How can I make this quieter?

G

Gohdan

n00b
Joined
Feb 7, 2005
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I just built a PC with:

AMD 64 3000+
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI
1GB Mushkin RAM (2 x 512)
2 6600GT
1 WD Raptor 10K SATA

All of this is in an Antec Plusview1000AMG. Right now, I have 5 of the Antec clear fans in the case. I'm using the retail AMD HSF. I'm not bothered by the noise when I sit by it; I work in a server room so I think I'm used to (or slightly deafened by) a good bit of fan noise by now. Plus, my aging fridge and air conditioner are actually louder than it is. However, when I'm in other rooms of my apartment, I can still hear it. Particularly in my bedroom, this is annoying.

I'd like to try and find some quieter fans, but I'm concerned about heat. These fans blow something around 34CFM if the specs aren't lying, and anything that looks quieter is closer to 20CFM. Part of the problem is I don't know what is safe or good when it comes to my temps.

My CPU currently does not go above 38 degrees (C). Even when I had pulled one fan out to cut the noise down, Folding@Home and Doom 3 didn't move it beyond 38. My 6600GTs run a little warmer, and they worry me. Right now, I haven't done any gaming or folding since bootup 20 minutes ago, and GPU1 is at 44 degrees and GPU2 is at 38 (core temps). They tend to stay about 10 degrees apart like that. Usually after a good bit of Doom 3 GPU1 makes it up to 51-53 and GPU2 is around 48-50.

Using MSI CoreCenter, I usually slow down the CPU fan to 1200RPMs or so while I'm not doing anything heavy. I find that at about 2200RPMs the fan starts making a hum that I notice over the other fans. During normal work without folding running the CPU stays at 33-34 degrees. I usually run the fan at maximum speed when gaming or leaving the computer (Folding@Home is in screensaver mode), but it doesn't seem to make a difference to the CPU temp, which always climbs to 38 degrees and stops.

So my question is what can I do to quiet this down? If I use fans with less airflow, what are dangerous temperatures I should be watching for?
 
well, your temps are nothig to worry about. they are very low, in fact. assuming that your sensors are reading accurately, of course............heheheh............

if you feel like doing things the cheap way, rather than getting more expensive fans, which would work(i reccomend panaflo fans whole-heartedly, BTW), or shelling out for a fan controller(i use a vantec nexus for some of my fans), which would also work, you could just 7volt your case fans.

there are plenty of places that offer tips and tricks for doing it, but i think that the easy way to do it is to

1) make sure that you have something running normally off that given daisy chain of molex connector coming from the PSU. (HDD CD-ROM, whatever)

2) take something like a molex "Y" splittler, or a molex extension cable (many vid cards requiring external power include them in the box, so a friend might have an extra one)

3) snip the 5 volt line and the 12 volt ground wires of the "Y"cables

4) strip about 1 cm of wire at the ends of the cut wires

5) marette or solder the 5 volt line supply end to the 12 volt ground fan end

6) wrap the join in electrical tape.

now for the check: you should end up with NO wires coming from the supply, going directly back TO the supply. you shold have crossed wires over each other, but not looped any back. DO NOT plug anything other than a fan into you newly modded splitter. DO plug something into one of the other molex connectors on the daisy chain coming from the PSU.

the difference between +12 and +5 volts is +7 volts. a fan plugged into that molex will now recieve +7 volts, and run somewhat slower and more quietly.

it is safe, if you know what you are doing, and really cheap.
 
oh, if you mess this up, you PSU should automatically shut down immediately.

if that happens after connecting in the modded cable, unplug the computer from the wall, remove the modded "y" connector, hook the fans up normallyl, then plug back into the wall, cross you fingers and try to power on again.

nothing bad SHOULD happen if you mess it up, since the safty features in the PSU are supposed to prevent just that, but cross your fingers none the less.
 
DFI Daishi said:
oh, if you mess this up, you PSU should automatically shut down immediately.

if that happens after connecting in the modded cable, unplug the computer from the wall, remove the modded "y" connector, hook the fans up normallyl, then plug back into the wall, cross you fingers and try to power on again.

nothing bad SHOULD happen if you mess it up, since the safty features in the PSU are supposed to prevent just that, but cross your fingers none the less.
Click to expand...

Two questions. First, how do you tell which wire is the +5v? Second, is it possible to take it down even further, so the fan only runs at 5 instead of 7?



 
First, replace your stock AMD HSF with a Zalman CNPS7000/7700 or other flower-type heatsink. This will replace your 60ish-mm CPU fan with a 92-120 model.
Then, get some aftermarkets for your 6600s, like the VF700 (also Zalman), or NV Silencer.
Next, see how many of your 80mm case fans can be replaced with 120mm versions.
Finally, if all else fails, check how loud your power supply is, and think of replacing it with a variable-fan-speed PSU, or something with (you guessed it) one (preferably) or two 120mm fans.
 
I would do this mod. It should make your fans quieter. Another thing that you can do is purchase a Akasa.PaxMat . I bought one and it has made my case quieter overall. It dampens the high pitch. Arctic Silencer also released NV Silencer (Rev. 2) which is compatible with the 6600s.
 
