Quest for silence...

[joshwa]

Well,

I started with a Duron 1.2 and a Globalwin CBK-58 - and this was 25dba and fairly quiet.

Then I got an XP1700 thoroughbred-b which was okay with the cbk-58...

then I got a coolermaster x-dream hac-v81 - which was better at cooling and let me overclock the cpu to 2ghz (xp2400) @ 10% more voltage... anyway, it was a bit too noisey...

so i got a coolermaster aero 7 (not +) and this was great, quiet, and cooled okay... but then the fan died

so i thought, great, i'll be able to buy a Thermalright SK-7 and stick a 20dba 80mm fan on, and silence will finally be mine!

so i get the sk-7, but with the 20dba ys-tech it easily reaches 70 degrees C under load

so i've stuck the x-dream fan back on... and the cpu's cool enough under load, but the fans too noisey...

what should i do to get a quiet system? - using 20dba fans as the loudest?

it's really doing my nutt in!

i guess i could just stick my cpu down to it's normal speed and not overclock it anymore... :/

[Bindibadgi]

either:

buy an XP2400

or

buy a Alpha or Swiftech

or

buy a watercooling kit

All muchos wonger. Have you tried the zalman fan bracket +120mm panaflo LA1 on 7v approch?

[fondie]

josh, get a Zalman CNPS-7000ACu

it's available for under £40 inc vat and delivery here :- http://www.thecoolingshop.co.uk/tcs/...ry=3&curPage=4

[St3v3]

Get one of those zalman heatsinks from overclockers.co.uk ... think its the very bottom one on the zalman page. Its very quiet, got it in my wee sisters PC. The coolin performance on it is amazing as well.

[fondie]

and here's a review of the CNPS-7000ACu :- http://www.bit-tech.net/review/235/

it's a high quality cooler and will easily out perform the rest of Zalman's heatsink range, along with quite a few other coolers..

[joshwa]

unfortunately the 7000a requires holes in your motherboard - which mine doesn't have...

i was thinking i could buy an xp2400 then i'd be running at stock voltage so it wouldn't generate so much heat...

i think i'll try playing with my cpu again, and try setting the multiplier to xp2200 speeds, and hopefully then i won't need to increase the voltage, so it'll be much cooler, and hopefully be happy with the sk-7 and 20dba fan...

pretty annoying the amount of dosh spent on different heatsinks, i could have just bought a fast cpu in the first place...

cpus are just too hot !

[fondie]

Originally posted by www.josh.org.uk
unfortunately the 7000a requires holes in your motherboard - which mine doesn't have...

drill some ?

my suggestion is to leave it at 70degrees with your sk-7 and ys-tech, as long as it's stable. i'm quite suprised your getting quite such high temperatures with it though, what voltage/speed you running at and does your bios report temperatures correctly?

[joshwa]

Originally posted by fondie


drill some ?

my suggestion is to leave it at 70degrees with your sk-7 and ys-tech, as long as it's stable. i'm quite suprised your getting quite such high temperatures with it though, what voltage/speed you running at and does your bios report temperatures correctly?

default voltage (of the xp1700 i've got) is 1.6 - but i've got it set at 1.75 v and 2000mhz (xp2400 speed) - the bios seems to* report temperature okay, the thermal thing is directly under the cpu, and the heatsink does seem quite hot, but not burning.

*but i've got no way of checking this.

[dpm]

The sk-7 is a top notch heatsink - one of the best that doesn't require screw holes (the slk-800 is even better, but seriously pricey.)

I'm not sure about the ys-tech fan, but 70 C seems suprisingly high, but not the end of the world - you could just live with it, but I wouldn't be comfortable.

What about the overall airflow in your case? What are your case temps?

I supposed that with a decent overclock like that then you aren't going to get away without noise or heat. Overclocking and silent pc's dont go together!

If you do want silence, tis best to run at stock - with my xp2200 at stock and a sk-7/panaflo L1a I was getting high 30s and near silence before this bloody heatwave...

[Austin]

Most XP1700+ should only use 1.50v (DLT3C) but you may have a 1.60v version (DUT3C). You should find any TbredB or Barton (1.65v) will run 100% reliably with only 1.50v up to around 2.0ghz so long as you have a decent cooler. Any TbredB or Barton using 1.50-1.55v will run COOLER than a stock XP2400+ at the same speed. It is voltage that makes an o/c'ed CPU hotter than the real thing not the o/c'ing itself. If you want quiet then look to see how high your CPU can go using low voltage (< 1.60v ideally) and still run Prime95. You only need 1.80ghz to run at XP2200+ speeds and that is none too shabby and still a big step up with your XP1700+. You should find that plenty cool enough.

The Xdream are noisy and clunky compared to the likes of the Volcano 11, but I would expect even that would be too noisy. FYI I used a V11+ @ 2400rpm to cool my XP1700+ @ 2.0ghz (XP2400+) set to 1.52 - 1.55v. It was still audible though. You could look to the Zalman Flower (all copper version) as that should still allow a decent o/c and is known to be very quiet. Otherwise it's off to look at the top HS like Thermalright AX-7/SLK800, Alpha PAL 8045/8942 and Swift MCX462 but obv note those which req lots of space or mobo holes. GlacialTech Igloo 2500 Pro is also meant to be a good solution without breaking the bank just like the Volcano 11.

