Reeally loud PC

[miazmaticdotcom]

Right now I have a 1.6GHz Duron in my PC with a cheapass Coolermaster HSF. Plans to upgrade to an AXP 3200+ in the near future.

I've narrowed my noise sources down to the CPU HSF and the two hard drives. I tried building the cardboard muffler, putting lots of cardboard and foam inside the case, etc, but it didn't really seem to help. I'm thinking of upgrading it to a Seagate hard drive because those are really quiet.

However, when it comes to the CPU cooler... will the stock one that comes with the 3200+ be quiet enough? If not, which other ones might I look at?

 

[NeuroMaster]

Stock isn't awful. It cools decently, and it is decently quiet. It'll do the job. That being said, if you're going to the trouble of upgrading to a new processor, why not treat yourself to something better?

You might think about getting the slk-900 heatsink. It's one of the best air coolers on the market (I assume you're not interested in watercooling), and since it doesn't come with a fan, you can choose one at precisely your noise level. Since it'll accept anything from 60mm to 92mm, you can choose an ultra-quiet fan and still get good cooling, or you can choose a more powerful one and get really excellent cooling.

Dunno about any specific hard drives myself, but keep an eye out for ones that advertise fluid dynamic bearings. There're a few hard drives out there aimed specifically at low-noise applications.

 

[miazmaticdotcom]

Ok, an SLK-900 and a fluid bearing HD. I want to stay at 7200 RPM, though, because I imagine 10000RPM HDs are even hotter and louder. Water cooling is not an option.

There was that website that was selling prefab "silent" PCs, maybe I should look into those.

 

[Az2]

Try using PAX-MATE sound reduction mats.
I really need to get something like that. (My PC is INSANELY LOUD!!!)

I also suggest a larger fan for your CPU cooler. Larger fans can push more air with a lower speed which equates to lower noise.

 

[stumpy]

The stock hsf's are normally pretty quiet, but they won't perform as well as far as temps and overclocking go.

 

[SEALTeamSix]

There was that website that was selling prefab "silent" PCs, maybe I should look into those.

Prefabs are more expensive and probably worse than the results you can get if you apply yourself.

I can personally recommend a Zalman 7000Cu or 7000Al-Cu for silent CPU cooling. They come in Socket A and Socket 478 flavors, and do a great job and keeping things cool at very low noise levels.

As for silencing your computer... http://www.7volts.com/quiet.htm

-SEAL

 

[CallMeIshmael]

I second the Zalman CNPS 7000 recommendation, and add that the guys at Silent PC Review seem to favor the Samsung Spinpoint series of HDDs for quiet.

 

[Helmut]

Go with one of the newer Samsung fluid bearing drives. I put one in mine and literally can not hear the thing.

 

[jackbauer]

i had a problem with my comp being really load even after i put h2o on the cpu and gpu. i finally modded my psu and put some TT8025 case fans in it and it dropped the noise drasticlly. try that. might save you some $$$

 

[Thermite Paste]

if your going to get an athlon xp, just get the xp 2500 and overclock it. same speed, 100 dollars less.

also, make sure you get the Tt extreme volcanoe 12. its real quiet

 

[MiXdNuTs]

if your going to get an athlon xp, just get the xp 2500 and overclock it. same speed, 100 dollars less.

Ture. But make sure that you get the XP-Mobile. It costs a little more but will let you run it cooler at a speed of at least 3200+ guarented. Cooler CPU = Quieter cooling solution.
Use the large chunk of change that you save by buying a XP2500 Mobile and spend that on silent cooling fans/HSF/matting/etc.