Silent mItx development machine in a core v1 case?

altich88 · 20 Jul 2015 at 10:42

Hi all,

I'm thinking of building a development/general desktop machine in a Thermaltake core v1 case.

i5 @ stock
Third party cpu cooler
Integrated graphics only
SSD
Single case fan (front)

Would it be possible to keep a system like this silent and adequately cooled?

My main aims are small size and silence.

Thanks,

Danny75 · 20 Jul 2015 at 17:58

Yes. Maybe go for a Noctua cooler*. If it'll only have SSD then no noise from HDD. And connect the 200mm front fan to motherboard and adjust fan voltage through BIOS till the sound is to your liking.

* Make sure your motherboard and cooler are compatible and won't block the PCI-E slot in case you need to use it later on for something. Some mobos have the CPU socket lower down than others. You have 140mm height clearance for coolers so some won't fit. Also good idea to go for RAM without tall heatsinks.

Finally the PSU - calculate the required wattage roughly and buy a PSU that will only reach 50% load max, or one with Eco/Silent mode (fan at 0 RPM till a certain load/temp is reached), or a fanless PSU. The latter option will cost the most unless you find a bargain, so the first two options can be a viable cost-saving alternative when it comes to noise.

altich88 · 22 Jul 2015 at 08:34

Great, thanks for the advice!

P0tenc · 22 Jul 2015 at 09:42

I have a i5 4570 for the wife in a Evolve itx case with a large cpu heatsink (no fan). For the most part the CPU can be passively cooled.

Make sure you get a ASUS mobo so you can hook the case fan up to one of the case fan headers and make it stop when the system does not need it. This should result in a completely silent system if you also opted for a silent PSU where the fan only spins up under high load or temps. The EVGA supernova G2 650watt is a bit overkill, but has a 10 year warranty and the fan will never spin up in that system. It even leaves you the option to add dedicated gfx at some point.

Under more demanding loads you can set the case fan to spin up at ~50c or whatever temp you are comfortable with. Alternatively you can use Speedfan if you are using other mobo's to stop the fan, but that is a whole lot more involved and time consuming.

Just remember if you choose just one bad component and/or don't configure your system properly it can result in a loud system.