Silent computers

P

perplex

Gawd
Joined
May 25, 2005
Messages
773
Has anyone bought a OEM computer or made their own computer that is "inaudible" ?

If so name the company and/or the hardware components please!

(I'm particularly interested if Any OEM actually sell quiet computers also)
 
I've got a Pentium M based desktop in an AOpen barebones that's inaudible with the exception of the HDD. Its got a passively cooled 6600 and the barebones comes with a silent cooling solution. If you put your ear up to the case you might hear it in a quiet room making a low whirring sound. Your breathing will likely be much louder though.
 
Now it seems they make everything in a Silent model.

You can get silent PSU's with no fans... silent case fans, graphic cards with passive heatsinks only, motherboards with no fans, processors that require very little cooling, and may not even require a fan (Pentium M?. I know some slower clocked VIA processors don't require a fan, although I don't think your looking into VIA as an option). Obviously, the less fans the better, although if you must, some people highly recommend SilenX fans. I have never used them, but they say they are quiter then the Vantec Stealth's.

There are even some cases with sound dampening things pre installed.

Is performance a priority? If not, you can go for a low voltage model of the Pentium M, and should be able to cool it with nothing more then some artic silver 5 thermal compound and a good Thermalright XP90 with no fan (although, a silent fan won't hurt)

There are a few Lian Li cases which they consider "silent", in that they have extra features to try and dampen noise. These include the Lian Li PC-6070(silent), PC767, and PC-73SL. I'm not sure how much you intend to spend, but these are a little on the pricey side.
http://www.xoxide.com/lianli2.html

If you really wanted to go extream, and performance was'nt an issue at all, they have some extreamly small systems(smaller then some laptops) that use no fans at all, and very low power compenents. (such as for Car PC's)

~Hope this helps

Edit: On a side note, I have a Lian Li PC75 case, with 4 vantec stealth 80mm fans, two ADDA silent 80mm fans (with speed controler on front of case), a panasonic panaflo 92mm fan (rated at 30db max), a fan on the Evga 6800GT graphic card, and a fan on my PC P&C 510XE. The only thing that makes noise is the PC P&C 510XE.
I'm sitting one foot away from my computer right now, and its about 3 feet below me. I can faintly hear it. My laptop makes about the same amount of noise. The case has no sound dampening things added to it eaither. Just go a little above and beyond, and you will have a silent computer.
 
I don't know if newegg is the same, but on the tigerdirect web site, you can see the dBA (decibels) listed on many heatsinks. If the dBA rating is not there, or the expected lifetime hours, I don't order. That simple.
 
forumposter32 said:
I don't know if newegg is the same, but on the tigerdirect web site, you can see the dBA (decibels) listed on many heatsinks. If the dBA rating is not there, or the expected lifetime hours, I don't order. That simple.
Click to expand...
As a general rule of thumb, its always a good idea to double check with the offical manufacturer for noise. Sometimes online retailers have specs for an older version, or sometimes its just plain wrong. I know for the Panasonic panaflo from newegg, the sound in db is not what is claimed at panasonics website.
 
There are also (near) silent optical drives now - samsung make them with vibration damping. I believe the Pioneer DVR-109 also has something along those lines.
 
mpegripper said:
silenx fans are your friends, that is if u want silent with decent cfm
Click to expand...

actually no. silenx fans have a bad reputation of having bullshit claims like "14db" that are far from fact.
 
perplex said:
actually no. silenx fans have a bad reputation of having bullshit claims like "14db" that are far from fact.
Click to expand...
Oh, do you own any? Because people who have owned some have liked them very much from what I have heard. They say quiter then the Vantec Stealth, which is quite.
I was thinking of picking up a few for my case. Too bad places like newegg don't carry any yet.
 
towert7 said:
Oh, do you own any? Because people who have owned some have liked them very much from what I have heard. They say quiter then the Vantec Stealth, which is quite.
I was thinking of picking up a few for my case. Too bad places like newegg don't carry any yet.
Click to expand...

Maybe maybe not but you may want to read about hte scandal that happened over at silentpcreview.
 
towert7 said:
Oh, do you own any? Because people who have owned some have liked them very much from what I have heard. They say quiter then the Vantec Stealth, which is quite.
I was thinking of picking up a few for my case. Too bad places like newegg don't carry any yet.
Click to expand...

i was refering to this
Spectre said:
Maybe maybe not but you may want to read about hte scandal that happened over at silentpcreview.
Click to expand...
also.


but sorry i sounded a bit too harsh but in comparison to competition like Nexus (~20db) it is louder considering it's supposed to be "14db"? lol - this is the impression of countless Silenx owners on silentpcreview
 
all i know is that their customer service is awesome and the fans are quiet, may not actually be 14db, but its a hell of a lot quieter than my old vantec stealths
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top