Absolutely silent system

SlyReaper

SlyReaper

SlyReaper

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I'm just wondering if this is possible - to have a computer that makes absolutely no noise whatsoever (except for what comes out the speakers of course).

As far as I can tell, the biggest problem would be the power supply unit. I've never seen or heard of one which doesn't have a fan. As for the rest, fans can be replaced with passive cooling systems, hard drives can be replaced with SSDs.

Or would the whole thing melt because there's no air flow?
 
Nope, it is possible, no fans are needed. Take a look over at SPCR, awesome site for making something that is noisey quiet.

I use fans myself, I find if you use 120mm fans and make sure they are below 800rpm, you will have a hard job to hear them. Also have the base unit a few metres from you monitor, mouse and keyboard... Every metre reduces SPL by 3db. :)

Passive PSU's are expensive, but if you absolutely need passive then it does exist.
 
As MikeHunt79 said (like the name ;)), it is possible. Note that if you plan to do this, you will have to underclock your processor, or keep it at stock, or else the temps will go sky high (talking of which, I wouldn't run your voltage that high 24/7. 1.45-1.5 is considered maximum, and you will get 3GHz in around 1.4125V or so. An extra 0.15V for an extra 240MHz isn't a great compromise).
 
Aod said:
Antec Phantom right?
Click to expand...
Yep they do along with FSP, Silverstone, Yesico and others.

In fact i've used the Yesico 550 watt unit in my PC in sig.

Under full system load a very low rpm fan over the PSU is needed but at all other times it will run happily without and in complete silence.

Talking about silent PC's a friend of mine is building a Skulltrail system with multiple GPU's. Pretty much all of it is home fabricated by him and should be a near to silent as you can get. Infact he's just recently received a 1300 watt liquid cooled Koolance PSU for the PC. Before this he ran it with the Yesico i mentioned above and a Zalman Reserator 2 with great 'silent' results.

gt
 
lamboman said:
As MikeHunt79 said (like the name ;)), it is possible. Note that if you plan to do this, you will have to underclock your processor, or keep it at stock, or else the temps will go sky high (talking of which, I wouldn't run your voltage that high 24/7. 1.45-1.5 is considered maximum, and you will get 3GHz in around 1.4125V or so. An extra 0.15V for an extra 240MHz isn't a great compromise).
Click to expand...

If you got good cooler and good case really that's not that big of a problem.

I remember once I was changing something at one of the PCs, older san diego, and I accidentaly stuck cable into the poor zalman and the fan didnt even move which I didnt notice :D, the CPU was running benchmarks full loaded and OCed with passive cooling for 1,5hr , the temps went to just 70c, and thats with not best cooler.


Anyways, back to OP questions.


For the totally silent system I would reccomend you the following:

Antec P182-P190 case, p190 even tho is a monster, will be obviously better choice for passive/silent cooling.

You can slap TRUE with some very low rpm (400-800) on it or leave it passive. Also, if you're crazy, you can get Scythe Orochi :D and leave it passive ;-) without fan ! :).

You can cooler the GPU very well passively with accelero s1.
And maybe just get 2 very silent low rpm maybe 600rpm fans for case to get some airflow for the passive GPU/CPU coolers.

On the PSU aspect, most of the good PSUs for 70+ from thermaltake, seasonic, tagan or zalman are very silent and in P182/P190 you wont be able to hear them.

Lastly you can also quiet down your HDDs as well with the Zalman cooler
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SY-006-ZA


So zalman hdd cooler, true/orochi , 400-600rpm noctuas , accelero s1 + antec p182 - p190 = dead silent system ;). This will be bit expensive but completely silent and effective, you even should be able to get decent OC.
 
Watercooling can also help a silent system, I'm running a pa120.3 up to q6600 (hot chip!) and it cools it well and the fans only go over 1000rpm when stress testing.
 
I'm afraid I can't suggest a parts list but can perhaps offer a few of my own experiences and thoughts on quietening a PC that might help.
- it's not just the absolute noise level, but the nature and frequency of the noise (like whiney fans or disks) that is annoying (to me anyway)
- pick low power components and an efficient PSU to minimise the amount of forced cooling needed
- pick mobos / graphics cards that are passively cooled if possible - they still need cooling but you'll be able to choose the fans to do it
- several big, slow high quality fans are quieter than single fast cheap ones (duh!)
- monitor temperatures to make sure there's enough cooling (including under load). Hard drives tend to die early if cooked...
- some DVD drives can make a huge din when spinning
- hard disk noise can vary enormously between makes/models, and one big disk will obviously tend to make less noise than two... (Solid state even better!). Also some pairs of drives can cause a beat frequency which can be *really* irritating.
- rubber mounts for hdds can help a lot in avoiding transmitting noise to the case. Annoyingly I found that enclosures like the Scythe QuietDrive weren't very effective (on a raptor).
- try the acoustic management on hdds (can reduce seek noise). (I believe there are software ways of slowing DVDs too to make them quieter)
- acoustic insulation in the case helps but don't expect it to work miracles
- put some distance between you and the pc, try sitting it on foam if it's vibrations to the floor/desk, and position it so that any sounds aren't being reflected straight back to you off the nearest wall.

Overall, it seems to get progressively harder (and costlier) to make a PC quieter and quieter. Hard drives and CPU/case fans make a finite amount of noise, and since cases generally need holes in them to let air through there will be a route out for some noise. Unless money is no object then expecing absolute silence might be unrealistic (and probably unnecessary anyway?)

I'm not a speed freak and so have been happy to sacrifice performance for some quietness/power efficiency/reliability. Some of the bits I'm currently using with that I've been happy with in my main home server PC are:
- WD Caviar GP 1TB (x3) (seem quieter than the Samsung F1)
- Antec sonata case with Acoustipack soundproofing kit
- Corsair HX PSU
- Noctua CPU heatsink and case fans (all slow 120mm)

Hope this helps.
 
Just to clarify, I'm not actually planning on building a silent system any time soon. It was more of an academic question as to whether it can be done. It seems the answer is yes. :)
 
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