For fans a knowledgable friend of mine recs 20cfm minimum with Papst 26cfm & 19dB as that's pretty quiet with decent perf. He's used all the above HSF and found MCX-462+ is the best IHHO. Smart Fan 2 is also very good & it's v.nice to have the adjustability, that's used on the Volcano 11 but can be bought seperately. Reportedly good teamed up with a Thermalright SLK-800. Another good team is the less-powerful adjustable 80mm fan from Y.S.Tech on an Alpha PAL-8045. Enermax's adjustable 80mm fan has also received good reviews. Vantec 's Aeroflow is significantly less expensive than either of the above heatsink + fan combinations. It uses the innovative TMD (tip magnetic driven) 70mm fan from Y.S. Tech. This fan's design makes it more efficient than conventional fans. As a result, the Aeroflow is reported to perform quite well at a reasonably-quiet noise level.

Here's a very comprehensive cooler roundup...

http://www.dansdata.com/coolercomp.htm

Lots of cooler reviews...

http://www17.tomshardware.com/cpu/02...916/index.html
http://www.frostytech.com
http://www.coolerguys.com
http://www.overclockers.com/articles373/
http://www.systemcooling.com/

[joshwa]

the coolermaster aero 7 with the normal fan on lowest setting cooled it to 63/62 under load... and around 62/61 when i used a noisier 70mm fan... this is with 1 80mm 20dba in fan. (at the front)

with the sk-7, i added an extra 80mm 20dba out fan (at the back) and then with the 20dba ys-tech 80mm it went up to 70 under load

i'm now using the noisy x-dream 80mm fan on low, and it went up to about 61 under load.

one thing i definitely know now is the coolermaster aero 7 is one top notch cooler, when comparing the size of the copper base with the sk-7, they are about the same size, with the sk-7 wider at the top.

perhaps i could buy an aero 7 lite (for about £12 ebuyer) and put that fan on the sk-7 or the aero heatsink i've got... see which is best...

my case is an Aopen H600 with 1 in and 1 out (both 20dba ys-tech). motherboard temp is normally around 42/43 under load, but there is no fan on the heatsink (this is how it came)... and it's still quite hot at the moment weather wise... :/

i think i'm probably best just going back to stock speeds - or as Austin suggests, try getting the most speed without increasing the voltage - that's a top notch idea - although it does mean physically modding the CPU, as the motherboard doesn't let me change the multiplyer (i had to physically modify it to get it at xp2400 speeds!)

[fondie]

i don't know how much room you have around your cpu socket but if it will fit you could get an 80mm to 120mm fan adaptor along with a 20dB 120m fan.

[SilentDeath]

with an slk800 im able to use just a 13cfm fan on my 1700+ dut3c @ 2005mhz/1.65v and still get 34c idle/42c load. also austin u are wrong again, clocking without more volts does still considerably heat up the chip.

if its a tbreed u dont need to change the bridges to clock, wire trick is easyer.

also, i have my slk800 for sale if ur interested as im moving to wc now

[Austin]

Originally posted by |SilentDeath|
with an slk800 im able to use just a 13cfm fan on my 1700+ dut3c @ 2005mhz/1.65v and still get 34c idle/42c load. also austin u are wrong again, clocking without more volts does still considerably heat up the chip.

if its a tbreed u dont need to change the bridges to clock, wire trick is easyer.

also, i have my slk800 for sale if ur interested as im moving to wc now

I wasn't trying to suggest that running a 1.47ghz XP1700+ 1.50v (DLT3C) at 1.80ghz+ (XP2200+) would not give off more heat if you keep the voltage at 1.50v. I was stating that running an XP1700+ (1.47ghz) at XP2400+ speed (2.0ghz) doesn't mean it will run hotter than a std XP2400+ just because it is o/c'ed and in fact it can run cooler if it uses a lower voltage than the 1.60v most XP2400+ use. I would estimate even at XP2400+ speed using 1.50v you would run cooler than at XP1700+ speed with 1.60v. Bottom line voltage is the biggest factor in the heat produced.

Also many TbredA were locked, it is the TbredB and Barton which are always unlocked but even then you can hit problems if your mobo doesn't understand the 5th FID bit ... esp if the CPU comes 13x+ at stock. With TbredB & Barton you don't need L1 bridge painting nor wire tricks as the CPU is always unlocked.

[joshwa]

the problem with my motherboard is that it won't let me change the multiplyer - so i had to change the bridges on the cpu, even though it's a tbred-b

i'll have another play when i get home, see what i can do with lower voltages

[fondie]

Originally posted by www.josh.org.uk
the problem with my motherboard is that it won't let me change the multiplyer - so i had to change the bridges on the cpu, even though it's a tbred-b

i'll have another play when i get home, see what i can do with lower voltages

sell you motherboard without holes, buy one with holes, buy a zalman 7000a

i'm pretty sure you should be doing better with your sk7 and ys-tech though, either the temperatures not reporting correctly or the heatsink needs refitting. i've had my 1700+ running at 2.1Ghz+ (don't know what voltage) with a volcano 11 with the fan turned to it's lowest setting, may have had temperatures in the higher end of the 60s but never hit 70!