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siestaguy siestaguy
 
M$2 May 16, 2009 12:36 PM

The MB and CPU combo in the PC I built years ago are hot and noisy (even w/Zalman cooler). What MB and CPU would resolve this?

I want to rebuild my PC using components that cause the rig to be virtually silent and not noticeably raise the temperature in my home office like it currently does. I've stopped using it because it's so annoying and have been using an old, but quiet laptop instead.

I am not a gamer, so my performance needs aren't very demanding except I need lots of RAM for running VMWare machines (which the laptop can't do),

My current PC is in an Antec Sonata II case, has an Intel 3.0 Ghz Pentium 4 HT 530 CPU (I think this is the main problem) with an enormous Zalman CPU cooler, 3 GM of RAM, Western Digital Raptor drive (its 10,000 RPM contributes to the heat problem, which a SSD HD would eliminate w/o performance degredation), and ATI Radeon X800 XL Video Card. In total, there's 4 fans: 20mm Zalman fans in the back and front of the chasis, the enormous heatsink / fan (the thing's about the diameter of a CD and a couple inches tall) and there's a small fan on the video card.

All of the parts I chose were high performance at the time and consequently, very hot requiring several fans. The Zalman fans, cooler and Sonata case should all reduce the noise, but unlike my laptop, it's still very noticeable when the PC is on. I have read that iMacs are very quiet, but I'd prefer to just keep the cost low by changing out the MB and CPU and maybe even the hot but fast WD Raptor drive. I prefer Asus MBs.
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mattb4rd mattb4rd
 
 May 16, 2009 01:16 PM
I'd go with this:

Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

CPU: Intel i7 920
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green Quiet 1TB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317

PSU: Zalman Noiseless 850w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817379007

Video Card: ASUS EN9600GT silent
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121244

Case: Antec P180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129154

Source(s):
Personal Experience
http://arstechnica.com/
http://newegg.com



Tags: quiet-pc

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Voted as best: easyeboy, emmylou
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siestaguy siestaguy
 
May 16, 2009 02:16 PM
Wow, thanks for your great response! I'm just beginning to look into each of the components you suggested, but from what I've read so far, you've nailed exactly what I asked for.

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siestaguy siestaguy
 
May 16, 2009 02:55 PM
Based on the reviews at NewEgg, it looks like that graphics card isn't going to resolve my problem of the PC heating up my office. Even a MB with integrated graphics would probably be fine; it's sufficient for my laptop.

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mattb4rd mattb4rd
 
May 16, 2009 04:00 PM
Have you thought about watercooling?

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Other Answers (1)

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trevortye trevortye
 
May 16, 2009 05:55 PM
I would go with a Sonata III or ANTEC MINUET 350 W/350W PS and a AMD 7750 Asus M3A78-EM motherboard. A basic high powered media centre with very little to no noise. I have set up several of these systems and are great!

Tags: media, pc, centre

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