Shuttle Noise

[supafly]

The only thing putting me off building a nice dual core shuttle 26p is the fear of having a noisy system i couldn't work with.

So just how noisy are dual core 26p systems?

I have also considered the blissfully silent shuttle pentium m solution, if only that would run a pentium m duo chip!

 

[wyatt gates]

are you looking to go sli,because sn26p is is sli shuttle the single card shuttle is sn25p is very quiet and runs cool

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Well my SN26P has the following spec;

AMD X2 4800+
BFG 7800GTX 512MB OC
2GB OCZ Platinum RAM
Spinpoint 250GB SATA II
NEC 4550 DVDrw

..and I have set it to "ultra low" and "low" in the BIOS respectively.. most people prefer the smart fan, but in my experience with Shuttles i've found a constant speed dial to be better on the nerves lol

To be honest the sound is so minimal on these P-chassis systems, it's hardly audible if you choose the hardware carefully.. I struggle to hear it even when gaming / intense multi tasking

 

[supafly]

Sounds promising.

Reason for going with the 26p is i've read it has a bigger outlet fan and runs slightly cooler and hopefully quieter than the 25p. No need for sli as i'm not a big gamer, just webmaster work mainly.

Basically buying a sff as an alternative to my laptop. I work between two locations and find my laptop limiting in hd space and screen size. A portable sff would be great for me.

Could someone recommend which 2gb ram i should buy and a nice quiet gfx card (around £200) that will fit?

 

[Deleted member 651465]

To be honest it's overkill getting the SN26P if you're not going to get SLi.

I have owned the SN25P and the SN26P and they are both equally as quiet

The best performance RAM would probably be the OCZ 2GB Platinum, or the Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX is equally as good. However, if you don't need speed then you might be better off looking at some cheapo Crucial sticks.

Graphics wise you can either go for a 7600GT for around £150 or push a little more (extra £9 on the budget) and go for this...

PowerColor ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB - £209 *this week only*

You could even go as far as the new 7900GT for an extra £50 so it's totally up to the way you want to use the money-savings off the SN26P.

To be honest, I would save the money and go for the more expensive RAM with a 512MB X1800XT .

Just a thought.

 

[supafly]

FS-059-SH Shuttle XPC SN26P Aluminium Barebones System - AMD 64 (Socket 939) (FS-059-SH)
£339.95 £339.95
MY-057-OC OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Series EL-DDR CAS2 (OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K) (MY-057-OC)
£124.95 £124.95
CP-151-AM AMD Opteron UP 165 Dual Core San Diego 1.8GHz 2MB Cache (Socket 939) - Retail (CP-151-AM)
£219.95 £219.95
CD-030-NE NEC ND4570 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-030-NE)
£24.95 £24.95
HD-049-SE Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 NCQ 500GB ST3500641AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-049-SE)

Spec so far, just need to choose my gfx card then order. Not sure which one though, quietness is main factor, dual link dvi if poss in case i get 30 inch lcd. I couldn't live with a noisy gfx card.

This will all be going off my company tax bill

 

[Deleted member 651465]

You might aswell get the reduced X900XT's that OcUK are doing.. worth the £310 imo

 

[supafly]

I dunno, I keep on reading online reviews about these go faster graphic cards...and the general impression I get is that they sound like jet engines/hairdryers etc. I couldn't live and work with a noisy pc.

I'm used to having a near silent pc and laptop, for example I can't hear my laptop over the tv! And my other dual processor (amd 2000 mp) system has huge copper heat sinks and silent fans.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Trust me.. I have a BFG 7800GTX 512MB OC and its near silent when gaming

(I value audio levels highly too, because I use my rig for my audio work)

 

[.SJ]

...

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Not being big headed but I trust my degree to tell me that I know what "silent" is and what "near-silent" is

The facts are I have owned many Shuttles (SB75G2, SN95G5, SN25P's, SN26P's) and by far the SN26P is one of/ if not the quietest Shuttle (close with the SN25P). It is barely audible if you set the BIOS to "ultra low" or "smartfan" and that's it. You'd struggle to find a quieter PC in the SFF division.

