I finally ended up with a very quiet AMD machine. At last!
I used to use an Alpha 8045 on my XP1800 and, with the Papst 8412NG, ended up with a lot of noise and temperatures in the 60C range under full load. I was running the chip at 1667MHz, 1.8v. It would certainly do 1800MHz but I didn't dare with this cooling (or lack of).
This is what it was like at first (caution large images for 56k'ers):
As you can see, I've used ThermalTake's blue ramsinks on the northbridge in order to reduce the noise created by that nasty fan the A7V266E comes with.
Anyway, the thing was bearable but still too noisy for me. So I then totally got rid of the Papst fan and put a length of ducting from the heatsink straight to the YS Tech case fan (at 7v of course) and attatched it both ends with zip-ties so there was quite a good suction effect that blows all the hot air from the heatsink right out. This was noticeably quieter and case temperatures dropped by 3C, cpu temperature dropped by a couple of degrees.
Photo of ducting system:
After about 3 weeks I had enough (actually I'm done with university and my CompTIA A+ test is coming up in 2 weeks so I don't have much to do) and ordered a few things in my quest for a quieter PC.
Zalman S6000-Cu "Flower" heatsink (all copper version)
Zalman NB32J Northbridge heatsink (to be used on future graphics card)
Papst 4412FGL 120mm fan (26dB, 53CFM)
ThermalTake RAM heatspreader (why not?)
So, I fitted the Zalman (This is heavy! Makes the Alpha chunk of metal feel like plastic in comparison - why don't they use a screw mounting system like Alpha does for the love of AMD?) and the 120mm fan. As you will see in the photos, I had a hard time fitting it in the case but I managed it in the end.
Take a look:
I switched the processor to its stock speed before I flipped the switch and then silence! Finally! CPU temperatures under load are 60C (this time without overclocking though
) and somehow the processor temperature drops by 2C every time I switch off the case fan. Probably its proximity to the CPU fan is disturbing the airflow so I got rid of it all together, relying exclusively on the PSU fan to exhaust hot air. As a result, case temperatures are around 30C but its been stable all day - final stability verdict to come in a few weeks.
I'm using a 350W Enermax PSU which is very quiet (not the adjustable speed type with the knob on the back) so there isn't much outward air flow. The case is a Lian-Li the model of which I don't remember, its got two YS Tech fans at the front that I have set at low (probably equivalent to 6v - I would normally bend round the back and see what resistors the speed control system uses but I'm not that bored!
The only thing thats bugging me now is my 40Gb D740 boot drive - theres a clear whining sound coming from it. At this point I'd reach for a Barracuda (If only I could find FDB versions of the D740 over here) but it seems that SR's review of the 800JB shows it to be a very quiet drive - so perhaps I'll pick one of these when I get back from my holidays on September - or whatever is better/faster/quieter then.
I'm goig to fit the Zalman chipset cooler to my next graphics card which will most likely come with a fan - I think this should be sufficient along with the airflow from the second (92mm) fan I will attatch to the bottom part of the fan bracket. Obviously the fan speed will be set to lowest :roll:
Anyway, when I come back from my holidays in Spetember, I'll be getting a quieter hard drive and one of the 0.13u Athlon 1800+s so that I might give overclocking a try again.
I suggest anyone who's interested in a quiet PC go get one of these zalmans... only thing I don't like is the weight (which wouldn't really be such a problem if they used a screw mounting system instead.)
And yes, I am bored. Off to bed, its 3am (nice and early for a change - I bored myself to death) :mrgrn: [/i]
I used to use an Alpha 8045 on my XP1800 and, with the Papst 8412NG, ended up with a lot of noise and temperatures in the 60C range under full load. I was running the chip at 1667MHz, 1.8v. It would certainly do 1800MHz but I didn't dare with this cooling (or lack of).
This is what it was like at first (caution large images for 56k'ers):
As you can see, I've used ThermalTake's blue ramsinks on the northbridge in order to reduce the noise created by that nasty fan the A7V266E comes with.
Anyway, the thing was bearable but still too noisy for me. So I then totally got rid of the Papst fan and put a length of ducting from the heatsink straight to the YS Tech case fan (at 7v of course) and attatched it both ends with zip-ties so there was quite a good suction effect that blows all the hot air from the heatsink right out. This was noticeably quieter and case temperatures dropped by 3C, cpu temperature dropped by a couple of degrees.
Photo of ducting system:
After about 3 weeks I had enough (actually I'm done with university and my CompTIA A+ test is coming up in 2 weeks so I don't have much to do) and ordered a few things in my quest for a quieter PC.
Zalman S6000-Cu "Flower" heatsink (all copper version)
Zalman NB32J Northbridge heatsink (to be used on future graphics card)
Papst 4412FGL 120mm fan (26dB, 53CFM)
ThermalTake RAM heatspreader (why not?)
So, I fitted the Zalman (This is heavy! Makes the Alpha chunk of metal feel like plastic in comparison - why don't they use a screw mounting system like Alpha does for the love of AMD?) and the 120mm fan. As you will see in the photos, I had a hard time fitting it in the case but I managed it in the end.
Take a look:
I switched the processor to its stock speed before I flipped the switch and then silence! Finally! CPU temperatures under load are 60C (this time without overclocking though
) and somehow the processor temperature drops by 2C every time I switch off the case fan. Probably its proximity to the CPU fan is disturbing the airflow so I got rid of it all together, relying exclusively on the PSU fan to exhaust hot air. As a result, case temperatures are around 30C but its been stable all day - final stability verdict to come in a few weeks.I'm using a 350W Enermax PSU which is very quiet (not the adjustable speed type with the knob on the back) so there isn't much outward air flow. The case is a Lian-Li the model of which I don't remember, its got two YS Tech fans at the front that I have set at low (probably equivalent to 6v - I would normally bend round the back and see what resistors the speed control system uses but I'm not that bored!
The only thing thats bugging me now is my 40Gb D740 boot drive - theres a clear whining sound coming from it. At this point I'd reach for a Barracuda (If only I could find FDB versions of the D740 over here) but it seems that SR's review of the 800JB shows it to be a very quiet drive - so perhaps I'll pick one of these when I get back from my holidays on September - or whatever is better/faster/quieter then.
I'm goig to fit the Zalman chipset cooler to my next graphics card which will most likely come with a fan - I think this should be sufficient along with the airflow from the second (92mm) fan I will attatch to the bottom part of the fan bracket. Obviously the fan speed will be set to lowest :roll:
Anyway, when I come back from my holidays in Spetember, I'll be getting a quieter hard drive and one of the 0.13u Athlon 1800+s so that I might give overclocking a try again.
I suggest anyone who's interested in a quiet PC go get one of these zalmans... only thing I don't like is the weight (which wouldn't really be such a problem if they used a screw mounting system instead.)
And yes, I am bored. Off to bed, its 3am (nice and early for a change - I bored myself to death) :mrgrn: [/i]
