Silent, But Deadly: Build Your Own Gaming-Ready 0 dB PC

[FormatC]

For many folks, the most beautiful sound that a PC can make is no sound at all. How close can Tom's Hardware get to a zero-decibel configuration and still lend up with a compact, functional machine capable of mainstream gaming, without breaking the bank?

Silent, But Deadly: Build Your Own Gaming-Ready 0 dB PC : Read more

 

[ASHISH65]

great article !!!

 

[azathoth]

I was disappointed there wasn't actual stress test temperature results of the APU for the passive cooling solution.

But otherwise it's a neat article, personally I would sacrifice dead silence to use a cheaper HDD and perhaps more of those silent fans if I were to build one myself.

 

[mayankleoboy1]

Great article! Much more DIY than the usual articles on Toms.
Much appreciated.

 

[_Pez_]

Great PC !, but if it was mine I would be scared... "no fan noise .. is it burning?"

 

[Nintendo Maniac 64]

As someone that also uses a semi-passive PC (fan only turns on when needed), I'm disappointed that you guys left out a few big things:

1. undervolting the CPU and GPU

2. underclocking and farther undervolting the GPU for 2D mode

3. hybrid cooling setup for GPUs where the fan only turns on at a high temperature (may require GPU BIOS editing depending on GPU model)

OPTIONAL (due to risk): removal of CPU IHS

 

[dudewitbow]

no love for sapphire's passive ultimate HD 7770?

 

[Madn3ss795]

Pentium G2120 + Sapphire Ultimate HD7750 would have been a better choice. And you can pay extra for a low-power Core i5 instead since it's not that expensive compared to the rest of this build.

 

[ivyanev]

When i hear gaming from the TH I really expect to see something in the realm of 500$ SBM machine or at least something close. What I see here is realy nice office pc.

 

[Nintendo Maniac 64]

When i hear gaming from the TH I really expect to see something in the realm of 500$ SBM machine or at least something close. What I see here is realy nice office pc.

The main issue is the GPU, and that would require a hybrid passive-active cooling solution much like was done for the CPU, but for some reason they didn't even try such a thing...

 

[twelve25]

I wonder about an i5 or i7 S or T model and crossfire 7750's. You might need a bigger case and a longer motherboard that allows gaps between cards.

 

[memadmax]

I don't like auto-start fans. They tend to turn off/on at weird times and become annoying...

 

[abbadon_34]

Silent PC (Gaming) is simple. Large passive water cooling such as the Zalman Resevator on the CPU and GPU, and anyother components needing heat dissipation. I've done this for the last 8 years, not for the silence, but because it's nice to see the temp never stray from 40-45, and never worry about cooling again.

 

[DjEaZy]

... awesome media pc...

 

[JonnyDough]

It has a fan. A FAN. It isn't zero dB.

 

[JonnyDough]

I'm a fan! (and I make a LOT of noise)

By the way, I own two of those Samsung Blu-Ray drives and the blue LED in the button is overly bright. I would NOT want to set that case on my desk.

 

[JonnyDough]

One more thing. I like bottom mounted power supplies because I like a low center of gravity on my builds. However, I prefer the top mounted PCI slots. The video cards not only look better with their coolers on top, but the heat rises off the video card and into the video card cooler making it more effective, especially in a build without air movement.

 

[ankit0x1]

did i told you definition of insanity?
great article toms

 

[jasont78]

pity they put the bluray in it would be much louder than most actively cooled cases anyway

 

[FormatC]

1. undervolting the CPU and GPU

This is always possible but each CPU/APU and GPU is a unique piece. Undervolting 10 APUs can can give you 10 different results. If it works with higher voltage it works also with undervolting. But I must check the worst case and only 100% stable settings.

 

[trumpeter1994]

They failed to mention how loud it was when both the fan and blu-ray drive had spun up

 

[FormatC]

The BD (tested with Avatar 3D) runs only x8 and is NOT loud. You can add another model or remove it complete. It was used to install a few games only

no love for sapphire's passive ultimate HD 7770

Sapphire was not able to deliver. No cards as sample or to buy in shops (Europe). I can only use what I get.

 

[morpheas768]

[citation][nom]abbadon_34[/nom]Silent PC (Gaming) is simple. Large passive water cooling such as the Zalman Resevator on the CPU and GPU, and anyother components needing heat dissipation. I've done this for the last 8 years, not for the silence, but because it's nice to see the temp never stray from 40-45, and never worry about cooling again.[/citation]
I was always interested in using large water cooling systems like this, but for some reason they are so hard to find, that its a real pain to get them. I guess it helps if you live in the US, but thats not the case for me.

 

[ojas]

What about liquid cooling? Use a large fan-less radiator, or that 750 RPM fan on that radiator, which could either be external or mounted on an exhaust vent.

 

[tomfreak]

strange enough, the entire casing can be a huge heatsink, why has no one to use the huge casing as a radiator?