"Silent" PC, who's interested or done it?

[SlinkyMike]

A modern system puts out a lot of heat, so you'd definitely need a case that acts as a heat sink or fans. Possible both if you are going high end. But yeah the heat sink one would be passive, only thing you would hear (possible) is the whining from coils (transformer of the PSU, coils on the motherboard, etc.).

Also I phoned one place that is actually quite expensive on their stuff and they quoted me R80 or something per litre for transformer oil (so getting it cheaper is only a matter of phoning a couple of weld supply stores), I'd rather use that than consumer oils.


Not likely, oil is a much better conductor of heat than air, hence the reason they are used to passively cool transformers. Hot spots don't form unless you are running a multi-kW system

As I remember: mineral oil was the way to go...

Also, I hate to say it but the Mac mini is pretty much silent. I know it is not considered a 'PC' PC but it's true...
I'm using one as a media centre and it is silent for all intents and purposes. The optical drive makes a bit of a chug bur apart from that... silencio.

 

[d0b33]

Go liquid is all I'd say...

 

[Ancalagon]

I found, before buying the third party CPU cooler and acoustipack insulation, that the noise was loud enough to detract from my enjoyment of gaming. I probably cant express adequately how loud and annoying the stock AMD cooler is (or at least the one you get with older Athlon X2s and even the new Athlon II X4s). Its a little block of aluminium with a fan on top, no heatpipes or copper. And it created such a racket it put me off gaming. So although my PC may not be silent, its at least quiet now, and I can live with quiet.

 

[Archer]

As I remember: mineral oil was the way to go...

Also, I hate to say it but the Mac mini is pretty much silent. I know it is not considered a 'PC' PC but it's true...
I'm using one as a media centre and it is silent for all intents and purposes. The optical drive makes a bit of a chug bur apart from that... silencio.

There are several PCs that also fall into the small form factor segment. Its not a Mac thing by any stretch of the imagination. Use low power parts like the Intel Atom and nvidia Ion and you dont need fans at all.

I found, before buying the third party CPU cooler and acoustipack insulation, that the noise was loud enough to detract from my enjoyment of gaming. I probably cant express adequately how loud and annoying the stock AMD cooler is (or at least the one you get with older Athlon X2s and even the new Athlon II X4s). Its a little block of aluminium with a fan on top, no heatpipes or copper. And it created such a racket it put me off gaming. So although my PC may not be silent, its at least quiet now, and I can live with quiet.

The stock Phenom heatsink is not too bad, even has two heatpipes. But then again, I put it onto a Athlon X2 in my HTPC so its not exactly being stressed Buy an i7 an you get a taste of a useless heatsink, no heatpipes on a 130W part is just dumb.

 

[Gnome]

As I remember: mineral oil was the way to go...

Transformers use mineral oil They just call it transformer oil because it isn't scented or have any additives added that aren't essential for the purpose of conducting heat.

Also, I hate to say it but the Mac mini is pretty much silent. I know it is not considered a 'PC' PC but it's true...

They are but they are also out of my budget, this PC I'm building however should be as silent if not more so and it is still considerable cheaper than a Mac mini

The Mac doesn't use some kind of Steve Jobs magic they just use silent fans (3 of them).

I could probably make it more inaudible by adding a completely passive PSU and SSD but both are out of my budget. This PC cost me R9000 which is all I have to spend.

 

[Palimino]

I don’t know much about liquid-cooling PC’s but a friend designed a liquid-cooling system for other electronics. The key component was a motorcycle radiator (small & neat). It worked well. On a PC it would probably work passively (without a fan) otherwise a single, silent fan on the radiator.

For the ultimate frigid and silent cooling system, use the above plumbing but fill it with refrigerant. Wrap some nichrome wire (toaster wire) around a section of pipe to heat the gas and supply pressure (like the compressor in a regular fridge). Totally silent and freezing. It incorporates the same principles as gas or paraffin camping fridges. Piping and valves would be available as spares from a camping outlet.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

Got a lovely little small-factor motherboard with a dual-core Intel Atom 800MHz on it. No fans, nothing. It doesn't even get hot.

Use it for a Smoothwall, and it performs quite well

 

[AcidT]

Do you have a review? I don't believe manufacturer claims, ever.

The components I bought were all reviewed by independent source (Coolmaster PSU by both Anandtech and Silent PC Review, Fans by Silent PC Review, Case by Silent PC Review), hence the reason I bought them. The fans were all measured in an acoustic chamber with a 10dB noise floor so it's very accurate measurements (normal rooms sit between 20-30dB ambient noise).

