Operation "Shhhhhhh!" HELP!

[Aeradin]

Hey guys. I recently built the following system. (Main specs, missing drive details...)
Athlon 64 FX-53 with retail HSF
Abit AV8 Motherboard
eVGA GeForce 6800 Ultra
Antec TruePower 480W
Cooler Master Praetorian Case

So far, I love everything about the system...except the noise. Going from a Dell Dimension 8100 (older P4 1.5GHz model) to this has been a shock. My wife likes to call my new system "The Hovercraft" because of all the fan noise. Yeah, that's real funny. REAL funny...

Anyway, I spent a little bit of time trying to pinpoint the worst noise source in the system in hopes of replacing a fan or two, but I'm convinced it's a lost cause. I've slowed down my CPU fan to 2400RPM, and my rear case fan to 1500 RPM using the Abit uGuru software, and I still really just have multiple noise sources in a resonating case. The case fans, the CPU, and the video card are all making quite a din.

So, I'm considering purchasing a new case. The difference this time around is that I'm focusing on quiet cases, with noise reduction as a primary design consideration. I was considering the Lian Li PC-6070 that was reviewed here a few months back because of its noise reducing foam, but I didn't know if it would be cool enough.

I have no intentions of overclocking anything in my system, so heat shouldn't be as much of an issue. However, I do have some big heat generating components, like my 6800 Ultra.

Has anyone had any experiences with the PC-6070? Does anyone have any other recommendations for quiet cases? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Aeradin

 

[Mik3y]

stock hsf's are known to be on the loud side. i doubt your psu is the case, since the antec truepowers are known to be pretty quiet. also, the case fans that come with the case may be sucky too. try getting a new hsf, and if that doesnt work, get new case fans. and if that isnt it, then you know that its the psu that's loud. in my case tho, its likely to be the hsf.

 

[MrK6]

The problem with the case is that's aluminum, so its light and vibrates and resonates much more than a steel case. I never understood why people buy them if you aren't lanning... Anyways, milkey's right, stock fans usually arent great. Grab a Zalman 7000BCu for you CPU cooler, you'll notice a difference. Also, replace all of you case fans with Stealth fans from Vantec, or any other low noise fan. You might want to try using a VGA Silencer for your 6800Ultra, but I'd wait until they go down in price, as they're expensive now because they're brand new. Also, you might want to look into foam sound proofing. There are many kits available online. You also might want to try to get some silcone brackets to stop the vibrations form your fans and power supply from getting to your case.

All of that should help, there's also many ghetto versions of the above that you can do also. Cut out inserts from mobo foam for fan silencers. Cut out the stamped grills in your case to improve airflow and reduce turbulence (make sure you put fan guards on them though so you dont touch them and startle yourself, lol). Make sure you leave the fan filter on the front intake fans though, as filtered air is vital for a clean system.

 

[Aeradin]

Thanks for the fan suggestions. I'll put them on my list for a big NewEgg order. (But, I think I'll hold off on the VGA Silencer for now. I don't like the thought of prying the HSF off of my precious 6800 Ultra just yet.)

So, Mik3y and MrK6, you've both given me good suggestions for reducing the noise sources. MrK6, you even noted that the aluminum cases are noisier. So...if I'm willing to go all the way with a quieter case (in addition to the better CPU HSF and case fans...if applicable) do you have any suggestions?

I never realized just how much I'm annoyed by case noise until now. I don't want to know this thing's on.

Aeradin

 

[Aeradin]

Actually, I just realized that CPU fan is for Socket 478, Socket 462, and Socket 754. My CPU is Socket 939. I'll look to see if they have an equivalent...

Aeradin

UPDATE: Nevermind. They support Socket 939.

 

[Zepper]

You could use rope caulk (Mortite is one brand name) to damp your case. Just apply it liberally in random patterns to the insides of the larger panels (wipe them down with rubbing alcohol first to get rid of any traces of oil so the caulk can get the best grip). Audiophiles used to use the stuff to damp their ringing turntable platters. There are special fan mounts that can isolate fans from the case to limit noise transfer. And an Akasa or Speeze foam kit might help.
. Find a lot of tricks and sources for noise abatement products at the SPCR ( http://www.SilentPCReview.com ) web site.
. Unfortunately, if quiet was one of your goals, you should have done more research on these things from the get-go. It is very difficult to make piece-built systems as quiet as many Dell systems are right out of the box as they are designed that way from scratch.
. But if you do decide to look at other cases, the Evercase 42x2 series is named as one of the quietest cases OOtB by SPCR and can easily be made even moreso with the HD dampers you can get direct from Evercase as well as some of the other SPCR tricks.
.bh.

:moon:

 

[kparis]

if you are looking for a quiet case why not try the antec sonata? although to be honest the praetorian is a very silent case - a friend of mine has one and its pretty damn silent.

i've never used it but it got some good reviews in its time,

also i saw from your spec, get rid of that stock hsf - they usually suck badly. I'd reccomend either a Thermalright XP-120 if it fits on your mobo (my ath 64 runs well with just 400rpm on the fan) or else if it doesnt fit go for a zalman CNPS7000/A/B cooler. The hyper 6 is a good cooler too but its weight and centre of gravity scare me. The Thermalright is huge, light, great cooling and best of all will cool all the components on the motherboard near the cpu (northbridge, voltage regulation etc)

if you have a sense of DIY then this is what you can do:

1. Cut out ALL stamped case fan grilles, they restrict air flow A LOT (more than halves it in many cases) and replace with chrome ones - available for a few cents. This only applies if your case is one of the older praetorians - new CM cases all come with removable fan grilles which work very well.

