phase changers: lets talk power bills, and noise

stockhatch · Mar 4, 2005

I dont care if you run your setup for 1 hour of benching or 24/7. Please post your setup specs(compressor size etc...) how long per month/day you run it, and dollar amount your power bill went up. Im trying to decide whether its practical to build a direct die for daily use. I dont want to make my computer so loud, and power hungry that I hate to turn it on. I am on my computer ALOT, probably more that I should be(several hours a day) and dont want a headache due to compressor/fan noise. Im really looking for vapochill setups or comparabley sized DIY setups, but single compressor cascades will work too. If somebody had access to a dB meter, a noise level reading would be awesome! Im not really expecting that though...hehe

Thanks!

AC

Sucka · Mar 4, 2005

It's quieter, or as quiet as any air cooled rig that i've owned. The most noise it makes is when it's cooling down, which only takes a few minutes. I run mine quite a bit, but not 24/7, i haven't even looked at my bill lately, i just write the check and send it out. It varies so much as it is, i don't think i could keep track of something like that. It's tottaly worth owning one, i can't imagine not having it now

stockhatch · Mar 4, 2005

Thanks for the feedback Sucka

I know I had already asked you this in your Mach II thread. Im not really worried about $10 or $15 a month on the power bill. I was more concerned that the power bill would jump by $25 $30, which in the grand scheme of things isnt alot, but the wife is not quite as willing to pay for an air conditioned CPU as I am

Based on your opinion, it seems like if I can build a system which runs as quietly and efficiently as a Mach II, I will be a very happy camper. What type of fans does the Mach II use anyways? A couple 120mm PC type?

Thanks,

AC

Sucka · Mar 4, 2005

Yeah, just 2 x 120mm fans, that are adjustable.

Wish i could tell you cost, but i honestly don't have a good guess for you. Plus, i really don't run it enough to notice probably. I only use it a few hours a day at most, and maybe 8 hours a day on weekends.

stockhatch · Mar 4, 2005

Man that thing is pretty

Dont worry, its not that a big deal on the cost. I HIGHLY doubt it would climb more than $10 or $15, I was just curious. You sound like you're on the PC about the same amount of time as I am.

AC

matttheniceguy · Mar 4, 2005

You can figure out how much it will cost fairly easily. If you are just going to buy a mach 2 or some other pre made system, they should give it's power consumption. It will have a maximum consumption when it is first turned on, and then the power will go down once everything is nice and frosty. All you need to do is look at your power bill and see how much you pay per KWH. Then figure out how many KWH you are using per month, by multiplying how many hours you generally use the comuter a month by the it's power consumption.

If you are planning to make your own, I would say to find the consumption of a mach 2 or similar system, and try and estimate your systems consumption based on that. If you use the same size compressor and about the same fans (although they are pretty low power anyway) then you should have roughly the same power consumption. With a bigger compressor you will use a little more power. Just find a best guess on power consumption and find out how much it cotst. The just do it no matter what price you get.

Sucka · Mar 4, 2005

Well, if you think of it in terms of a freezer, what, a small freezer costs around $20 a year to run, 24/7? So i would assume this thing would cost maybe at most a few bucks extra a month. That's just my guess though. I'm sure it's possible to get the stats from the mfg though, maybe call them up?

Sucka · Mar 4, 2005

stockhatch said:
Man that thing is pretty Dont worry, its not that a big deal on the cost. I HIGHLY doubt it would climb more than $10 or $15, I was just curious. You sound like you're on the PC about the same amount of time as I am.