 

[supafly]

I guess the only way of knowing is by hearing it yourself...but then it's too late!

I've asked about noise on sfftech.com

Here is what one person said: "The SN26P will be like a jet engine in comparison.... 2x60mm rear fans + CPU fan + PSU fans all add up to quite a lot of noise. A pentium M is designed for low power, low noise applications.
If you need a quiet shuttle, you really need to be looking at a Pentium M version. "

If only the pentium m solution supported the new duo chips.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

What a load of crap lol.

SFFtech tend to blow up everything.. If you look at the bugs of the SN25P you'd swear it was the worst machine ever. I'd take it with a pinch of salt.

You could always go the SN25P unless you need SLi. Tbh the SN26P is quiet enough if you run it on ultra low.

 

[cokecan]

everyone has their own definition of quiet, but id tend to listen to EVH on this. he knows what he's talkin about.

also from my own experiences with the few shuttles ive had. they are quiet. i have noticed that the newer the shuttle, the quieter they get.

reviews only say it will be like a jet engine because they see the words 60mm fan etc and instantly assume, small fan, must be spinning really fast otherwise they dont push any air, so it will be noisey....WRONG! it doesnt have to spin full pelt to move air, to be fair it doesnt really have to push much air, just enough to keep the airflow circulating.

right now with my shuttle SN85G4V3, all i can hear is my raptor. this is a new one since tee last one died and i havnt done any modding except an arctic cooler, so its all stock fans thus far. it currently hasnt got a case on and its less than a meter away from me and its barely audiable.

if you want absolutly, totally silent then your lookin at the wrong systems. you should be looking at mini-itx boards and mods on making them totally passivly cooled, cos thats the only way your really gonna get anything quieter

 

[supafly]

This is interesting reading regarding noise levels on a 7800 GTX:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/285/7/
They measured 46 dBa.

 

[wyatt gates]

as posted before loudest thing is my 7800 gtx but is much quieter than my old tower pc .the good thing is they are so portable and you can pack a lot of high spec parts in them so have great pc

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Amen.

Seriously... Everyone thinks that the SFF PC's are always loud because they're so cramped but that couldn't be further from the truth. I do believe the loudest component in my Shuttle is the DVDrw so it's a matter of picking the right hardware. The only graphics cards I would avoid are the ones which don't slow down in 2D mode (Asus 7800GTX??) and you're good to go.

Appreciate the backup Cokecan72, Wyatt Gates

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Oh yeah.. just to prove a point.

Decibels are not measured in a linear fashion, they are part of a logarithmic scale . To simply go on the numbers alone would be foolish. To assume a 48dB PC and another 48dB sound are the same then you'd be sadly mistaken - it's all down to sound pressure, hence;

10 log (P2/P1) dB

I measured my Shuttle once, and it came to 32dB (not far off the Shuttle specs) and this was at room temp using a decibel meter with an accuracy of +-0.5dB... to be honest, they must have had the air conditioning on, or some crazy background noisefloor for it to be 48dB

Points of Reference (measured in dBA or decibels at room temp where possible)

0 The softest sound a person can hear with normal hearing

10 normal breathing

20 whispering at 5 feet

30 soft whisper

50 rainfall

60 normal conversation

110 shouting in ear

120 thunder

....Going on these results.. it puts the SN26P above a whisper and below rainfall.

 

[.SJ]

...

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Why are you getting so defensive? And breaking out the e-penis.

I gave my opinion on what I thought silence was, nothing more. I have owned a Reserator cooled shuttle but I still wouldnt class it as silent.

I'd class silence as "you can't even hear it in the dead of the night" ... as I said before.

I'd only use the word silent if I were talking about an Anechoic chamber.

I'm not getting defensive.. just annoyed at people stating the Shuttle is loud when it's clearly a near-silent SFF (or as near as) and posting crap when I have personal experience, and no one seems to care/listen to my advice.

Its not going to be quiet if your running a reserator anyway.. doesn't that make just as much noise as a full sized tower pc on air?