Kitz Forum
Computers & Hardware => PC Hardware => Topic started by: roseway on December 06, 2006, 03:00:28 PM
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I'm having some fun today. I decided a few days ago that it was time to build myself a new machine, and this time I was going to make it a quiet one. After doing some research I selected an extra-quiet Antec case (it's got things like rubber-band mounting for disk drives), a quiet Antec power supply (large slow-moving fan), a Seagate fluid-bearing hard disk, and a fanless graphics card. The processor is an Athlon x2 with an Arctic Cooling Alpine 64 cooler which had excellent reviews.
I ordered the kit from Ebuyer at about 11:00 yesterday, and at 10:00 this morning it turned up. I spent a few hours putting it together, and I'm now installing a test OS to see how it goes. It's so quiet I can hardly hear a sound, except when the DVD-Rom winds up.
I'm feeling rather smug. 8)
Eric
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ah the quiet pc , a thing to behold ;D , unfortunately with a 100 watt psu , 2 x GPU's and a seriously overclocked CPU i have fans blowing in all directions ;)
I envy you >:( I cant hear myself type ;)
do you still get the same feeling of satisfaction when it boots for the first time as you did when you built your first one? I do ;) , mostly im happy its booting and not just beeping at me like a derranged roadrunner ;)
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Quietness doesn't come cheap of course, except for the CPU cooler which only cost ?6-odd and is beautifully quiet.
Yes, I do get that feeling of satisfaction when it boots for the first time. There's always the worry that, in standing on the CPU cooler to get the second clip on, I may have busted something. But despite the slight stress, it's far more satisfying to build rather than buy, and at least I know that no corners have been cut in the choice of components.
Eric
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Hello Eric, very nice.
That's what I'm going to do with the next one I build, The small fan on my graphics card sounds like an RB211 jet engine when I switch on, then goes quieter after about 1 minute, I've oiled it twice but then gets noisy after two or three weeks.
Michael.
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Hello Michael,
As I'm not a games player (not that sort of game anyway) the graphics performance isn't a crucial issue for me. I used an nVidia XFX 6200 card which has still got quite a respectable performance with a passive heatsink, and was pretty cheap as well.
Eric
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There's always the worry that, in standing on the CPU cooler to get the second clip on, I may have busted something.
Eric, Eric, Eric.
I have told you before, the best way of getting even pressure on the CPU cooler clips, is to place a block of wood (preferably a hard wood such as oak), "so as not to get splinters and bits going in-between the veins" then hit is squarely with a lump hammer, now before the tension has time to spring back just lever the clip on with the tyre lever from the car.
This method will not only save leaving the impression of the cooler veins on the sole of your shoe but will also save you from possibility over-balancing and hurting yourself.
Needles to say, the building of any item especially a computer should not be attempted by a novice or the feint hearted and professional advice like this should always be confirmed by at least 2 other pro's although, some would recommend using balsa wood as this has a tendency of not slipping under a hammer. :lol:
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Thanks for that advice OF, I'll try to forget it the next time I build a PC. :)
Eric
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Thanks for that advice OF, I'll try to forget it the next time I build a PC. :)
You mean Mk 2 is on the horizon already? :angel:
Envy, usually brings the best out in people.........................and I'm no exception :P
But I still hope it all goes well and may all your little PCs be just as quite.
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I built a quiet PC at the start of the year which I gave to my parents some months ago. That was a Pentium Mobile CPU and motherboard, Aopen case with good airflow and efficient PSU and a nice quiet seagate hard drive. I just settled for the integrated graphics and how lovely and quiet the system is, and at the same time using around 50w of power.
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You mean Mk 2 is on the horizon already? :angel:
Envy, usually brings the best out in people.........................and I'm no exception :P
But I still hope it all goes well and may all your little PCs be just as quite.
Thank you for your kind words, but it's going to be a little while before the next build project. The last one was about two years ago, and it was interesting to see how things have changed in the meantime - the processor pins have become even more numerous and smaller, and the AGP slot has disappeared altogether to be replaced by PCI-Express. I wonder what will have changed next time?
Eric
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I just settled for the integrated graphics and how lovely and quiet the system is, and at the same time using around 50w of power.
The strange thing about using a quiet PC is how much more aware you become of other sounds in the environment. For example, one of my monitors has a power supply brick, and I'd never noticed before that the brick makes a low humming noise. Now I can hear it all the time, until I power up an older, noisier PC.
Eric
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heh.. eric has a new baby eh?
Congratulations :)
lmao... I think I'd pass on OFs advice though too. :lol:
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i used to buy quiet stuff from Quiet PC (http://quietpc.com/) my ex had something called hyperacusis
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I looked at QuietPC, but their prices were a good bit higher than EBuyer for mostly the same products. I guess if I was looking to help a person with hyperacusis (I had to look it up) I might well go to QuietPC for their extra-special quiet products though.
Eric
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yeah back then their psu's were like 2x the price of normal ones. i had a silent heat pipe cooler on my graphics card too.