Silent fans

[Evil Baby]

I've come to the conclusion that my computer is way too loud so I would like some help on what case fans/cpu fan/power supply I should buy. I'm looking for something mid-range. I don't want to spend a lot of money on it.


Also I've been looking to upgrade my video card. I settled on a 6600GT, but I was wondering if it was a loud card compared to the 9800 pro?

[jollyeskimo]

I've come to the conclusion that my computer is way too loud so I would like some help on what case fans/cpu fan/power supply I should buy. I'm looking for something mid-range. I don't want to spend a lot of money on it.

Also I've been looking to upgrade my video card. I settled on a 6600GT, but I was wondering if it was a loud card compared to the 9800 pro?

Fans: yate loons are cheap and quiet. Nexus' are quiet as well, but a bit pricier. Depends on size.

which maker/brand of 6600GT do you have? it really depends on the card, but generally it'll be a bit on the loud side anyways.

As for cpu heatsink/power supply, what are you specs?




For more of this kinda stuff, check out silentpcreview.com

[Txiasaeia]

Case fans: Nexus makes good quiet case fans. I have a couple down-volted to 7v. Panaflo makes some good low airflow fans that have a better flow/noise ratio than Nexus, even if Nexus fans are, on the whole, quieter.

CPU fan: Again, I use a Nexus 90mm, but this one I leave at 12v.

Power supply: my Seasonic S12-330 is virtually silent and is solid to boot.

Video card: heh, you're going to love this one. I've got a stock ATI X800 Pro card that had a whiny little 50mm fan on it. I took just the fan off, leaving the heatsink still there, and tied (!) an 80mm fan to blow into the spot where the fan used to be. Don't know about a 6600GT, whether the fan can be removed, but this jury-rigged fan keeps my video card perfectly cool and keeps the silence level down too. It looks mickey-mouse, but a $10 fan was cheaper than a $50 replacement heatsink/fan combo that probably wouldn't have been any quieter anyway.

[jollyeskimo]

well for 6600gt's, the thermalright v1's are a very affordable upgrade for the heatsink.... at like 20-25 bucks, it's cheap and effective. Not quite as cheap as a fan strapped onto the stock sink, but with it you get a big increase in surface area, which is a good idea for quiet setups.

[Evil Baby]

Fans: yate loons are cheap and quiet. Nexus' are quiet as well, but a bit pricier. Depends on size.

which maker/brand of 6600GT do you have? it really depends on the card, but generally it'll be a bit on the loud side anyways.

As for cpu heatsink/power supply, what are you specs?




For more of this kinda stuff, check out silentpcreview.com

Haha, yeah I knew I forgot to add some info on that.

I have a p4 3.06 Northbridge. Socket 478 I believe is the number

[Amourek]

A few things to consider... Pretty much all new video cards these days have a howler of a fan on them and in most cases will be the loudest thing in your system. I have a variety of fans in my system, some loud, some quiet but they're all silent since I've got them hooked up to a fan controller - definitely something that should be considered. Also try using Speedfan - it's software that allows you to control one or more of the fan headers on your mobo (depending on which model you got). I have it controlling my CPU fan so it spins at 40% speed but ramps up if the temperature goes up.



For budget silencing I would suggest:

Case fans: Coolermaster (80mm or 120mm depending on what size your fan placements are) - quite quiet, not as silent as Nexus or SilenX but honestly, silent enough for 99% of users. Cheap as fcuk.

CPU heatsink/fan: Zalman 7000ALCU - can easily handle your P4 3.06, has high compatibility rate (but check the site to see if your motherboard is listed), and is pretty cheap at $30-$35. Spending an extra $5 on the all-copper version isn't a bad idea either. There are better choices out there if you want to spend $50 or more, but I don't think any other heatsink will give you as much bang per buck.

Power Supply: Fortron/Sparkle with 120mm fan. Dual +12V rail, very quiet, and cheap cheap cheap - just picked up a 400W from NCIX for $40. OCZ Modstream and Enermax Noisetaker are also good choices but more expensive. Seasonic is the best but will cost you an arm and a leg. If you don't mind violating your warranty, you can also fan-mod your current PSU.

Video Card: Thermalright V1 or Zalman VF700-CU. The Thermalright is cheap ~ $25, but haven't seen many reviews on it - its big brother the V-1 Ultra has been getting glowing reviews though but is double the price. You can pick your own fan(s) for it if you want. The Zalman is very popular as it's super-easy to install and performs quite well. Costs about $35. Avoid the ALCU; the all-copper version performs much better. I would recommend Arctic Silencers, but I find they're not quiet enough for my liking... might be enough for you though. I also question the quality of their coolers as I've seen a few Silencers develop bad fans and there's no easy way to replace them.

[jollyeskimo]

Yeah AC (Arctic Cooling) has some serious fan quality issues.. most of their models use nonstandard fan designs, so dead fans can't easily be replaced. A etailer friend of mine carries AC but now shudders at the thought since he's had to deal with so many fan-related issues.

oh, and ditto on the CPU heatsink suggestion for the Zalman CNPS7k. Comes with fan controller too, so if full speed is too loud, you can tune it down to your liking. If you want to take it a step further, a popular mod for the CNPS7000's is to swap the fan for a quieter 92mm model like a nexus or yate loon/etc... I did it to my old one and it was really quiet (I daresay silent) until I had to upgrade platforms and ditch the heatsink.