Words: Building A Silent PC
Photos and writeup by Trevor Freeman. August 2007.
PLANNING STAGES
There are a lot of factors to consider when putting together a new computer. "What do I want?" and "What do I need?" are two of the bigger questions one must ask. While the old computer was running fine, it was seven years old and I could sense I had outgrown it some time ago. The new one would be built to last. It had to be quiet, fast, reliable, and stable. It had to be modern, with USB 2.0 and PCI Express. In order to keep things stable, I did not intend to overclock the system; and keeping things as quiet as possible was another priority. The challenge was building the whole thing with a target budget of $1,000 USD.
RESEARCH
This would be the first complete system I had ever put together from off the shelf parts. I wanted to make sure I was getting the most bang for my buck. The research process took me about two months of poring over sites like Silent PC Review, Tom's Hardware, and The PC Parts Picking Guide. Additionally I would consult some other sites such as ExtremeTech and AnandTech for specific hardware parts, reviews, and prices.
CHOOSING PARTS
When I had put together my final build list, I bought everything from the major online retailers including PriceGrabber, TigerDirect, and of course, NewEgg.
CASE
An Antec case seemed the obvious choice for style, quality, and above all, noise reduction. The P150 has been praised around the web as the "Quiet White" case and it was selling for $150 at the major retailers when I was shopping around. Its sound dampening acoustic panels and unique hard drive suspension system were just the kind of innovations I was looking for. Additionally, the case came with a 430-watt high efficiency modular power supply. I lucked out and found one on PriceGrabber for $99.
MOTHERBOARD
Okay, I really splurged on this one. I will admit I got much more than I needed with the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Revision 3.3 motherboard. It features an LGA 775 CPU socket and genuine Intel North- and Southbridge chipsets. The four memory slots can accomadate up to 8 GB of RAM in a dual-channel configuration. From here, the list of goodies gets even better with PCI Express, USB 2.0, Serial ATA with a RAID controller, Gigabit Ethernet and an 8-channel Realtek ALC883 audio chipset. All the bells and whistles my current computer was lacking. What really won me over was the all-solid capacitor design that claims greater longevity than other boards. Have I ever had a motherboard fail due to a leaky capacitor? Well, no. But it's one less thing to worry about. It has been a top seller on NewEgg and with over four hundred glowing reviews, I figured it was worth a try.
PROCESSOR
After much debate, I decided to go with an Intel Core2Duo processor for my build. At the time they were more expensive than the comparable dual-core chips from AMD, but I've always used Intel and never had any problems with them. To me, the best balance between performance and economy seemed to be the E6300 Conroe chip, which offered a 1.86GHz clock speed and a 1066MHz frontside-bus. The 65nm die fabrication process ensured my chip was on the newer side of the technology spectrum, and at $181 seemed reasonable for such incredible technology. Anything was bound to be better than my 800MHz Pentium III.
VIDEO CARD
When it comes to video cards, I don't really know much. So much has changed since my last computer that I didn't know what SLI bridges and PCI Express were all about. That fancy stuff isn't for me, I decided. For a good performance/value card that wasn't top of the line, I found the 7600GS to be a winner on paper. The Gigabyte version of the card is passively cooled with a massive heatsink, and it would certainly run much quieter than the 7600GT, which also cost more. The 7600GS also has a DVI and VGA output, so I could use it with the new monitor I was planning on purchasing.
MEMORY
Just like video cards, RAM has changed a lot in the last seven years as well. I read up on DDR2 RAM specifications and found that it's available in different speeds, and at different prices. Well I didn't want the slowest but at the same time I didn't need the best memory available either. So I went with two 1GB sticks of Kingston ValueRAM. It's a name brand and has a lifetime warranty, and at 667MHz was good enough for me. They were installed in the motherboard in a dual-channel configuration.
HARD DRIVE
Well last October I had purchased myself a 300GB USB2 Seagate drive, so I just needed a basic hard drive to hold the OS and some programs. I don't swear allegiance to any particular brand of hard drive, having used Quantum and Maxtor drives and never experiencing a catastrophic failure. So I opted for a Western Digital 160GB model, definitely not the biggest but more than adequate for my needs. It is a single platter drive and theoretically quieter than a dual platter monster-sized drive. With a Serial ATA interface it would also be much faster than my old IDE devices.
OPTICAL DRIVE
While researching DVD burners some time ago, I noted that the NEC 3500 had received the Editors Choice distinction in 2004 from Anandtech. I had put one of those drives in my old computer and used it for a couple of months with no problems. Figuring the 7170A was just as good but rated slightly faster for newer media, I picked one up for $30 dollars.
MAGNETIC DRIVE
Yeah, I still use ZIP disks. A friend of mine snagged me an internal 250MB drive from Goodwill for $5. It still works fine and disks are inexpensive on eBay.
