Would this achieve affective cooling and silence?

OC95

OC95

OC95

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Hi everyone, this is my first post on the forum!
I am wanting to build a custom PC for music production/recording, so it must be absolutely silent or else the sensitive microphones will pick up the noise.

Due to the OS that I wish to use, I am limited to the i7 2700k cpu as the fastest processor that I can use. This is a 95w cpu which I originally planned to use with the nofan 95c heatsink, but as I also wish to overclock this processor to around 4.5ghz, this wouldn’t be enough cooling power.

For the cpu and gpu cooling, I am thinking about water cooling. I don’t plan to use a fan, but instead thought I could make up for this by using a Mazda MX5 radiator instead of a standard PC radiator, I am sure the extra surface size would be a good compromise for a fanless design?

However, I am sure that even the most silent pump would still make some noise, as well as coil whine from all the electronics in the computer such as psu and motherboard parts etc... So I was thinking that I could ALSO submerge everything in mineral oil, also with its own pump and Mazda mx5 radiator! Would the mineral oil completely absorb all the noise from the two pumps, electronics, and coil whine etc?

If so, what are the most quiet and reliable pumps that could achieve this?

I know this seems impractical but there is no other way round it. And I can’t put the computer in another room as I will always need to keep plugging stuff in and out of it, so definitely need it close to the desk.

So basically, it would be a water cooled computer, without a fan but a car radiator, submerged in mineral oil circulated by a 2nd pump, without a fan but a car radiator. So two pumps and two radiators, to achieve effective cooling and silence.

Would this work?
 
No I don't think so
It's been tried
After a certain length of time the mineral oil gets heat saturated
Ie it can't release enough heat by radiation or convection
Ones I have seen still relied on fan/fans outside the tank far as I recall

Though not looked lately to be fair
Have seen totally silent one using basically the whole side of the pc as a heatsink
Heatpipes from cpu and gpu to large slab of aluminium with fins
Though need a fan less psu
And only ssd drives
 
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Pumps can be run at lower rpm. they can also be suspended so that there are no vibrations.
Very large radiators can be used - even household radiators.
Radiators can be in a different room or even outside or in a garage - use copper tubing for long runs
A decent sound-dampened case and you won't pick up coil whine if it exists - don't over clock a gpu and you're unlikely to get coil whine from a motherboard.

avoid the whole mineral oil thing - tried by many and simply not a long-term solution.
 
Ok I had the same feeling of the mineral oil regarding cooling, but would it still dampen any noise, or could it even make the cooling worse?

What pumps would you recommend that are as silent as possible for the water cooling?
 
Any d5 variant pump
Long as got pwm speed control
Not one with 1,2,3,4 etc that you manually select
As long as you don't run it at max should be fine ~not loud at max but is slightly audible
Know nothing about music/recording but would have thought any tiny pc noise could be filtered out with software
Though shouldn't come to that
As it's not essential the pc looks great
Use as much sound proofing material as you like
Even on outside of the case?
I use ek xres pump combo
Really good
As Miketimbers said how pump is mounted helps stop any vibration
Use rubber between pump and metal of case~some pump mounts already have rubber on them
Used a shoggy sandwich
Weird name I know lol
Use sound proofing material in the case
Though can't have pc in other rooms
Can still move it as far away from desk as cables allow
 
Thanks mate!
Yeah I could use the sound deadening vinyl all over the case, maybe even fireproof rockwool?
Would the ram and psu still need air? If so, I guess I could have a passive air intake on the bottom of the case, and a passive exhaust on top?

Would the pump work if I put it in an airtight box filled with still mineral oil, and then mounted it with the shoggy sandwich or heavy duty bands?

The reason I am so fussy about the noise is that I won’t be able to edit out any noise as sometimes it will be classical piano reference recording. If I was micing a guitar amp it wouldn’t really matter, but in some classical piano music there can be quite a few pauses, such as in the 1st movement of the Appasionata.

Now I have figured out that the Mazda mx5 radiator may not work as it is made of aluminium instead of copper, and mixing the two can cause problems I think, but I have heard that the part in a car which converts engine heat into a useable heating system can work like this one: https://www.ebay.com/i/191874527887?chn=ps&dispItem=1

However, I am unable to find these in the UK?
 
Yes shouldn't mix metals in a loop
Not sure you need to go to extreme of pump in oil
And pump would have to work harder to move oil instead of water
Yes would still need air flow
Passive top and bottom may give enough ~chimney effect
Or may not
No experience of how sensitive the mics you will use are
Think its going to be one of those things that you are going to have to try
And make alterations along the way if it's not sufficiently quiet
It's kind of a one off situation I guess
 
Solid steel case, extra soundproofing, like the ones from fractal design. The hardest piece to quiet down is the GPU. If going for a simple no fan option, pretty much sorted.
Plenty of PSUs that keep their fan off unless under extreme load.
 
