Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

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AldenWitt
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Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Sat Jan 01, 2011 12:45 am

Hey guys, I'm trying to build a silent PC for editing audio, with a $1000 limit. I've gotten a bunch of fantastic advice at newegg.com, but when it comes to silent components I've gotten a lot of conflicting thoughts.

Here's my build (it's my first time, so sorry if I ask something stupid):
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=15219012

Here are some questions:
Fanless PCU:
A fanless PCU was recommended to me as a way of reducing volume, but I was later told that the noise floor would be the hard drives anyways. Thoughts? Is it worth the price?

Case choice:
My main thoughts have either been the Lancool PC-K62 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811112239) or the Antec Solo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129018), which I know has gotten high reviews from this website.
I got the impression that the Lancool case itself is super silent, with smooth airflow (big, open holes) and quiet fans. On the other hand, those big, open holes don't contain component noise very effectively.
The Solo's all sound dampened, but it only has one fan, and might now have quiet as smooth of airflow. Would the one fan be enough, especially if all my components (PSU possibly included) end up being passive?

CPU heatsink:
I've been told by some that I need to replace the Intel i5's fan with a heatsink to reduce noise. The Silverstone NT06-E (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835220033) has been suggested, but Silverstone's website indicates that the design is intended to utilize the PCU fan. Would it work with a passive PCU? Would I be better off getting something like the Thermalright HR-02 (http://www.thermalright.com/products/in ... d=27&id=95) or the Prolima Megahalems (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDeal ... mbo.578257)?

Fan Controller:
If I went with the Lancool, would I need/want a fan controller, and if so what would be a good, cheap option?

Thanks a bunch guys; I'm stoked to get this all figured out and ordered!

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:47 am

Since I submitted this topic I've done a bit of research and created two builds, a passive build around the Lancool case and a build with a fanned PSU and HS around the Antec Solo. The former is a little above my budget right now, but in addition to the related questions above I'm curious which option I should be pursuing.
Antec Solo Build:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=15219012
Lancool PC-K62 Build:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=15306032

bonestonne
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by bonestonne » Fri Jan 07, 2011 6:54 am

On either build there are changes you can make to adjust the budget.

1) Do you need a wireless card? What I really mean is, the Wireless card might give you problems. I don't know what DAW software or hardware you're running, but what might work better is a USB adapter that you can remove when you don't need it (whenever you're editing audio).

2) The FSP 400W Zen is nice, but fanless is not necessarily better. I don't mean to say it's bad to have a fanless power supply, but for this use, you can save plenty by going with the Seasonic you have from the other build to make things more budget friendly. You'll find that while going completely fanless is wonderful, it's not always in the budget. You could easily put the money from a cheaper power supply into AcoustiPack or something similar to quiet things down a little more.

3) Both builds go around the i5 760. It might be worth waiting to see what Sandy Bridge offers, but I'm just going to poke around saying that the P7P55 would be my choice. I've seen a lot of people use it for DAWs in the past, it's got plenty of options, and it gets the job done.

4) I would suggest looking at maybe Noctua coolers, or Scythe coolers for your CPU rather than that cheap Rosewill. If you're looking for a cheap but decent cooler, I've used a Kingwin HDT series cooler for a customers build a couple months back, and as far as I know, it's been running great. Very quiet out of the box, and was easy to get on. I would definitely take a look at other coolers than that Rosewill though.

5) I would drop the fan controller, it's honestly not needed as motherboards have pretty good control of PWM fans at this point.

My final build would be:

Antec Solo
Core i5 760
Gigabyte P7P55
4gb DDR3
Scythe Ninja
ATI 5450
160gb + 500gb drives
Generic DVD+/-RW drive
Seasonic 430W
+
Your choice of monitor/mouse/keyboard

That's a loose interpretation of what you should run. If it's really just a DAW (no gaming, etc) then you shouldn't need more than that. I would definitely replace the Antec stock fans for Scythe Slipstream 800rpm fans, and I would see how loud it is. If it's everything you're happy with, time to close the box and put it at the desk, otherwise I would go for soft mounts for the fans (I see 4 max including the PSU fan). Acoustipack and suspending the drives would be the next step.

I don't know what interface you want to use or what you have, so it's hard to get any more specific than that. I'm familiar with some major DAW applications, and a few others, so based on the hardware I'm running, that computer should be plenty fast for intermediate use, but it wouldn't be HD studio capable.

