Quiet PC

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Re83L

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Hi guys.

I'm looking to build a very quiet PC.
It will not really be used for gaming, and I'm still considering the components that will go into it (CPU, mobo, #HDDs etc etc). (Will most likely go i5, but definitely quad-core)

Any suggestions regarding the following components though:

Case - (Not too large - not CM690 etc size)
Fans to use in case.
PSU
CPU fan - (should I use the standard HSF or what can I get that is less noisy?)
Maybe GPU..

Should I consider cheap watercooling?

I'm really clueless when it comes to building a silent pc, so any ideas would be great.

Budget: Nothing too extraordinarily expensive.

Thanks!
 
Cheap water cooling still winds up having a fan on it and sometimes can be noisy. Will only confirm the noise level on my H50 when I get the damn AMD bracket :P

The key to this is to find parts that don't generate heat in the first place. From what I've seen the latest video cards are quite power hungry and put out lots of heat. So gaming PC and ultra quiet won't go in hand so well. Ofcourse, you can just turn up the sound when blasting critters away.

Also note that even though you can find the quietest fan out there, you're still going to get noise from the air rushing pass the vent openings on the case.

Antec, I think, have a chassis built for quiet operation. Can't recall the name? P180 or Sonata or something like that.
 
Hey, I'm sort of on that mission too. Small room, the fans become annoying after a while. Have a Stacker 830 case with 4 fans on the side. To get fans that remain silent during their life costs a bit. :(
 
MadMailMan said:
Why do you need/want something that is dead silent? Is it for your living room?
Click to expand...

Yes, the pc is in the living room.
I wonder if it's possible to combine the pc into being a normal browsing/relaxed working pc and a media center in one.

It doesn't need to be dead silent, I'm just looking to minimise noise and I'm willing to pay a grand or two more than normal budget to achieve that.
 
Should I consider cheap watercooling?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't, personally. Watercooling is a mission, especially when it's done on the cheap.

I'd get Zalman air coolers for the CPU and GPU. (Whatever model is compatible with what you're gonna get - the latest ones, I'd guess.) They're very quiet, and very effective too.

Also, try to make sure your case has big (120mm+) fans, and that there are only one or two of them.

The fewer hard drives that go in, the better. They generate a lot of heat and noise. Solid-state drives are sweet bliss, but they're probably not economical for a media PC as yet - too small relative to their price.
 
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Frag said:
Yes, the pc is in the living room.
I wonder if it's possible to combine the pc into being a normal browsing/relaxed working pc and a media center in one.

It doesn't need to be dead silent, I'm just looking to minimise noise and I'm willing to pay a grand or two more than normal budget to achieve that.
Click to expand...

Get an Atom based mini ITX PC. Asus amongst others make them. Passive cooling. NO fans!! New ones have HDMI and even a Blu ray player. Slap windows (or Linux) on it, XBMC and a bloutand keyboard and mouse of your choice. Viola!

I'll try find a linkypoo for one or two. :D
 
Doubt that'd play games like a normal desktop with decent graphics card.
 
TheRift said:
Doubt that'd play games like a normal desktop with decent graphics card.
Click to expand...

That's why I asked if it was for the living room. Not to mention the OP said it wasn't really for gaming. Besides who connects a gaming rig to their TV in the living room? :confused:
 
MadMailMan said:
That's why I asked if it was for the living room. Not to mention the OP said it wasn't really for gaming. Besides who connects a gaming rig to their TV in the living room? :confused:
Click to expand...

ME!

:D

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/album.php?albumid=542&pictureid=3855
:cool:

EDIT:

That ASRock thing looks good :D That + NAS = Rad. Can it rip & encode DVDs? Wonder how long that'd take, and if it'd get noisy.

BTW, my PC (in Pic) is pretty quiet if not gaming. It's only the PSU that sometimes ramps up. Need to sort that out :( So- watch what you buy in that dept :)
 
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I have an Antec Fusion V2 in my living room. Cpu being cooled passively. Cant hear the machine from 3m away at all. Has nice big quality slow fans that are like a ninja on tiptoes.
Remote for media center, wireless kb/m for browsing. It also torrents all day and stores all my shizzle on 2 x 1TB drives.

Your case and fan choice is crucial.

Sugar Sweet.
 
TheRift said:
It's only uncool until you try it. :D
Click to expand...


It's not the cool factor that is an issue. I'm just not willing to stop playing because wifee wants to watch Desperate Horsewives. Besides I got me a 24" screen on my PC with some big-ass speakers so who cares how loud my fans get. :D

I can get the BD jobby (4GB RAM, 320GB HDD) for about 500CHF (about R4000) without an OS. But I will then need the Logitech DiNovo mini bloutand keyboard to go with it. :D :D :D :D KICKASS!!!
 
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