Fastest/Most powerful fanless build?

paradigm

paradigm

paradigm

Caporegime
Joined
26 Aug 2003
Posts
37,508
Location
Leafy Cheshire
Now obviously I'm not expecting miracles in speed, but is it possible to build myself a machine that supports Virtualization Technology/VT/VT-T that has no fans at all?

I'm not adversed to putting a large low-rpm fan in the chassis if needs be, but I'd prefer it to be utterly silent.

I currently run a Phenom II X3 720BE with 8GB RAM (DDR-2) on a mATX platform as my server, this hosts 4 VM's (Domain Controller, Exchange 2010 x2, File Server), but the noise is starting to drive me utterly nuts overnight now.

So this machine has to be capable of running most of the above, except exchange (I'm moving that off-site), run 24/7, and be able to support at minimum 5 SATA drives, although I'd prefer a potential of 8+.

What can be done?
 
Something like a Yesico would be perfectly quiet since it's fanless. It's ATX spec size may be an issue but in the right case you'd be fine.

If size isn't an issue then the average decent matx case should do fine.

The phenom you have should manage passive with energy saving features active and a decent sized cpu cooler.

If you're building a purely new machine then some of the AMD low power Athlon II quads (think 605e @ less than half the TDP of the standard quads) should provide plenty of power whilst doing it cool!

gt

Edit: multiple pico psu's might do although they would end up being just as expensive as something like a Yesico.
 
u can get some fanless psus.

they seem to be hard to come by and expesive thou.

some of the semi fanless might be the better option.
these have a fan that only turns on when the PSU gets too hot.

so if its not using much power, it should remain silent.

there are a few cases that also have fanless part external psu's as well, but they dont generally have much power in them.

it really depends on the use of the system, if its not going to be used for gaming or anything, you can remove a massive chunk of power by not having a dedicated GPU.

if you use a big enough case, u could install a massive heatsink without a fan
 
Fanless PSU - look at motherboards that have your PSU built in. My Commell LV-677DC has a 120W PSU built in with an external brick. The result my 2.5" drive is the only thing I can hear in my cubit3 (my 80mm fan is 9db and not running high).

Admittedly I couldn't run virtulization on my setup, but there are other boards that support processors that do. - Look at something like : - BCM IX45GM

Might also pay to look at Socket P boards as you don't get so much heat from the CPU - T2600 running passive on a Zalman NB heatsink. Admittedly it did get to 89 degrees but thats what happens when you have a passive 5570 next to it running BC2 for 5 hours :D
 
Last edited:
I would look at a 45W Athlon II X4 610e and an 880G based mATX motherboard like the Asus M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3. There is also the Sapphire IPC-AM3DD785G which is a 785G based mini ITX motherboard.

Going for a mini ITX motherboard will limit you to a pair of RAM slots though and the motherboards usually only have 3 to 4 SATA ports.
 
Look into the Seasonic X650 PSU. It is very efficient (87%) and only uses it's fan when it absolutely has to so it is completely silent most of the time.
 
hpz said:
Look into the Seasonic X650 PSU. It is very efficient (87%) and only uses it's fan when it absolutely has to so it is completely silent most of the time.
Click to expand...
But he won't be using anywhere near that much power, especially using SSDs. It may be 87% efficient at 650W, but it won't be at <200W.

SilentPCReview is the place to get this sort of info. Personally I'd go for an AMD efficient processor ('e' class) and an MSI mATX mobo. I believe MSI boards lead in power efficiency, I did the research for my HTPC. You might even get away with a 150W PSU if you aren't running any other peripherals.
 
I agree - power usage won't be terrible if the components are selected carefully.

The mrs uses the following system in an Antec Mini Skeleton with only a 90w psu.

- e3300 dual core
- 2gb of Geil DDR2
- DG45FC flycreek ITX motherboard
- 120gb 2.5" SATA HDD
- 5.25" SATA DVDRW

All runs happily with the cases low rpm top moounted fan. The e3300 is a nice and energy efficient CPU so i used a standard intel heatsink with the fan removed. Never gets more than luke warm to the touch.

Should use a bit less power than the last ITX system i built (4gb of ram, an e7200 and a 3.5" HDD) so i'd be amazed if it pushed much past 65w under full load. At idle the system draws around 25w if i remember correctly.

Even with multiple drives and (a decent passive heatsink on the low power cpu i mentioned in my earlier post should be sufficient) you will probably just about manage with a nice 150w pico PSU.

gt
 
Baboonanza said:
But he won't be using anywhere near that much power, especially using SSDs. It may be 87% efficient at 650W, but it won't be at <200W.

SilentPCReview is the place to get this sort of info. Personally I'd go for an AMD efficient processor ('e' class) and an MSI mATX mobo. I believe MSI boards lead in power efficiency, I did the research for my HTPC. You might even get away with a 150W PSU if you aren't running any other peripherals.
Click to expand...

your right about the seasonic not being 87% efficient at 200w, it's actually over 90% efficient at that power draw :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom