Is there such a thing as a silent (or quiet) liquid cooling system?

Z

ZionHalcyon

n00b
Joined
Dec 13, 2004
Messages
19
I am doing a lot of research into what will be my machine for at least the next 5 years - I am building a beast, and one of the things I am looking into is liquid cooling. However, having a quiet case is important to me as well, and I want to know - will what I lose in fan noise just be replaced by the liquid compressor? Are there options for people who want to do silent cooling like me? Or do I pretty much have to do this from scratch?

Finally, if there is a silent liquid cooling option, anyone know if there is a way to make it support a dual processor system?
 
Check out the Zalman Reserator. Its big and external, but uses no fans at all. Cant get much more silent than that.
 
Exos2 works for me at a fan speed setting of 4 or lower which is near silent. A benefit of any external unit is that it removes the heat from the hottest parts within the case (CPU ,GPU Northbridge etc.) Lastly, get a case with a few 120mm fans and buy fans that push 50cfm at < 30db. Near silent with the power to overclock if needed.
 
Yah are you kidding watercooling is meant to be quiet
hmm lets see, get a nice fulltower or cube case, mod a couple double heatercores to run passive, get a nice quiet pump and voila.

Sean
 
I'm using Innovatek components with Nexus fans exclusively. At 12V they are near silent, and at 8-9V you will only hear the HDDs. 3 120MM (2 on the radiator, 1 case intake), and a 92mm intake (running a positive pressure system).

This might be more appropriate/useful in the Overclocking & Cooling > Watercooling forum, fyi
 
The pumps used in most watercooling loops are pretty quiet, in the 25-35dBa levels from what instruments have read. That noise can easily be muted by using a padded, enclosed box to hold the pump. The only other real noise from a loop are the fans used, if any, so those can be picked or undervolted to be quiet, and still achieve very good temperatures.
 
H20 cooled can be very quiet, if you design it to be that way. IMOP you have to have the correct software to control it. I use Aqua cooling blocks along with their Aquaero and Aquasuite. Aquasuite Software allows you to program fan speeds according to your temps, which you set. This system can be extremely quiet.
 
My computer is dead silent - can't tell it's on.

Old-ass "jagged-edge" copper waterblock, e350 heater core, and 2x 120mm slim fans that run on 7v through a rheostat. One fan blowing into the case at the panel over the vid+mobo, the other blowing out of the case, through the radiator. I had to fabricate a shroud out of tin for the radiator to let that fan flow over the whole surface. Pump is a generic in-line unit from an exotic fish place i live near, not mounted (it's basically held up by the radiator hoses in mid air)

The rig has been to many many LANs, is about 2 years old in it's current (relevant) configuration, and I've had to top it off only one time after the initial fill with a car-like 50/50 coolant and water.

Temps are 90F System, 10x-11xF CPU on a 75 watt athlon, which is totally fine by me.
 
You want a truly fanless system??? :D

Zalman TNN 500AF

tnn500af_04_01b.jpg
 
It's easy to make a water cooled system quiet if you do a little research. Hell. My hard drives are the loudest thing in my case.
 
As stated before, ANY water cooling system can be made silent, it's all in what pump and fans you use. The blocks and tubing don't make noise............;) Just get a silent pump, DDC is one for the quieter ones, and some silent fans and/or a fan controler........ no one brand of system is any quieter than the other, it's what you make of it.................:)
 
Buy the Swiftech H20-APEX kit and two Nexus 120mm Silent fans. That will give you a silent solution for under $300. The stock fans on the rad are a bit noisy. The Nexus fans are truly silent. If you have any case fans replace them with some Nexus silent fans too. I have 5 in my case and the only noise my PC makes that I can hear is my cdrom if it is seeking and my chipset fan.
 
Bio-Hazard said:
As stated before, ANY water cooling system can be made silent, it's all in what pump and fans you use. The blocks and tubing don't make noise............;) Just get a silent pump, DDC is one for the quieter ones, and some silent fans and/or a fan controler........ no one brand of system is any quieter than the other, it's what you make of it.................:)
Click to expand...


opps, didnt read that. Bio knows what he is talking about. You gotta make it quiet. He helped me out with my first WC setup.
 
i have the c-systems pumps on my rig and there darn quiet.

also for fans i have 11db and 14db silenx fans (very quiet) there is no hum or buzz, if its silent in the room i can hear the air rushing around. but i have very sensitive ears, on my system the hard drives and CDrom are the noise makers.

a cool running quiet system will cost more than a not soo quiet one, from what i have seen any way.
 