AC

It sure would look nice under that computer of yours

Aphex_Tom_9 · Mar 4, 2005

I run my Mach 2 for about 9 hours a day, more on weekends.
I dont know the cost, but im sure my parents would be complaining if it was a lot

and the noise is really not much at all

sandman001 · Mar 4, 2005

Home made system using a 1/2HP Compressor, don't use it that much yet, but based on my calculations based on the KW price here, it'd go up about $25 if I ran it 24/7, which I don't.

crimedog · Mar 4, 2005

usually the prommie compressors are around 70w, no? We're not talking much power here. I believe they use about as much power as an 80w pelt.

noise wise the prometias are very good, once the fans quiet down they're low noise, but definitely not silent. You could mod them easily though, it's just two 120mm fans.

sandman001 · Mar 4, 2005

They're around 150watts I beleive, it'd still have some compressor noise.

man_utd · Mar 4, 2005

I'd say about 16 dollars a month, running a 1/2 hp for about 18 hours a day.

cchen · Mar 5, 2005

anyway, its more efficient than pelts (even though it "looks" huge etc)

I'd say the noise is louder than average, I have a vapoPE and compressor fan on 70%. I heard vapoLS are noisey as hell, but everone has different thresholds of noise. In the end it is still running a fridge basicly, except that a fridge compressor is off most of the time while a DD unit has to be on all the time for obvious reasons.

gomerpile · Mar 5, 2005

Noise

I have found not much change in hydro bill my compressor can hardly be heard. I built a box and it is way quiter than the 9 fans that use to cool the computer. When the fan clicked on for the vcard it was loud and I think getting rid of the fans saved power. one last thing is I don't get half of the dust in the computer now.

matttheniceguy · Mar 5, 2005

Nice to see new members in the extreme cooling section,

Welcome to the forums Guys!

And people joining who already have phase change too... nice.....

The noise of the unit can really be tailored to suit your needs if you are building it yourself. If you can't stand any noise at all, mount the compresor with proper vibration mounts to the heaviest chunk of wood you can find, and then mount everything to the wood with dampeners. Put some heavy matt on the rest of the case, use low speed fans, use matt on the inside of the fan ducts, and once your done you can't even hear the thing.

Most people don't go this far, but if you want to and have the space, you can make anything silent.

stockhatch · Mar 5, 2005

Wow, thanks for all the replies guys

I will be building the unit myself, but it will be the exact size(at least externally) as the vapo LS. Im ordering the vapo LS lian li skin kit to put on my custom frame. I plan on using around 1/4hp compressor(I'll find out tomorrow the exact sizes I have available) and a small condensor frome either herefishy or chilly1 from XS. Im definitely going to build this direct die setup. If I cant get it to operate within my tolerance levels for noise, I will just sell it and build a cascade for benching runs and keep water cooling for my daily driver. From hearing all your responses, Im not concerned about the power bill anymore.

Thanks all,

AC

LabRat23 · Mar 5, 2005

Welcome to the forums

I wonder if its possible to make one silent or just quiet enough so you can forget it's there.

felinusz · Mar 6, 2005

What type of fans does the Mach II use anyways? A couple 120mm PC type?

They use standard 120mm X 38mm Panaflo M1A ("medium") fans

. They draw 0.45A on 12V. Replacing the fans with quieter models is easy, so long as the current draw of each fan does not exceed ~0.55A. The Chillcontrol also undervolts the fans during normal operation (goes down to about ~8V), making the system quieter then most aircooling setups during normal use

From the caseless testing I have done so far, I have found the Mach II to be much quieter then I expected it to be - it is more then bearable, and only a bit louder then my old watercooling setup, during cooldown startup.

I just got my Mach II, and am still in the process of modifying it, and regassing it with R402, so I haven't started getting power bills from it just yet

.

I wonder if its possible to make one silent or just quiet enough so you can forget it's there.

Sure, just swap the fans out for some 120mm X 25mm low speed, low noise fans. Weaker fans on the condenser will hurt your unit's performance considerably though.

Aphex_Tom_9 · Mar 6, 2005

i switched the power wires for the fans in my mach 2 so that the condenser fan gets more power under normal operation. the rear fan is normally the more powerful under normal operation, but a stronger condenser fan helps temps a lot more.

phase changers: lets talk power bills, and noise

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