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Fri Jan 07, 2011 6:35 pm

Thanks so much for the reply! That's very useful info.
Yeah, I was leaning toward the Solo/non-passive build for cost-effectiveness. And yes, I'll be waiting for Sandy Bridge now. Only 2 days left (I assume 1155 motherboards will be released on Newegg on the same day?)!

My needs:
Protools M-Powered 8, with a M-Audio Fast Track Ultra usb interface. Mainly acoustic recording, mainly 10 tracks or less. So yeah, I don't need a monster. That said, this computer is to last me good and long, so I want reliable, most for my money, and (the reason I'm here) quiet.
As you can see, this is not a professional system (serious hobby). On a related note, the reason I for the video card is that I want the capacity to occasionally play the one game I've waited 10 years for, Starcraft II (can you tell I've got a guilty complex about it? :wink: ). It's certainly a side issue, and I know it's not great to mix the DAW computer like that, but it's what I want.

My remaining questions:
On my laptop I could just disable the wireless card with a switch. I guess if it's not possible to disable it easily, USB would be necessary. Am I going to find a significant drop in performance through a USB adapter?

Will a single, 120mm Scythe Slipstream be able to give me the cooling power I need in a relatively hot case like the Antec Solo (otherwise I'll need 92mms for the front)? SC II is secondary, but I don't want my computer to fry when I play it with the passive card. (Oh, and can the motherboard control case fans? Not that I'd need the control with the Solo.)

How necessary is a cpu fan replacement? I've had some people tell me the hard drives will be louder than it anyways. I hate to spend $50 if the difference is negligible (but am willing to if it will be significant).

Finally, thoughts on my HDD choices? I couldn't get a good feeling for the importance of cache size and WD black vs blue when it comes to audio (and on the OS drive vs the Audio drive).

Thanks!

tim851
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by tim851 » Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:36 am

I would advice you to look for a Sandy Bridge system. Socket 1156 is now officially dead.
A replacement cooler is definitely in order, as Intel's boxed solution has always been nothing short of horrible. It doesn't have to be a Prolimatech, something cheaper like the Scythe Mugen 2 will do very well.

If you want to use a fanless PSU, you should consider the Seasonic X-400. It is widely acclaimed to be the best fanless PSU and it's 20$ cheaper than the fairly old Zen.
A fanless PSU is not necessary in your case, because you have other fans and noisemakers in your system, so something like the Seasonic X-560 would do too. It's semi-passive, which means the fan won't spin up until ~150w and even then it's only spinning slowly and inaudibly. But then again it's only 9$ cheaper. It would be more flexible for future builds though.

Wireless USB adapters have no performance penalty over PCI-based ones. Wireless isn't that fast yet. I had a PCI WLAN card once and it was horrible. Reception issues all the time and I did a lot of tinkering in Windows and the Router before I finally just pinned the problem on the card.

The HDD will definitely be the loudest thing in your built, the way it looks now. A lot of people mistake their whoosh noise for fan noise and thus underestimate it.
Performance of the Caviar Blue should be more than enough. Caviar Blacks are very noisy!

victorhortalives
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by victorhortalives » Sat Jan 08, 2011 6:16 am

Here's a radically different view :

Why not move the noisy stuff to another room ?
Specifically - get a small 2 drive RAID NAS and mount the 500GB drive(s) in it and connect by Gigabit Ethernet to another room.
Keep a small boot/temp drive in the "near" box - say an 80GB SSD.
Get a mini-ITX (or TBA micro-ATX) CPU ready mounted mobo (e.g. http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=JhJ03CRwku0lzT6B ) or others referenced in this SPCR thread ( viewtopic.php?f=13&t=61121&p=529698#p529698). Or a TBA Sandy Bridge version.
Use a PICO PSU (160W max) and run just 1 internal fan at 600rpm or less.

Then all you have locally is the single fan and whatever noise any DVD drive makes when running.

I have several Win7 drives mapped onto a Netgear Duo and can get 20MBps Read/Write which is more than enough for Audio work. (I used to do some digitising of my old vinyl etc).

How much CPU power do you really want ?

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Sat Jan 08, 2011 11:40 am

Okay, I'll pick up a replacement cooler then. Good thing 1156 heat sinks work with 1155!
The Scythe Mugen 2 for $40 doesn't look bad. I assume that's about as cheap as I can get while still be quiet? Remember, I'm not planning to overclock.

