Is this as silent as SG03 goes?

[tvih]

I mentioned my SG03 build in another thread. But here's a dedicated one. Been discussing this over at HardOCP's SFF forum, but the good folks over there aren't that much into extreme silence, so I'll try my luck here too.

My setup:
- Silverstone SG03B
- Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2
- Intel i5 750
- Prolimatech Samuel 17 (+ Nexus Real Silent 120mm fan for it)
- Corsair Force 60GB SSD + WD Caviar Green 1TB HDD
- 2x2GB G.Skill Ripjaws 1600 CL7 DDR3 + Corsair 2x4GB 1333 CL9 DDR3
- Gainward GTX 460 GS-GLH + Scythe Musashi
- Slim Blu-ray drive
- Scythe Kama Panel 2
- Nexus Value 430 PSU
- 2x Nexus Real Silent 120mm front case fans

Basically, when the machine is only doing "light" duty, all the fans are at minimum. The front fans are controlled manually via the Kama Panel 2, the Musashi's fans have their own controller installed in a PCI bracket, and
the CPU fan can be controlled via EasyTune6. So, basically the Nexus fans are running at about 5V, while the Musashi... well, I don't know about voltage, but its dual 100mm fans are running at about 800rpm.

Overall, the rig is reasonably silent. But I'd prefer it even more quiet.

One major culprit now that I got rid of the Corsair H50 I had earlier is the WD HDD (the H50 pum noise basically "masked" this idle HDD noise). But it's not an easy thing to fix, since I need HDD capacity for games - media could be put entirely to external drives. In fact video files already are, but photos and audio are on the internal drive so far. I do have a 500GB 2.5" drive that would be slightly more silent yet still easy audible, and that'd still reduce my capacity. Plus I'd have to do away with the WD drive entirely to get rid of its noise. Not optimal. So, not sure what to do. The HDD removal would lower the noise quite a bit. It's unfortunate that despite power saving settings and having my normally accessed files (except games and the media files) on the SSD the HDD hardly ever power downs. Bleh. If only I could afford more SSDs...

That aside, there's the fans. Basically, with the HDD disconnected, there's still some hum from the airflow. Now, I suppose there's always going to be turbulence, so I'm assuming I can't really help this. Stopping any two fan "configurations", be it Musashi + front fans, Musashi + CPU cooler, CPU cooler + PSU or whatever, doesn't seem to lower the hum any noticeable amount. All the fans appear to be operating at roughly the same noise level. Until today I thought the PSU was making more noise because of the heat in the case, but now that I flipped it to intake cool air through the side instead of sucking hot air from the CPU, the amount of hum didn't really change much. I've been planning on getting a Seasonic X-series PSU for even lower noise and of course otherwise better performance and quality, but I suppose the noise part becomes somewhat moot currently.

So, with that said, is there really no way to make this setup more silent? I can't really think of a way (other than the HDD thing). Is it the aluminum causing more hum? Would a steel case like the NSK3480 really make a difference? It lacks any actual noise insulation features just like the SG03 - and pretty much every mATX case - after all. Not sure how well aftermarket noise dampening products would work for the NSK3480.

I suppose ATX would be the easiest to quiet down, but I changed to smaller cases because I really don't need the excessive volume, and on the occasion that I take my computer with me somewhere, ATX is a real bummer.

Worthy of note is that I keep my case on my desk next to my monitor, so I'm close enough to touch it. Unless I'm watching movies etc and sitting on my TV chair, in which case I'm 1,5m away. In both situations I hear the hum just about the same. Might help if I could tuck the case under the table or something, but I'd lose easy access to the fan controls, among other things. Plus with my pet gerbils kicking up sawdust, there's plenty of small dust on the floor level, which makes low placement not so optimal.

So. Any ideas or suggestions at all?

EDIT: I suppose something like a Scythe Quiet Drive for the 2.5" 500GB HDD might work, but it's a hefty 30 euros just to try it.

[ace_uk]

is there really no way to make this setup more silent?

Unless I have misunderstood, if your computer is already silent then you can't get any quieter than that. Silence is the absence of any sound.

[EvilNick]

I have a SG03 as well, somewhat similar setup, and my main noise is also the HDDs currently, but for me that's probably because I have a old 160GB 7200.11 and another 120GB 7200.9 drive.
I'm planning a switch to a Momentus XT for the main OS drive and a 500GB 2.5" for the storage drive (I don't need that much capacity). Hopefully using 2.5" drives will be much quieter than 3.5" ones (and less vibration).

For your case, I suppose you could replace the 3.5" 1TB with 2 2.5" 500GB drives, although I don't know if that will be quieter or not. Most 3.5>2.5 bay converters will fit 2 2.5" drives where a single 3.5" was.

If vibration still persists, the only thing I can think of is to lay the drive down on a piece of dampening foam on the trays, then lash it down somehow from the top to keep it secure. No other place in the case for doing suspension or any other sort of vibration dampening.

[MikeC]

Try a quiet 500gb 2.5" drive (check spcr reviews/recommended list), maybe a 7200rpm, in a Sythe Quiet Drive and if its not quiet enough mounted in a 3.5" bay, suspended it elastically in an optical bay. The drive will need very little airflow to keep temps below 50C and it should be quieter just from the reduction in vibration alone (much lower moving mass, so lower vibration amplitude, which will lower the hum from the case).

[tvih]

Unless I have misunderstood, if your computer is already silent then you can't get any quieter than that. Silence is the absence of any sound.

I was under the impression that silent isn't necessary 100% noiseless by definition, but I may very well be wrong. Finnish-English dictionary that I checked with just now gives the Finnish word for quiet as one translation to silent, too, though. Dunno, really.

Grammar etc aside...

For your case, I suppose you could replace the 3.5" 1TB with 2 2.5" 500GB drives, although I don't know if that will be quieter or not.

It wouldn't be quieter. It's actually surprising how noticeable the buzz of my Samsung HM500JI is. It is more silent than the 3.5", though. So basically I now have the HM500JI hooked up with the future purchase of the Scythe Quiet Drive in mind, and removed the 1TB WDCG drive.

Try a quiet 500gb 2.5" drive (check spcr reviews/recommended list), maybe a 7200rpm, in a Sythe Quiet Drive and if its not quiet enough mounted in a 3.5" bay, suspended it elastically in an optical bay.

Not going to change my 2.5" drive, but as stated above I will get the SQD at some point by the looks of it. Suspending it in an optical drive bay won't work, since I'm using up the only one the case has already. But since there's still turbulence noise from the fans, I suppose the drive+SQD shouldn't be audible over that.