- Joined
- Feb 14, 2003
So you want a silent PC? I mean TRULY silent, as in DEAD silent. So silent that you when you power up your rig your friends will think the mobo is fried. Well, I’ve got your definitive solution. In this article I will outline and discuss the factors that cause noise in a standard rig, as well as what I tested and the final products I chose. This thread is for a non-overclocked rig. I will post a follow-up thread in a couple of days/weeks regarding a SILENT rig in an overclocked environment as well.
_
First of all, let's state the sad oxymoron: “silent computing”. Silence is inversely proportional to heat production. That is to say, the quieter your PC is, the more heat it will produce. I’m going to complicate my testing environment by introducing a CPU that naturally runs hot: an AMD XP 1600+ Palomino. In case you don't know what I mean , the Palomino, or "Pally", runs about 5 degrees Celsius hotter than the newer "Thoroughbred" processor. Therefore, I have to create an environment that is not only silent, but I must consider and measure heat dissipation to ensure a RELIABLE rig. My final temperatures after I implemented a truly SILENT PC, were 44 degrees idle and 48 degrees load. These temps are FAR below the astounding 70 degree threshold recommended by AMD and are acceptably lower than the 50 degree limit that OCers use as a heuristic.
_
To establish a baseline, I set this rig up in a 15*12 study without any other components running, i.e. another rig, hub, router, etc. In other words, nothing else impeded or distracted my ear. Unfortunately, I did not have access to a decibel meter during my tests, which introduced a world of subjectivity. However, since I am not paid by or affiliated with any hardware manufacturer, rest assured that my opinion is completely unbiased. Beyond that, I am an audiophile with an acute ear for sound, lending further credibility to my opinions.
_
Okay, let’s get started. First off, let's identify what makes noise in a standard case:
1. Your CPU fan(s) (duh!) It is the loudest component
2. Case fan(s)
3. Video card fan(s)
4. Power supply fan(s)
5. Hard Drive(s)
6. Optical Drive(s) CDs/DVDs etc.
_
We all hear about Thermaltake's "SILENT" fans or Vantec's "STEALTH" line, but are they really silent? Obviously there is some subjectivity based upon your hearing and the ambient noise in the room, but this techie says no, they are not SILENT, just quiet. Those products are great and I recommend both, but not for SILENCE. _For the purpose of this article, and testing, I am looking for a TRULY silent solution... i.e. 20 decibels or less at all times. I'll address my solutions in reverse order of how I list them above:
_
6. Optical Drives – I did not implement a solution here.
At rest, any optical drive is SILENT. Perhaps someone else can add to this thread here, but I believe you are out of luck on SILENT optical drives at load, that is maximum strain. The nature of a multiplied drive is just that, it is that many times faster. A 52x drive will bust through 40 decibels at load (gasp!). _Physics simply states you can't deaden that which must be loud. Yes, you can pay more a Sony 52x drive that yields lower decibel levels at the same speed as a generic $30 52x drive. Again though, it STILL makes a ton of noise when we are talking about SILENCE. Since you only access your drive when you play music, load software, or play games, you can deal with the rare airplane takeoffs.
_
5. Hard Drives – Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM 2MB buffered ATA-133 drive
Most HDDs are silent at rest. However, if you have an older drive, that might not be the case. I've got an old 4GB ATA-66 Western Digital in the kitchen that is LOUD. In today's terms, that is ATA-100/133 drives, good ones are silent, even at load. Therefore, let's scratch this noisemaker off the list. If you want a recommendation, I use two Maxtor 40GB 7200 2MB buffered ATA-133 drives in a SATA RAID 0+1 array. They are silent at load. I think I paid around $75 each, brand new including shipping (www.ebay.com ).
_
4. Power Supply – Thermaltake 420W Active PFC (Power Factor Correction)
I was shocked at how loud my factory PSU was after I eliminated all the other noisemakers in my case. Ironically, you don’t notice the sound on a normal rig because your CPU and case fans are louder than the PSU. I wanted a 400W+ unit, so I tried three different and highly touted PSUs from our OC Forum:
1. Thermaltake 420W Active PFC (Power Factor Correction)
2. Vantec 420W Aluminum Stealth
3. Antec 480W True Blue
They’re in the order of the most silent to the least silent. The Thermaltake PSU was so silent that I could barely hear a whisper, even when I put my ear to within two inches of the back side of my case. Further, the Thermaltake has rock solid rails. Check out www.thermaltake.com for more details. Pricing varies, I paid $80 on www.ebay.com , including delivery.
_
3. Video Cards – Zalman ZA80A-HP SILENT Heat Pipe
There are tons of cards on the market. Finding a silent fan for your OC’d card (or factory clock) can be time-consuming and pricey. Sadly enough, the same card from one manufacturer may have a different fan than from another manufacturer. For example, an ASUS Geforce TI4200 may have a quiet Thermaltake fan on the GSU, while a Chaintech Geforce TI4200 has a clunky loud fan stuck on with a crappy thermal stick.
