OT: Quiet PCs

pedx1ng · Post by **pedx1ng** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:02 am

I'm really starting to get annoyed with how loud my PC is. It's a custom build in a several year old mid-tower (before the aluminum ones came into vogue) case with a lot of fans, aimed primarily at enthusiast PC gamers. I have actually disabled most of the fans because it's too loud.

Eventually I'd like to get a whisper quiet DAW AND have more processing power (quad core as opposed to my current dual core). Possible? Have any of you researched this sort of thing already? I'm just curious as to what some of the options are so I can plan.

Thanks.

kb420 · Post by **kb420** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:27 am

http://www.studiocat.com/

DrXparaMental · Post by **DrXparaMental** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:37 am

The greatest aid in getting a hushed PC is the case you choose. This one is designed specifically for this and it is very quiet and runs super cool.

Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=Mg==

adventurepants_ · Post by **adventurepants_** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:42 am

this site will have all the info you need

http://www.silentpcreview.com/

basically, you will need an aftermarket CPU cooler with variable fan speed control. about $50.

a silent PSU with silent sleeveless bearings in the fans about $100-200

a passively cooled graphics card (ie with heatsink instead of fans) $50-100. The problem is if you want to game as well. Most of the best gaming cards are also quite noisy under load, and very few are passively cooled, though you can get them. Im using an 8800 with one of these without the fans. Completely silent. Some cards with fans are quiet too, but i go through a few when building boxes that are always loud. I installed a 4850 recently with a fan that was silent as if not gaming. I installed a 9600 recently that was unbearably loud all the time, and didnt respond to fan speed governers.

Then youll want to get some quiet case fans like the Noctuas. Run you about $30 a pop.

Once youve done that, youll have eliminated %90 of the noise. You can get rubber grommets and silent enclosures for the hard disks, but they never worry me if you have a solid steel case to soak up the vibration. Ive never felt the need to go that extra step.

Or go the ghetto solution, put the pc in another room, and run cables through your walls! cheap and quiet as a door mouse.

adventurepants_ · Post by **adventurepants_** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:45 am

DrXparaMental wrote:The greatest aid in getting a hushed PC is the case you choose. This one is designed specifically for this and it is very quiet and runs super cool.

Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=Mg==

That wont help if youre not using a silent PSU. Theres no sound baffling between the PSU fan and the outside world.

longjohns · Post by **longjohns** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:35 am

woah that video card is ludicrous

dru · Post by **dru** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:39 am

http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Pro ... sp?idx=186

pedx1ng · Post by **pedx1ng** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:57 am

Thanks for the info gents!

adventurepants_ · Post by **adventurepants_** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:57 am

longjohns wrote:woah that video card is ludicrous

I call it the George Foreman grill! I didnt think it was going to fit in my case, but it is fast, cool, and %100 silent.

gavscope · Post by **gavscope** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:30 am

I just built one for a friend- not for music- but is quiet as.

Antec Sonata Plus- comes with Earthwatts 550w power supply..
Gigabyte 4850 Silentcell.
I put an Arctic cooling 92mm fan on the front of the case- this dropped the heat on the graphics card by 30degreesC- that and case fan only need to be on low for gaming.

Used a Gigabyte MB, OCZ 1066 ddr2 ram and an e8500. Vista 64 is snappy as. Can barely hear it at all.
Go for Samsung hard drives- they are really quiet- seagate's make a chipping noise which is annoying, though i had an Antec Designer and couldn't hear it unless i put my ear to it, it annoys me in my NAS in my kitchen a bit, or SSD if you want some real speed.

If you have a bit more cash go Core i7- even the 920 benchmarks well against anything except for gaming and will make it future proo,f and fastest ddr3 ram you can get and you'll be good to go.

kaffein · Post by **kaffein** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 6:16 am

Antec p183
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MTgwOA==

DrXparaMental · Post by **DrXparaMental** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:55 pm

adventurepants_ wrote:
DrXparaMental wrote:The greatest aid in getting a hushed PC is the case you choose. This one is designed specifically for this and it is very quiet and runs super cool.

Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=Mg==
That wont help if youre not using a silent PSU. Theres no sound baffling between the PSU fan and the outside world.

AP, I KNOW you are 100x more knowledgeable about computers than I am, and I thank you for the input that I have received from you in the past, but below is the system's innards that I built last winter. I did a pretty decent amount of research before putting this thing together. You can stand right next to it and all you hear is the faintest rush of the fans. When the door is closed to the modest isolation cabinet it's within, you CANNOT hear it at all. It also is literally cool to the touch. I'm telling you (and YES, Antec makes several of the 180 series that are even BETTER) this thing is quiet.

gavscope · Post by **gavscope** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:14 pm

kaffein wrote:Antec p183
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MTgwOA==

Yeah, very nice, but the Sonata Plus is just a bit smaller, has PSU built in and is cheaper.

DrXparaMental · Post by **DrXparaMental** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:22 pm

adventurepants_ wrote:
longjohns wrote:woah that video card is ludicrous

I call it the George Foreman grill! I didnt think it was going to fit in my case, but it is fast, cool, and %100 silent.

That thing is BAD ASS!

Cowlash · Post by **Cowlash** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:55 pm

gavscope wrote:
kaffein wrote:Antec p183
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MTgwOA==
Yeah, very nice, but the Sonata Plus is just a bit smaller, has PSU built in and is cheaper.

I have the Sonata and the smaller size hinders the air circulation inside.

The Antec PSU died quite quickly and I've replaced it with a Tagan 480. Its nice and quiet and has been solid.

I cool it with a Noctua NH-U12P + 3x NF-P12's. Its currently idle at 47°C (room temp is 29)

If I had to choose again I would go with the p180 or similar.

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