KEYBOARD AND MOUSE
Well after using wired devices all my life, I decided I would go wireless. It was not easy to find a keyboard layout I liked, with a full sized Backspace and small Delete key, without too many extra Hotkeys, and with a good layout and value. Regarding the mouse, I wanted one that had the forward and back buttons and a scroll wheel, but not the superflous scroll buttons found on most newer Logitech mice. Finally I happened upon the right combo for me, known simply as the Logitech Cordless Rechargeable Desktop. At $52 it was a lot for a budget build, but it's been four months now and I am still happy with my choice.
CPU COOLER
After much lurking on SilentPC Review, the general consensus seemed to be that the Scythe Ninja Revision B was the final word in quiet CPU cooling for Socket 775 chips. I ordered one along with some Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste.
MONITOR
I don't really know why I decided to get a new monitor; probably to free up some desk space. The top seller on NewEgg was a 19" widescreen LCD from Hanns-G. Everything about it seemed perfect, from the features to the price, to the user reviews. Well I ordered one for the sake of modernization.
WHAT WORKED AND WHAT DIDN'T
When everything had finally arrived, I carefully assembled all of the components into the case. Testing it for the first time, the case fans spun but the motherboard did not POST. I scrounged up an old speaker and did not get any BIOS beeps. The motherboard was DOA and I returned it to NewEgg, who promptly sent me a new one that did work.
The CPU cooler turned out to be a waste of money. Having a massive heatsink in the case really blocked the 120mm exhaust fan and I couldn't get it to attach to the CPU as firmly as the stock heatsink fan that came with the processor. The stock Intel cooler is quiet enough for me, since the computer is sitting next to a mini-fridge that is much louder than any CPU fan. I ended up taking the 120mm fan and putting it in front of the hard drive, held in with zip ties. I cut up a Swiffer dusting cloth to use as a dust filter, which seems to be working well. So there is a 120mm intake and a 120mm exhaust fan in the front and back of the case, respectively. They are both very quiet. The exhaust one has a 3-speed adjutable switch.
In order to play audio CD's, I had to dig up an old fashioned audio cable and run it from the NEC drive to the motherboard. It's too short and is very visible inside the case.
The beige NEC DVD drive and Zip drive clashed with the white case, so I popped the bezels off and spraypainted them with a can of Colorplace Gloss White from Wal-Mart. It's as close to a perfect match as one can get for 99 cents. The drive is very loud when playing back DVD movies.
Despite the top reviews, I hated the LCD monitor I purchased. In my haste I had forgotten that LCD's look best at their native resolution, and this one was a very high 1400x900 pixels. Additionally, most webpages are not designed for widescreen monitors and ended up looking terrible. The screen itself was giving me headaches within the first week, even with the brightness and contrast turned all the way down.
I ran every calibration program I could find on the web plus the Adobe Gamma app, and couldn't get the colors to look the same as they did on my old Trinitron screen. Something about the sharpness of the new monitor was killing my eyes, and NewEgg would not accept it for return unless it had at least seven dead pixels. So I put the monitor up for sale on eBay and only ended up losing $20 bucks on it. This goes to show that you cannot always trust reviews, even though this monitor had hundreds of positive ones.
I ended up keeping a lot of parts from the old computer, including the 17" Dell P780 Trinitron monitor, the Altec Lansing ADA885 4.1ch THX Certified 120-watt speakers, the same HP PSC 1610 printer (don't buy one), the same cable modem, and the old PCI Firewire card I had. In its current configuration, it's the best computer I've ever had. I feel like I accomplished all of my goals in building my new computer.
My future plans include cleaning up the mess of cables behind the desk, and a new surge protector/UPS.
-Trevor Freeman
19 August 2007
UPDATES: JULY 2008
Well it's been almost a full year since I put my silent PC together. So far I have not experienced any hardware problems, though I did replace a couple of system accessories. My old Motorola Surfboard 4200 cable modem died, and I replaced it with a new Motorola Surfboard 5101. My APC Back-Ups 500 also kicked the bucket after eight years of faithful service, and I replaced it with an APC BE750BB Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). I have also added an Airlink 101 AR525W wireless router to the system, so our other computer and Xbox360 can access the Internet.
While dusting out the inside of the case, I discovered that the innovative suspension mounted hard drive system had failed due to dried out rubber components. My hard drive was laying sideways in the case like a drunken frat boy, and I decided to remount it using traditional screws. I also swapped out the 120mm Scythe fan for a 3-speed Antec Tri-Cool fan, which is identical to the one at the rear of the case. I sold the Scythe cooler on eBay for $26 dollars, a far cry short of the $40 bucks I paid for it. Other than that, everything is running great.
