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Thread: Making an old Dell Dimension 8300 quieter

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    Making an old Dell Dimension 8300 quieter

    Hi,

    I have an old Dell Dimension 8300 tower (from around 2002) that I have put to use as a linux machine running Vortexbox (auto rips CDs to FLAC and serves them up via Logitech Media Server).

    This works great and has given an old machine a new lease of life.

    The problem I have now is that it's very noisy. I have given it a good clear out with compressed air but it's still too noisy to keep on 24hours as a server.

    So I would like to upgrade the PSU and the chip fan to something quieter.

    Any ideas how I can do this as I think the PSU is not a standard size?

    Thanks
    Last edited by m4rky; 07-11-2012 at 09:34 PM. Reason: It's a Dell 8300 not an 8200

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    Re: Making an old Dell Dimension 8200 quieter

    I take it you've fiddled with fan speeds already?

    My parent's have a dell which is incredibly loud but a quick go with speedfan or similar and it's about 70% quieter I'd say.

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    Re: Making an old Dell Dimension 8200 quieter

    The CPU is probably a P4, so it's going to be hot. If it's the OEM heatsink, then you'll probably not have much luck in just changing the fan alone.

    PSU wise, any modern branded unit will be okay but check that the Dell uses a standard ATX pinout - some of them didn't so a PSU swap isn't simple.
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    Re: Making an old Dell Dimension 8200 quieter

    Quote Originally Posted by holy god of nil View Post
    I take it you've fiddled with fan speeds already?

    My parent's have a dell which is incredibly loud but a quick go with speedfan or similar and it's about 70% quieter I'd say.
    Too be honest no not tried it.
    If it was running windows then I would try it. I don't know how to do it within linux?

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    Re: Making an old Dell Dimension 8200 quieter

    Yep it's a P4 and I have just noticed it's a Dell Dimension 8300 not an 8200.

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    Re: Making an old Dell Dimension 8300 quieter

    For what you would spend making it quieter and the reduction in energy bills you would see (P4s of that generation suck a lot of electricity for not much computing power by modern standards) you would be better off starting from scratch with a modest mITX or mATX build - they don't have to be expensive

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    Re: Making an old Dell Dimension 8300 quieter

    One of the newer AMD chips would be faster, quieter, use less power and be quite cheap.

    If you're going to keep that machine on 24 hours like you said, you'd be amazed at how quickly a new system can pay for itself in reduced electric costs alone.
    Quote Originally Posted by Saracen View Post
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    Re: Making an old Dell Dimension 8300 quieter

    If you add the amount you would spend on a new cooler and fans and the time you would lose from cutting holes in the case for bigger casefans, you're better of just getting something more recent secondhand and selling your pc.

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