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HTPC build...feasible?

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Papa_Legba

Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2002
Location
Michigan
Not looking to go exotic on an HTPC build. My main goal is silence. To that end I have purchased all passively cooled components which leaves me with a very simple loop... Pump to Rad to Waterblock. Not sure on if I want to do a reservoir yet.

My question is this...can I get away with no fans on the rad? My thought is a dual 120 style mounted on the side of the case. Is that feasible? The cpu is a Conroe E6750 and it won't be overclocked (ok, it may have a 1MHz overclock, I can't help myself :) )

To sum up:

Small pump (swiftech or dd5?)
dual 120 rad (no fans)
only the cpu waterblock is in the loop

Too hot?

Thanks for your help...will be a first time WC setup for me.
 
I would probably just put some very low CFM fans on that Rad, you won't even be able to hear them over the pump.
 
why not just mini ninja with a silent fan?

Not sure how well it would work in a system with no fans, case or otherwise (PSU has fans that are thermally controlled, so pretty quiet) that runs 24/7 and also gets called on for HiDef duty a lot. Along with other processor intensive tasks. I know that watercooling done right is a lot more likely to keep me cool and prevent heat soak.

I don't have too much experience with the new, massive, 4 or 6 or 8 heatpipe heatsinks. I've seen that they market some as passive solutions requiring no fan, but of course they assume you have some airflow from casefans, and I won't. Not sure what some marketing guys definition of a "silent" fan is compared to my own, either.

Besides, I kinda want to try something new :D
 
see my sig. ;)

and yes, you do want to put a low speed fan for the rad especially if your htpc is put in the living room/media rack/cabinet where there's very minimal airflow (if at all) around it!
 
Beautiful setup, LandShark, close to what I went with as well.

If the fanless rad setup is not advisable, I would probably try one of the big heatsinks with a silent fan before trying a silent fan on a rad...given the level of work involved with WC I can really only justify a fanless/silent solution to do it. Otherwise high quality air with a "silent" style fan will probably get the nod. Of 2 minds on this issue, for sure.
 
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Most pumps are in the 25-35 dBa range, so as long as you spend a few extra bucks for quiet fans, they won't be audible.

I wouldn't suggest running the rad with no fans, especially on a chunky processor like an e6750
 
Would it be possible to locate the rad away from the HTPC unit? If so you can put a few fans on that bad boy and not worry about the noise. Since you aren't going for max OC the extra feet of tubing aren't a bad thing.
 
If you have room, you can always just put a big-a$$ bucket/trash can/aquarium full of water with a submersible pump in it instead of a rad.

I ran a Prescott at 3.8 ghz with nothing more than a 5 gallon bucket and 20 dollar aquarium pump.
 
My guess is that degree for degree you can make a quieter WC setup than on air, two very quiet fans are quieter than one quiet fan.
Dan
 
i will say this much, you can save yourself a huge headache of assembly/disassembly by going with 3/8 tubing. Ive run all 1/2 in my sff pcs and i kind of regret it since it applies a lot of pressure on the various components unless you are using 3606 or similar tubing.

if all you care about is silence, the dd pump and a 1x bix or gts would do the job just fine. get a apogee 1u and your laughing.
I have one and it does a decent job. with my bip3 it can keep my 1.5v 2160 at 55. this is on a d5 pump, and i have a gpu in the loop too. your cpu wont get nearly as hot so id say with a really good 1x or 2x rad you'd be set.

the problem with super silent cooling though, is you will be much more aware of the noise your dvdrw and hdd's generate. as well as electronic noise on some motherboards and graphics cards heh. but be sure to keep us posted.

if your intersted, ill be starting a build log shortly on wcing a gaming pc with my lian li v300 mATX cube. might give you another view on sff cooling =) link in my sig also to an older one i did.
 
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