I had grown tired of the noise my gaming/work PC was making, since I need to game in quiet surroundings and can't have the volume up much, so I scoured this site to size up what I would need to make my rig quieter.
The guts is a M4A78T-E, Phenom II X3 720, EAH4870, Blu-Ray DD, and 150GB IcePAK, powered by a NeoPower 650.
I have taken delivery of an Antec Solo, Scythe Mugen-2, a Kaze-Jyuni PWM to replace the stock fan on the Mugen-2, Slipsteam 120 to replace the stock exhaust fan on the Solo, 2x 92 S-Flex fans as intakes for the Solo, and the Musashi GPU cooler.
The Solo already has the mountings to isolate my HDD's, and I don't really care about O/C, but would like the system to run cool & quiet, if possible.
Anything else I need to consider?
The Devil's In The Details
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Hi TokyoBrit, do you have anything in mind to cool the VRMs on the video card? Thermalright make some specific ATI VRM coolers, for a price. It's possible to just use the backing plate form the stock cooler, SPCRs reviews talk about doing this. The Musashi fans come with PCI backplate fan control so with a little monitoring you can probably work out the fan speed(s) you need and should be fine. I have a GTX260 with an Akasa twin fan cooler and have gone mad with it. I'm using Arctic Cooling F9 92mm PWM fans that are connected to the cards fan header so the card can alter the fan speed based on need. I've also modified the BIOS fan table to reflect appropriate temps / speeds too.
CPU cooling should be no problem, the Mugen-2 will cope with the X3 just fine and very quietly too.
You may want to use Speedfan to over-ride the BIOS's idea of fan speeds to use, it can be set to any idle speed you like and can define the temp to ramp up at.
I'm guessing the case exhaust fan will also be under motherboard speed control, again Speedfan maybe useful.
150 IcePAK? I'm guessing you have a Velociraptor HDD. SPCR review suggests it's quieter removed from the icePAK. I would say suspend it in the Solo and see how it is, remove the IcePAK if find it too loud and not worried about warranty.
The intake fans will cool the 'raptor fine without IcePAK, you may find that one or even no intake fans make little difference to HDD or GPU temps and reduces noise. Either way I'd be looking for minimal intake fan speeds.
I not sure how quiet the NP650 is, suspect at some point it may be the loudest item.
You should end up with a nicely quiet rig, the detail is in the fan speed control.
Regards, Seb
CPU cooling should be no problem, the Mugen-2 will cope with the X3 just fine and very quietly too.
You may want to use Speedfan to over-ride the BIOS's idea of fan speeds to use, it can be set to any idle speed you like and can define the temp to ramp up at.
I'm guessing the case exhaust fan will also be under motherboard speed control, again Speedfan maybe useful.
150 IcePAK? I'm guessing you have a Velociraptor HDD. SPCR review suggests it's quieter removed from the icePAK. I would say suspend it in the Solo and see how it is, remove the IcePAK if find it too loud and not worried about warranty.
The intake fans will cool the 'raptor fine without IcePAK, you may find that one or even no intake fans make little difference to HDD or GPU temps and reduces noise. Either way I'd be looking for minimal intake fan speeds.
I not sure how quiet the NP650 is, suspect at some point it may be the loudest item.
You should end up with a nicely quiet rig, the detail is in the fan speed control.
Regards, Seb
Good comments Seb. Let me expand on a few things and see if that triggers any further thoughts.
From what I read, I was going to use the stock VRAM heatsinks, if the Musashi will fit with them still attached.
I do have an old 5.25" fan controller. Not sure what make, but it allows me to control 4 fans and measure 4 temperatures. Perhaps a more modern one might be a wise investment?
According to the NP650 Blue manual:
I hadn't considered removing the 2.5" raptor drive from the IcePAK block. Nice idea if it makes the drive quieter. Will check what options I have for mounting a 2.5" drive in the Solo, and read the SPCR review.
The 92's I got for intakes are SFF92B's (1500rpm, 17.4 dBA, 32.4 CFM), so should be quiet at stock voltage, but will consider removing one or both if needed.
Given that I could get my rig to be quiet, my only concern would be temps. The summers here are in the mid-30's so my ambient tends to hover around the high 20's, even with aircon.
From what I read, I was going to use the stock VRAM heatsinks, if the Musashi will fit with them still attached.
