A quieter PC (February 2005 / July 2006)

Aim

• Faster CPU: (on my old computer, with a 433MHz Celeron and DSL, the CPU was the limiter for: web-browsing (page rendering under Firefox), compilation, and starting GNUs).
• Quieter: I use my home PC mostly during the evening in a very quiet, open plan, house, and I do not like to hear it too much !

Original Parts bought (February 2005)

Faster CPU -> new socket -> new motherboard -> new memory + new video card !!

Quieter -> new, sound-dampened case + new CPU fan (I had already bought a new, quieter, PSU)

Case	Chieftek Dragon 601 Midi Server	ATX. (Quite a large case, but this is good for air circulation, and allows space for the acoustic padding inside.)
Case sound-dampening	NB-EvolutionEQ Platinum	ready-fitted to the case by supplier
PSU	Q technology, Gold series, QT-02350G	ATX / 350W / 12cm fan (variable speed) / 11-19dB
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-8I848P-G	ATX / chipset: Intel 848P / sound: Realtek ALC850 CODEC / Ethernet: Marvel Gigabit / 2xIDE / 2xSATA / USB2.0 / ...
CPU	Pentium 4 / 2.4 GHz	Northwood core (cooler than Prescott, but still 60W TDP) / Socket 478
CPU heatsink	NB-Badboy P4 S2 Version	metal finned
CPU fan	NB-UltraSilentFan S2 80mm	80mm / 23-50 m3/h / 11-19 dB / 1000-2000rpm
Disk drives	2 x Seagate IDE hard disks / CD-ROM/CD-RW drives / floppy drive	taken from old case

Note: Intel's usually quoted TDP ("Thermal Design Power") is not the maximum like AMD quote see here for details and a conversion table

Parts UPDATE: Some parts changes (July 2006)

For new temperature result see down below.

Case	Chieftek Dragon 601 Midi Server	ATX. (Quite a large case, but this is good for air circulation, and allows space for the acoustic padding inside.)
Case sound-dampening	NB-EvolutionEQ Platinum	ready-fitted to the case by supplier
Updated PSU	Seasonic S12	ATX / 330W / 12cm fan (variable speed) / ?dB / up to 80% efficient
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-8I848P-G	ATX / chipset: Intel 848P / sound: Realtek ALC850 CODEC / Ethernet: Marvel Gigabit / 2xIDE / 2xSATA / USB2.0 / ...
CPU	Pentium 4 / 2.4 GHz	Northwood core (cooler than Prescott, but still 60W) / Socket 478
Updated CPU heatsink	Scythe Ninja SCNJ-1000 Plus	very large, metal finned, comes with fan, but I run it fanless
Replace CPU fan with a rear case fan next to the CPU heatsink	Smartcooler LFM1512E 120mm	120mm / 70 m3/h / 15 dbA / 1000rpm (more airflow and quieter than the 80mm fan it replaced)
Updated Disk drives	Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA harddisk / Seagate IDE harddisk / Samsung SH-W162C DVD/CD-R/RW / floppy drive	replaced the smaller IDE drive with a larger SATA and the CDRW with DVD. And both much quieter.

Assemble / test

Operating systems:

• Boots first time into Gentoo Linux :-) (later rebuilt for higher processor spec., sound chip, sensors support).
• SUSE Linux 9.1: installed with minor problems: see my other page various Linux notes.
• Windows 98: finally got it working, except for sound (so far) (needed for the kids CD-ROMs). (26/09/05: give-up: put together old standalone PC for the kids.(nice: no more sticky finger prints on my screen !))

Further testing under Linux:

• Tested as OK so far on Gentoo (but not exhaustively): IDE / ATAPI CD/DVD burning / Serial ATA (SATA) hard disk / USB / LAN (Marvel 8001 Gigabit) (sk98lin.ko) / sensors (ITE 8712F/ICH5) (see below) / sound(Realtek ALC850) / AGP graphics card.

Impressions

• Quieter (especially with the CPU fan turned down to 1/2 speed).
• The case fan was superfluous (see Temperature section below).
• A lot faster than the old system (not surprising!)

Temperatures / fan speed (original configration) (assuming calibrated OK)

• Target temperature: Pentium 4 is rated to 71C maximum reliable, but 40 degrees seems to be an commonly quoted working maximum. (A P4 should slow itself down before it burns out.)
• Cooling: PSU fan + CPU fan controlled by supplied pot. (fitted to case front) (low end graphics is card passively cooled)
• CPU temperature sensor: built into the motherboard.
• (i2c claims the CPU fan range with the supplied pot. is 1394 to 2083 RPM. BIOS claims approx 1350 to 2083 (value always changing +/-20 or 30))
• (Calibration probably is reasonable: if the PC is off for some time then when it starts up the temperature measured is the same as the current room temperature.)

Room temperature	n/a	23 to 25 degrees
Low CPU usage: surfing, emails, editing	CPU fan 1/2 speed	32 to 35 degrees
Compiling (up to a couple of hours at any one time)	CPU fan full speed	45 to 47 degrees

(Maybe for 24/7 / high load you would need a case fan. But I turn my PC off when I have finished (max of a few hours).)

It is winter now (2/12/05):

Room temperature	n/a	19 to 20 degrees
Low CPU usage: surfing, emails, editing	CPU fan 1/2 speed	29 to 32 degrees
Compiling (up to a couple of hours at any one time)	CPU fan full speed	39 to 41 degrees

(Note on Temperatures / fan speed sensors)

Using lm_sensors and Kernel modules: it87, i2c-i801, i2c-isa I can read the CPU temperature and the CPU and case fan speeds.

UPDATE: Temperatures / fan speed July 2006 parts

Results (October 2006):

Room temperature	n/a	22 to 24 degrees
Low CPU usage: surfing, emails, editing	Case fan OFF	32 to 35 degrees
Compiling (up to a couple of hours at any one time)	Case fan full speed	up to 44 degrees

Larger fans are, as I read, much quieter (for the same cooling effect).

The hard disks are now the main source of noise (the IDE drive can be heard just spinning, but the SATA not until it is accessed).

Links

Shops

• ALTERNATE GmbH (motherboard, memory, P4 2.4)
• Noiseblocker (dampened case, CPU heat sink and fan, case fan)
• Norskit (Ninja heat sink, Seasonic PSU (July 2006)) (takes VISA and Paypal)
• ZEG (local shop) (Smartcooler Fan and SATA drive)

Review Sites

• Silent PC Review Excellent site reviewing and recommending silent PC kit, and very active forums.

Alternative CPUs (Feb 2006)

• Cool-n-Quiet Athlon 64 (like Intels Speedstep, but for desktop AMDs)
• Pentium M desktop PC board (seems the best heat/performance tradeoff, but expensive)
• VIA (v. cool, but slow for a desktop (but 2GHz coming: Esther core))