[mythtv-users] HTPC Case

[J. Donavan Stanley]

mythtv at codepoets.ca wrote:

>>I'd be surprised if the case alone made a PC silent,  but most cases can
>>be made silent.  My D.Vine5 machine is quiet inaudible at something like
>>5 feet in a quiet room.
>>    
>>
>
>Did you document how you made your case silent?  This is my next quest :)
>  
>

I spent a lot of time at SilentPCReview reading up on things.  I ended 
up making a few compromises here and there since I didn't have suppliers 
for all the parts I wanted,  plus the D.Vine5 only accomodates 60mm case 
fans (BTW the one that comes with it was a MUCH quieter fan than the 
vantec stealth I bought for the second slot).  Plus the Ahanix "SilenX" 
line of power supplies are nice and quiet.

I use a Zalman 6000Cu CPU cooler.  I would have used the 7000 but I had 
concerns about it fitting in the D.Vine, I now know it probably would 
have.  The Thermalright 900 (or is that 9000) would have been an even 
better choice I think.  With the 6000 installed I run it's 92mm fan at a 
whopping 1500rpm.

Fan speed controllers for your case / CPU fans are a must.  My case fans 
are set to "medium", sorry I don't have exact RPMs.  The way the D.Vine 
is laid out these fans blow air right across the big ass Zalman as well 
as the northbridge.

I sprayed the inside of the case with rubberized undercoating to absorb 
vibration / noise.

Lastly I unplugged the hideous northbridge fan that comes on the 7NIF2 
and rely on the case fans / Zalman to cool it instead.  I've monitored 
the northbridge after continuous running for a while and it's warm but 
barely warmer than it was before unplugging it's fan.  That single fan 
was the noisiest part of the whole machine, even when the case fans were 
on high you could hear it.

Everything in this box was purchased speciificlly for it so I can't 
really give you a before and after or say which piece made the most 
difference.  Though compared to my  main machine I'd point to the CPU 
cooler as the major silencing factor.

My system specs:

    Chaintech 7NIF2
    AMD 2500
    2 Sticks of 256MB PC2700 RAM running in dual channel DDR mode. With 
copper head spreaders attached.
    200G Seagate 7200.7 drive (quiet but HOT, not noticably quieter than 
my WD 120G that was in it)
    Hauppage PVR250 "Freestyle"