Advice: Silent~Mini-ATX~Linux Machine (Complex)

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Funky_Junk

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 1, 2005
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I'm looking to build an ultra quiet machine with emphasis on large amounts of storage for around $800. I do not plan on doing much gaming until fall, and in keeping with my budget, I have decided to run Ubuntu Linux. Here is my proposed build:

Antec NSK3480 Case w/ 380w EarthWatts PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129035

Intel Core 2 Duo E6550
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115030

Gigabyte GA-G31M Micro-ATX Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128078

Nvidia 8600GT 256MB *FANLESS*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127293

G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231111

2x Western Digital Caviar GP 750GB 5400 to 7200RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136150

1x Western Digital Scorpio 80GB 5400RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136129

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

Turtle Beach 7.1 Channel Sound Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829118109

Lite-On DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106072

Ubuntu Linux

*Major Concerns*

1. I am striving for the least amount of noise possible. Do you think this computer would be silent or close to silent? Which component do you think would produce the most noise?

2. The NSK3480 is a very small case, that in my proposed build, would be packed to the brim. Every drive bay would be filled with an optical drive or a hard drive. Do you think this would impede airflow too much and cause the system to be too hot? Remember that my VGA is fanless and the case only has one fan.

3. All drives in this build run at 5400rpm, with the 80Gb used for the OS, and the two 750's used for music storage. Do you think the slow drive speed would impede performance noticeably in gaming or while doing normal tasks and listening to music?

4. Would everything fit on the motherboard (emphasis on heatsink)? If you click on the link and look at the picture you will notice the chipset heatsink is in close proximity to the CPU and VGA areas and I was wondering if the large Arctic Silver heatsink would fit, and if the fanless VGA would fit.

5. The fanless VGA comes in a 256MB model and a 512MB model, both at the same price. Which one is better?

6. Can anybody anticipate any major compatibility problems between this machine and Ubuntu Linux?

Thanks for all of the input!
 
I don't think you should have cooling problems - you say it only has one fan, but the link you provide has a review note:
The case is really small and yet can house a 120mm fan on the back, two fans on the front panel and one one the side door.
Click to expand...
If the other fans are not supplied, they are not an expensive addition. With three or four fans, you should be fine.

If you're not going to OC, use the Intel heatsink/fan in the retail package and skip the Arctic Cooler unit.

Why the three-drive config? If you go with two drives at 7200, the performance will likely not be any worse than putting the OS on a separate, slow drive. The WD 7200 drives I have a essentially silent.
 
1) The AC F7Pro is quieter than the stock Intel fan and has PWM, so your board can control the fan speed. Nonetheless, it'll probably still be your loudest component, since your vidcard is fanless and your HDD is the GP model.

2) answered above

3) Yes. The WD6400AAKS drives are still pretty quiet and perform much better than the GP line of drives. If you want 750GB, go for the Samsung F1 series drive instead. Samsung is known for making quiet drives in the computer industry (aside from their great monitors).

4) It should.

5) All you need is 256MB. That GPU is too weak to take advantage of 512MB.
 
1) Close to silent. The component that would produce the most noise ould be the AC7 Pro in my opinion. I have one myself and it is borderline quiet.

2) I think it would be a bit hot due to all the drives and single fan.

3) The 5400RPM will impeded game performance. As for normal tasks and music, there will be a slight performance hit judging from how my laptop with its 5400RPM drive works. Considering that the 80Gb drive you chose is IDE/PATA, I recommend getting an SATA drive instead. Usually an SATA drive will outperform an IDE drive due to the fact that most techonological enhancements with hard drives has been done with SATA drives.

4) Should fit

6) Haven't tried Linux with newer hardware so can't comment. I usually use linux with older rigs.

Oh and ditch the sound card. Onboard audio has gotten pretty good these past few years so I highly recommend checking out the onboard sound first. If the onboard sound isn't up to your standards, then get the sound card.
 
Well, I have decided to ditch the soundcard and the 80GB hard drive.

Another person I was talking too was convinced that the psu would not be enough to power that computer, and that I would be in for big problems. Is this true? This person also says that he thinks the video card heatsink would be in conflict with the chipset heatsink. Does anybody know?

Does anybody think that there is a quieter alternative to the arctic silver 7?
 
Ditch the Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 and put in a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme and get a 120mm Noctura fan, it should be close to dead silent. That case can fit it so you won't have problems. If you do not plan to be gaming on the machine i suggest you use the onboard video the Intel GMA 3100 works great on my ubuntu distro.

You won't have a problem with the stock Earthwatts psu that comes with the case. Antec has rated that psu exactly to spec, which means It would support a 8800gtx video card with a quad core if you wanted. Also SilentPCReviews say that psu is almost up to par with noise with the seasonic ones.
 
To the OP:

that case is horrible. and hardly "mini" by most people's standards.
 
Funky_Junk said:
Another person I was talking too was convinced that the psu would not be enough to power that computer, and that I would be in for big problems. Is this true? This person also says that he thinks the video card heatsink would be in conflict with the chipset heatsink. Does anybody know?