Check my signature...I own these products and speak of experience...

 

[frank_linde]

Ive got an Aerocool S9 case, it's got a 400mm fan on the side panel running at 400 RPMs so its ultra quiet.

It's also cheap and of good build quality

 

[Gnome]

So I've finally finished assembling the system, took some time because I had to wait for everything to arrive. Just some final pics and impressions.

Well first the impressions:

I've built some fairly quiet systems and I was prepared for this one to be quiet also, but this system is completely inaudible. I turn it on, I'm standing right next to it and nothing. Wonderful

PSU is the noisiest component, the Nexus fans are completely inaudible, I have to put my ear right up against them to tell they are running.

I also did some Prime95 testing and took some temperature readings using RealTemp.

On Idle I get: 19 Degrees
On Load I get: 50 Degrees (after about 3 hours)

I didn't overclock tho since the goal is silence. I might post some screenies if anyone is interested.

One last thing I definitely think the Sound Deadening is making a difference because the only time I can tell the PC is on if I put my ear on the rear of the PSU (and hear a faint noise from the PSU fan).

That said I'm runnign the Nexus fans @ 6.95v, I made my own fan connector with some stuff I had around and added some 5W 100ohm Resistors which I got from Electronics 123 for R2 ea.

Oh and I added a extra fan on the CPU for comfort, didn't make a difference in noise but some of the air also moves over the GFX card which makes it run much cooler (it runs very hot VS. everything else in the PC that is cold to the touch)

Anyway the final build - The inside from the top:

From the side:

The modded fan connectors:

 

[rayyan1881]

So I've finally finished assembling the system, took some time because I had to wait for everything to arrive. Just some final pics and impressions.

Well first the impressions:

I've built some fairly quiet systems and I was prepared for this one to be quiet also, but this system is completely inaudible. I turn it on, I'm standing right next to it and nothing. Wonderful

PSU is the noisiest component, the Nexus fans are completely inaudible, I have to put my ear right up against them to tell they are running.

I also did some Prime95 testing and took some temperature readings using RealTemp.

On Idle I get: 19 Degrees
On Load I get: 50 Degrees (after about 3 hours)

I didn't overclock tho since the goal is silence. I might post some screenies if anyone is interested.

One last thing I definitely think the Sound Deadening is making a difference because the only time I can tell the PC is on if I put my ear on the rear of the PSU (and hear a faint noise from the PSU fan).

That said I'm runnign the Nexus fans @ 6.95v, I made my own fan connector with some stuff I had around and added some 5W 100ohm Resistors which I got from Electronics 123 for R2 ea.

Oh and I added a extra fan on the CPU for comfort, didn't make a difference in noise but some of the air also moves over the GFX card which makes it run much cooler (it runs very hot VS. everything else in the PC that is cold to the touch)

Anyway the final build - The inside from the top:

From the side:

The modded fan connectors:

Awesome work bru. I need some advice>
Ive got old PC stuff, not an enthusiast ... Core 2 , Asus P5QC , 8800GT. Case is about +10 years old, I just want to have the PC on and be able to sleep at night

Thinking of the cheapest way to to go silent (cost is my biggest factor) -

Coolermaster Silencio 450
Thermalright HR-02 , fanless design
Coolermaster Silentpro 600w

 

[ponder]

Ive got old PC stuff, not an enthusiast ... Core 2 , Asus P5QC , 8800GT. Case is about +10 years old, I just want to have the PC on and be able to sleep at night

That GPU is pretty noisy. What will the PC be used for as a fanless GT210 might suffice?

 

[rayyan1881]

I play some games now and then. Cool might consider it

 

[PostmanPot]

I play some games now and then. Cool might consider it

When you're playing games there will likely be sounds. A graphics card with a semi decent fan should not be audible while not gaming. A GT210 is not for gaming. The need for silent heat sink is probably less than it may seem, since when you're not gaming or using the graphics card's power, you shouldn't really be able to hear it.

Might want to look at upgrading your tired kit though. Higher power consumption for older parts means more heat and the need for dissipation, i.e. more fan/higher RPM/more audability.

 

[werries2]

Getting some Nexus fans these days seems to be quite difficult. Tried the usual SA retailers but no luck yet.
Cyberdyne.co.za is listed as the local distributor but they don't sell to the public.