2. replace case fans with low noise models - papst, panaflo (the quiet model) and zalman (very cost efficient)

3. Use fan silencers (piece of silicone which goes over the fan to prevent vibration. If you dont want to spend money for thses you can buy some rubber O-Rings which go between the fan and case. you might get a slight whoosh with this, not much tho.

4. Same as 3 but for power supply

5. make sure you have an intake fan blowing onto the cpu/memory/vga area. This helps cooling a lot and can easily be fitted into your side window/panel. Keep in mind that 6800u run hot and this will help reduce the speed it sets its fan to. if you are overclocking and have se thte fan to always on then this wont help silence, but will cool the vga

6. Look into the positioning of your case. If you are in a hot room or it is not getting fresh air, smart fan systems (like VGA and PSU) which vary speed according to temp might be defaulting to high fan speed (and high noise!) to compensate for the hot air they're moving around.

thats all i can think of for now

oh yeah, your hdds might be making some noise, expecially drives like older raptors or the meowing Hitachis - the only thing to do in this case is buy an enclosure, however these many times increase the heat a lot and a hot hdd tends to fail quicker

regs
Kurt

 

[pelikan]

Your case is fine.
You need:
-panaflo L1A case fans
-a thermalright hsf with a panaflo L1A
-swap fans in your psu to panaflos or get quiet psu (460W Seasonic Super Silencer)
-different cooler on your 6800 - that's the loudest thing in your case.

 

[eastvillager]

Mod the praetorian to take 120mm fans, or ditch it for a case that does(I did this myself).

 

[Cheetah8799]

What hard drives to you use? Dell uses Seagate drives because they are some of the quietest drives you can buy. If you switched to WD or something similar, then the noise level will go up just from that.

You might want to look at buying a Vantec Nexus to try to control fan speeds some more. Maybe that will help.

 

[0roo0roo]

zalman resorator

 

[Aeradin]

Ok, responses, and another question.

First, the responses:
- Hard Drives... I actually have 2 Seagate drives. (7200 RPM, 8MB Cache, SATA) I picked Seagates because most reviews said they were quiet. From what I can tell, they emit no noise while idle, and only a quiet chatter when seeking. Very quiet...
- The case has stamped fan grilles on the front and top. I can't tell if they're removable right now. I'll crack the baby open tomorrow and get a better look. The rear case exhaust fan is a chrome grille.

Now, the questions:
- I've heard conflicting reviews for CPU HSF. I was sure the Zalman 7000B-Cu was the way to go, but the Thermalright XP-120 looks great...if it'll fit. Anyone know if I can use this on my Abit AV8?

I really wish there was somewhere near me that actually sold this stuff so I could try it out and easily return it if it didn't work/fit for me. *sigh*

Aeradin

 

[kparis]

Originally posted by: Aeradin
Ok, responses, and another question.

First, the responses:
- Hard Drives... I actually have 2 Seagate drives. (7200 RPM, 8MB Cache, SATA) I picked Seagates because most reviews said they were quiet. From what I can tell, they emit no noise while idle, and only a quiet chatter when seeking. Very quiet...
- The case has stamped fan grilles on the front and top. I can't tell if they're removable right now. I'll crack the baby open tomorrow and get a better look. The rear case exhaust fan is a chrome grille.

Now, the questions:
- I've heard conflicting reviews for CPU HSF. I was sure the Zalman 7000B-Cu was the way to go, but the Thermalright XP-120 looks great...if it'll fit. Anyone know if I can use this on my Abit AV8?

I really wish there was somewhere near me that actually sold this stuff so I could try it out and easily return it if it didn't work/fit for me. *sigh*

Aeradin

since your case has te chrome grille at the back it is one of the new praetorians, dont bother taking out the other grilles - they are high quality so dont worry

regarding the installation, unfortunately thermalright doesnt give any details for abit mobos so i have no idea, however i have heard consistantly that OTES will have to be removed to fit the XP120.

Either way the zalman CNPS7000 is a great product in its own right, it is a bit inferior to the XP 120 but i have had it reliably and quietly cool all sorts for processors for over a year and it does that very well. The 7000b is a bit lighter so it will put less strain on the motherboard. Unless you plan any overclocking i'd just go with the zalman since its much cheaper, comes with a fan, and is almost as quiet as the XP120. I can tell you first hand (have both) that both are great products though so either choice is great

regs
Kurt

 

[Gravity]

I would personally try modding the case. However, I own 3 antec sonata's that I love because I cannot hear them!!

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: pelikan
Your case is fine.
You need:
-panaflo L1A case fans
-a thermalright hsf with a panaflo L1A
-swap fans in your psu to panaflos or get quiet psu (460W Seasonic Super Silencer)
-different cooler on your 6800 - that's the loudest thing in your case.

I agree pelikan 100%. I have the Lian Li you mentioned above and yeah, its nose canceling features do help but are by no means necessary. There are three main things your going to want to look at, case fans, swap them out for panaflows, stealths, or whatever brand you prefer. HS/F again you'll prolly want it to go, Zalman or Thermalright or Alpha with a low noise fan would be my choice. Also I think its a good idea to thermaly control the CPU fan via software or bios settings, uGuru should help you there. The 6800 ultra, like pelikan said its prolly the loudest component, either change the card or change its cooler.

I used a Dell as a reference point for low noise and I think my system stacks up pretty well.