How long can you extend the wires from PSU to Motherboard

Beren

Beren

Beren

Soldato
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Would love some advice if possible:

I have an embryonic idea for a self build PC project, but it would put the PSU 1-2 metres from the motherboard and graphics cards.

I could probably do the math given enough head scratching, but am I likely to see a voltage drop or anything else I ought to worry about if I extend the cabling that far?

I know that on low voltages distance becomes important quite quickly but don't know if just basic physics applies.

Also considering a passive water cooling system - just how quiet are radiator fans on water cooling systems?
 
Hi there,

I cant help you on the voltage question but I can on the water cooling.

If you pick your fans carefully you can get very quiet fans. I have Gentle Typhoons connected to a fan controller and have them spinning at the lowest speed (on a 3 fan rad) it is silent. My power supply fan makes more noise.
I looked into passive water cooling but I hear they are not as good, they dont provide as as much cooling so you cant overclock too highly or have too much on the same loop.
When the Gentle Typhoons speed up they are louder but still not terrible. A lot quieter than your average stock fan and barely noticeable. But they rarely need to speed up anyway and I have an i7 4.8OC and also my graphics card on the same 3 fan rad.
So do some research into the fans and you will be ok. The bigger the fan (120-140mm) and slower rpm will give the best airflow to noise ratio.
If you want quiet I recommend looking at water cooling your graphics card because some of the graphics card fans can be noisy when they speed up. No point in having your CPU cooled by silent fans if your graphics card sounds like a washing machine when it speeds up!

Also look at getting a fan less power supply as they can be noisy, even the supposedly quiet ones. I spent a lot of time trying to build a quiet machine and the nosiest thing I have is the power supply and it is marketed by OCZ as being quiet. I am thinking of upgrading to a fan less power supply.

Hope this helps!
 
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Thanks, hadn't considered the PSU noise - though it will be pretty well damped by the cabinet it is going to be located in, should it all go ahead!
Basically going to be running a dual monitor system, but a 46" telly and 24" monitor off the side in the lounge, so quiet is going to be important :)
 
One other thing on water cooling is the pump noise. At first my pump was nosier than my fans. I bought a pump controller that allows me to control the speed of the pump, and now its very quiet. A lot of pumps only spin at one speed, max. It makes your computer buzz and hum.

Get the pump controller if you want a truly quiet machine. some fan controllers can also double as a pump controller. I have one thats USB controlled so just plug it into an internal usb slot and I can control the pump from an app on the PC. I set it to a nice level where the hum is a nice tone thats not noticeable.
 
I water cooled mine solely for quietness, not really to get massive OC figures. It is possible if you plan it out and read the dB figures. Some stuff says quiet but when you look at the specs its not really. Avoid small fans smaller than 120mm. Also look for quiet hard drives. I went for Western Digital Green, they are very quiet indeed. Im getting tired of typing quiet now :)
Hope it goes well buddy!
 
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