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HTPC 0% Noise

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freituk

n00b
Joined
Apr 11, 2011
Messages
29
Hello guys

I need your help to build HTPC with no Noise.

Don't you hate when movie go silent, the sound of your HTPC fans.

So i already have my HTPC, just want to remove all fans.

Its Possible?

My case its big and my cpu its a e6600

Thanks

Sidenote: Apple almost did it with 2011 mac mini, 1 fan for all. But seems like when playing mkv, the fan become noisy and i5/i7 scale to 90ºc :eek:
 
e-350. my htpc is quieter than the ambient noise of devices in other rooms and life outside my apartment.
 
Yes it is possible. But your psu might be an issue unless you buy a fanless one.
 
jeremyshaw said:
with an E-350, mITX passive mobo, you could use a PicoPSU, which would be fanless :)
Click to expand...

;)

even with the silverstone psu that came with my case, it's quieter than ambient noise. hell, it's quieter than the air coming out of the a/c vent.
 
humm e-350 its like atom? i had an atom, but couldn't play 1080 mvk.
Anyway i don't want to change my base components, just want to remove my fans.
Changing all to passive dissipators maybe?
I can buy a new PSU, need advice. Its possible to use laptop PSU? that PSU don't have fans, and can be placed outside the case, removing one thermal source (win-win)

Thanks
 
if you want to passively cool an e6600 you're gonna need a pretty big heatsink. something along the lines of a megahalems. i don't know of any passive psu that will power that cpu.

the e-350 plays 1080 mkv just fine.
 
freituk said:
humm e-350 its like atom? i had an atom, but couldn't play 1080 mvk.
Anyway i don't want to change my base components, just want to remove my fans.
Changing all to passive dissipators maybe?
I can buy a new PSU, need advice. Its possible to use laptop PSU? that PSU don't have fans, and can be placed outside the case, removing one thermal source (win-win)

Thanks
Click to expand...

e-350 has the CPU performance of Atom (a bit better, though), but integrates something like a HD5450 with UVD3 into it, so it can play nearly any 1080p content with ease.
 
I have an e5200 with a Samuel 17 cooler and picoPSU. The only fan is the CPU fan, which also acts as the northbridge fan. I can't hear it from seating distance, I won't claim it's perfectly silent as even solid state devices generate noise. I use the IGP on the motherboard, but you can find fan-less video cards for HTPC duty. Everybody has different tolerances when it comes to noise so without actual sound level readings the suggestions in this thread are very YMMV. You really don't need a perfectly silent setup, just one that is quiet enough for the distance you are sitting from the TV.


I don't know your current setup, but make sure the case isn't crammed in the entertainment center or cabinet cooking next to your other components. You'd be surprised how much fans ramp up when the PC is getting soaked in heat from other devices.
 
No air movement isn't a wise idea. I mean you can do it but either you land up buying really expensive shit or getting gimpy power. Even a little air movement goes a long ways to balancing cost & capability vs silence. A GOOD 120mm fan undervolted does a nice job on most systems.
 
You don't need zero noise - you need imperceptible noise from the seating position when not playing anything (or even better, when playing video with the sound muted). You need to go through all the components of your system and determine what sources of noise are most noticeable by you. Likely causes:

1. PSU fan;
2. CPU fan;
3. GPU fan;
4. Case fans;
5. Hard drive (spinning);
6. Hard drive (vibration).

The most important thing is running your fans slowly. In my HTPCs I run all fans (CPU, GPU, case) on 5V (in the case of the CPU and GPU this means being plugged into molex via adaptors). I also use a PicoPSU meaning no fan noise from PSU (and the main heat-generating part is outside the case).

For an E6600 this might not be overly feasible, depending on how good airflow you get through the case. You might be able to achieve it with a better HSF, but that's cost with no guaranteed results.

If you do go for a PicoPSU, be aware of the maximum amps available. With the 160W the max with 12V is 10A. I've found in practice that this is not enough to reliably run my E2140 + G210 + an optical drive (no HD - I use OpenELEC installed to USB) - I get occasional spontaneous reboots. Taking the optical drive out makes it completely stable. I wouldn't try it at all on an E6600 with any less-powerful PicoPSU.

If you're suffering hard drive noise, try suspending your hard drive using thick rubber bands. Makes an extraordinary difference.
 
Well, worst case, he gets a fanless X400 or X460 from seasonic, though for his power load levels, a X760 or AX750 (from Seasonic and Corsair, respectively) will do, since the fan doesn't turn on below 200W or so. And the X400 is about as much as the X 760, last I checked.
 
Trepidati0n said:
No air movement isn't a wise idea. I mean you can do it but either you land up buying really expensive shit or getting gimpy power. Even a little air movement goes a long ways to balancing cost & capability vs silence. A GOOD 120mm fan undervolted does a nice job on most systems.
Click to expand...

I would get GT AP-12s or AP-13s. AP-12s are dead silent. There are some PSU fans that only turn on during high loads. Get an SSD. Buy sound deading material. Undervolt your CPU and get a giant heatsink.
 
those hdplex cases are nice. Very pricey but very nice. Gonna have to take a closer look at their offerings.
 
Zacate and picoPSU are damn quiet. q6600 isn't an ideal HTPC cpu.

Aside, the color wheel and lamp cooling fans in my TV are much louder than my HTPC.
 
Lot of good info here, thanks guys!!!

Ok, so based in what i read here, this is my plan:

No point doing 0 noise.
So i can use 1 or 2 bing fans under-voltage for case.
Can under-voltage my cpu cooler.
Then i can buy one of this seasonic x-560.
My GPU is already passive.
My HDD's seem to be silent.

Side notes:
I have 3 HDD's (3x2TB) and 1 Blu-ray drive.

My case
http://www.logicpc.co.il/eng/itdetail.aspx?icom=17970

Question: I have ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER 7 PRO REV 2 for CPU, this come with 4 pin connector. What is the best way to lock this cooler to lower rotation? My bios don't have that option.
 
It might not be an option for you but this was my solution.

I put the HTPC on a shelf in the basement below the TV then just ran HDMI and a USB cables through the floor. Attached my IR receiver and external drive and that was it.
 
You need to figure out your noise floor. Get a sound meter and measure it with nearby electronics off. Most people would be lucky to hit 30db. No point in aiming to get your PC under 30db if your noise floor is almost 40db like it is for me here in NYC.

Also remember that a few slow moving fans are much better subjectively then one fan moving quickly. I think too many people try to eliminate fans and then get very annoyed when the poor cpu or graphics card fan spins like crazy..

On my HTPC I am using 4 thermalright fdb fans (I got them for 10 bucks a pop on sale) and at 1000 or so rpm they are plenty quiet.. Bur I sit 7 foot away from my HTPC. Most people sit much farther away from their HPTC so actually quiet is LESS important then a desktop, IMHO.
 
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