I do have an old 5.25" fan controller. Not sure what make, but it allows me to control 4 fans and measure 4 temperatures. Perhaps a more modern one might be a wise investment?
According to the NP650 Blue manual:
So it looks like I'll be safe there. I very much doubt my system pulls anywhere close to 650W. I got that PSU when I was tinkering with SLI.Special Quiet Computingâ„¢ fan operation
NeoPower® 650 Blue feature an innovative design to help decrease noise during normal use, but still allow for superior cooling capabilities as loads increase. With its high efficiency and low heat generation, the power supply utilizes a 12 cm fan. The fan rotates slowly and quietly to blow hot air out of the power supply, speeding up as heat increases.
I hadn't considered removing the 2.5" raptor drive from the IcePAK block. Nice idea if it makes the drive quieter. Will check what options I have for mounting a 2.5" drive in the Solo, and read the SPCR review.
The 92's I got for intakes are SFF92B's (1500rpm, 17.4 dBA, 32.4 CFM), so should be quiet at stock voltage, but will consider removing one or both if needed.
Given that I could get my rig to be quiet, my only concern would be temps. The summers here are in the mid-30's so my ambient tends to hover around the high 20's, even with aircon.
So I read the review of the 'raptor - who would of thought it? removing the IcePAK makes it so quiet - and will fit them using the elastic suspension system.
Also, I mentioned the wrong PSU. I actually have a NeoPower HE 550.
Definately the major sound sources are the GPU fan and the HDD's, so once I get those sorted and into the new Solo I'm in the clear.
Also, I mentioned the wrong PSU. I actually have a NeoPower HE 550.
Definately the major sound sources are the GPU fan and the HDD's, so once I get those sorted and into the new Solo I'm in the clear.
Sounds like you making good progress.
Re PSU and front fans, it will depend what level of quiet you are aiming for and how quiet your surroundings are.
Right now early on Sunday morning in country side I can make out the noise of my case fans (when there is no traffic anyway) and they are 80mm ~1300rpm so to me a 1500rpm 92mm fan isn't quiet.
My rough suggestion for very quiet fans is no faster than:
80mm: 1200-1300rpm
92mm: 1000-1100rpm
120mm 800-900rpm
NeoPower HE 550, if that's the "grey" model with 80mm fan in the back it will be quiet. I had a NeoHE 430 and it was pretty good.
Stock GPU coolers (with fans) on high-end cards tend not to be quiet so that where I would suggest you start. People have used the stock coolers backplate for VRM cooling, I'm sure with a search here you can find pics / info.
Good luck, Seb
Re PSU and front fans, it will depend what level of quiet you are aiming for and how quiet your surroundings are.
Right now early on Sunday morning in country side I can make out the noise of my case fans (when there is no traffic anyway) and they are 80mm ~1300rpm so to me a 1500rpm 92mm fan isn't quiet.
My rough suggestion for very quiet fans is no faster than:
80mm: 1200-1300rpm
92mm: 1000-1100rpm
120mm 800-900rpm
NeoPower HE 550, if that's the "grey" model with 80mm fan in the back it will be quiet. I had a NeoHE 430 and it was pretty good.
Stock GPU coolers (with fans) on high-end cards tend not to be quiet so that where I would suggest you start. People have used the stock coolers backplate for VRM cooling, I'm sure with a search here you can find pics / info.
Good luck, Seb
I got everything built and into the case last night. While not exactly quiet, it's certainly a great improvement.
Still fan noise, but it's directed more out the back of the case (which sits on the desk to the right of my monitor), although I have all the settings turned up while I confirm thermal stability.
HDD's are now effectively silent.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FO ... directlink
A few things:
The ASUS EAH4780 I have had just a single tall HS on the VRM's which I had to remove to fit the Musashi. Used some of the aluminium pieces from the Musashi kit on them instead. It's also long enough that the end of the bottom heatpipe goes behind the side of the HDD box, so needs some jiggery to get it installed.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lY ... directlink
Also, the fan connector on the graphics card is a mini 3-pin, so I can't attach the Musashi fans to it without some sort of adapter. Will shop around for one, otherwise out comes the wire-cutters and soldering iron.
