skinsfanusa
join:2001-03-09
San Marcos, CA
 ·Cox HSI
1 edit | Recommendations Needed: Building a Quiet PC
Hello,
I'm probably going to build a new PC in a 1-3 month time frame.
unfortunately I am out of touch with current technology...
Goals:
Build a solid PC that I can easily upgrade in the future.
It has to be quiet.
It has to be stable.
setup/configuration is relatively painless.
How do I do it?
are there Fans/Cases that are quieter than others?
I'm probably going to get an Intel quad core processor, is the stock fan good enough to cool it? If not Can anyone recommend a quiet fan that works well?
what about video cards, they have pretty good size fans on then, is there a quiet video card?
What about stability? what Motherboard, Memory, Video card combinations work well with eachother?
In a perfect world, I would update the bios, Plug in all the hardware and install the OS and that is it. I would like to keep the troubleshooting to a minimum.
Yes it know it's not a perfect world 
I don't think I want to do liquid cooling.
I probably won't overclock the PC.
The PC will be in my bedroom. I leave my PC on 24/7 so I need it to be quiet and without a bunch of LEDs.
Your advice is appreciated.
Thanks. |
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poppster
Tell the truth and then run.
Premium
join:2003-12-23
Midwest
clubs: 
| They make silent video cards, here is a ATI 3850 silent.
»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···14102720
Nvidia 9600GT Silent
»www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRe···14134040
Silent cooling solution for your LGA 775 CPU
»www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRe···35101011
Silent 80mm case fans
»www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRe···35191006
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What else would you do?
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grobinette
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join:2001-01-27
Springfield, VA
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| reply to skinsfanusa
I'm not going to get in to pieces and parts because that is personal preference and should be determined by what you want to do with the box. Gamers are going to go one direction and basic computing needs will go another.
Look for a case with larger exhaust fans and minimal LED's.
120mm fans will exhaust the air without the RPM's.
The new Intel processor stock fans are reasonably quiet and if Intel says it is good enough, it will be good enough. I'm running a core 2 with the stock fan in an older case and it is barely noticeable. I did upgrade the exhaust fan to something quieter than the stock.
You should also look for a quiet power supply.
You can also ask for some ideas in here »Silent PCs
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Dream Killer
Graveyard Shift
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join:2002-08-09
Forest Hills, NY
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1 edit | reply to skinsfanusa
Short answer:
Yes to all.
Long answer:
I could go on and on to give you an answer yo all your questions but instead ill point you to: »www.silentpcreview.com . The articles there will answer the questions you asked.
I have followed their recommendations and built a quiet computer. It's barely audible even in quietest of nights (where my ears start to ring from the eerie silence).
The most important base to a quiet computer is the case, and everywhere you go people will recommend Antec's P180 and P182 cases. Second, the power supply. Enermax's Modu82+ 625 is currently the king of actively cooled power supplies in terms of noise levels. Corsair's 520HX and 620HX are also excellent choices if you can't afford a Modu82+. Third, the fans. The "Recommended Fans" article will point you to the right direction. fourth would be component selection. You'd want something with a passive cooling solution on a video card, and a cool-running processor like Intel's new 45nm Wolfdales. Fourth would be an efficient heatsink. Most people like Scythe's Ninja tower heatsink for a passive cooled cpu setup, and most go with Thermalright's Ultra-120 Extreme for an active cooling setup. Fifth would be a motherboard that supports throttling fans and passive cooling on the northbridge. The famous brands like Gigabyte and Asus will build these kind of motherboards (I use Gigabyte's GA-P35-DS3L). Sixth would be hard drive selection. Western Digital's 1TB "Green Power" drive is ultra silent.
And lastly, patience. |
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Jahntassa
What, I can have feathers
Premium
join:2006-04-14
Conway, SC | reply to skinsfanusa
What do you want to do with it? What do you expect from it?
And do you really need a quad-core? |
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Telly Boot
Premium
join:2002-05-15
Vancouver, BC
2 edits | reply to skinsfanusa
n/m, sorry , both my suggestions had already been mentioned: »Silent PCs
and SilentpcReview ( which helped design the Antec P180 case). |
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skinsfanusa
join:2001-03-09
San Marcos, CA
·Cox HSI
| reply to Jahntassa
Thanks for the links to Silent PCs forum. After all these years I never knew it existed.
I don't need quadcore but it seems to be reasonably priced right now.
I want a strong multimedia machine with some gaming capabilities if there is something in the future that I want to play. |
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grobinette
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Springfield, VA
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| said by skinsfanusa  :Thanks for the links to Silent PCs forum. After all these years I never knew it existed. It's a really quiet forum. 
They should be able to give you some good ideas.
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