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Choosing Components

Part II in How to Build a Quiet PC with AMD 850MHz CPU by Taliesin Akin

Noise Output
Components

CPU
Motherboard
CPU Heat Sink / Fan
Power Supply
Hard Drive Cooler
Case Fan
Noise Output

Choose quiet components whenever possible. One good place to look is http://www.noisecontrol.de/. This German site offers several products geared toward the noise conscious PC owner, (they have some English content now, and say that the whole site will be in English soon). Components that are sold as "quiet" or "silent" components will have their noise output listed in dB (decibels) with their specifications (you will also see dB(A), where the (A) is for A-weighted filter. This means that the dB meter used an A-weighted filter when the measurement was taken. The a-weighted filter is used to record general noise level as apposed to music or other more concentrated sources. Keep in mind that the average computer may generate a 36-45 dB noise level. 33-36 dB is considered a low noise level. Below 33 dB is considered quiet. Below 28 dB is considered silent, since 28 dB is the noise level of a quiet room. Try to get below 28 dB will all the components. The main noisemakers for a PC are the Power Supply and the fans required to keep the high MHz systems cool, and the hard drive and CD ROM or DVD. Choosing a quiet Power Supply and quiet fans will greatly reduce the noise coming from your PC. Manufacturers are now starting to pay attention to the noise factor of their products and to produce drives that make less noise. Look for these drives if you are buying new.

Components

CPU: With that in mind, start by choosing a CPU (Central Processing Unit). First, decide on the speed that you want from your CPU, and then choose components that are compatible with the CPU.

I have chosen an AMD Athlon Thunderbird 850MHz Socket A CPU (see picture on the left) because I wanted a fast chip for graphic design and sound editing, and Athlon CPU�s are among the cheapest. So you get more MHz for your dollar.

Motherboard: I chose a Gigabyte 7ZX Socket A Dual BIOS Motherboard (see picture below), which is compatible with the CPU. Dual BIOS means that it has two BIOS chips on the Motherboard, so that if one gets corrupted, the other one takes over with no down time. This motherboard has a built in Creative CT5880 PCI sound chip with 4 channel audio. I bought one 256 PC133 SDRAM memory chip to put on the Motherboard.

CPU Heat Sink / Fan: There will be at least two (preferably three) fans on the system--one for the CPU, one for the power supply, and a case fan to improve circulation inside the case. It is important to choose a quiet power supply and quiet fans whenever possible, but it is also important to keep the CPU cool. So make sure that your quiet fans are also enough to keep the heat out. Also, make sure that the motherboard and all components, such as hard drives, CD drives, power supply, etc. are well mounted to prevent extra noise from vibration that a loose mounting may cause.

I purchased a Z1-DS, Quiet CPU-Cooler (see picture above) for Socket A Processors (compatible with the AMD Athlon Thunderbird 850MHz Socket A CPU that I chose). This is a heat sink and low-noise fan, which will help the microprocessor stay cool without adding noise. A heat sink is basically a metal heat diffuser that works by contacting the CPU directly. The heat from the CPU is absorbed into the heat sink and diffused to the vents at the back of the heat sink. (You can see the vents in the photo, they are like fingers of metal reaching up from the heat sink. The CPU fan sits on top of the cooler).

Power Supply: For this system, I have purchased an Enermax Whisper 350W Switching Power Supply. The higher wattage is recommended for higher MHz systems. "Switching" means that the Power Supply has FM (fan monitoring) functions that monitor the speed of the fan in relation to the temperature. This means that the fan does not run at full speed all the time, but changes according to the temperature, making the PS quieter.

Hard Drive Cooler: If you are using a Hard Drive that was not designed with noise output in mind, you can still cut down on noise using a hard drive enclosure such as Silent Drive. Silent Drive is for hard drives that run at 5400 RPM or less. For RPMs greater than 5400, the heat of the drive becomes a factor. For faster drives, there are many Hard Drive coolers, but few that are also quiet. The fans on these coolers are likely to be the loudest fans on your entire system. One loud fan will destroy all the purpose in buying silent fans for your other components, so if you are going to by a hard drive cooler, make sure that it is also quiet. The I-Storm II may be overkill for many systems, but it is quiet. Another place to look for coolers is http://www.heatsink-guide.com/buy.htm. Another option is to buy a hard drive cooler such as the Cooler Master, and on installation, do not connect the fan. You are still getting some cooling from the heat sink, which is more than if you just installed the drive as is, and you are also getting some measure of hard drive enclosure that will help reduce noise. To help keep the Hard Drive quiet, I have purchased the Cooler Master Hard Drive Cooler (see picuture on above). This is an aluminum enclosure for the Hard Drive, which is cheap and easy to install. The aluminum dissipates the heat from the hard drive. The fan from this cooler is actually very loud (even though it is listed in the quiet range at 29 dB), so I am not connecting it. The idea is that I will still be getting some cooling from the heat sink and I will also be getting some measure of hard drive enclosure that will help reduce noise. Obviously this is not an ideal solution. I recommend that you explore the many options. Do some research on the Internet. One solution I read about is something you can make on your own. Sandwich the hard drive between two thick pieces of aluminum with holes drilled at the corners so that you can screw them together. The whole thing rests in the bottom of your case. For more information on this solution, go to http://www.overclockers.com/tips454/.

Case Fan: The case fan that I chose is a Silencer 12 Volt Ball Bearing fan. Make sure that it is a quiet fan before you buy it.

NEXT: | III. Case Work for a Quiet PC | IV. Mounting the Components | V. Connecting the Components to the Motherboard | VI. First Power Up | VII. Sound Assessment |
BACK: | I. Reasons to Build a Quiet PC |
OTHERS: | Go to Top | Directron Home | Other System Manuals |

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