I went with a guaranteed silent solution for nearly ALL modern vid cards, even in an OC’d environment. I chose the Zalman ZA80A-HP SILENT Heat Pipe. Deployed out of the box, it literally encases your video card in copper, dissipating heat evenly through a heat pipe. Check out www.zalmanusa.com for details. Pricing varies; look hard on www.ebay.com , www.newegg.com, or www.googlegear.com . I paid $27.00 on ebay, not including delivery.
_
2. Case Fans – None!
For this rig, without overclocking, I ditched all my case fans. The only fan I utilized was the one on the CPU, which is addressed in the next solution. It is worth noting that I tried Vantec’s SF8025L 80mm Stealth fans, which advertise 21dBs . I also tried Panaflo’s FBA08A12L 80mm 21dB fans. Unfortunately, both of them far exceeded silent. The Panaflo fans did yield slightly LESS noise when I held both fans in my hand.
_
1. CPU Fans – Zalman CNPS6000-CU Silent CPU Cooler
The copyright-pending flower heatsink created by Zalman is visually stunning. It’s unique design and look is at the very least a display piece. If you have a plexiglass side panel, this could be the crème-de-la-crème cooler mod you have been looking for. Of course, for this thread we are only interested in its noise level and heat dissipation functions. Let me just say, it works.
The cooler comes with its own 92mm adjustable fan that literally “floats” above the heatsink. Using a bracket that attaches to the screw panel you use to secure you PCI, ISA, and AGP cards, the fan hangs above the heatsink, eliminating the “whine” often produced by other cooler fans. It comes with a bulky, yet adjustable fan speed controller that measures about 1*2. At its lowest level, the fan is utterly SILENT. At its highest level, it rates along side other 34dB fans, which is completely unacceptable for a SILENT rig. $35 on www.ebay.com I will be using the same cooler on my overclocked thread due to come out soon. It will be interesting to see if I can keep the fan at its lowest setting and still maintain acceptable temperatures.
_
In the end, Thermaltake, Zalman, and Maxtor provided me with solutions that yielded an eerily SILENT computer. Not quiet, DEAD SILENCE; nothing, NADA. You get the picture yet? A Pentium II box that sits next to it sounds like a freight train in comparison. If you demand utter silence from your P4 2.4GHz or XP 2800 with today's fastest video card, my solution will work for you.
-thegreek-
"Vinem et musica laetificant cor"
Wine and music gladden the heart
XP1600+ Pally
ECS K7S5A v3.x
256 Generic DDR2100
Chaintech GeForce 2 TI
Windows 2000 AS
_
First of all, let's state the sad oxymoron: “silent computing”. Silence is inversely proportional to heat production. That is to say, the quieter your PC is, the more heat it will produce. I’m going to complicate my testing environment by introducing a CPU that naturally runs hot: an AMD XP 1600+ Palomino. In case you don't know what I mean , the Palomino, or "Pally", runs about 5 degrees Celsius hotter than the newer "Thoroughbred" processor. Therefore, I have to create an environment that is not only silent, but I must consider and measure heat dissipation to ensure a RELIABLE rig. My final temperatures after I implemented a truly SILENT PC, were 44 degrees idle and 48 degrees load. These temps are FAR below the astounding 70 degree threshold recommended by AMD and are acceptably lower than the 50 degree limit that OCers use as a heuristic.
_
To establish a baseline, I set this rig up in a 15*12 study without any other components running, i.e. another rig, hub, router, etc. In other words, nothing else impeded or distracted my ear. Unfortunately, I did not have access to a decibel meter during my tests, which introduced a world of subjectivity. However, since I am not paid by or affiliated with any hardware manufacturer, rest assured that my opinion is completely unbiased. Beyond that, I am an audiophile with an acute ear for sound, lending further credibility to my opinions.
_
Okay, let’s get started. First off, let's identify what makes noise in a standard case:
1. Your CPU fan(s) (duh!) It is the loudest component
2. Case fan(s)
3. Video card fan(s)
4. Power supply fan(s)
5. Hard Drive(s)
6. Optical Drive(s) CDs/DVDs etc.
_
We all hear about Thermaltake's "SILENT" fans or Vantec's "STEALTH" line, but are they really silent? Obviously there is some subjectivity based upon your hearing and the ambient noise in the room, but this techie says no, they are not SILENT, just quiet. Those products are great and I recommend both, but not for SILENCE. _For the purpose of this article, and testing, I am looking for a TRULY silent solution... i.e. 20 decibels or less at all times. I'll address my solutions in reverse order of how I list them above:
_
6. Optical Drives – I did not implement a solution here.
At rest, any optical drive is SILENT. Perhaps someone else can add to this thread here, but I believe you are out of luck on SILENT optical drives at load, that is maximum strain. The nature of a multiplied drive is just that, it is that many times faster. A 52x drive will bust through 40 decibels at load (gasp!). _Physics simply states you can't deaden that which must be loud. Yes, you can pay more a Sony 52x drive that yields lower decibel levels at the same speed as a generic $30 52x drive. Again though, it STILL makes a ton of noise when we are talking about SILENCE. Since you only access your drive when you play music, load software, or play games, you can deal with the rare airplane takeoffs.
