wright1jd

The CPU fan is annoyingly loud and now that we've moved our computer into our bedroom, wifey is not happy.

I want to replace the original noisy fan with one as quiet as reasonably possible -- I am looking for recommendations and answers to a couple questions.

Intel D865PERL motherboard mPGA478 processor socket
P4 chip 2.8 GHz
--I don't overclock or anything like that, I just want a quiet fan.

Will any socket 478 cooling fan fit this? Does the fan have to fit the chip as well?
What brands/models are good, quietness being the most important factor?
How much should I spend? I don't want to overspend, but I don't want to fix the problem twice because I went on the cheap and got a lousy product.

manic

Man, its the zalman. do a google for zalman heatsinks, and fans. Very
quiet,,and keeps very cool.

blackduck30

I am also a big fan of Zalman products, not only are they quiet they cool very well

battlingpig

if your not doing much at night, why not try a fan speed controller. you could probably download a small program which could do it. or buy an external switch where you can control the fan speeds. this obviously makes them more quiet

minster9

wife,computer,loud case fan,bedroom. I dunno, me thinks battlingpig has good idea. Personally,I don't leave my computer on all the time,even though it is in my bedroom. Go with Zalman.

minster9

the usual o-rings between fan & case.

wright1jd

Update. I installed a zalman 7700-Cu chip cooler last night and, as advertised, it doesn't make a sound in quiet mode. Very very happy with it. The install was easy, the hardest part was tracking down a store that had arctic silver 5 in stock. Previously my computer sounded almost as loud as the vacuum, now it is pretty quiet but not perfect. The case is fully open though.

My next job is tracking down the remainder of the noises -- the goal is to achieve quietness equal to the two Dells I have, which to my ears are both 100% quiet.

The next biggest noise source was an old 20GB WD EIDE "Caviar" HD I just dropped in with the plan of installing Linux on it. For now it's unplugged, which helped a great deal. I won't run it if it's that noisy.

The remaining noise I can't tell whether it's coming from the other two hard drives or the power supply. It's definitely not the case fans since I disconnected them with no decrease in sound. The other two hard drives are brand new Seagate barracudas so I hope it's not them. The power supply (called "Silencer" or something similar) is >5yrs old but appears to be working smoothly.

The next steps are:
-Disconnecting the power supply and running it alone to test it's noise output.
-Installing 80mm zalman case fans with a fan speed controller

minster9

I would try running it w/the cover on it first. You'd be surprised how much that would quiet down things. I'd definitely be worried about the fan in that old power supply.

wright1jd

Funny thing is, I had originally bought it because of the name "Silencer ATX 410W" -- has to be quiet right? It is the noise source now, verified by running it disconnected. Any suggestions for a new power supply? I noticed zalman had some -- are they good for power supplies as well?

minster9

Sounds like you need another power supply. Obviously the fan bearings or bushings are wasted, but the capacitors in the units tend to degrade over time,also. I'm sure Zalman probably makes a decent PS,but there are other mfrs. who may have better prices & better warranties. You'll want a higher wattage unit,anyway,in case you add more hardware to your case. I'm sure you'll hear more suggestions from others here at TSF; I'm not really an authority on the subject. Nothing a hundred dollar bill can't fix,for sure.

wright1jd

It's just money, right? :) I'm going to school on power supplies, I'll post an update when I know something.

ebackhus

Larger fans are always a pluss. 120mm and 200mm fans runs quiet 'cause they have a larger area to move air with. They move more with less speed, thus running softly. The 120mm on my case buzzes a bit 'cause I lost the rubber o-rings and it's not prefectly flush with the case window right now. *sigh* So, if you can install larger fans then you're on your way to a quieter case. On the subject of PSU's, I have a dual fan Ultra X-Finity 600w that barely whispers in almost any situation. Again, a PSU with a larger fan WILL run quieter. I changed the PSU in my web server recently 'cause the 80mm fan would ROAR under load. The new 500w guy in there uses a single 120mmm fan and hums softly now. Now to take on the stupid fans on the dual CPUs... I hate 60mm fans!! </rant>

minster9

I would suggest you goto newegg & read the reviews on their products;consumer review magazines have sponsors. neweggs customer comments offer a wealth of info,I've always read them b4 buying anything. ebackus does have a point about the larger fans,though. I'm runnin' 3 80mm case fans from a single controller, & I'm hearing a high pitched whine. Maybe it's a resonance thing. I'm thinking about replacing my side case fan w/a 120mm unit using a separate controller(varistor).

wright1jd

OK. I used the calculator from the stickies note to determine the amount of power needed, which was 454W. This assumed 30% capacitor aging and 100% peak capacity. Adding another 30% of overhead/safety margin yields 590W. I picked the SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-650HT ATX12V / EPS12V 650W because it was highly recommended, because it has a large fan for quietness, and because newegg is having a weekend deal on it.

I am going to order it tomorrow (Sunday) to see if anyone warns me off this supply, although I doubt it as this was recommended as top of the line. Hehe I just realized I am spending more on myself than on my wife for Mother's Day.

koala

Good choice. I hope your wife understands