Finally got my A64 3000 system quieted down...check your BIOS settings

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Built a new system back in the summer...Athlon64-3000 Venice with stock
fan, Antec case, Epox Nforce 3 motherboard, ATI 9800Pro, a $40 PS that
was on sale at newegg. Cool n Quiet was enabled and working. No load
processor temperatures were right about 40deg C. The system was really
LOUD...which was a problem since it was intended as a media center PC in
the living room. I stopped various fans, etc, and it seemed like they
were all contributing to the noise.

I finally got around to fixing it. I did three things:

1) Took a harddrive out of a removable enclosure that had a noisy fan

2) changed to a 430W Seasonic $100 power supply from newegg (recommended
by silentpcreview.com)

3) changed to an Artic cooler for the ATI 9800Pro

A Zalman 7000 CPU cooler was going to be the next purchase, but I wanted
to see the effect of the other two changes before I threw more money at it.

After these changes, it was still loud, all because of the stock CPU
fan, which was running at about 5K rpm. I poked around in the BIOS and
found a "Smartfan" setting. I set it to 45deg C, and the system became
VERY quiet. The CPU fan dropped down to about 2K rpm. No load temps
did not change - still right around 40deg C.

It's so quiet that I can even hear the disk seek noise when sitting on
the couch 12 feet away :-).

I still don't understand what Smartfan does, but I'm guessing that it
throttles back the CPU fan until the temp gets to 45deg.

Anyway, check your BIOS settings for Smartfan and play with the settings
if you aren't happy with the noise.
 
After these changes, it was still loud, all because of the stock CPU fan,
which was running at about 5K rpm. I poked around in the BIOS and found a
"Smartfan" setting. I set it to 45deg C, and the system became
VERY quiet. The CPU fan dropped down to about 2K rpm. No load temps
did not change - still right around 40deg C.

It's so quiet that I can even hear the disk seek noise when sitting on the
couch 12 feet away :-).

I still don't understand what Smartfan does, but I'm guessing that it
throttles back the CPU fan until the temp gets to 45deg.
Click to expand...
It lowers the voltage to the fan thus slowing it down. Not all MB's have
it. Another solution would be to replace the 70x15mm stock fan with a
70->80 or 90mm adapter and install a better fan. An 80x25mm 2500rpm fan
works as well as the noisy little 70x15mm 5Krpm stock fan.
 
It lowers the voltage to the fan thus slowing it down. Not all MB's have
it. Another solution would be to replace the 70x15mm stock fan with a
70->80 or 90mm adapter and install a better fan. An 80x25mm 2500rpm fan
works as well as the noisy little 70x15mm 5Krpm stock fan.
Click to expand...

If you are running linux you can run 'fancontrol' which is part of
lm-sensors. This is essentially a software fancontroller with min/max
sensor temps used to trigger fans on/off and set fan speeds(start-up/min/max).
 
You do know that Cool 'n Quiet is better than either QFan or Smartfan? Why
are you not using Cool n' Quiet?

Bobby
 
If you are running linux you can run 'fancontrol' which is part of
lm-sensors. This is essentially a software fancontroller with min/max
sensor temps used to trigger fans on/off and set fan
speeds(start-up/min/max).
Click to expand...

There's no such thing as software only fancontrol. If ones MB hardware
doesn't support changing the voltage to the fans, the the software is
worthless. Many boards do not have fan speed control, so fancontrol won't
work with them unless the boards are modified for it, a tedious and
dangerous task for one without good soldering experience. It's also more
time consuming than it's worth imo. If this support is needed, one should
buy a MB that has it built in.
 
You do know that Cool 'n Quiet is better than either QFan or Smartfan?
Why are you not using Cool n' Quiet?
Click to expand...
Cool 'n Quiet (Powernow) allows control of CPU speed. QFan or Smartfan
controls fan speeds. Two totally different functions. One may want to use
both at the same time for optimum power savings and temp control.
 
NoNoBadDog! said:
You do know that Cool 'n Quiet is better than either QFan or Smartfan? Why
are you not using Cool n' Quiet?
Click to expand...

Hmmm...read my post more carefully...

"Cool n Quiet was enabled and working."
 
Now something I came across while setting up my system. Is CnQ only for a
64-bit environment? It mentions ACPI 2.0 when I installed a cpu driver for
windows 64. Just curious as im in the exact same boat. So far its way
quieter than my last pc, but its just a bit too much.
 
Now something I came across while setting up my system. Is CnQ only for a
64-bit environment?
Click to expand...

No, it works in 32 or 64 bit modes.
It mentions ACPI 2.0 when I installed a cpu driver
for windows 64. Just curious as im in the exact same boat. So far its
way quieter than my last pc, but its just a bit too much.
Click to expand...
CnQ doesn't control fan speeds, which is where the noise comes from. ALL
CnQ does is allow software control (via powernow really) of the CPU speed.
If your cpu fan makes too much noise, and your MB supports fan control
(some/most(?) don't), then you can enable that. Otherwise, change the fan,
or both if your board supports fan control. I found the AMD cooler fan to
be too noisey too, so I replaced the stock 70x15mm 5Krpm fan with an
adapter and an 80x25mm 2500rpm fan. No more cpu cooler noise.
 
Besides replacing the fan you can use a fan speed controller. Such as the
Zalman fanmate, which goes inside the case, or the Zalman rig that goes in a
5 1/4" bay.

I stuck the little knob on a fanmate through a hole in the back of the case
from the inside and epoxied the fanmate on there. Though I wish I'd used
tape.
--
Ed Light

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