My 3000SLK Antec 120mm Fan

alexander · Post by **alexander** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 2:21 am

Hello, thankyou for all of your advice in building my very own quiet PC. I have to say it is fairly quiet with the Freezer 64 CPU cooler and a selection of other stuff.

My only noise now is coming from the 120mm Fan at the very back, it is unusually loud and I can hear it from around 5 metres away. Yes, it is on the lowest setting yet it is still very loud, I don't really mind about case temperatures aslong as they are usable. When I unplugged the fan the case was virtually silent. Am I doing something wrong as it is so loud?
Are there any undervolting techniques like I have used on my NV5 for my 6800GT?
I have seen the top rated 120mm fans, which ones would you suggest for my case (Antec SLK3000B)
Hopefully this will be my last change, please help, Many thanks, Alex

rtsai · Post by **rtsai** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:15 am

I have the SLK3000B with a few of the orange Yate Loon 120mm fans (front intake, CPU, rear exhaust) all undervolted to 5V and am very happy with their (lack of) noise. The loudest thing is a slight hum which I think is due to front panel vibration from the HD cage (I just have them grommeted in the cage, no suspension).

Have you tried undervolting the Molex connector to the stock TriCool fan? That might help. I found that the little speed setting thingie didn't really do much, so rewriting the Molex for 5V or 7V might do more for silence than the switch thingie ...

freak_in_cage · Post by **freak_in_cage** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:55 am

get a nexus 120mm expensive but easily the quietest fans around, they undervolt very well indeed.

if its still too noisy, try using rubber grommets to stop vibrations, but at 5v it wont be vibrating much at all

alexander · Post by **alexander** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 9:09 am

Thanks for the replies. How would I go about undervolting the Molex connector? I have no idea how to do it? Would I need another piece of hardware to do it? Many thanks, Alex

rtsai · Post by **rtsai** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 9:15 am

This is where we tell you to go do some homework

There are also many other websites that describe 7V/5V undervolting with many other pictures. It's very simple. For extra hardware, you will require a pair of tweezers or something.

One caveat; if your fan has both 4-pin Molex and 3-pin motherboard headers, and you undervolt the 4-pin Molex, do NOT also plug in the 3-pin headers because you'll then be mixing up the voltages.

alexander · Post by **alexander** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 9:32 am

Damn that sounds complicated.......
Are there any 120mm fans which will be silent as soon as I fit them? Many thanks, Alex

alexander · Post by **alexander** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 10:02 am

Hello, just found this:

http://www.dslwebserver.com/main/fr_ind ... apter.html

Would anyone be willing to do this for me? I could cover their postage charges and the charge for the actual cable? It would have to be in UK though , thanks, Alex

wooglin · Post by **wooglin** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 10:22 am

it's not that difficult to do yourself. If you take the 'male' 4-wire molex that's going to the fan, you can release the pins using the inner ink tube from a regular bic pen.

As the article shows, if you wire the red and black wires to the fan, it will give you 7 volts. If you wire the red and yellow wires to the fan you will get 7 volts (diff between 5 and 12).

You don't need to wire up a whole new harness, just mod the current wiring going to the fan.

rtsai · Post by **rtsai** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 10:31 am

The SPCR article I linked to goes a step further and shows you how to make a switchable fan, but it's definitely in the "above and beyond" category.

Your options for a quieter 120mm fan:

- Throw more money at the problem. Buy a rheostat or baybus. Or buy a 12V-to-7V adapter. Or even buy a 5V or 7V fan, if anyone sells them that way. But you will have no way of knowing whether or not the results will be satisfactory without having spent the money (and waiting on shipping).

- Do it yourself. It's free and simple and quick and non-destructive. You even already have a fan to try it on. More tutorials here and here and here and here and here.

alexander · Post by **alexander** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:02 am

Hello, I cannot thank you enough for all of the advice but I have just got round putting a motherboard into a case. I really don't want to attempt to do such a thing as I often break stuff. Would anyone in the UK be willing to do thsi for me? Many thanks for your help so far, Alex

merlyn · Post by **merlyn** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 1:35 pm

try this or one of these

rtsai · Post by **rtsai** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 6:18 pm

For inexpensive options:

- The Zalman fanmate is for 3-pin fans.

- For 4-pin fans you can go with the 12-to-7V adapter (or 5V, if those are available). I don't know about UK availability. But yeah, probably cheapest to find a buddy to do it for you if you are really uncomfortable trying it out yourself.

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 7:33 pm

That's really wierd to hear a TriCool to be so loud on lowest setting. You sure? Send it to me and I"ll take a look at it ;P if you don't want it.

alexander · Post by **alexander** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:20 pm

Is mine a TriCool?

freak_in_cage · Post by **freak_in_cage** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:28 am

alexander wrote:Is mine a TriCool?

acaurora asked you that question first!

have a look on the fan to see if it says or email the suppliers to see if they know

Sizzle · Post by **Sizzle** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 6:43 am

Right now I have two Papst 4412 FGL's at 7v in my 3000slk. Just some air noise, no motor noise at all. I am replacing them with some 4412 FGLL's that I think I am going to run around 8v's.

