Help configuring my system

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PetterJhon
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2019 3:35 am

Help configuring my system

Post by PetterJhon » Sun Nov 10, 2019 1:56 pm

Hello everyone,,
I'm trying to make my of as quiet as possible (aren't we all on here), and need some advice on fan configuration.

I'm using a p180 which alone made things a lot quieter that I was happy, but now I want to go all out and have it as silent as possible. I have done the basic mods, taped up around the psu at the back, taped the holes for the top fan and above the card slots. It's what I read on here years ago, is there any other must do mods?

I have a seasonic x660 psu and the fan is down facing and only comes on when it gets warm. Problem is I was going to move my ssd and wd green storage drive to the bottom chamber to improve airflow in the top chamber by removing the hd cage. I'm just worried they may get too warm. Would it be worth putting a quiet fan in there to keep air moving? I just ordered a noise blocker M12-SP so could use that.

For the top chamber Im using the onboard graphics of my 2500k with an i30 cooler. I'm tempted to get a sealed water cooled system like the corsair h60 or antec khuler but they all seem to be quite noisy. Can you change the fan on them? Does it make much difference?

My plan is to replace the rear exhaust with the m12-ps I ordered so could buy another one if it's needed for the bottom chamber.

Any advice on the best setup for the fans?

nagi
Posts: 125
Joined: Tue Aug 31, 2010 6:48 pm
Location: Outside the box

Re: Help configuring my system

Post by nagi » Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:42 am

Hi,

I still use an old, first-gen P180 for a NAS, and used it for maybe 5-12 years before as my main PC.
(SSD+HD moving to bottom chamber) Would it be worth putting a quiet fan in there to keep air moving?
I never met with the Noiseblocker brand, (the fan looks like a cross between Nanoxia and Be Quiet) but any sufficiently downvolted / PWM controlled fan should do the job. I had a 120mm fan with a passive PSU and 3 full-size HDDs there, and they worked fine If I remember correctly. SSDs don't get that hot though (except PCIe ones, but it would be quite hard to put those in the bottom chamer, so I'm guessing you're talking about 2.5" ones.)
I'm tempted to get a sealed water cooled system like the corsair h60 or antec khuler but they all seem to be quite noisy. Can you change the fan on them? Does it make much difference?
I bought an arctic 240mm AIO, (see signature) and the biggest issue I had in terms of noise was the pump. (And the fans were clicky too, but they were replaceable) They are *not* silent by any stretch. Fan replacement depends very much on the actual model you get. Some AIOs are OK with it, some OK just not officially, others not so much. Online reviews sometimes touch upon this, but not always.

Frankly, unless you want to use a very high-end, current gen CPU (9900K / 3900K), I'd say use a giant, dual 140mm fan tower cooler like the Noctua nh-d15, the Scythe Ninja/Mugen series or some such, whichever fits in the case. (A mod I saw was creating a rudimentary duct leading to the back fan placement from the tower. I tried it, I'm not sure it helped that much.) I know the old Scythe Mugen II and the Scythe Fuma fits, I've had my systems with those. I'm not sure about the NH-D15, and can't test without disassembling two PCs.

And according to all tests, a big tower cooler is at least as good as an AIO, and in many cases, even better.

For the record, I'm currently in the long process of transferring to a new PC with custom water cooling. It's much, much more power-hungry system (3900X + 2080Ti) that would have been practically impossible to cool with air in an ear-friendly manner. My daily driver, with a 4790K and a 1080 was fine with a Noctua NH-D15 on the CPU and an Arctic Accelero Xtreme IV on the GPU. Borderline fine, but fine. With a CPU+ iGPU, air is a-OK.
Any advice on the best setup for the fans?
Well, as you are only cooling a CPU in the main chamber, a very low-rpm intake would be needed, and as I've said above, a tower cooler would be best, with exhaust probably a duct to the exhaust port, with the second fan either on the tower or on the exhaust port. Plus the low-rpm fan in the bottom chamber. Do monitor the HDD temperatures for a day, and adjust the rpm as necessary.

(PS: If I don't answer, drop a PM. I sometimes forget to check SPCR on a timely basis due to work.)

CA_Steve
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Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Help configuring my system

Post by CA_Steve » Mon Nov 11, 2019 7:59 am

Welcome to SPCR.

Is the i30 the Arctic one or the Cooler Master one? I don't know about the latter, but the former has decent reviews for noise and temps. What specific problem are you seeing that makes you want to replace it?

I'm surprised the PSU ever turns on given your configuration..unless there's some overclocking/overvolting going on?

nagi
Posts: 125
Joined: Tue Aug 31, 2010 6:48 pm
Location: Outside the box

Re: Help configuring my system

Post by nagi » Mon Nov 11, 2019 10:23 am

CA_Steve wrote:I'm surprised the PSU ever turns on given your configuration..unless there's some overclocking/overvolting going on?
These semi-passive PSUs have a minor problem when their fans are facing downwards: the heat accumulates in them and triggers the fan spin, at least according to my experience with a 1300W gold seasonic.

The fan of my PSU did also get triggered (even on idle!) in my be quiet 801 until I flipped it upside down (fan now facing up), so that the accumulating heat could escape upwards. That almost eliminated the fan spin of the PSU with my since then replaced 1080, and it was only triggered after a few hours into long gaming sessions, and only periodically. With my new 2080Ti, that time has been cut to probably 30-60 minutes before the initial trigger. (The temperatures of my exhaust grills are 45-60°C, measured with a not-so-accurate laser thermometer and validated with my finger.)

The P180 is a bit trickier in this case, because unless you remove the separators, there is no place the rising heat could escape to. But if he puts a low-rpm fan inside the bottom chamber, that might just provide enough airflow - even with the hdd and ssd added - to cool the psu below the trigger point.

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