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How To: Build a really, really, really silent PC
Posted by: rampy on Saturday, March 26, 2005 - 02:05 AM

Oh sure, I let my MaximumPC magazine subscription lapse and they put out this gem: How To: Build a really, really, really silent PC "Is this thing on? We assembled a Pentium M-based rig with a fanless power supply, and ended up with the quietest air-cooled PC we’ve ever heard."

It's not a cheap proposition though using a nearly 500 dollar pentium M CPU

Ingredients:
Intel 2GHz Pentium M 755 ($440, www.newegg.com)
AOpen i855GMEm-LFS motherboard ($275, www.newegg.com)
Zalman VF700-AlCu VGA cooler ($40, www.zalmnusa.com)
Antec TriCool fan ($20, www.antec.com)
Antec 350 watt Phantom ($175, www.antec.com)
1GB of Corsair Micro DDR400 ($200, www.corsairmicro.com)
Pioneer DVR-A08XLA ($150, www.pioneerelectronics.com)
Smart Drive 2002 hard drive enclosure ($55, www.endpcnoise.com)
Antec SLK3700-BQE ($100, www.antec.com)
Floppy drive ($10, www.newegg.com)
Windows XP Professional ($200, www.microsoft.com)
Arctic Silver 5 ($8, www.arcticsilver.com)
Akasa Paxmate ($20, www.akasa.com.tw)

UPDATE kdhamann rightly points out that SilentPC Review is another really good resource for info, and well... reviews of quiet PC and noise dampening components.

Comments: 10596 Hits: 21273

How To: Build a really, really, really silent PC | Log-in or register a new user account | 4 Comments

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Re: How To: Build a really, really, really silent PC
by kdhamann on Mar 26, 2005 - 02:44 AM
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If you're interested in silence, this isn't exactly ground breaking. *sigh*
It is nice to finally see quieting computers enter the mainstream though. I got into quieting my machine when the last one I built was just too noisy without reducing the cooling fans voltage (vacuum cleaner anyone? *smile*).

http://www.silentpcreview.com reviewed most of the "silent" components used here quite some time ago. I would guess maximumpc could have done better than the Antec Tricool fan. A suitable Nexus, Panaflo, or Yate Loon might have been quieter (Yes, that's my opinion and a fair amount of lurking and research seems to back it up *smile* ).

BTW Asus just recently came out with an adapter (CT-479) for a couple of their Intel 478 boards (P4800SE and P4P800-VM) that lets a Pentium M work on those boards. The adapte's suggested price r is $50 and boards are under a hundred each. Much cheaper than the AOpen board at $275. Worth taking a look if interested.

Re: How To: Build a really, really, really silent PC by rampy on Mar 26, 2005 - 03:36 AM

Re: How To: Build a really, really, really silent PC by kdhamann on Mar 26, 2005 - 09:07 PM

Re: How To: Build a really, really, really silent PC
by RedR on Mar 27, 2005 - 06:38 PM
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Check out this site in the Tips section. They have tons of great homebrew cooling and silencing solutions.
http://www.overclockers.com/tips/

Take a look at Case Cooling and System Coolers, though lots of great info in other sections. I went my own homebrew solution with my PVR. The end result, I run quite a bit cooler while the fan/operation noise is just a whisper.
Enjoy!