THE PICTURES
Photos and writeup by Trevor Freeman. August 2007.
PLANNING STAGESThere are a lot of factors to consider when putting together a new computer. "What do I want?" and "What do I need?" are two of the bigger questions one must ask. While the old computer was running fine, it was seven years old and I could sense I had outgrown it some time ago. The new one would be built to last. It had to be quiet, fast, reliable, and stable. It had to be modern, with USB 2.0 and PCI Express. In order to keep things stable, I did not intend to overclock the system; and keeping things as quiet as possible was another priority. The challenge was building the whole thing with a target budget of $1,000 USD.
RESEARCH
This would be the first complete system I had ever put together from off the shelf parts. I wanted to make sure I was getting the most bang for my buck. The research process took me about two months of poring over sites like Silent PC Review, Tom's Hardware, and The PC Parts Picking Guide. Additionally I would consult some other sites such as ExtremeTech and AnandTech for specific hardware parts, reviews, and prices.
CHOOSING PARTSWhen I had put together my final build list, I bought everything from the major online retailers including PriceGrabber, TigerDirect, and of course, NewEgg.
CASE
An Antec case seemed the obvious choice for style, quality, and above all, noise reduction. The P150 has been praised around the web as the "Quiet White" case and it was selling for $150 at the major retailers when I was shopping around. Its sound dampening acoustic panels and unique hard drive suspension system were just the kind of innovations I was looking for. Additionally, the case came with a 430-watt high efficiency modular power supply. I lucked out and found one on PriceGrabber for $99.
MOTHERBOARD
Okay, I really splurged on this one. I will admit I got much more than I needed with the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Revision 3.3 motherboard. It features an LGA 775 CPU socket and genuine Intel North- and Southbridge chipsets. The four memory slots can accomadate up to 8 GB of RAM in a dual-channel configuration. From here, the list of goodies gets even better with PCI Express, USB 2.0, Serial ATA with a RAID controller, Gigabit Ethernet and an 8-channel Realtek ALC883 audio chipset. All the bells and whistles my current computer was lacking. What really won me over was the all-solid capacitor design that claims greater longevity than other boards. Have I ever had a motherboard fail due to a leaky capacitor? Well, no. But it's one less thing to worry about. It has been a top seller on NewEgg and with over four hundred glowing reviews, I figured it was worth a try.
PROCESSORAfter much debate, I decided to go with an Intel Core2Duo processor for my build. At the time they were more expensive than the comparable dual-core chips from AMD, but I've always used Intel and never had any problems with them. To me, the best balance between performance and economy seemed to be the E6300 Conroe chip, which offered a 1.86GHz clock speed and a 1066MHz frontside-bus. The 65nm die fabrication process ensured my chip was on the newer side of the technology spectrum, and at $181 seemed reasonable for such incredible technology. Anything was bound to be better than my 800MHz Pentium III.
VIDEO CARD
When it comes to video cards, I don't really know much. So much has changed since my last computer that I didn't know what SLI bridges and PCI Express were all about. That fancy stuff isn't for me, I decided. For a good performance/value card that wasn't top of the line, I found the 7600GS to be a winner on paper. The Gigabyte version of the card is passively cooled with a massive heatsink, and it would certainly run much quieter than the 7600GT, which also cost more. The 7600GS also has a DVI and VGA output, so I could use it with the new monitor I was planning on purchasing.
MEMORY
Just like video cards, RAM has changed a lot in the last seven years as well. I read up on DDR2 RAM specifications and found that it's available in different speeds, and at different prices. Well I didn't want the slowest but at the same time I didn't need the best memory available either. So I went with two 1GB sticks of Kingston ValueRAM. It's a name brand and has a lifetime warranty, and at 667MHz was good enough for me. They were installed in the motherboard in a dual-channel configuration.
HARD DRIVE
Well last October I had purchased myself a 300GB USB2 Seagate drive, so I just needed a basic hard drive to hold the OS and some programs. I don't swear allegiance to any particular brand of hard drive, having used Quantum and Maxtor drives and never experiencing a catastrophic failure. So I opted for a Western Digital 160GB model, definitely not the biggest but more than adequate for my needs. It is a single platter drive and theoretically quieter than a dual platter monster-sized drive. With a Serial ATA interface it would also be much faster than my old IDE devices.
OPTICAL DRIVEWhile researching DVD burners some time ago, I noted that the NEC 3500 had received the Editors Choice distinction in 2004 from Anandtech. I had put one of those drives in my old computer and used it for a couple of months with no problems. Figuring the 7170A was just as good but rated slightly faster for newer media, I picked one up for $30 dollars.
MAGNETIC DRIVE
Yeah, I still use ZIP disks. A friend of mine snagged me an internal 250MB drive from Goodwill for $5. It still works fine and disks are inexpensive on eBay.