For you're Swiftech H2O APEX kit you can alway use the included fan adapters and run your fans at either 5v, 7v, or 12v. I'm running the benches on them now at the different settings................... :eek:
At 5v you can't hear the fans unless you stick your ear in them, but you can hear the pump. But you can always just turn the pump down while doing everyday things and crank it back up for OC'ing fun or gaming.
 
Mines pretty silent. Around 20db's.......If I pick up a fanless psu, it would be around 10db's

The aquacomputer pumps are almost dead silent.
 
Bio-Hazard said:
As stated before, ANY water cooling system can be made silent, it's all in what pump and fans you use. The blocks and tubing don't make noise............;) Just get a silent pump, DDC is one for the quieter ones, and some silent fans and/or a fan controler........ no one brand of system is any quieter than the other, it's what you make of it.................:)
Click to expand...

Yes that is true, but there have been a few people on this board who have changed from an Aquastream to a DDC and said that the DDC was noisier and in one case not as reliable. The Aquastream pumps are like an Eheim 1046 on steroids and they are still dead quiet. In my work I see a lot of dead quiet so trust me when I say that the Aquastream is one of the quietest pumps out there. However, I also ordered a DDC in to see what, if any, gains I can get out of the increased flow and head pressure in my CPU/NB circuit. :)
 
tcc said:
You want a truly fanless system??? :D

Zalman TNN 500AF

tnn500af_04_01b.jpg
Click to expand...

I saw a couple of these a while back at Sharka as they do a lot of the system building and warranty work for Zalman's TNN series. Very solid case and the only thing you can hear is the HD's spinning and then only when you open the front door. I was quite impressed with it, but I can think of a better way to spend $1200 :eek:
 
Top Nurse said:
Yes that is true, but there have been a few people on this board who have changed from an Aquastream to a DDC and said that the DDC was noisier and in one case not as reliable. The Aquastream pumps are like an Eheim 1046 on steroids and they are still dead quiet. In my work I see a lot of dead quiet so trust me when I say that the Aquastream is one of the quietest pumps out there. However, I also ordered a DDC in to see what, if any, gains I can get out of the increased flow and head pressure in my CPU/NB circuit. :)
Click to expand...
Seen and heard the Aquastream pumps run............... :eek: they are OK, but a little weak for my tasts. But I guess they have a place in this world just like any other computer part............... :D Just not in any of my computers, I had a 12v Eheim at one time and got rid of it, I've always gone back to the Laing pumps................I've got 3 in use right now and another on the way.
 
Top Nurse said:
Yes that is true, but there have been a few people on this board who have changed from an Aquastream to a DDC and said that the DDC was noisier and in one case not as reliable. The Aquastream pumps are like an Eheim 1046 on steroids and they are still dead quiet. In my work I see a lot of dead quiet so trust me when I say that the Aquastream is one of the quietest pumps out there. However, I also ordered a DDC in to see what, if any, gains I can get out of the increased flow and head pressure in my CPU/NB circuit. :)
Click to expand...


you may wanna try the cps mag (c-systems.ca) pump as it has quite a bit of flow for such a small pump, enough to cause issues with the aqua tubes .... :rolleyes:

I am running 2 now and what i noticed is that there quiet and they always turn on, well so far that is. the bottom half of the pump seems like 6061 t6 and the top half is derlin ( i think) or something close.

If any one wants i can take apart the extra one i have and post photos of it or how i placed them in my look (sence there so small and light there hanging to isolate any noise )
 
Never heard that before I have a couple modded running in parallel on my system and I can not hear them w/o my ear right up next to them with the side panel off. The only sounds my comp makes are the HD's and a slight air rushing sound if the room is dead silent and I'm talking totally silent. With any backround noise whatsoever all of it is drowned out Oh and the ram chugging away while stuff is loading. It's kind of a staticy sound.
 
wtiger said:
Never heard that before I have a couple modded running in parallel on my system and I can not hear them w/o my ear right up next to them with the side panel off. The only sounds my comp makes are the HD's and a slight air rushing sound if the room is dead silent and I'm talking totally silent. With any backround noise whatsoever all of it is drowned out Oh and the ram chugging away while stuff is loading. It's kind of a staticy sound.
Click to expand...
You have to remember that if it has anything to do with Aqua Computer or Sharka, it has to be the best and nothing can beat it in some peoples eyes. Even if in the real world it doesn't perform as well as the other makes and models out there. Just take it with a grain of salt and let the specs, test and reviews help you decide what to get. Some folks are extremely biased towards certain products, and that's fine if it works for them. But don't let it over shadow the truth and other products out on the market.
 
Bio-Hazard said:
You have to remember that if it has anything to do with Aqua Computer or Sharka, it has to be the best and nothing can beat it in some peoples eyes.
Click to expand...