The ASUS motherboard has the Q-Fan feature, but if I turn it on for the CPU fan I get a CPU fan warning on startup. It's only show somewhere between 300 and 600 rpm for the SlipStream on the Mugen-II, which is below the hard-coded threshold. Am I running any risk by setting the ASUS BIOS CPU fan warning to Ignore?
And yes Seb, as you can see it's the grey Neo HE with the 80mm fan. Very quiet indeed.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3J ... directlink
The bonus is that the front and rear fans run at about 1100 rpm with Q-Fan set to Performance, around 1000 rpm when set to Optimal. Not tried the "Silent" setting yet as I want to ensure the components are not going to melt before I start lowering fan rpm.
Was playing WoW last night for about 2 hours while running GPU-Z and CPUID HW Monitor in the background, and the GPU only got as high as 63C, while the processer got to about 45C. Didn't meaure ambient, but I reckon around the high 20's.
I really need to run some benchmark apps as both the GPU and CPU throttle down when underutilised. Will search the articles and forums for those.
Still fan noise, but it's directed more out the back of the case (which sits on the desk to the right of my monitor), although I have all the settings turned up while I confirm thermal stability.
HDD's are now effectively silent.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FO ... directlink
A few things:
The ASUS EAH4780 I have had just a single tall HS on the VRM's which I had to remove to fit the Musashi. Used some of the aluminium pieces from the Musashi kit on them instead. It's also long enough that the end of the bottom heatpipe goes behind the side of the HDD box, so needs some jiggery to get it installed.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lY ... directlink
Also, the fan connector on the graphics card is a mini 3-pin, so I can't attach the Musashi fans to it without some sort of adapter. Will shop around for one, otherwise out comes the wire-cutters and soldering iron.
The ASUS motherboard has the Q-Fan feature, but if I turn it on for the CPU fan I get a CPU fan warning on startup. It's only show somewhere between 300 and 600 rpm for the SlipStream on the Mugen-II, which is below the hard-coded threshold. Am I running any risk by setting the ASUS BIOS CPU fan warning to Ignore?
And yes Seb, as you can see it's the grey Neo HE with the 80mm fan. Very quiet indeed.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3J ... directlink
The bonus is that the front and rear fans run at about 1100 rpm with Q-Fan set to Performance, around 1000 rpm when set to Optimal. Not tried the "Silent" setting yet as I want to ensure the components are not going to melt before I start lowering fan rpm.
Was playing WoW last night for about 2 hours while running GPU-Z and CPUID HW Monitor in the background, and the GPU only got as high as 63C, while the processer got to about 45C. Didn't meaure ambient, but I reckon around the high 20's.
I really need to run some benchmark apps as both the GPU and CPU throttle down when underutilised. Will search the articles and forums for those.
As I just posted in another thread, if I'm not gaming I can turn off the CPU and GPU fans completely, and rely on the air movement between intake and exhaust fans to passively cool those components.
The Musashi running at full speed is no where near as loud as the stock fan, but even while gaming I don't have those 2 x 100mm fans going faster than about 1800 rpm.
Will do more thermal testing tonight using FurMark and Prime95.
Now the biggest source of noise is the PSU fan. While it's a good PSU, it's getting a little long in the tooth. I will blow out the dust with a can of air first off, then look at replacing the stock Antec fan with a Scythe model.
Only trouble is, like with the graphics card, the fan connector in the PSU is a mini 4-pin PWM type, which means splicing a standard PWM connector to it.
Does anyone know if there is a source of standard 4-pin socket to mini 4-pin plug adapters? Or standard 3-pin socket to mini 3-pin plug for the graphics card?
If not, I can always roll my own. Just takes longer to get the parts.
The Musashi running at full speed is no where near as loud as the stock fan, but even while gaming I don't have those 2 x 100mm fans going faster than about 1800 rpm.
Will do more thermal testing tonight using FurMark and Prime95.
Now the biggest source of noise is the PSU fan. While it's a good PSU, it's getting a little long in the tooth. I will blow out the dust with a can of air first off, then look at replacing the stock Antec fan with a Scythe model.
Only trouble is, like with the graphics card, the fan connector in the PSU is a mini 4-pin PWM type, which means splicing a standard PWM connector to it.
Does anyone know if there is a source of standard 4-pin socket to mini 4-pin plug adapters? Or standard 3-pin socket to mini 3-pin plug for the graphics card?
If not, I can always roll my own. Just takes longer to get the parts.