Explain me noise reduction basics please. Cooling components (?)

[Lieto]

Hello guys,

I am about to build my first cheap gaming pc.
i5-4460,
Gigabyte GA-H81M-S2H Micro ATX,
MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V,
Zalman ZM-T4 MicroATX (14 GBP)
120 gb SSD
WLAN card
EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply (cheapest there is)

I do sort of care about the noise that system does and i would obviously prefer it to be quite. I am just not sure how much do i actually care. Now i5 and nvidia seems to be a bit less noisy than amd counterparts and i am not going to OC it.

I didn't include any extra fans in this build yet — my case can fit 2 optional fans and i could probably fit 3rd party CPU cooler.

Now the questions are — should i buy those 2 extra fans, should i buy custom CPU fan, should i get cheap water cooling system? What sort of noise my system is going to do under load and how much investment will it require to reduce the noise by X? by Y? by Z? Everything that has a "quite" tag on it seems to have it's price skyrocket. But what are the basics?

I watched few videos on youtube about water cooling but since i don't have any experience it's hard for me to decide do i really want to spend money on it? Can anyone enlighten me? Are there relatively cheap gains?

Cheers.

 

[HEXiT]

if you wnt silence then your gonna have to pay and it wont be cheap.
the simple solution would be to by something like the base 800 from be-quiet.
for 80 quid you would end up with a build thats noisiest fans will be the cpu and gpu at load.
at idle you would be hard pressed to tell its even on.

water cooling isnt quiet unelss you invest in good fans either. the noctua nff12s or something similar then theres the cost of the loop
your looking at 200+ so again not cheap.

the cheapest option of all is get some 6 poll fluid dynamic bearing or rifle bearing fans.
they can cost anywhere from 6 quid to 20+ quid each.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120mm-nzxt-9-blade-rifle-bearing-silent-fan-1300rpm-with-braided-cable would be my choice for that case.
http://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer-hardware/all/coolers-air/system-case-fans-120mm-130mm check out more options here.

 

[Archaic59]

1. A case with less holes will be quieter. The more cooling options a case has, the more full of holes they generally are. Every hole is a path for sound escape.
2. Large fans turning slowly move air and remain relatively quiet. Good 140mm fans can move plenty of air turning slowly and are quieter than 120mm fans.
3. Liquid coolers are usually noisier than air coolers. Besides fan(s) you have a pump making noise.
4. AMD systems usually generate more noise because they generate more heat which needs to be dealt with.

 

[Lieto]

So should i look for more isolated case (pretty sure my components are going to be fine at stock clock) or should i look for a case with lots of big fans and exhaust holes?

Should i try and fit every optional fan i can or will it actually increase noise if i do?

 

[HEXiT]

depends on the fans mate. there the moving parts that make the noise.
anything below 18dbs should be almost inaudible from about a foot away.

so replacing all the casefans with quiet versions is a better option than buying an isolated case. most of them are just gimmics anyway.
oh look we have foam padding on the walls. well done they just made the case a thermal blanket...
to me silent fans are the way to go.

 

[Lieto]

i would imagine that loudest part is going to be the GPU under load. Do you think those 120mm fans on the case are going to help to cool it so the GPU fans don't spin on max rpm?

 

[HEXiT]

the twin frozer v is pretty much the quietest cooler there is on the 970. it doesnt come on till the card hits 60'c so if your just watching video you will never hear it.
gaming on the other hand it gives of a low hum that is noticeable but with a pair of headphones its easily drowned out. (i know this because i have 1 )
its certainly nowhere near as bad as the reference blower units and if your not happy theres always the option of replacing the frozer v with an after market solution from arcticccol which are some of the quietest ive evr heard... no kidding i replaced my hd5870 cooler with there arcticcool extreme and i could only hear it at full load if i opened the case and put my ear next to it... (top draw stuff) there not cheap though 50-80 depending on which you get.

 

[Lieto]

So should i get extra 2x120 fans on my ATX or not?
Will my build become quitter if i do? Let's say i pick good ones like Nanoxia DS 120mm Fan

 

[HEXiT]

it wont become quieter but depending on which fans you choose it shouldnt get any noisier either. in fact i would just replace the fans that come with that case as there likely not that good. in fact the case is pretty pants for what your putting into it. cheap construction means poor dampening at vibration points like drive mounts. but with a few tweaks i dare say you could turn it into a silent enough box.

 

[Lieto]

I see, thanks. So basically unless i want to disassemble my GPU cooling there is not much i can do to make it quitter than it is.

 

[HEXiT]

other than pulling out the existing fans and replacing them with quiet 1s then no.

 

[HEXiT]

looks like the back fan can only be an 80mm fan and thats gonna be the noisy 1 if i were you i would consider a different case if you can afford it. something with at least 1 120mm back foan or a couple of 120mm top fan mounts.
as your putting a gpu into it that will get warm so will need decent air flow.


http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/arc-series/arc-mini-r2 something like this would be my preferred option.

 

[madmatt30]

Dump the little zalman case,sticking a 970 in a £14 case is sacrilege - its a poor spec case for those components

On a budget the cm n200 for matx ,& the zalman z3 plus are far far better options.