[mythtv-users] Fanless, not only quiet

[Raphael]

Gene Stapp wrote:
> 
>     My HD's are Maxtor which, I didn't know before, seem to have a
>     reputation for being some of the noisiest.
>     I have used many different cases in various computers including my
>     gaming machines and frontends and backend, including ones that are
>     supposed to be "quiet" cases that come highly recommended from sites
>     like spcr. In my experience once you get rid of all other noises and you
>     use rubber grommets to try and damp the HD vibrations like in the Antec
>     sonata or slk series, I'm always left with a very low frequency hum
>     that
>     transfers right through and resonates in the chassis, including chassis
>     with "noise deadening" panels and the like. You have to listen closely
>     for it, but once I noticed it, it stayed noticeable.
> 
>     Of course, no one I've tried showing the noise to claims they hear it,
>     and they think I'm nuts for whining about it, but as soon as I suspended
>     the HD's, it was gone.
> 
>  
> The noise you were hearing was vibration being transferred to the metal 
> of your case. Pretty much the only way to get rid of it is through 
> suspending the drives.
> 
>  
> I've gotten whisper quiet operation by using the Antec NSK-2400 case, a 
> 2.5" notebook drive (suspended horizontally), voltmodding the included 
> Antec 3 speed lownoise fans, replacing the included power supply's 80mm 
> fan with a quiet sleeved model, and getting a scyth mini-ninja heatsink 
> with a 120mm fan. I only use it as a frontend though. The big iron is 
> still fairly noisy, but it is located in the basement storage room so no 
> biggie there.
> 
> 


That sounds like a nice set up. I need to try out the mini-ninja. I was 
only familiar with the big normal ninja. I've also been meaning to look 
into the NSK2400 as it seems like a quality quiet-possible case for a 
reasonable price.

Here are the pics I said I would upload earlier.
This one shows the HD up close with the bands tied around a couple of 
screws. Unlike the spcr implementation, the bands don't wrap around the 
drive; they wrap around screws on the bottom of the drive. You can see 
it's hanging. It would really not be a good idea to move the case with 
the drive in this config.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/raphydawg/HDsuspend.jpg

This one shows the two drives there. The one pointed at on the top is 
not suspended, but is left off all the time. It has MP3's and backups of 
the other drive on it, so it is rarely actually accessed.
The blue circle shows how the bands are wrapped around the openings in 
the Sonata drive cage. The case is a Sonata II.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/raphydawg/HDsuspend2.jpg

Cheers,
Raphael