SG01 - 2.5" HDDs

Little_Crow

Little_Crow

Little_Crow

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I'll shortly be building an SFF PC to replace my aging hush PC, I want to make it as quiet as is reasonable.
I may be shifting my Gainward Bliss 8800GT from my main rig into it as I want to use it for a little gaming too, and Probably using RivaTuner to undervolt it.

I've decided on some of the components already:
Silverstone SG01
Coolermaster GeminII cooler
C2D E2160 (Probably undervolted)
500W Silverstone ST50EF (Unless anyone has a better suggestion)
DVD Drive

I've not decided on a motherboard yet, but I'm keeping an eye on the motherboard thread here.

Other than general suggestions to the spec, my main question is for the HDDs. I'm really tempted to go for 2x 2.5" drives (No RAID) to keep both noise and power usage low, but can't find much info on mounting 2.5" drives in an SG01.

I've seen the mounting rails in the Eco-1 thread, which would do the trick, but I was looking for something a bit more noise dampening (Like the velociraptor caddy). Of course, this may be total bumpf, laptop HDD's are pretty low noise already so it may be unecessary.

Thanks in Advance

Little_Crow.
 
Good choices there, although i'd take the NT06 over the Gemini as it's completely silent (as it has no fan) and probably cools better.

I also wouldn't bother undervolting the E2160 - it'll not help the noise at all. That cooler will be more than enough for it, even if you were to apply a mild overclock (which I recommend you do).

The HDDs would fit, but would require "bodging" as there are no slots specifically for 2.5" ones - so either a kit or a makeshift solution. I'd use 3.5" ones for simplicity personally, they don't use much more power and a lot of the models are completely silent.

Don't overcomplicate the build in the name of silence. You can keep it all simple and still get exactly what you want.
 
Could you not use the mounting rails i suggested in the other thread then put the whole thing in a 3.5" hdd silencer?

Other than that have a look for the scythe quiet drive, basically a hdd silencer as well but they do it in a 2.5" version which turns the drive into a 3.5" drive which could be what your looking for.

Also if your looking for a good board for that chip the asus P5K-VM is a pretty good choice. I've got one and its a great little board. Only thing it lacks which i would have liked is raid but you cant have it all.
 
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armed_gorilla said:
Could you not use the mounting rails i suggested in the other thread then put the whole thing in a 3.5" hdd silencer?
Click to expand...

Hah! genius idea. There's always a simple solution.

Thanks for the advice Tute, you're certainly right about the noise, the greenpower range (Which was my 2nd option) of HDD's are comparable with 2.5" drives.
The power consumption on the GP's are quite a bit higher than 2.5" drives, but the fact I plan on sticking an 8800GT in it would probably make any savings I would have made insignificant.

I think the Geminii can only fit in the SG01 fanless, but I can't find any direct comparisons to the NT06. This could be a coin flip decision.

Spending money is hard!
 
hmmm you could use a

Dual 2.5" to 3.5" SATA Hard Drive Mounting Plate

google that and im sure you will find the retailer that sells them

--

im also thinking of making a new HD cage for my sg01 to make
them a lot quieter, i was thinking of making a new HD cage from
acrylic, then use some sort soft mounting screws
 
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Little_Crow said:
I think the Geminii can only fit in the SG01 fanless, but I can't find any direct comparisons to the NT06. This could be a coin flip decision.
Click to expand...

It just fits in without any of the fan mounts, looks like we are all thinking the same im looking at going 2.5" aswell becuase all the fans in my system are silent i know this cause i can turn them off with the scythe kaze master and it makes no difference the HDDS are niosy , althought the pirce per GB will increase quite a bit buy doing this.
 
I've researched the suggestions made in this thread, and I'm particularly liking the Scythe Quiet Drive. Agonisingly, OcUK don't stock them, much like the CM GeminII.

The best thing about the 2.5" Quiet Drive is that if the HDD is still noisy, you can put that in a 3.5" Quiet Drive, and mount it all in a 5.25" bay.
All that's needed now is a 1.8" version for a proper russian doll effect.

Thanks for the post Breezy, it's always reassuring to have the opinion of someone running a comparable system, you've certainly made me more sure that 2.5" drives are the way to go.

I'm intending to order the system either late May or Early June, if you take the plunge before let me know how it works out.
 
As the above, probably stole my idea..., I was the first to use the quiet drives, ordered them from the first batch when the UK Distributor had them in stock..., waited 3 months till they wereout, anyway as for I can tell you howtobuild a near silent system, there is no such thing as silent, get a 120Gb/160gb/200GB Seagate 7200.2 HD, and a WD Scorpio if you want a second drive, put them both in scythe quiet drives 2.5

use nt06 cooler and enermax liberty 400w, more than enough power, swap the fan in psu for 1000rpm nexus...

replace or removestockcasefans as theyaretoo loud, use a nexus 80MM at 7V and nexus 60MM at 7V
 
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