I think I'll stick with a quiet, fanned PSU. Can't argue with half the price. And definitely USB wireless then, seems like more solid choice for this system.

Any thought on the 800rpm slipstream fan, and whether or not it can cool enough (especially with a slow fanned PSU like the SeaSonic S12II in there)? Ought I be investing in some 92mm fans for the front of the case, or will I probably be good to go?

That's a great idea victorhortalives, but unfortunately one that will not work in my current living scenario. I'm still in the sharing houses phase of my life and don't have a good place for that kind of setup.

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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by victorhortalives » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:43 pm

OK, fair enough. Then I suggest that you get a 1200rpm Scythe fan not an 800rpm one.
I have had both and a 1200rpm version works better at 600-1200 rpm than an 800rpm version works at 600-800 rpm.
Control is better and the noise level is lower (at the same rpm).

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:07 pm

victorhortalives wrote:OK, fair enough. Then I suggest that you get a 1200rpm Scythe fan not an 800rpm one.
I have had both and a 1200rpm version works better at 600-1200 rpm than an 800rpm version works at 600-800 rpm.
Control is better and the noise level is lower (at the same rpm).
Will I want a single-fan controller to go with? Case fans aren't mobo controllable, right?

tim851
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by tim851 » Sat Jan 08, 2011 8:06 pm

AldenWitt wrote:Will I want a single-fan controller to go with? Case fans aren't mobo controllable, right?
Speedfan is an awesome and free software that monitors various system functions and controls fan headers. Alas, it doesn't work with all mainboards equally. So far it has always managed to control at least one of the fan headers on every board I've tried it on, but your mileage may vary. On my current mainboard it controls three out of four headers.
You have to have the program running in the background for that. It takes up (virtually) no ressources and will quietly hide in the system tray, but still, some people don't like that.

Otherwise go with a good ol' Zalman Fanmate. Can be had for ~5$. I must have used dozens of them over the years before I discovered SpeedFan for me. With the Y-connector they use in the 2nd revision, they can also be creatively placed, e.g. on the back of the case, so you can still relatively easy adjust them, should you ever want or need to.

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Sun Jan 09, 2011 12:56 am

Thanks for the tip, tim851. I'll steer clear of a background program when dealing with Pro Tools.

So, this is my current build:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=15219012

I'm planning to buy it tomorrow. Any final thoughts?

bonestonne
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by bonestonne » Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:06 am

In terms of M-Audio and the USB devices, I'm a little unfamiliar.

Also going with the 1155 platform is totally new as far as I'm aware, there hasn't been any testing with it. Pro Tools M-Powered 8 should run just fine, I ran it for a while, but due to updates and upgrades, I'm now working with 9, and have yet to update to 9.0.1.

If you have any problems specifically regarding the Fast Track Ultra, I would say take it directly to the M-Audio User Forums. You'll get a fast response from M-Audio and people who use the unit. I do the Delta and FW series, I don't have a USB interface from M-Audio yet.

I'm iffy on the fan controller, but to each his own. Other than that, you should be set to go.

tim851
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by tim851 » Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:53 am

AldenWitt wrote:Any final thoughts?
Looks good.

The Seasonic SII12 was too loud for my taste. Had one for a long time, but I swapped the fan for a Nexus after about a week or so. But give it a listen. I can hear ants marching.

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:08 pm

Thanks for the advice, bonestonne. I'm not terribly worried about the Fast Track Ultra; it's a pretty stable interface so far.

Yeah, there weren't a ton of options when it came to a single-knob, PCI-slot fan controller. I didn't want the Zalman 'cause it's best used as an internal device, and the Apevia (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product) one has a stupidly unshielded heatsink.
tim851 wrote:
AldenWitt wrote:Any final thoughts?
Looks good.
The Seasonic SII12 was too loud for my taste. Had one for a long time, but I swapped the fan for a Nexus after about a week or so. But give it a listen. I can hear ants marching.
Hmmm, I'll see how it works for me.
Did you just replace the fan? Can I do that with the PSU?