Does anybody think that there is a quieter alternative to the arctic silver 7?
Click to expand...

There are 27A on the +12V rail of that EA380, so it has more than enough juice to handle your parts list. Modern systems draw power mostly from the +12v rails, and most of that PSU's power is skewed to that rail, so you're good.

It looks like the heatsink on the back of the vidcard is high enough to clear the chipset heatsink. Even if it isn't, there's a PCI-E 1x slot between that PCI-E 16x slot and the heatsink, so it will most likely fit anyways. If not, you can also pickup a thermalright HR-05 or HR-05-SLI to not only improve chipset cooling, but also get the heatsink out of the vidcards way -- but I doubt you'll need to since there's a slot worth of space above the vidcard.

While the TRUE120 + Noctua fan will be silent, its rather expensive and huge. If you want something smaller, the Ultima90 + S-Flex 120mm low speed fan would work great. If you'd rather have a full tower cooler, the Xigmatek HDT-S1283, ZEROtherm Nirvana, or Noctua NH-U12P (you're best solution, IMO). Here are some HSF suggestions, but not sure if they'll all fit in your case choice.

$35 - Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja Plus Rev.B CPU HSF (optional $5 Thermalright LGA775 Bolt-Thru-Kit)
$37 - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
$46 - Thermalright Ultima 90 CPU HS + FBA09A12M - Z ($3)
$50 - ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler ($10 MIR)
$59 - Noctua NH-U12P Universal heatsink
$57 - Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme CPU HS + Scythe S-Flex Fan SFF21E ($15)
 
import said:
To the OP:

that case is horrible. and hardly "mini" by most people's standards.
Click to expand...

Does anyone else think I should reconsider the case? I really want something small (in the area of 16 inches in height or smaller) does anyone have any suggestions?
 
Nobody is going to state that the Lite On drive is loud?

Get the Samsung SATA DVD Drive instead...
 
I use Panaflo Hydrowave fans for my 92mm sizes. Jab-tech has some cheap ones. They're a bit loud (30dB) to some people, so you may want to mod them or get a FanMate fan controller or similar.

tzk said:
Nobody is going to state that the Lite On drive is loud?
Click to expand...

We were waiting for you. ;)
 
The TJ08 is better constructed and has slightly better airflow since the rear and front fan grills are relatively thin. The rear and front fan grill for the CM340 is kind of thick and will impede airflow. Nor does it come with any fans.

With that said, I'd recommend going with the CM340 if you're willing to mod the case a little. Just buy a compound action/aviation snip or dremel, cut out the grills and buy some Yate Loon 120mm fans. With all of that done, you'll get a case that cools just as well as that Silverstone TJ08.
 
Does anybody think the had mounts for the hard drives along with the big front grill on the Cooler Master would let too much noise out?
 
once you changed all the fans to silent ones the loudest component will be the hard drive.

Even if the HDs are relatively silent they will cause vibrations amplified by the case if not decoupled.

My current silent system is cooled by 3 noctua NF-S12 (running ~0 to 500rpm) but it wasn't silent until I exchanged the green power HD for a 2.5'' one held in the case by a few rubber bands.
I haven't tested the GP decoupled, it might be silent enough. But screwed into the case metal to metal it will be the only clearly audible component.
 
OP,

The Antec Mini P180 is probably the quietest mATX case available.

Also, the Scythe Ninja is (still) the best passive CPU cooler on the market. You can use it and rely solely on the rear exhaust fan for airflow.

Third, consider getting Scythe Slipstream fans. I myself have the 1200 RPM model and have found it to be quieter than any Noctua, SFlex, or Yate Loon fan I've heard (at comparable RPMs). They also push more airflow (more blades) at the same RPM.
 
JaYp146 said:
Antec P18x series is generally regarded to be the quietest series of cases on the market.
Click to expand...

The OP is looking for a small silent mATX case, so the P18x series isn't a good choice for him.
 
What do you think would be quieter:

1. Antec Solo w/ stock earthwatts 380 PSU

2. Cooler Master 340 with Corsair VX450 PSU

I think the Solo has a noisier PSU, but the Cooler Master might let out more noise because of the expansive front grill.
 
Funky_Junk said:
What do you think would be quieter:

1. Antec Solo w/ stock earthwatts 380 PSU

2. Cooler Master 340 with Corsair VX450 PSU

I think the Solo has a noisier PSU, but the Cooler Master might let out more noise because of the expansive front grill.
Click to expand...

Solo has elastic for HDD suspension (case won't resonate) and acoustically dampened side panels (Polycarbonate sheeting). Better overall in terms of noise reduction.

The stock PSU you mentioned (380w Earthwatts) is fairly quiet. The VX450, however, will definitely be quieter and is one of the top near-silent PSUs recommended by SilentPCReview.

Spend the extra money to get the best of both worlds (VX and Solo). :)
 
The Solo is outside of my budget so I have to turn to the NSK4480.
How does that compare to the Cooler Master 340 with Corsair VX450?
It doesn't have the dampened panels or the elastic HDD suspension...

Are there any other PSU's around $70 that are quieter than the corsair?
 
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