Jeez...did I not say I put a DDC on order? I based it on what all you guys have been telling me. So I will run them next to each other and see what, if any, differences there are. It's just in the interim while I'm waiting for the pump that I start hearing about reliability and noise issues from the people who tried them and went back to using Aquastream's. ;)

Happy Hopping said:
remember to buy it directly from manufactuer at zalman USA, it is the cheapest way to go
Click to expand...

That's more hillarious than you could ever possibly know. Who do you think sets up those TNN units for Zalman? Check out the name Zalman Tech lists for their overseas distributor in the USA. lol
 
eumskickin said:
you may wanna try the cps mag (c-systems.ca) pump as it has quite a bit of flow for such a small pump, enough to cause issues with the aqua tubes .... :rolleyes:

I am running 2 now and what i noticed is that there quiet and they always turn on, well so far that is. the bottom half of the pump seems like 6061 t6 and the top half is derlin ( i think) or something close.

If any one wants i can take apart the extra one i have and post photos of it or how i placed them in my look (sence there so small and light there hanging to isolate any noise )
Click to expand...


Yup, the Mag is my favorite pump at the moment, just so quiet! Mine sits on bottom of my case, directly on metal, and is dead silent....
 
Bio-Hazard said:
Setup your own like Lee did at System Cooling.............. :eek:

Looks like Zalman uses their own USA office and Sharka is only one of many e-tailers and retailers............. :D

http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/wtb/wtb.asp#05
Click to expand...

naturally Zalman of Korea owns Zalman of USA. So buy it from Zalman USA is definitely the cheapest way to go.

Anyone else is just a dealer. For the cheapest dealer -- Go Ebay. They have no office so overhead is very low.

ZALMAN USA, INC.
(Subsidiary of Zalman Tech Co., Ltd. Korea)
10531 GARDEN GROVE BLVD, GARDEN GROVE, CA 92843-1128, USA
TEL : +1-714-530-0700 FAX : +1-714-530-0707
www.zalmanusa.com [email protected]
Click to expand...
 
Bio-Hazard said:
Setup your own like Lee did at System Cooling...

Looks like Zalman uses their own USA office and Sharka is only one of many e-tailers and retailers.

http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/wtb/wtb.asp#05
Click to expand...

Actually if you read that link you will see that they are in fact one of only about six (6) Distributors in the USA. Distributors are people who sell to e-tailers and retailers. :p You might be interested to know that before the company changed their name to Sharka it was Zalman Tech USA. There really is a reason that they are listed at the top of that list...

People like us would have no problem setting up a Zalman TNN series case, but most of the people who buy them want them delivered ready to compute. Since Sharka helped in the research and design of the TNN series and a lot of other Zalman products it seems only obvious that Zalman USA would want the most experienced people building them, no?

But as Morpheus said to Neo: When you wake up in the morning you can believe whatever you want to believe in. :D

Happy Hopping said:
naturally Zalman of Korea owns Zalman of USA. So buy it from Zalman USA is definitely the cheapest way to go.

Anyone else is just a dealer. For the cheapest dealer -- Go Ebay. They have no office so overhead is very low.
Click to expand...

Interestingly enough a lot of the new Zalman stuff on Ebay appears to be from a company called Sharka Computers in Huntington Beach, CA :confused: :p

Like I said above you can believe anything you want to believe and this is really way OT so this is it for me.
 
iam one of the guy who went from aqua stream to ddc and from DDC back to aqua stream
DDC is powerful, but noisy and not reliable, sometimes you need to smack it to start
my x800xt@pe goes from 30c to 50c in about 10-15sec, i dont want to risk any of my expensive hardware because it decrease 2-3c
 
You should have gotten it replaced, they came out with a revsion to the pump and Laing was replacing them................. :D The problem only effected a small batch/production run................ :eek: I have total faith in the pumps, but then again, one of the design team members at Delphi (DDC=Delphi DC Pump)is a friend of mine.
 
nigely said:
most of the ppl i know who own a DDC have the "Smack to Start" problem
Click to expand...

Can you please quantify that with a number? How many really?

There are many many thousands of the DDC's in the marketplace, both in PCs and in Apple computers. If they were failing as often as you seem to indicate, does it not seem strange to anyone that it isn't an issue that is heavily made public? It seems like we would be seeing at least one person/week complaining of such, but instead it seems like we have the same few people who recount their issues from some time in the past while many thousands seem to be quite happy.

No product is 100% perfect, but if there's an issue with a defective product then it should be returned for replacement or money back.

Sounds to me like a bad batch got out about 6 months ago, and as far as I'm aware Laing have been replacing all defective pumps and the problem no longer exists.
 
I also saw a few posts over at bit-tech.net with the same problem. Must have been a big batch if reports are coming in from all over the world. :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top