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Sun Jan 16, 2011 11:54 am

Hey guys, now that I've got this sweet machine built, I could use a little help optimizing.
Those two fans are overkill with the heat sink this massive. The thing never clears 30c. Speed fan will give me temps and rpm, but won't change the fan speed. Is there software somewhere, or (worst comes to worst) hardware that will let me adjust the speed of the cpu fan? I'm just about tempted to unplug the thing and go passive.
Mobo: Intel DP67BA

danimal
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by danimal » Sun Jan 16, 2011 12:38 pm

i've run speedfan on multiple computers, it's useless in a production environment.

i always end up with manual fan controls, or programming the bios to 50%(three-pin fan header), which sometimes isn't enough, although it should work for the second cpu fan.

the first cpu fan should be plugged into the 4-pin pwm-controlled cpu motherboard fan controller.

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Sun Jan 16, 2011 1:06 pm

danimal wrote:i've run speedfan on multiple computers, it's useless in a production environment.
i always end up with manual fan controls, or programming the bios to 50%(three-pin fan header), which sometimes isn't enough, although it should work for the second cpu fan.
the first cpu fan should be plugged into the 4-pin pwm-controlled cpu motherboard fan controller.
Good to know; I'll keep clear of that.

I only have one cpu fan (other one is a case fan, which does have manual control). How do I control the fan when it's plugged into the motherboard cpu fan controller? The bios doesn't seem to provide the option.

Thanks.

bonestonne
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by bonestonne » Sun Jan 16, 2011 2:14 pm

As long as you're PWM enabled, you should be good to go. It should slow down a lot when you're idling (especially if you're ~30C).

Check your BIOS for fan control, or SmartFan or something like that, should be in there, because that's what Intel calls the control for it (or did call it..).

Beyond that, I'm interested to know how snappy Pro Tools runs on that machine. I have it running on my laptop (sluggish old mac) and my desktop, where it's pretty snappy, but nothing compared to an i5/i7 or newer.

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Sun Jan 16, 2011 4:19 pm

bonestonne wrote:As long as you're PWM enabled, you should be good to go. It should slow down a lot when you're idling (especially if you're ~30C).

Check your BIOS for fan control, or SmartFan or something like that, should be in there, because that's what Intel calls the control for it (or did call it..).

Beyond that, I'm interested to know how snappy Pro Tools runs on that machine. I have it running on my laptop (sluggish old mac) and my desktop, where it's pretty snappy, but nothing compared to an i5/i7 or newer.
It does, but it doesn't slow down below about 1200/1300rpm. I've looked around, but I can't find any intel software that works for my board. The Desktop Utilities doesn't work (and is not listed as compatible) with the DP67BA, and that seems to be the program needed. It will install, but it won't actually open.
My bios will monitor fan speed, but not allow me to adjust it.

quest_for_silence
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by quest_for_silence » Mon Jan 17, 2011 1:35 am

AldenWitt wrote:My bios will monitor fan speed, but not allow me to adjust it.

Are you sure SpeedFan doesn't actually work for you? On the costlier Intel BG mobo it should work well.

If in case, in the configure window you have to hit the advanced tab, find the relevant header and probably set it to "software controlled" or something similar (try the various options). You could also be forced to disable the BIOS control to get the things working.
Moreover you should also be able to do the same with the case fan, if needed.

Eventually, if everything else failed, you may add an automated fan controller as the Scythe Kaze Server, or the mCubed T-Balancer (which you may mount internally and it should be fully controllable by SpeedFan).

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Mon Jan 17, 2011 3:13 am

quest_for_silence wrote:
AldenWitt wrote:My bios will monitor fan speed, but not allow me to adjust it.

Are you sure SpeedFan doesn't actually work for you? On the costlier Intel BG mobo it should work well.

If in case, in the configure window you have to hit the advanced tab, find the relevant header and probably set it to "software controlled" or something similar (try the various options). You could also be forced to disable the BIOS control to get the things working.
Moreover you should also be able to do the same with the case fan, if needed.

Eventually, if everything else failed, you may add an automated fan controller as the Scythe Kaze Server, or the mCubed T-Balancer (which you may mount internally and it should be fully controllable by SpeedFan).
Well, thank you quest_for_silence. Upon deeper inspection of this complicated program (with no apparent user manual? or maybe I'm just missing it?) I can, in fact, adjust my fan speed.

