P4P800-E and cooling/case questions

  • Thread starter Thread starter Martin Hirsch
  • Start date Start date
M

Martin Hirsch

I'm planning on putting together a P4P800-E with a P4 3.0 (Northwood) and
ATI9800 pro video card.

My goal is to build a very quiet system. At this time I'm looking for
suggestions for a case/power supply. I don't want a flashy case. What are
the better brands that I should check out. I know better power supplies are
sold separately so what are the better brands of these.

Additionally is the stock cpu fan quiet or should it be upgraded and do you
have any suggestions.

Finally the ATI 9800 pro. Are these noisy and should its fan be upgraded.

Thanks for the help.
 
Martin Hirsch said:
I'm planning on putting together a P4P800-E with a P4 3.0 (Northwood) and
ATI9800 pro video card.

My goal is to build a very quiet system. At this time I'm looking for
suggestions for a case/power supply. I don't want a flashy case. What are
the better brands that I should check out. I know better power supplies are
sold separately so what are the better brands of these.

Additionally is the stock cpu fan quiet or should it be upgraded and do you
have any suggestions.

Finally the ATI 9800 pro. Are these noisy and should its fan be upgraded.

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...


I like the Cooler Master PAC-T01-EK. I also use Antec True Power 550w PS.
Among the ATI 9800 Pros, Hitech IceQ is probably the quietest followed by
the MSI version. Hitech is an ATI oem with Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer.
I've had Sapphire and ATI (9800 Pro and 9800XT) and both were a bit loud
(esp in full load). As for fan upgrade options you have Arctic Cooling's
VGA Silencer or Zalman ZM80 heatsink. However, if you replace the fan
you'll void the warranty, so my suggestion is to try to find a Hitech. MSI
R9800 Pro is definitely quieter than my Sapphire. If you can get a card
that's out of warranty, I'd recommend the VGA Silencer.


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-119-035&depa=0
 
I´m running your new setup;)
I`ve choosen a Chieftec big tower, because needed lot`s of space for
watercooling parts, so i took the 901. Take a look a the 601, it`s heavy but
silent and well arranged. The more expensive Chieftec are sold without power
supply, so go for BeQuit or Enermax. Both are performing well.
The Intel box cooler is very noisy, I´d prefer a Zalmann 7000 when it comes to
air cooling;) definitly the HighEnd cooler so far. The ATi stock coolers are
loud as well, arctic cooling "vga silencer" is great and cheap :)
You will love your system :D
 
"Martin Hirsch" said:
I'm planning on putting together a P4P800-E with a P4 3.0 (Northwood) and
ATI9800 pro video card.

My goal is to build a very quiet system. At this time I'm looking for
suggestions for a case/power supply. I don't want a flashy case. What are
the better brands that I should check out. I know better power supplies are
sold separately so what are the better brands of these.

Additionally is the stock cpu fan quiet or should it be upgraded and do you
have any suggestions.

Finally the ATI 9800 pro. Are these noisy and should its fan be upgraded.

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

I hope you are being realistic about a "very quiet system".
Human hearing is logarithmic, and you virtually have to stop
using rotating machinery in the case, to get real quiet.

The thing is, if you are using only moving air to remove
heat from the case, then you will have to accept a compromise.
If you drop the air velocity, in the name of quiet, then the
case temperature will go up, which isn't good for the components
(in particular the disk drive, as everything else will handle
the heat better than a drive will).

Some people have gone to the extreme of using water blocks, and
then running the plumbing out the back of the computer to
another room, where a reservoir, radiator, pump, fan, etc are
located. By moving heat from the processor and video card from
inside the case, it will be a lot easier to tune fan speed
versus case temperature. But, such a solution is not for the
faint of heart (imagine what a mess the plumbing would be).

I find after using a P4 2.8C and ATI9800 pro 128 for a while,
that the room gets warm. What that should tell you, is if the
system is hidden in a closet or under a desk, to muffle the
sound, it won't take long before the whole closet will be heated
up.

I'm using a Zalman 7000, running at full speed, and I can
still hear it. I have an Antec Sonata case, with a 120mm fan
in the back, and I can hear that too. If the case you buy has
the air intake as a hole near the bottom front of the case, that
will help attenuate the higher noise frequencies, but you'll still
hear the lower frequencies. At least the Seagate drive sitting
in the rubber grommet lined drive tray is quiet.

So, while my new setup is numerically superior to the old one,
it is still noisy.

If you have deep pockets, there is the TNN500A. While the web
page lists P4 3.2Ghz, I would want to read a few independent
reviews that verify the temperature results:

http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=64&code=020

The product is also mentioned here - their price is £675, enough
to buy another computer:

http://www.quietpc.com/uk/tnn500a.php

HTH,
Paul
 
I have a P4P800 with P4 2.8 and ATI9600 pro card (no fan = no noise).

After a month I've replaced the noisy stock heatsink with Zalman's 7000b and
the three quite case fans from Zalman. The system is much quiter and the CPU
temperature dropped about six degrees Celsius comparing it to the stock
setup. Life is good with a quite PC...
 
Martin,

I recently built a new system for the first time with the following:

Antec SLK3700-BQE case -- includes 350 PSU and exhaust fan for rear of case
Antec SmartCool -- second fan for front of case
P4P800-E Deluxe
P4, 3.0C
2GB Mushkin RAM
Zalman 7000A-AlCu CPU fan
2 -- WD HDs
Plextor 712A DVD/CD burner
Matrox G450 video card
Fax/modem card
Windows XP Home

I have Q-Fan enabled in BIOS to control the CPU fan speed. The PSU fan and
the front SmartCool fan automatically adjust speeds.

Typical temps after the system has warmed up:
CPU 31C
MB 33C

Under Prime95 load:
CPU 51C
MB 37C

This is the quietest PC I've ever had. It sits on my desk, right next to
the monitor. I can hear it, but it's so much quieter than what I'm used to
that I barely notice it. (I have a small copy machine across the room and
when it is running, I can't hear the PC at all.)

The system booted without problems and has been working perfectly since
day-1.

The Antec case was very easy to work with. It has a very cleaver system for
installing the HDs. Some folks in this newsgroup would advise using a
larger PSU, so you might want to consider that. For my components, however,
I think the 350w is sufficient. I could not be happier with the whole
system. (Bought at newegg.com -- excellent service.)

John
 
Back
Top