Silence will (hopefully!) soon be mine

[Raider]

Just ordered:

Thermalright SI-120 heatsink
Acoustifan Dustproof 120mm silent fan (42cfm at 16dB)

Zalman ZM-NB47J northbridge heatsink

Acoustifan Dustproof 80mm silent fan (20cfm at 16dB)

Zalman VF900 gpu cooler


About £115 all in
But hopefully it'll make my PC quiet enough to be permanently stationed in my bedroom for HDTV / DVD usage! Will find out this week I guess

 

[Raider]

I have a Tagan 530W, and it's pretty quiet, but it still has an 80mm fan, so it's not perfect.
I understand what people are saying, but I don't expect total silence, just a lot less noise!

When I tried my PC in my room the other night to watch a DVD the noise was very distracting. Most of it is coming from the graphics card (7900GT stock cooler), then the rear exhaust 80mm (Ys-tech at 7V), then the cpu fan (stock 3500+ AMD cooler).

If all the bits i've ordered work well, then i'll probably replace the intake 80mm fans (x2) with silent 80mm's, then probably look at the PSU or HDDs.

 

[Raider]

How can you have dustproof fans? Do they work as advertised? Let us know when you get them!

Well to quote the blurb:

"The fan motor for the DustPROOF range of virtually silent fans is extremely quiet. The AcoustiFan™ DustPROOF series use the highest quality double-ball bearings available for reliability, use-anywhere inside a PC for extra long life expectancy (upgrade your PC and take these fans with you!). One of the unique features of these PC fans is that the motor has been completely sealed from the outside environment. This prevents dust entering the motor and also reduces the amount of noise perceived to be coming from the bearings within the motor."

The dustproof thing is a bonus, but the main reason i've ordered them is because of how quiet they are. I'll be sure to report on how good they are when I get them!

 

[Raider]

Ok I've finally had the time to put my silent kit in!
Unfortunately I need a different screwdriver to remove my current graphics card HSF, but I've managed to fit the following so far:

Thermalright SI-120 heatsink
Acoustifan Dustproof 120mm silent fan (42cfm at 16dB)
Zalman ZM-NB47J northbridge heatsink
Acoustifan Dustproof 80mm silent fan (20cfm at 16dB)
Acousti Anti-vibration 80mm Fan Gasket

And so far the difference is pretty big! At 7V, the SI-120 + 120mm is effectively silent, and it's lowered my cpu temps by around 4C (compared to the stock cooler at full speed).
The Northbridge fits fine, although it's quite hot to the touch, but no problems so far!
The 80mm silent case fan, combined with the Acousti Anti-vibration 80mm Fan Gasket has really helped to reduce noise also.

So overall noise is reduced, and most importantly case vibration has been greatly reduced, which I think was a big part of the problem. Now i've got the right screwdriver i'm looking forward to installing the VF-900 tonight to complete the setup!