That said, I'm feeling uncomfortable rooting around with this stuff (BSOD'd once, though it might've been 'cause of the open case), and I don't want a program like this open while I'm editing.
If intel doesn't have a bios/program solution, I'd rather do it with hardware. Ideally, I'd still like the fan speed to be controlled relative to CPU temp, but I'd like it to run at like, 50% power. Ideally, the hardware would have no software attached. Does such a solution exist? Would I be better off just hooking my cpu fan up to the same knob controller as my case fan and running them both at 40% or something? I just want to make sure my fan has the option to rev up (at least a bit) if things somehow get dire.

Heck, I'm still almost leaning toward passive, but I don't wanna have to be always opening up Speedfan 'cause I'm worrying about an overheat.

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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by bonestonne » Mon Jan 17, 2011 5:16 am

I found a product guide for that motherboard (Intel DP67BA) and on page 20, it states:
Hardware Monitoring and Fan Speed Control
The features of the hardware monitoring and fan speed control include:
• Smart fan control provided by the legacy I/O controller, delivering acoustically- optimized thermal management. Fan speed controllers and sensors are integrated into the legacy I/O controller.
• Thermal sensors in the processor and Intel P67 PCH, as well as near the processor voltage regulators and system memory.
• Monitoring of system voltages to detect levels above or below acceptable values
• Thermally monitored closed-loop fan control for all fans that can adjust fan speed
as needed.
It also mentions using the Intel Desktop Utilities for monitoring fan speed, although as you stated, you don't want extra apps running. I would go through the BIOS again and make sure it has these settings. You might need to check for a BIOS update as well, because that could easily be the problem.

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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by quest_for_silence » Mon Jan 17, 2011 5:20 am

AldenWitt wrote:with no apparent user manual? or maybe I'm just missing it?

No, it's almost completely undocumented: you know, it's powerful and it's free, it cannot be also well documented.

The nicest aspect of SpeedFan is that through those complicated config tabs you may refer a fan speed to anything you may want: speed up a case fan when the either the CPU or the GPU (or both) is running hot, narrow the eventuality of running full speed just at emergency case (in one system I've set the maximum CPU speed at 40% but it would bump at 100% just near the TCase max), and so on.
Sort of things you can't usually do by hardware.
AldenWitt wrote:That said, I'm feeling uncomfortable rooting around with this stuff (BSOD'd once, though it might've been 'cause of the open case), and I don't want a program like this open while I'm editing.

Just fyi, SpeedFan is one of the most unobtrusive traybar utilty I've ever used, never got a BSOD in the last four years (not even while noise benching, such things as four Prime95, FurMark and OCCT PSU concurrently running), and even if it had to crash for some odd reason, however you'd been safe, as the fans would speed up at full throttle in that case.
AldenWitt wrote:Does such a solution exist?

If I've understood you correctly, you're thinking to a Scythe Kaze Server (the 5.25" to control 4 fans at once, the 3.5" for just 2 fans at once): here you may find a somewhat comprehensive review.
AldenWitt wrote:I don't wanna have to be always opening up Speedfan 'cause I'm worrying about an overheat.

As already said, IME you can leave it in the background actually unnoticed (it has the memory footprint of the task manager): just make some bench/try with your editing tasks, in order to see if there were any hiccups doing so.

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Mon Jan 17, 2011 12:55 pm

Well, I just talked to intel. "Karla" said:
Karla: This motherboard does not support the change of the fan speed. Only the motherboards that support the Intel(R) Desktop Control Center, which are the Extreme Series motherboards.
[email protected]: Will there ever be an update to that?
Karla: Not that we are aware. It's being always a feature for "Extreme" systems.

Well, in the words of danimal, "i've run speedfan on multiple computers, it's useless in a production environment." I also don't wanna have to mess with it; I want a solution that disappears and never bothers/worries me again (I mean, my computer isn't exactly loud, so ease is the priority).
Rather than spend 40 bucks on the Scythe Kaze Server (which is more than I want to spend on minimizing that fan noise), could I solve my problem by buying an 800rpm Slipstream fan? Wouldn't that lower my speeds proportionally?

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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by quest_for_silence » Mon Jan 17, 2011 1:12 pm

AldenWitt wrote:Wouldn't that lower my speeds proportionally?

Well, in the words of AldenWitt: "Hey guys, I'm trying to build a silent PC for editing audio, with a $1000 limit... but 4% of this sum dedicated silencing this PC is just too much money".
Well, after the commas there aren't your words at all, but please set me free to crack such a joke.