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:15 am

A,

The antec fan in the 3000B is tested along with the 3000B review. http://www.silentpcreview.com/article210-page4.html

Its supposed to be an ok fan.

Even with the speed switch set to low the fan speed is 1200 rpm which to me is kind of fast. I run my case fans at about 650 rpm and would not be able to hear them at 5 meters. At that distance I don't think you could hear any low speed fan. So like all of the other suggestions you need to make the fan run slower. I would get a fanmate and adjust the speed until its not too loud. - FG

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:07 pm

alexander wrote:Is mine a TriCool?

It is. Now, as to the question if it is a double ball bearing or single ball bearing one, that's sort of hard to tell.

Spod · Post by **Spod** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 4:50 am

The simplest route to silence is either to buy an adapter, or to simply buy a Nexus 120mm case fan and a Zalman Fanmate to slow it down with. The Nexus is pretty quiet at 12V, but fanmated to 6-7V you'll struggle to hear it over the other fans in your system.
The advantage of the fanmate method is you can set the speed to exactly what gives you the best airflow while remaining quieter than the resto f the system.

rtsai · Post by **rtsai** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 6:39 am

Aren't fanmates only for 3-pin fans? The TriCool that came with my SLK3000B is a 4-pin fan, so means the fanmate route is a non-starter.

stromgald · Post by **stromgald** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 6:55 am

Yes, fanmates are only for 3 pin fans and wouldn't work with the Tri-Cool. The easiest thing to do is the 5V/7V switch detailed in these forums and other websites.

Honestly, I think there might be something wrong with your Tri-Cool, or you're hoping for near silence. The tri-cool that came with my slk3000b is quieter on low than my Zalman 7000B-AlCu on high. I keep the tri-cool on medium and the 7000B at ~2000rpm just to lower temps ~ 5º. I get some air noise from the airduct + Zalman 7000B and the tri-cool, but nothing I can hear 2 meters away.

alexander · Post by **alexander** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 11:44 am

I have got this guy on Ebay to 5Volt a Molex thing for £3.75, I will report back once I have any results, thanks for your help, Alex

alexander · Post by **alexander** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 11:38 am

Hello, just recieved the molex thing today, BOY IS IT QUIET!!

I can now hardly hear my computer atall

I can recommend the following components for a silent case if anyone is just starting like I was a few months ago:

Antec SLK3000B Case
Nexus 350 Watt Real Silent PSU
One x 5 Volt Molex undervolted
6800GT with NV5 Silencer with Fan Mate set down to minimum
Arctic Freezer 64

You can obviously choose the motherboard and CPU of your choice but I am just giving a basic guide line. My Motherboard is an MSI Neo2 Platinum with a 3500+ 64 Bit CPU.

Hopefully my last question:

Seeing that my PC is now basically silent, when I start the computer up the CPU fan is at full speed until I log onto Windows and start corecenter (with Cool N Quiet Enabled)

I have Cool N quiet enabled in the bios and I just don't understand why the CPU fan is so loud at the start,

Anyway thankyou for all your help, you have been very friendly and patient with my unendable question list, thanks, Alex

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 12:25 pm

It's normal for your fans to be @ full blast upon start. Takes a while until the BIOS/CoreCenter kicks in.

rtsai · Post by **rtsai** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 12:53 pm

What exactly is your CPU heatsink+fan combination?

I have a 120mm 5V fan on an XP-120 and I don't have this startup noise problem. My fan is powered from the PSU with a 5V Molex connector. Is your CPU HSF plugged in to the motherboard? Maybe you can change fans, if you're comfortable enough with a fan that runs at a fixed (lower) speed.

alexander · Post by **alexander** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 11:14 pm

Hello, it is a CPU 3500+ 64 Bit socket 939, my heatsink is a Freezer 64, It is plugged into the motherboard, I could use my Fanmate but that is being used for my NV5 silencer on my 6800GT, any ideas?

Spod · Post by **Spod** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:23 am

Another fanmate? Not rebooting your system so often? Or use the motherboard's fan control (set CPU fan threshold to 60°C and the BIOS will slow it down, even before C'n'Q kicks in).

alexander · Post by **alexander** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 11:50 am

Hello, I have just tried booting up with No core center (which is the one which controls Cool N Quiet) If I don't have it on at startup then the Fan remains at full speed

I thought cool N quiet needed no software?
How do I change the fan speeds in Bios on an MSI Neo2 Platinum?

Many thanks, Alex

My 3000SLK Antec 120mm Fan

My 3000SLK Antec 120mm Fan

3000b tri cool