How loud is loud?
I've been asking myself that question a lot lately. After spending most of this day switching between the forums here and at SPCR i've just gotten more and more confused. In here fans can run at stock and i've even heard tt volcanos mentioned. There it seems that no fan is quiet enough unless run at 5v even if it's papst or panaflo L1a.
Undervolting a fan might be good for noice but not if the cpu is at 100% while folding. So i've been stuck trying to find examples of quiet rigs that do a lot of constant work. But over there they do seem almost fanatical about noice reduction while it's not lively discussed here. I figured that in order to know where to position myself between the standpoints i had to know the noice of my current rig.
My first thought was the harddrives. They are both WD. Here's what i could find on the website
Acoustics Idle Mode**
34 dBA (average)
38 dBA (maximum)
Seek Mode***
39 dBA (average)
43 dBA (maximum)
That's far from quiet. Compare with a 160 gig sata WD
Acoustics
Idle Mode 33 dBA (average)
Seek Mode 0 35 dBA (average)
Seek Mode 3 34 dBA (average)
A lot has happened during the years. Next came the psu It's a powerman modelnr FSP235-60GI. This surpriced me since then it would be made by fortron. Unable to find Power mans homepage i must conclude that it is oemed by fortron but then again they make zalmans psus too so that's not bad. I could not find any noice specs on this psu but most other i found on this page.
I went over to chipzilla to find info on the cpufan but didn't find anything. Do anyone know how loud the fans on P2s get.
Based on what i now know selecting parts that would be quieter than this but still be powerfull wouldn't be too difficult. Giving what i've seen most cpus seems to be able to run on a low rpm papst or panaflo while folding without concern for overheating with the right heatsink. Of course i mean stock cpus.
Many quiet parts seems to exist that doesn't require undervolting or less powerfull heatsources so what the big deal. When searching for parts for my next rig i've constantly wondered if i should dampen the case so that it gets quiet enough to sleep near or use fanmates but as soon as i think so i remember geeky and his reccomendations for airflow.
So my real question is. What measures should be taken to create silent stock running systems? Would it be enough to just select quiet parts from the beginning and just let them run or should dampening and fancontrollers be used as well? Sorry for the long post.
Undervolting a fan might be good for noice but not if the cpu is at 100% while folding. So i've been stuck trying to find examples of quiet rigs that do a lot of constant work. But over there they do seem almost fanatical about noice reduction while it's not lively discussed here. I figured that in order to know where to position myself between the standpoints i had to know the noice of my current rig.
My first thought was the harddrives. They are both WD. Here's what i could find on the website
Acoustics Idle Mode**
34 dBA (average)
38 dBA (maximum)
Seek Mode***
39 dBA (average)
43 dBA (maximum)
That's far from quiet. Compare with a 160 gig sata WD
Acoustics
Idle Mode 33 dBA (average)
Seek Mode 0 35 dBA (average)
Seek Mode 3 34 dBA (average)
A lot has happened during the years. Next came the psu It's a powerman modelnr FSP235-60GI. This surpriced me since then it would be made by fortron. Unable to find Power mans homepage i must conclude that it is oemed by fortron but then again they make zalmans psus too so that's not bad. I could not find any noice specs on this psu but most other i found on this page.
I went over to chipzilla to find info on the cpufan but didn't find anything. Do anyone know how loud the fans on P2s get.
Based on what i now know selecting parts that would be quieter than this but still be powerfull wouldn't be too difficult. Giving what i've seen most cpus seems to be able to run on a low rpm papst or panaflo while folding without concern for overheating with the right heatsink. Of course i mean stock cpus.
Many quiet parts seems to exist that doesn't require undervolting or less powerfull heatsources so what the big deal. When searching for parts for my next rig i've constantly wondered if i should dampen the case so that it gets quiet enough to sleep near or use fanmates but as soon as i think so i remember geeky and his reccomendations for airflow.
So my real question is. What measures should be taken to create silent stock running systems? Would it be enough to just select quiet parts from the beginning and just let them run or should dampening and fancontrollers be used as well? Sorry for the long post.
0
Comments
~dodo
If you are that concerned about noise, then just run the L1A's or Papst fans as case fans, as well as using 1 on a high efficiency heatsink like 1 of the Thermalright SLK series, if you can find them in your neck of the woods.