+12 volt is yellow, +5 is red.

wiring fan to +5 and ground will make fin go slower still.

most fans are rated down to 7 volts. if you take the fan down below that, and it stops on it's own, bad luck for you. if you only take it down to 7 and it stops, you have SOME grounds for complaint.

i have had some success with paxmate, however i found that rather a lot of noise made it out through the holes for my case fans and PSU fan. putting a piece of carpet up against the wall helps too, either on it's own or incombination with the akaska.

and yeah, if you want a really quiet system, then replace every heatsink and fan in there with something aftermarket. i just thought that starting with a cheap, easy and SIMPLE mod would be a good idea, and then you can proceed from there. for myself, i would reccomend the thermalright XP-120 as opposed to the zalmans.
 
Replacing the case and CPU fans are simple enough, I may fool with the 7v mod while I'm pooling the money for it all. I'd love to do 120mm fans, but my case only has clips for mounting and it doesn't appear to have screw mounts behind the clips, so I'm stuck with 80mm.

My only real concern is the aftermarket video coolers. They'll fit even if I'm using the two cards in SLI, right? How risky is it to install them? I've done a few hardware projects here and there, and I'm mainly just curious if there's any "forget this and you're toast" steps along the way.

I think what I really need to do first is figure out just what is making all the noise. There's one distinct humming noise and I can't tell if it's all the fans combining to make it or if it's one specific fan. I think it would benefit me to unplug every fan (except CPU of course) and try powering one fan at a time to see where the noise is coming from. Then I know where to start throwing money.

I appreciate the suggestions. I haven't followed the community much so I'm at a loss for what parts are good quality and what aren't.
 
http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=149&code=013

these claim to be fully compatible with your style of video cards.

zalman instructions are pretty comprehensive, and include pointers on what to check as you go along to avoid problems.

the main place that you can really mess up an installation is when you are seating the cooler on the core. you need to make sure that it is fully engaged. use your eyes, and your brain and it should work fine for you.

i fully encourage you to proceed with your proposed testing. slow and steady progress is definately the best way to go at a project like this. sometimes many fans running at the same speed can generate an annoying harmonic. no way to know if it is one fan or all that are making that annoying sounds except testing.

keep up the good work!
 
Holy smokes, guys! I just stuck 5 SilenX 14dba fans in this box and it is like a different machine! I'm watching the temp while running Folding@Home right now... it still seems to hover around 38 C, which is what I'm used to.

Now I have more questions, since I'm sure this case can still get much more quiet. First, the LED fan came with a 3-4 pin converter like I'm used to, but the other fans came with a converter that only has 2 pins instead of 3. I managed to figure out which one is ground, but will this make the fans spin slower?

Second, what are temperatures that I should be watching out for on this AMD 64 chip? I'm unsure what is too hot to be safe. I imagine it's somewhere in the 60s, but I'd like to know for sure.

I think the next loudest things are the video cards and the NB fan. Replacing the video coolers seems kind of dangerous for a klutz like me, but I'm willing to give it a shot. My only concern is fitting. I'm running 2 6600GTs in SLI, and it's a pretty tight fit (that's part of why one is 10 degrees warmer, I think). I didn't dig too deep at the Zalman page, but it looks like it would be a stretch trying to fit that thing between my two cards. The NV silencer may not be as big a deal, but I'm partial to Zalman products because they look nice to me. Can anyone with a similar setup tell me if either of the products fits well?

The NB fan is probably not an option for replacement. The 2nd video card extends over it, so unless there is some really low-profile fan I think I'm stuck with it. It's a shame, too, because I suspect that it is louder than the video cards are.
 
Dude. Just be happy you don't have a Zalman 80HP series cooler. Fuck, those things are long and annoying to assemble, not only that, but they need like a full tube of AS5.

The new VF700 Cu series looks incredibly promising. Honestly, i'd purchase one if I had the change in my pockets. You can't screw setting up up, it looks to be a matter of putting it on, tightening the screws, then going from there.
 
you might want to consider replacing your northbridge heatsink with one of these:

http://www.svc.com/zazmnobrhe.html

i replaced the northbridge cooler on my abit kt7a-raid with one of these. they're pretty easy to install, and completely noiseless since they're passively cooled.
 
gohdan: the zalman stuff is not too bad to put together, if you simply follow instructions and make sure that everything is lined up as the instructions say that it should be.

i actually suggested zalman in preferance to the VGA silencer because the zalman is smaller and more likely to fit than the silencers are.

krakenguy: i have a zalman 80HP running in my sister's machine, that i used to use myself, and i really don't find it hard to put together, so long as i line everything up properly to start with. the only time that i found the install to be difficult was when i got sloppy about lining the parts up with respect to the card. and as for complaining about the volume of thermal compound that you used to install it; the thing comes with decent thermal compound. you probably also smeared thermal compound far beyond where you were supposed to. i know why you did it, but it really doesn't make any difference if you compare temps with and without.
 
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