Silent but Speedy Homer Sever

Show off your quiet rig.

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utc_pyro
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2009 8:11 am
Location: Chattanooga, TN

Silent but Speedy Homer Sever

Post by utc_pyro » Thu Jun 11, 2009 8:57 am

I’ve been doing the quiet computing thing for a while, and this is my first rig I’d consider silent. It could be quieter (cutting the fan grills, more HDD dampening), but it runs 24/7 in my closet negating the need to go much further in the silencing.

Specs:
Image

Processing:
Athlon X2 5050e
Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-DS2H (I wish I got the UD2H version). MATX G780 based MB with sideport.
2GB DDR2 1066
Intel PCI PRO/1000 GT NIC

Storage:
Momentus 7200.3 160GB boot drive
Barracuda 7200.11 1TB storage drive
2x WD15EADS 1.5TB storage drives
Basic DVD-Rom drive

Case/PSU:
ENERMAX VOSTOK matx case
Corsair VX450W PSU, modified for silence
Dynamat, acoustic foam, and egg crate foam damping.

Cooling:
Scythe Kaze Server fan controller
Scythe Karma Angle CPU cooler, passively cooled
Evercool Serpent Northbridge cooler, modified to work with the board
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F PSU fan
Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12M W/lube fill intake fan
Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12M W/lube fill rear exhaust fan
Enzotech Ram/mosfet syncs on major voltage regulation components and the sideport ram.

Software:
Windows Home Server

Cooling Control:
Image

The cooling of the computer is controlled by a Scythe Kaze Server fan controller. It offers more adjustability then any hardware based controller I’ve seen, has analog outputs for lower noise, and is actually a PI if not a PID controller. If any of you have ever done anything with control systems, the advantage of this in a quiet apparent.

In the picture above, the controller is displaying (from left to right) CPU temperature and rear exhaust speed, northbridge temperature, HDD temperature and intake fan speed, and PSU temperature with PSU heat sync fan speed. All but the northbridge are set to “simi-autoâ€
Last edited by utc_pyro on Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Rebellious
Posts: 322
Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:53 pm
Location: EU, USA

Post by Rebellious » Thu Jun 11, 2009 10:42 am

I borrowed a Scythe Kaze fan controller to test something, but I've no idea how to use the thermal sensors. They have a clear plastic tube around them. Is that just protection for shipping or are they meant to be used that way? Can you tape them directly to metal or are they designed to only measure air temperature? They seem very fragile.
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utc_pyro
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2009 8:11 am
Location: Chattanooga, TN

Post by utc_pyro » Fri Jun 12, 2009 11:51 am

Rebellious wrote:I borrowed a Scythe Kaze fan controller to test something, but I've no idea how to use the thermal sensors. They have a clear plastic tube around them. Is that just protection for shipping or are they meant to be used that way? Can you tape them directly to metal or are they designed to only measure air temperature? They seem very fragile.
You remove the clear tube, it's just there for shipping. The sensors are designed to fit into tight spots to give you accerate readings on your components. The rectange in the tip is the actual sensor, and needs to cantact the point you want to measure. Typically I put Artic Silver on the tip, then tape them as clost to the die of the compont I'm looking at as possible. That way I can get more accurate readings then say on the side of the heat sync.

You can use them for measuring air temperature as well, but you still need to remove the plastic tube.
Last edited by utc_pyro on Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Mr. B
Posts: 72
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 1:41 pm
Location: New Orleans
Contact:
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Post by Mr. B » Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:08 am

utc_pyro wrote:Typically I put Artic Silver on the tip, then tape them as clost to the die of the compont I'm looking at as possible. That way I can get a more accurate readings.
That's a cool idea. I never would have thought to put thermal paste on a temp sensor. I'm glad to hear the wd15eads drives are quiet as I am planning on purchasing a few.
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new2spcr
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 230
Joined: Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:14 am
Location: Sweden

Re: Silent but Speedy Homer Sever

Post by new2spcr » Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:28 am

utc_pyro wrote:I’ve been doing the quiet computing thing for a while, and this is my first rig I’d consider silent. [snip]
I can see you have invested lots of time on this one. Congratulations.
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HappyJack96
Posts: 30
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:52 pm
Location: Oregon, USA

Post by HappyJack96 » Wed Jul 08, 2009 3:49 am

If you ever decide to upgrade your case, I'd say the Antec SOLO would be perfect for you!

Not only a heavy steel case & side panels with sound dampening already in place, but all four HD bays are easily accessible from the front, behind a hinged cover, and each drive (mounted on extra-soft silicon grommets) slides out on its own tray. Ideal for handling multiple drives in a server. Plus, the SOLO looks more spacious, if it's not larger than your case; hard drives likely won't overlap the main board and you can stash cables for neatness and maximum airflow.

If you didn't know all of this already, now you do! :)

Russell

who doesn't know how to reduce font size for signature text! :oops:
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ntavlas
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Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:35 pm
Location: Greece
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Post by ntavlas » Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:33 am

I really like your build, I think what you did with the cpu cooler is quite creative. I also dig the kaze server, finally a viable alternative to the t-balancer.
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