I took a screenshot of the L1A 80mm Panaflo specs straight from their website and attached it; 21 dBA with 24 cfm. That's quiet as a whisper.
I basically unplugged each component that would make any type of noise (fans, and hard drives mainly). Unfortunately it didn't seem to make any type of difference. I was considering getting that Akasa Paxmate but it seemed to me that it would deter the temperature control I tried attaining.
I too would like some info on this. I have 5 fans, the stock heatsink, and the stock VGA fan going. 3 of the fans are Antec's that make very little noise. The other 2 are Thermaltake heat sensing fans. I had a feeling it was the Thermaltakes that were making all the noise. When I unplugged them there was very little noise difference. I did this prior to having a second 120 gig drive. I used to have a 40 gig and a 120 gig. When I unplugged the drives and just let it run at the bios screen there wasn't really any type of noise difference. I'm really at a loss.
I have 5 coolermaster 80mm blue LED fans and 1 80mm blue LED SF2. When all are at full blast, the SF2 drowns out all the rest with it's 44+dbA. After some tweaking I think my rig is probably around 38dbA +/- 2dbA. I can definitly here them, but it isn't annoying.
Before I go to bed, I like to turn down the 6 fans. I do this manually with my enermax 6 fan controller. Plus all of them are LED fans so the manual control also turns down the bright blue LEDs so I can sleep.
I also like using ABIT's fanEQ for my SF2. I can just set-and-forget in order to maintain good temp's and low noise. You can set high/low temps and your fan will adjust automatically when under load or idle. Currently, my SF2 is at 3700rpm and my cpu is at 34C idle. If i start gaming or something, my rpms increase to about 4400rpm and 44C load. This is totatlly acceptable for my 2.8c @ 3.2ghz with a slk-948u.
There are tons of options for maintaing low noise and decent temps, I really want one of the antec truecontrol 550w psu's which is what dodo was talking about i think.
Just experiment and find something that you are comfortable with. Good luck!
I was looking into buying one of these awhile back. Does it work with any type/brand of fan?
The only reason i purchased it was b/c i had my coolermaster 3pin fans fiirst. Plus it was one of the only ones i could find with 6 fans controllers with 3pin connectors, 2 rpm, 2 temp monitoring all in one 5.25" bay.
I think i am going to give a Vantec 4 fan 3.5" controller a try and just bridge 2 fans into each controller knob.
My current rig on the other hand with the Exos set to the mid setting will turn the speed of the fans up somewhat at a preset level and keep increasing them as the heat increases or drop them to a nearly inaudiable level when the temp drops.
That temp is 97 degrees F and the noise increase is generally less than 7 or 8db which is still less than my old system was at idle temps.
At full speed the fans on my old system were so loud that you could be in another room with the door closed and the tv on and still be able to hear the stupid fans.
with all fans running full speed. You get more than 3-4 ft away, you barly hear it. But once I put it in a mid sized case, the noise level went up a lot. And I have the fans on a controller, turned all the way down.
The fan controllers look like a good idea.
The Fan controllers, if you can afford something like a Digital Doc 5 which is very good at handling fans by using 8 temp sensors placed close to hot spots, will spool up an down the fans to speeds that they can handle if you get fans that start at about 6 VDC and can run at up to about 13 VDC. Rgeostats have to be manually adjusted, my computers are on 24\7 and I am often away. I pick low noise fans that run at full 47\7 for case fans.
Note, loose case screws, missing case screws, can cause vibration. With a badly constructed case of thin mettal, if case screws are loose or missing the case sides WILL vibrate more. 1 MIL steel vibrates less than thin steel, which is one reason why I use Antec or Chen-Ming cases. The side panels are 1 MIL steel. Aluminum can be noisier than steel.
When you consider rheostats, or very simple non-active fan controllers, think about if your box is going to be on if you are asleep-- me, I sleep like a log unless something with the gawdawful tone of my fireman's dispatch radio that I had in the house (when I was a volunteer fireman and woke my father a good five minutes before I woke up some nights -- since he was a volunteer also, he would be out the door as I got up, so he got to go get the first fire engine while I and others went to the scene if both trucks were already en-route from our firehouse)wakes me up-- or if you will be not at home when room gets warmest and case does also.