KEYBOARD AND MOUSE
Well after using wired devices all my life, I decided I would go wireless. It was not easy to find a keyboard layout I liked, with a full sized Backspace and small Delete key, without too many extra Hotkeys, and with a good layout and value. Regarding the mouse, I wanted one that had the forward and back buttons and a scroll wheel, but not the superflous scroll buttons found on most newer Logitech mice. Finally I happened upon the right combo for me, known simply as the Logitech Cordless Rechargeable Desktop. At $52 it was a lot for a budget build, but it's been four months now and I am still happy with my choice.
CPU COOLER
After much lurking on SilentPC Review, the general consensus seemed to be that the Scythe Ninja Revision B was the final word in quiet CPU cooling for Socket 775 chips. I ordered one along with some Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste.
MONITOR
I don't really know why I decided to get a new monitor; probably to free up some desk space. The top seller on NewEgg was a 19" widescreen LCD from Hanns-G. Everything about it seemed perfect, from the features to the price, to the user reviews. Well I ordered one for the sake of modernization.
WHAT WORKED AND WHAT DIDN'T
When everything had finally arrived, I carefully assembled all of the components into the case. Testing it for the first time, the case fans spun but the motherboard did not POST. I scrounged up an old speaker and did not get any BIOS beeps. The motherboard was DOA and I returned it to NewEgg, who promptly sent me a new one that did work.
The CPU cooler turned out to be a waste of money. Having a massive heatsink in the case really blocked the 120mm exhaust fan and I couldn't get it to attach to the CPU as firmly as the stock heatsink fan that came with the processor. The stock Intel cooler is quiet enough for me, since the computer is sitting next to a mini-fridge that is much louder than any CPU fan. I ended up taking the 120mm fan and putting it in front of the hard drive, held in with zip ties. I cut up a Swiffer dusting cloth to use as a dust filter, which seems to be working well. So there is a 120mm intake and a 120mm exhaust fan in the front and back of the case, respectively. They are both very quiet. The exhaust one has a 3-speed adjutable switch.
In order to play audio CD's, I had to dig up an old fashioned audio cable and run it from the NEC drive to the motherboard. It's too short and is very visible inside the case.
The beige NEC DVD drive and Zip drive clashed with the white case, so I popped the bezels off and spraypainted them with a can of Colorplace Gloss White from Wal-Mart. It's as close to a perfect match as one can get for 99 cents. The drive is very loud when playing back DVD movies.
Despite the top reviews, I hated the LCD monitor I purchased. In my haste I had forgotten that LCD's look best at their native resolution, and this one was a very high 1400x900 pixels. Additionally, most webpages are not designed for widescreen monitors and ended up looking terrible. The screen itself was giving me headaches within the first week, even with the brightness and contrast turned all the way down.
I ran every calibration program I could find on the web plus the Adobe Gamma app, and couldn't get the colors to look the same as they did on my old Trinitron screen. Something about the sharpness of the new monitor was killing my eyes, and NewEgg would not accept it for return unless it had at least seven dead pixels. So I put the monitor up for sale on eBay and only ended up losing $20 bucks on it. This goes to show that you cannot always trust reviews, even though this monitor had hundreds of positive ones.
I ended up keeping a lot of parts from the old computer, including the 17" Dell P780 Trinitron monitor, the Altec Lansing ADA885 4.1ch THX Certified 120-watt speakers, the same HP PSC 1610 printer (don't buy one), the same cable modem, and the old PCI Firewire card I had. In its current configuration, it's the best computer I've ever had. I feel like I accomplished all of my goals in building my new computer.
My future plans include cleaning up the mess of cables behind the desk, and a new surge protector/UPS.
-Trevor Freeman
19 August 2007
UPDATES: JULY 2008
Well it's been almost a full year since I put my silent PC together. So far I have not experienced any hardware problems, though I did replace a couple of system accessories. My old Motorola Surfboard 4200 cable modem died, and I replaced it with a new Motorola Surfboard 5101. My APC Back-Ups 500 also kicked the bucket after eight years of faithful service, and I replaced it with an APC BE750BB Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). I have also added an Airlink 101 AR525W wireless router to the system, so our other computer and Xbox360 can access the Internet.
While dusting out the inside of the case, I discovered that the innovative suspension mounted hard drive system had failed due to dried out rubber components. My hard drive was laying sideways in the case like a drunken frat boy, and I decided to remount it using traditional screws. I also swapped out the 120mm Scythe fan for a 3-speed Antec Tri-Cool fan, which is identical to the one at the rear of the case. I sold the Scythe cooler on eBay for $26 dollars, a far cry short of the $40 bucks I paid for it. Other than that, everything is running great.
THE PICTURES
