Silent PC that won't break the bank

Hi

I would like some advice pls. I am looking to replace my current PC -
mainly because it is so noisy when I turn it on and also because I fancy
a new PC with a higher spec! I have found a site that does Super Silent
Systems but it is way over the top price-wise. My budget is £500-600
ish.

I don't do much gaming or downloading, mainly internet/radio but want
the quietest system so I don't get a headache sitting in front of it for
several hours at a time.

Can anybody here advise me of either a site to look at, or what I need
to look for.

Many thanks

Caagh

On Sun, 16 Oct 2005 19:30:15 +0000, "Caagh"
<none@spam.invalid> wrote:

>Hi
>
>I would like some advice pls. I am looking to replace my current PC -
>mainly because it is so noisy when I turn it on and also because I fancy
>a new PC with a higher spec! I have found a site that does Super Silent
>Systems but it is way over the top price-wise. My budget is £500-600
>ish.
>
>I don't do much gaming or downloading, mainly internet/radio but want
>the quietest system so I don't get a headache sitting in front of it for
>several hours at a time.
>
>Can anybody here advise me of either a site to look at, or what I need
>to look for.

Look for a case with large front intake area, a large
(preferribly 120mm) rear exahast fan running at low RPM, and
a PSU known for being quiet. Choose a video card with a
passive heatsink or buy an aftermarket heatsink for it known
to be quiet. Choose large copper-based CPU 'sink with a
large low RPM fan, at least 25mm thick.

Choose a CPU known for lower heat, like a lesser speed
Athlon 64 or Pentium M, not a P4 or Celeron (Prescott core).
Some people have particular uses that may benefit from
certain, specific parts, but your described uses will not
need a CPU with a high heat to performance ratio.

There are plenty of 'sites on the net for advice on building
a quiet system too.
http://www.google.com/search?q=build+quiet+PC

On Sun, 16 Oct 2005 20:08:12 GMT, kony <spam@spam.com> wrote:

>On Sun, 16 Oct 2005 19:30:15 +0000, "Caagh"
><none@spam.invalid> wrote:
>
>>Hi
>>
>>I would like some advice pls. I am looking to replace my current PC -
>>mainly because it is so noisy when I turn it on and also because I fancy
>>a new PC with a higher spec! I have found a site that does Super Silent
>>Systems but it is way over the top price-wise. My budget is £500-600
>>ish.
>>
>>I don't do much gaming or downloading, mainly internet/radio but want
>>the quietest system so I don't get a headache sitting in front of it for
>>several hours at a time.
>>
>>Can anybody here advise me of either a site to look at, or what I need
>>to look for.
>
>Look for a case with large front intake area, a large
>(preferribly 120mm) rear exahast fan running at low RPM, and
>a PSU known for being quiet. Choose a video card with a
>passive heatsink or buy an aftermarket heatsink for it known
>to be quiet. Choose large copper-based CPU 'sink with a
>large low RPM fan, at least 25mm thick.
>
>Choose a CPU known for lower heat, like a lesser speed
>Athlon 64 or Pentium M, not a P4 or Celeron (Prescott core).
>Some people have particular uses that may benefit from
>certain, specific parts, but your described uses will not
>need a CPU with a high heat to performance ratio.
>
>There are plenty of 'sites on the net for advice on building
>a quiet system too.
>http://www.google.com/search?q=build+quiet+PC


Yeah heres one and you can see the prices for such specialty gear are
really jacked up high.

http://www.pccasegear.com/category40_1.htm

There are special noisefree cases , fanless power supplies. You can
put a silent fan on your CPU and case. Then all youre left with is the
drives. People complain a lot about drives too. There are these
cooling jackets that wrap the drives to reduce noise but then if they
use fans they could add just as much noise.

Maybe a noisefree PC case alone can reduce the noise enough . You can
damping to the walls and use some rubber washers to reduce vibrations.

On Sun, 16 Oct 2005 19:38:34 -1000, "John@Smith.com"
<John@Smith.com> wrote:


>Yeah heres one and you can see the prices for such specialty gear are
>really jacked up high.

Yeah it's kind of ironic, that a junky generic chinese fan
called "low-noise" can be louder per flow rate and more
costly than a Panaflo L-speed.

>
>http://www.pccasegear.com/category40_1.htm
>
>There are special noisefree cases , fanless power supplies. You can
>put a silent fan on your CPU and case. Then all youre left with is the
>drives. People complain a lot about drives too. There are these
>cooling jackets that wrap the drives to reduce noise but then if they
>use fans they could add just as much noise.
>
>Maybe a noisefree PC case alone can reduce the noise enough . You can
>damping to the walls and use some rubber washers to reduce vibrations.

One cheap way to deaden noise in a case is to use thick
rubber-backed outdoor carpeting, the type sold at hardware
stores for about $4/yard. Generously apply (a ton of)
construction adhesive and adhere custom-cut panels to all
case walls. The construction adhesive isn't just to hold it
on, but it deadens noise some too by providing a
mid-density, additional mass to the metal sheeting.

I meant to put the carpeting on the inside of the case, but
I guess it'd look unique on the outside... never heard of
anyone needing to vacuume the outside of their computer case
though.

On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 10:30:02 GMT, kony <spam@spam.com> wrote:


>I meant to put the carpeting on the inside of the case, but
>I guess it'd look unique on the outside... never heard of
>anyone needing to vacuume the outside of their computer case
>though.

Now that you mention it Im surprised someone hasnt done that since so
many people love tacky looking stuff for the fun of it. A 70s shag rug
case with a disco ball stuck on it somewhere.