1050W SLi ERV1050EWT-00
Surge Protector: Monster MP PC 800 HP
CPU Heatsink: Prolimatech Megahalems
CPU Fan: Noiseblocker M12-P
Memory Fan: Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Rear Fan: Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L
Front Fan: Yate Loon D14SL-12
Thermal Compound: Coollaboratory Liquid Pro

Nudz · Post by **Nudz** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:24 am

At stock even one GTX280 is annoying, 2x285 will definitely not be quiet even idle.

As for the PSU, did you look at the recommended article section?

shleepy · Post by **shleepy** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:48 am

For 1680x1050, you don't need two cards cards at all. I would definitely go for Intel vs. AMD, and since you're on a tight budget, just stick with something like E8400.

For the video card, you will have an extremely hard time finding something that has a passive or ultra-quiet cooler with the kinds of video cards you're looking at. Since you're considering the roomy P182, you might do well by getting an Accelero S1 cooler to put on an HD4870, or something a bit more pricey on a GTX260.

For the PSU, since you shouldn't be going with SLI/Crossfire, you won't need anything too powerful. Maybe something an Enermax MODU82+ 425W.

If you want hard-drives to be as quiet as possible, get a notebook drive (e.g., 500Gb WD Scorpio Blue) for storage and a Velociraptor, or an SSD or two, for the OS.