My boxes are on a lot (typically 24\7), and I am not around a lot. So I pick very low noise for CFM flow fans, and pick fans with either dual ball bearing or HydroWave bearings (Panaflo, a Panasonic Industrial products line of fans). Then I figure out what I need for the highest point of temps in ambient case I will need, in some case by trial and error and DELIBERATELY flowing too much through case instead of too little. I have also been known to use a digital doc and see what fan capacities are needed, for several days of machine time for each fan change. Thus I own one. VERY neat thing.
John D.
That was my intension. To make people learn by hearing what others think about this.
It will be republished shortly
The pitch (tone) of the fan has a lot to do with it. I don't know how some of these guys can listen to those Volcano fans run. We're all sensitive to different frequencies.
You plug in a 30db fan, outside the case, you've got to get fairly close to hear it. Put that fan in a case, and you hear it across the room.
Fan size and speed. Bigger and slower is better? Not in my experience. My main computer has 120mm fans, turned down as far as possible and it's fairly quiet. But my quietest computer has 2 60mm fans as exhaust.
So, I think the case is more the cause(sound being aplified inside), than the actual fans. And here, my desktop box is the quietest vs. the tower type case.
I've tried acoustic foam inside the case. I was pretty disappointed in that. Very little noise reduction, slight raise in the inside temp, and it has a funny smell. Cutting away all the grills in the case gave the same noise reduction.
I'm thinking that ear plugs are the answer
Sorry, no real answer here. It seems that there are so many variables, and sometimes you just strike the right combanation. For me, the case with the smallest internal volume, with the smallest fans, is the quietest. It shouldn't be this way, but thats the way it worked out.
Making the move to a passive cooling or water cooling system would be about the only way to really tone it down, but even then add in the drives and stuff your still looking at 30+db easy, true thats much quiter than with the fans at full blast but its still pretty loud. I think that the case and how its made has a lot to do with it...
Also you mentioned that your using stock heatsinks and fans.
Get some AS 5 and a better heatsink then put on a fan that moves a lot of air and then either stick it on a reho bus or cut it to 7-5 volts. Being able to control the fans speed by some kind of reho bus or inline adjustment is the best way to go. That way you can watch your mother board fan RPM's on your computer monitor while adjusting the fan. That way you can get the best air-to-noise ratio while while watching your system temps, and you can do that while you are folding.
Thats how I set up my rig. I have a ton of fans 11 in all... I fold 24/7 and at full blast my rig is really loud but I found that I can sacrifice my CPU temps to the mid to high 40C range and set my cpu fan to 3500 RPMs or so and not have any cooling issuses. But I used AS 3 thermal pase too... My heatsinks are stock Intel Xeon wind tunnels so they are good sinks but not necessarly the best...
Quick note on AS 5, if you get the real stuff, not the off brand, it works and works great, put it on SM20's HS and temps are below 40C (37C) during folding and with the CPU over clocked a bit. In a word, it works great, I suggest you try some if you can get it...
Later,
"g"
And i still believe that big slow moving fans is the way to go. Does anyone else think defferently. But what works does depend heavely on the case it would seem. all this trouble almost makes me wanna go oem but that wouldn't exactly fix my problems.
So what can be done about noice. More opinions please.
Edit: I think I found a pretty good fan. derale 7.25" 400cfm@2700rpm $59 @ summit racing. probly need to slow it down some for quiet operation.
https://www.casedepot.com/proddetail.asp?linenumber=84
Uses 1 -120mm in the front, 1 in the rear, a few cuts, and there is a second 120 in the rear. And I cut a 120 in the top.
Looks nice but i can't find lite-on in sweden.
I used a Dremal to cut all my holes. Hole saw is the way to go, but I had the dremal, and good 120mm saws aren't cheap.
Hey EyesOnly, I'm sure that it could be shipped to you.
Yeah it would. I'm sticking with the sonata for now. I can find lite-on optical drives but not their cases.
Edit
I know that the sonata has bad cooling but it's silencing of the harddrives and the looks are more important for me now. If you think you've found a good case tell us about it, since this thread is about finding ways to create not to loud computers.
I know of hardrive suspension but i want to use all drivebays if possible. However if you can find a case that has 120mm fans but removable harddrive cages that would be nice. I doubt that anyone interested in silence would use many harddrives and if so one could just get a new case. I'll start looking now.