silent / water suggestions

PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
edited October 2006 in Hardware
I am in the process of very slowly building a nice new computer, because as you can see with my sig I am very slowly getting out of date.

So far I have this:

Lian Li PC
Enermax Liberty 500W
All Enermax silent fans (2x 120mm, 2x 80mm)
1x hard drive
1x optical drive
1x floppy drive

...
all black

What I do not have:
cpu/mobo/memory/gpu/cooling solution


What I want:

A silent machine, given my hd and fans may make 17db of noise or so.

I am even willing to somehow strap on a passive resevoir on the side of my machine. I'll mod away. I've got friends with dremels :P

So I need suggestions on what to get

Thoughts?

cpu will likely be a coreduo 6600, gpu will likely be a 7900 series

Comments

  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    Ok I will just talk to myself then.

    The plan so far is to get a passive radiator and strap it on to the side of the case. Passive resivoir inside, along with quite pump inside. Not sure what to use for the cpu/gpu yet because I dont know what I am getting yet.
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited October 2006
    One thing which is worth getting is sound sound insulation foam.
    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Acoustic_Materials.html
    They help to reduce noise from CD Drives and Hard Disks. Just watch they dont affect airflow. Also a variable speed PSU could be worth while.
    I would also recomend getting some sort of temperature gauge to monitor the heat inside the case.
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    I use a Zalman Reserator on my main rig and I'm very impressed with it. Mine is an old one, and the pump is starting to rattle (I'm going to replace it soon for around $30). Before that, though, it was absolutley silent. It also handled my OC'd Barton at 2.2 Ghz. But, I don't have a GPU in the loop. Not sure how much heat that would add and if that would affect my OC or not.

    The fancier, bigger, and more expensive Reserator 2 looks nice, too.

    Tt makes a couple of interesting options. One passive (and enormous!), one active (with a smaller version, too). I'm not sure I trust Tt watercooling, though. Skinny water tubing and low flow rate. I do like the look of (and quick-disconnect fittings on) the Symphony mini, though. Really would fit in nicely with my livingroom computer.
  • miragemirage
    edited October 2006
    I know you specifically asked for water cooling suggestions, but here is my suggestion anyway. Do not use water cooling, at least for silence. New motherboards have very hot NB chips, high performance memory, and, if you are overclocking, MOSFETs in the power circuit also need cooling. Instead get TT Big Typhoon it will help cooling all of the above components without additional fans (other than case fans) plus provide top grade CPU cooling at a very low noise level. While saving your money, you will have a simpler, more portable and more reliable computer. Just my 2c :)
  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    mirage wrote:
    I know you specifically asked for water cooling suggestions, but here is my suggestion anyway. Do not use water cooling, at least for silence. New motherboards have very hot NB chips, high performance memory, and, if you are overclocking, MOSFETs in the power circuit also need cooling. Instead get TT Big Typhoon it will help cooling all of the above components without additional fans (other than case fans) plus provide top grade CPU cooling at a very low noise level. While saving your money, you will have a simpler, more portable and more reliable computer. Just my 2c :)


    Ya my water cooling dreams have been cut short by low fundage, I am now considering a thermalright ultra 120 with a near silent fan.

    I also thought about the Reserator 2, but again that is huge and 300$.

    I've never been a fan of thermaltake except for the smart fan two series which did it's job. So I'll pass on their water cooling just because I suck like that.

    Whatever mobo I get is probably going to have passive cooled copper heatsink/heatpipe system on the northbridge and such. So I am not worried about.

    Perhaps in the future I will get a Reserator 3, but it leaves me wondering what I will do with a shiny ultra120. plop it on my athlonxpm2600?
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    I use a pa160 radiator ...if you couple that with an evercool 120 fan you'll get 80 cfm at less that 20db so they claim. And honestly you can get away with a silent pabst and half the cfm and still do a very sufficient job as that is the fan the rad was designed for. This is a remarkable rad and I don't see ever owning anything else. Also the D5 pump is nice and a good low restriction block (apogee) and 1/2" tubing.
    Cost should be around $250. No need for a reservoir.
    If the rads weren't imported they'd be much less.
    Which Lian Li case do you have/will you get?
    A silent system like this would far outperform a reserator.
  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    sounds tempting csimon.

    I have the LIAN LI PC-60BPLUSII. Not very large, but I figure If I strap the radiator on the side somehow, and the pump inside it should work. This is what I am dealing with:

    DSC01638_web.jpg

    DSC01641_web.jpg
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    No room in that case for the pa160 for sure. If you go with a 1x120 model I would highly recommend the newest single pass black ice series.
    I'm sure you will get all sorts of advice. You may seriously consider placing the rad unit outside of the case with that swiftech apparatus ...placing it inside of the case will raise you system temps and will be difficult to tweak. If you go this route you can use the pa160.
  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    I wouldn't mind moun ting a 2x120mm rad on the outside panel of the case. I can make that happen.

    Now my concern is what kind of pump am I going to need to cool down a 2x120mm rad, a gpu, and a cpu? Considering the water is going to travel some distance here ... how strong of a pump do I need?

    I am leaning towards 3/8" internal / 1/2" external tubing.
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    Gravite2090 wrote:
    I wouldn't mind moun ting a 2x120mm rad on the outside panel of the case. I can make that happen.

    Now my concern is what kind of pump am I going to need to cool down a 2x120mm rad, a gpu, and a cpu? Considering the water is going to travel some distance here ... how strong of a pump do I need?

    I am leaning towards 3/8" internal / 1/2" external tubing.
    The distance isn't as big of a factor as the restriction of the components really. Low restriction is IN right now ...LOL
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