_
5. Hard Drives – Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM 2MB buffered ATA-133 drive
Most HDDs are silent at rest. However, if you have an older drive, that might not be the case. I've got an old 4GB ATA-66 Western Digital in the kitchen that is LOUD. In today's terms, that is ATA-100/133 drives, good ones are silent, even at load. Therefore, let's scratch this noisemaker off the list. If you want a recommendation, I use two Maxtor 40GB 7200 2MB buffered ATA-133 drives in a SATA RAID 0+1 array. They are silent at load. I think I paid around $75 each, brand new including shipping (www.ebay.com ).
_
4. Power Supply – Thermaltake 420W Active PFC (Power Factor Correction)
I was shocked at how loud my factory PSU was after I eliminated all the other noisemakers in my case. Ironically, you don’t notice the sound on a normal rig because your CPU and case fans are louder than the PSU. I wanted a 400W+ unit, so I tried three different and highly touted PSUs from our OC Forum:
1. Thermaltake 420W Active PFC (Power Factor Correction)
2. Vantec 420W Aluminum Stealth
3. Antec 480W True Blue
They’re in the order of the most silent to the least silent. The Thermaltake PSU was so silent that I could barely hear a whisper, even when I put my ear to within two inches of the back side of my case. Further, the Thermaltake has rock solid rails. Check out www.thermaltake.com for more details. Pricing varies, I paid $80 on www.ebay.com , including delivery.
_
3. Video Cards – Zalman ZA80A-HP SILENT Heat Pipe
There are tons of cards on the market. Finding a silent fan for your OC’d card (or factory clock) can be time-consuming and pricey. Sadly enough, the same card from one manufacturer may have a different fan than from another manufacturer. For example, an ASUS Geforce TI4200 may have a quiet Thermaltake fan on the GSU, while a Chaintech Geforce TI4200 has a clunky loud fan stuck on with a crappy thermal stick.
I went with a guaranteed silent solution for nearly ALL modern vid cards, even in an OC’d environment. I chose the Zalman ZA80A-HP SILENT Heat Pipe. Deployed out of the box, it literally encases your video card in copper, dissipating heat evenly through a heat pipe. Check out www.zalmanusa.com for details. Pricing varies; look hard on www.ebay.com , www.newegg.com, or www.googlegear.com . I paid $27.00 on ebay, not including delivery.
_
2. Case Fans – None!
For this rig, without overclocking, I ditched all my case fans. The only fan I utilized was the one on the CPU, which is addressed in the next solution. It is worth noting that I tried Vantec’s SF8025L 80mm Stealth fans, which advertise 21dBs . I also tried Panaflo’s FBA08A12L 80mm 21dB fans. Unfortunately, both of them far exceeded silent. The Panaflo fans did yield slightly LESS noise when I held both fans in my hand.
_
1. CPU Fans – Zalman CNPS6000-CU Silent CPU Cooler
The copyright-pending flower heatsink created by Zalman is visually stunning. It’s unique design and look is at the very least a display piece. If you have a plexiglass side panel, this could be the crème-de-la-crème cooler mod you have been looking for. Of course, for this thread we are only interested in its noise level and heat dissipation functions. Let me just say, it works.
The cooler comes with its own 92mm adjustable fan that literally “floats” above the heatsink. Using a bracket that attaches to the screw panel you use to secure you PCI, ISA, and AGP cards, the fan hangs above the heatsink, eliminating the “whine” often produced by other cooler fans. It comes with a bulky, yet adjustable fan speed controller that measures about 1*2. At its lowest level, the fan is utterly SILENT. At its highest level, it rates along side other 34dB fans, which is completely unacceptable for a SILENT rig. $35 on www.ebay.com I will be using the same cooler on my overclocked thread due to come out soon. It will be interesting to see if I can keep the fan at its lowest setting and still maintain acceptable temperatures.
_
In the end, Thermaltake, Zalman, and Maxtor provided me with solutions that yielded an eerily SILENT computer. Not quiet, DEAD SILENCE; nothing, NADA. You get the picture yet? A Pentium II box that sits next to it sounds like a freight train in comparison. If you demand utter silence from your P4 2.4GHz or XP 2800 with today's fastest video card, my solution will work for you.
-thegreek-
"Vinem et musica laetificant cor"
Wine and music gladden the heart
XP1600+ Pally
ECS K7S5A v3.x
256 Generic DDR2100
Chaintech GeForce 2 TI
Windows 2000 AS