MrPotato said:
Solid steel case, extra soundproofing, like the ones from fractal design. The hardest piece to quiet down is the GPU. If going for a simple no fan option, pretty much sorted.
Plenty of PSUs that keep their fan off unless under extreme load.
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This plus a large CPU cooler. I find the secret to silence is to overspec cooling and pick components that are efficient with power. Large fans running slow, case with lots of air. No need for water IMO.
 
OC95 said:
I am wanting to build a custom PC for music production/recording,
Click to expand...

Since you're not using the Nofan, can I recommend that other motorless device, distance? Simply have your PC system unit at a distance from your microphone etc? You can get extra-long USB and video cables. You can also surround the PC with noise-absorbing foam. DO NOT put it in an airtight box - you need to vent the hot air.

I don't produce music but I do value silence and I put my PC system unit in a cupboard in the far corner of the room surrounded by noise-absorbent foam and it works very nicely. The thread is here.
 
Thank you for your advice everyone, very much appreciated!
I know it seems overly complicated, but I plan to use the earthworks QC40 mics in a binaural setting to capture a grand piano, so as they are the most sensitive and brutally accurate mics available, and used off-axis for the binaural technique, I just wanted to take a belt and braces approach to the noise problem. Even if I had something like a 360mm fan running at 50rpm, I was worried that it would create waves in the air which may interfere with how the quadratic diffusers on the wall work; so as well as no noise, I wanted the atmosphere to be totally static. If you try singing into a fan, you will get what I mean. Having a fan in the computer would have this effect on the piano, not as extreme, but as the QC40 are actually omni measurement microphones, they would pick that up.

So I guess the best thing to do is build a thick mild steel case, insulate with rockwool slabs, have a passive chimney air flow system, and connect the CPU, GPU, and any hot motherboard chips to a D5 pump going into a large radiator such as this:

https://tommyji.en.made-in-china.co...ter-to-Air-Heat-Exchanger-Hot-Water-Coil.html

And if that doesn’t cool it enough, I guess I could just double up on the radiator! I could also strategically place hard shelled broadband traps near the computer.

By the way, does anyone know what geekbench score the i7 2700k overclocked @4.5ghz is? I have tried looking everywhere but can’t seem to find any information on this...
 
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You're worrying far too much. A pump is often louder than 3 slow fans. Just place a sensible quiet PC a little distance away from the mics and behind a separator panel.

Do you plan on breathing in the room while the piano is recorded? Sitting on a seat?
 
That heat exchanger doesn't look all that big based on the copper pipes being 3/8". I say again, move the radiator away from the PC with either soft or copper pipe. You could also have the pump away from the PC.

So, water-cooled PC, tubing from water-block to next-door radiator with next-door pump. All moving parts outside the room.
 
If the microphones
Are so sensitive that even air movement would be an issue
There simply is zero solution to the problem
Even a 100% fanless and pump less solution is going to make the air move
As the hot air dissipates from it
And who ever is playing the piano is going to make tiny noises with their body movements surely?
You already said pc in a different room wasn't an option as need to plug stuff in/out
How about pc on wheels?
Use long cables
Wheel pc into corner when recording
And put sound proofed baffle boards in front of it
Since can't be plugging stuff in /out while recording as that noise would be picked up
Guess this is why recording studios are set up with the artists in a separate room to the sound equipment and sound guy
 
I have a separate cooler to my PC. The pc sits between the desk and set of drawers and the cooler is under the desk.
The cooler consist of a radiator from an LDV lorry, a grundfos bronze hot water pump and a couple of 200mm fans, obviously mounted in a frame.
There is no reason I couldn't extend the hoses and put the cooler upstairs if I needed.

You could do the same, and put just the cooler in a different room leaving no moving parts inside of your pc case, assuming that you are using a fanless PSU and ssd's. Almost totally silent.
 
Mick-1965 said:
I have a separate cooler to my PC. The pc sits between the desk and set of drawers and the cooler is under the desk.
The cooler consist of a radiator from an LDV lorry, a grundfos bronze hot water pump and a couple of 200mm fans, obviously mounted in a frame.
There is no reason I couldn't extend the hoses and put the cooler upstairs if I needed.

You could do the same, and put just the cooler in a different room leaving no moving parts inside of your pc case, assuming that you are using a fanless PSU and ssd's. Almost totally silent.
Click to expand...
Well that's different
Got to be worth seeing a few photos of that
Why do it that way?
Since the coolers near the pc any way
Or was it a case of got the bits why not do it?
 
When I started water cooling many years ago there were no dedicated pc water cooling radiators, pumps etc. So external was the only real way to go and just stuck with it, as other than portability I could never see the point of trying to squeeze everything into the case.
It was originally built for the sole purpose of reducing noise as the gaming PC is in the same room as the TV, but obviously needed head room for overclocking.
You want cool and quiet you need radiator space... simple. It does that quite well
I'll see if I have time to get some pictures up.
 
Looks really tidy from the front
Nice to see jubilee clips /worm drive as that thing must have 2 or 3 times the head of a pc watercooling pump
Wouldn't trust spring clips with it
 
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