For a single fan it's better to use a fanmate or something similar: no automation, but you're not crippled with a too much low speed.
For more fans, if you have room, a manual rheobus should still be doable option: obviously you can't fire and forget even with this rheobus.

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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Mon Jan 17, 2011 1:39 pm

quest_for_silence wrote:
AldenWitt wrote:Wouldn't that lower my speeds proportionally?

Well, in the words of AldenWitt: "Hey guys, I'm trying to build a silent PC for editing audio, with a $1000 limit... but 4% of this sum dedicated silencing this PC is just too much money".
Well, after the commas there aren't your words at all, but please set me free to crack such a joke.

For a single fan it's better to use a fanmate or something similar: no automation, but you're not crippled with a too much low speed.
For more fans, if you have room, a manual rheobus should still be doable option: obviously you can't fire and forget even with this rheobus.
Lol, touche. But remember; I've already spent for the quiet case, the quiet case fan, the heat sink, and the quiet psu.

Wait, so the fanmate can go between the cpu fan and the mobo? So the fan will still be controlled automatically, but I can control the range manually? If I'm interpreting this right, that sounds perfect.

I must say, it's hard to know how much to worry about my cpu temps. So far, nothing seems able to make this thing get hot. This heat sink rocks. Of course, if it does get to hot and I don't have an automated fan, I won't notice and I'll lose my cpu, right?

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Tue Jan 18, 2011 12:46 am

So, are these all things I can stick between my fan and mobo, that will slow my fan while still allowing my motherboard to adjust the speed? Or do these block my motherboard's control?
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=fanmate2
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std ... _fan_cable
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=rc56

quest_for_silence
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:06 am

AldenWitt wrote:So, are these all things I can stick between my fan and mobo, that will slow my fan while still allowing my motherboard to adjust the speed? Or do these block my motherboard's control?
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=fanmate2

As I think I have never used the Zalman Fan Mate 2 on a CPU fan (it has some limitation, it can't work with fan having a starting voltage over 5V, or with actual amperage of 0.5A or more), to be fair actually I just think it should work exactly as you desire (even if I thought your mobo won't adjust the fan speed at all: probably I've not well understood what Intel told you).

However, if you have a 4-pin CPU fan, you should use the PWM Fanmate.

These seems to me just "fixed speed" things.

AldenWitt
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by AldenWitt » Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:59 am

quest_for_silence wrote:
AldenWitt wrote:So, are these all things I can stick between my fan and mobo, that will slow my fan while still allowing my motherboard to adjust the speed? Or do these block my motherboard's control?
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=fanmate2

As I think I have never used the Zalman Fan Mate 2 on a CPU fan (it has some limitation, it can't work with fan having a starting voltage over 5V, or with actual amperage of 0.5A or more), to be fair actually I just think it should work exactly as you desire (even if I thought your mobo won't adjust the fan speed at all: probably I've not well understood what Intel told you).

However, if you have a 4-pin CPU fan, you should use the PWM Fanmate.
I had never heard of the PWM Fanmate. I do indeed have a 4-pin CPU fan; that looks to be exactly what I'm searching for. I wonder why it's been discontinued at Newegg? Nevermind that; thanks!

bonestonne
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Re: Advice Needed on Audio Editing PC Build

Post by bonestonne » Tue Jan 18, 2011 4:46 pm

I use the 7v hardwire trick on all of my fans except for the PSU. Just about any fan works for me and is very quiet (although all things considered, with a WD Raptor, it's not a quiet computer, just quiet for what it has).

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page1.html

Alternatively, if you felt creative, you could create a 12v/5v switch using cheap parts from radio shack, but that's really for the intense DIY'er. Not sure how much effort you want to put into this, but that 7v mod is where I would start. If the fan is too loud, try that, and just plug it in directly to the PSU using the correct adapter. If the motherboard isn't going to adjust the fan speed, hard wire it, and if it works for you, you can monitor the temps, and if they stay steady, you know you're set.

I have Speedfan installed, but I've never been successful with any of my computers in getting it working. With my fans either PWM or 7v, I just take a look at my temps once in a while (maybe once a month) and if I'm happy, I leave the box alone. If it looks too high, it goes out for a cleaning with the air compressor.

My case, even being old and crappy has filters in the front, so I don't have any worries about massive dust bunnies appearing, and I don't use it as much as I use my laptops at this point, so it's good enough, as I'm still working out the kinks with my audio gear.

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