Best/Quietest CPU Cooler?

hsvguy · **7th July 2008, 12:58 PM**

Hi All,

I apologise if this has already been covered. I tired to search for it, but I couldn't pull anything up.

I have just finished putting the finishing touches on my HTPC, including slapping the whole kit into a lovely Antec Fusion box. It looks great, but it's still not as quiet as I would like it to be.

The only fans in the entire machine are two side exhausts (which I disabled to no affect) and the CPU fan. I'm thinking that a new CPU cooler to replace the stock AMD is the way to go here.

Here's what I've got so far it's a fairly nice build. I just need it to be quieter

AMD Athlon64 LE-1600 2.2Ghz 45W CPU
ASUS M2A-VM HDMI motherboard
2Gb DDR2 800 RAM
500Gb Samsung SATA HD
Pioneer 215 SATA DVD Burner
Antec Fusion 430 Silver Enclosure

Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks guys!

dgaust · **7th July 2008, 01:05 PM**

Funnily enough I've just been discussing this with Logifuse.

A lot of people like the Scythe Mini Ninja, some people even use it without a fan (on the low power cool AMD chips). Given the CPU you are using, I think this is definitely an option for you.

I user a coolermaster GeminII, which is a massive cooler with two 120mm fans on top (definitely overkill for your chip) which requires minor case modifications.

TheRob · **7th July 2008, 01:31 PM**

Silverstone have a relatively new cooler out that will apparently fit in a Fusion case and can be run fanless. Not sure if it's any better or worse than the mini Ninja, though.

krypto · **7th July 2008, 02:20 PM**

I replaced my Artic Freezer 64 with a Noctua NH-U9B. CPU temp dropped by 10C.

I run cool'n'quiet and my cpu fan hardly ever runs during normal use. The Noctua CPU fan is amazingly quiet, so that you can run it at full speed without any noticeable noise.

Excellent product.

Edit: missed that it is for a fusion case

logifuse · **7th July 2008, 02:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgaust

Funnily enough I've just been discussing this with Logifuse.

Freaky.

Just picked up a Thermaltake TMG A2/CL-P0373 (as discussed with dgaust) & it looks like it will fit in the Fusion. I'll report back in a short while after I install it.

The reason I wanted to go with something like this is the sideways layout of the Fusion/NSK2400/2480 - these new onboard GPU motherboards are reasonably potent & the GPU heatsinks get pretty hot. Unfortunately, the Fusion/NSK layout means that the airflow is 90 degrees to the angle of heatsinks, so despite 2 big 120mm fans, airflow isn't that great. With this TT, there whould be direct flow through the middle of it for the onboard GPU.

Justin

dgaust · **7th July 2008, 02:37 PM**

That's the good thing about my cooler.... it's massive, and with 2x120mm (800rpm) fans blowing air down it provides cooling over the entire mobo.

Swallowtail · **7th July 2008, 03:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hsvguy

Hi All,

I apologise if this has already been covered. I tired to search for it, but I couldn't pull anything up.

I have just finished putting the finishing touches on my HTPC, including slapping the whole kit into a lovely Antec Fusion box. It looks great, but it's still not as quiet as I would like it to be.

The only fans in the entire machine are two side exhausts (which I disabled to no affect) and the CPU fan. I'm thinking that a new CPU cooler to replace the stock AMD is the way to go here.

Here's what I've got so far it's a fairly nice build. I just need it to be quieter

AMD Athlon64 LE-1600 2.2Ghz 45W CPU
ASUS M2A-VM HDMI motherboard
2Gb DDR2 800 RAM
500Gb Samsung SATA HD
Pioneer 215 SATA DVD Burner
Antec Fusion 430 Silver Enclosure

Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks guys!

I'm running just one of the Fusion's case fans running on low (and I believe you need at least one running as the case is designed for the air flow that it produces) which is virtually inaudible, standard power supply (which is pretty quiet) and a Zalman cooler on the AMB 5200+. Result is very cool at all times, and very quiet. See my signature for setup.

logifuse · **7th July 2008, 03:43 PM**

The Thermaltake fits easily (about 10mm clearance) & with the fan running at the lowest speed my Asus motherboard's Qfan will allow (620RPM), the temp of my 4850e (set at 100% - i.e. with C'n'Q off) is sitting at around Edit (typo): 30 degrees (both case fans on their lowest setting). Very quiet.

Another thing to think about is swapping the supplied power supply for one with a 120mm fan (I used to have a photo of mine in the gallery, but it was wiped during the site upgrade).

Justin

pantonious · **7th July 2008, 04:15 PM**

i run something very similar to this on my HTPCs

http://www.silverstonetek.com/produc...=nt07-am2&area=

mine are copper, but apart from that they are identical.

im not sure wat temps im getting...i don't trust my BIOSes...but they are very quiet...my PSU fan is louder

If you have the room for them, i reccommend the Noctua Heatsinks. I have one of them in my file server (U12P) without a fan.

kieran45 · **7th July 2008, 04:37 PM**

To quiet down the Fusion, my recommendations would be:

1. You probably need only one of the side exhausts. Put the supplied cover over the other one instead of the fan, this will prevent short circuits of the air flow. Could try a better fan, something like a nexus real silent, run at 9V or 7V will be pretty much inaudible.

2. You can slow down the DVD by using Nero drivespeed. This will mean that it doesn't speed up as much when a disc is inserted or played. This is included in full nero versions, or you can get drivespeed alone by googling. I have used it on your drive, and it works well.

3. As others have suggested, changing the HSF is a good idea. The Scythe Mini Ninja was basically designed for this case, and fits so that it can be run without a fan as it is really close to the back exhaust fan. This wouldn't even break as sweat on your CPU. Anything else that you can choose a fan for is good, something like a nexus, or scythe slipstream fan.

4. Really soft mount the hard drive. The rubber plugs in the case are good, but if you do them up too tight they don't work as well. I have sort of wedged my drives in with some soft packing foam. A bit underneath and a couple of bits on each side and the ends, to make a sort of a "H" shape still lets airflow in, but really stops any vibrations and seek noises from the drive.

5. The final thing is to either get another PSU (with a 120mm fan as Justin said) or swap out the fan in the Antec one for a quieter 80mm fan.

Any or all of these things will help with noise, but the best way to go is to stop all the fans one at a time with your finger, and find out where the biggest noise is coming from, then start with that.