Building a silent PC.

[Justin]

I am going to build a PC that needs to be SILENT!!! What sort of case, cooling, and other items should I use in achieving this goal? This will be an A64 system, nothing crazy or Geeky sized( ;) ) just need a silent system that dosen't weigh like 100 lbs.

[edcentric]

There have been some good articles here and on anandtech concerning this. Most of them focus on home entertainment systems.
Are you really fixed on A64? You cuold build a Pentium M system and make it easy to get real quiet. And remember that the 'M' is a lot better perfromer than P4.

[Justin]

Well, I just really want to go with the 64 for gaming and the performance over the P4. Kinda anti Intel myself but, this is going to be a gaming system. Not too particular about the contents at this point seeing as I plan on using this case for future builds too. I am just looking for a silent shell and quiet cooling. Any Suggestions?

[muddocktor]

If you want to go silent, go with a Winchester core A64. They are damn easy to cool, even when overclocking. I was able to overclock my winny 3000+ to over 2300 MHz with the stock retail hsf.

[Justin]

What about the case? The thing that seems to be loudest is the HDDs. How can I quiet those down?

[GHoosdum]

If you build it in an Antec Sonata, the HDDs are quieted a bit by their mounting system. Since you're going to be running a cool CPU, the few cooling quirks in the Sonata case won't really hurt you.

[Justin]

So, Sonata, Winchester, any specific fans that would help or is the Sonata CAse fan at 120 going to do it? What about "Road Kill"? It is this stuff that people who build monster stereo systems usually put in their trunks do deaden noise and vibration. I was thinking about lining the case itself with this stuff. It is about 1/8" thick dense foam rubber that sticks to the sides of the case and all surfaces. IS this a bad idea?

[GHoosdum]

Those vibration dampening sticky sheets are proven to increase the inside case temps. If you buy a quality HSF for your CPU (like the Thermalright XP-120) you should do just fine. The fan in the rear of the case is just fine, and is dead silent on the "FAN ONLY" power connector from the PSU. A second 120MM fan can be mounted right behind the HDD cage, and also run from the "FAN ONLY" rail. Don't bother with an LED fan there, because none of that light escapes the case. A third 120MM on the XP-120, and you'd be golden.

I previously had (in my XP3200+ system) 2 120MM fans running on "FAN ONLY" power, as well as a 53CFM mechatronics on an SLK-900A on "FAN ONLY" power, which probably put about 30CFM at that level... the Sonata was dead silent, except for slight clicks during HDD access, and loud whir when the CD-RW was spinning up. Under normal operation, I had to put my ear on the case to hear that the PC was on.

[lemonlime]

Might want to check out http://www.silentpcreview.com/ for some reviews on 'quiet' components..

[GnomeWizardd]

Ive built 2 silent pcs with this case

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-112-073&depa=1


Pretty expensive but its by far the quitest case ive ever seen

[Guyute]

I wonder if just adding little bushings will help. i.e. when you mount the HDD, add a washer that is rubber or plastic...? Any surface-to-surface contact between metal must act as a sound conductor...

[GnomeWizardd]

I wonder if just adding little bushings will help. i.e. when you mount the HDD, add a washer that is rubber or plastic...? Any surface-to-surface contact between metal must act as a sound conductor...


Its does. It absorbs some vibration. That case i pointed out has that and the case is insulated with dyna mat ( i dunno what brand but its like dyna mat )