Super quiet cooling for cpu and gpu

lypon

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Hi! I recently built my new system: Core i7 920, ASUS P6T SE, Sapphire Radeon 4890 and an Antec Sonata III case. The stock cpu and gpu fans are WAAAAAAAAAAY too loud for me. I need 17 dba max for the whole system (I am really sensitive to noise due to where my case is, etc).

What would be a good water cooling setup? What about air? What would you recommend? Thanks.
 

Conumdrum

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I can't make a 17DBA system with those components. Even a high quality low speed fan (and you'd need at least 4 of them for the radiator) is at 28DBA.

And a watercooling setup would be $450.

17 DBA, you need to get realistic please.
 

lypon

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Sorry I wrote that post pretty fast. I'm just looking for a system that is as quiet as possible and looking to spend $300 max. I seen some radiators and pumps that would be about 20 dba that would work?
 

Conumdrum

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$300 Max for your CPU and GPU isn't enough.

CPU $65
GPU $80
Rad $120+
Pump $80
Res $25
Hose $20
Fans $20+


And Umm a radiator doesn't make noise. Fans are the loudest part in a watercooling setup.
 

lypon

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What about some good fans then? There's so many out there I don't know what to choose. I guess we'll start with the lowest dba
 

Conumdrum

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How long have you been reading about watercooling? Frequenting forums, reading guides, looking at all the stores that sell quality watercooling? Took me 3 months before I ordered one part. Here is my standard cut n paste for situations like this. Cya in a week or more. And I'm not a personal parts shopper, thats your job.

Ohh and your case is wayy to small to fit a rad inside. This is the size of rad you need for quiet cooling with low speed fans. Brand new and VERY good. About 520MM long .
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/hwlablicesr13.html
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lUs guys have done the WC thing, there are basics you gotta know. Take a look, don't take it as a diss on you or a rebuttal, look at as a friend saying "Dude, you gotta know what to say and how to communicate".
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CPU HS $65
GPU HS and air HS for vram and mosfets $95, full cover block, $100-$200
Radiator $60 min, up to $130
Pump $50 +
Resiviour $25
Hose, some barbs and clamps etc (min $25, more like $35)
Fans $15-30

I went top notch and spent close to $600 to cool my CPU and GPU.
First you gotta learn about WC. It's not like walking into Best Buy.
Spend a while (weeks is best for your sanity) at these links.
Look at the hundreds of loops close to your case and components in the stickies, read a couple 50 or so threads over the next week or so, you'll be on the ball to make the right choices and by then know how to put it together.
Not 'Roket Sience', but basic knowledge is required.
And you should spend a few hours on the listed sites reading threads. It's how we learn. Once the goodies show up on your doorstep your on your own.
For your benefit please spend a few days reading a LOT. At the busiest places for WC masters. Guys who have done it for YEARS at OC Forums and xtreme forums. It took me a while (I was OCing on air, aftermarket stuff, bios settings, best chipsets etc etc) to learn the language and the tricks to a easy install.

Don't expect miracles or SUPER DOOPER over clocks. What you will get is a quiet system that can handle OC to the max of your hardware IF you buy quality and buy smart. And minor maintenance too, a bonus for the water cooler.

Also while there please read on case mods etc. The radiators are not for small cases, pumps and hose routing, wire management and other things are important. Google your planned case and the word water-cooled in one line. You might get lucky. Look here too…. http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=223835
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Edit: The next paragraph was from 2008. With the advent of the HOT i7 and bigger GPU's, it has changed. A 220 size MIN rad for an i7, you want big overclocks, better go 320 sized rad.
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IF you just cool your CPU and your NB if you want, you can get by with a 120.2 sized radiator (RAD). And MAYBE fit in inside depending on your mod skillz. You want to cool your GPU too, you'll need a 120.3 sized rad, and it probably won't fit inside. The rear external rad really works great. No matter what your adding 10lbs to your PC.

Once you got an idea of what is good/bad then start getting your system for WC put together and we'll be glad to help.
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Cleaning a loop, not a new loop: I do this once a year, I drain and refill at 6 months, the next time I do this……
Wash hands very well, getting rid of hand oils.
For pumps and blocks, fittings, clamps, acrylic res/block parts.... not hose, tear it to smallest pieces, put in a bowl, heat water up not to boiling add 10% vinegar, when hot, pour over parts. Rinse in 10 min or so. Put aside.
The bocks will probably have some black oxidation. Take the copper parts out of the pile of parts you took out of the water. Dry well and pour ketchup on them, and set aside. Only the copper parts need this.
Rad cleaning: fill with very almost boiling hot water. Let sit 10 minutes, drain half out and shake for 5 min. Repeat till liquid is clean.
All the pump, block, fittings, and clamps, inspect, get in the tiniest corners with a tooth brush. Kind of meditative, time consuming, you learn a lot about o-ring size, how it all feels. Run a rag using a coat hanger and dish soap through the tubing, rinse well.
Rinse all the parts and hose with distilled, dry then really dry with an air compressor (nice extra step to get rid of water spots). Don’t need to dry the inside of the hose.
Now on to the copper parts, they should have been soaking an hour or two. A toothbrush and ketchup should clean much of the oxidation. It probably won’t be like new, but pretty darn good. Rinse, dry, and blow the parts.
That’s it.
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Benching software and such is very varied. I use these for each purpose:
These are pretty standard and used by many.
Monitoring the PC temps overall: HWmonitor aka hardware monitor
CPUZ for CPU info
GPUZ for GPU info
CPU only: RealTemp
GPU only: ATI Tool, I have a Nivida GTX280, so it works on Nvidia

Loading/benching tools:
CPU loaders: Prime95 and OCCT
GPU Loaders: ATI Tool and the best one is Furmark, nothing pushes the GPU harder right now.
Benching for overall graphics/gaming performance is 3DMark06
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Guides
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=282232 Pretty up to date info and buying guide
http://gilgameshreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75:hokiealumnus&catid=40:eek:verclocking-and-cooling&Itemid=86 Another good guide
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=312743 What to do once all the stuff is in the door
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=223835 Many build logs on MANY cases, great learning tool.

My latest rig:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=604016

Forums
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/index.php? Not a noob site, but great stickies
http://www.ocforums.com/ My fav, good peeps, know their stuff, less hardcore
http://www.over-clock.com/ivb/inde [...] opic=20277 A GREAT Europe site
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/ Decent site

Tests on equipment, not reviews, truly scientific tests
http://translate.google.com/transl [...] n&ie=UTF-8 Info on rad testing
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=220593 More rad testing
http://skinneelabs.com/ Host for Martins lab and some newer tests
http://www.skinneelabs.com/MartinsLiquidLab/ Test results, very technical


Stores
http://www.dangerden.com
http://www.petrastechshop.com/
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/
http://www.jab-tech.com/
http://www.performance-pcs.com
http://www.frozencpu.com/
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Conumdrum

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Seriously, you want to go watercooling, there is a lot more involved. I suggest first you open up every hole you can in that case. Get rid of the front filter. Cut a hole in the door and slap a nice 140mm fan on it. Maybe consider putting a fan on the top for exhaust.

Then buy a really nice high end CPU cooler. Thats good for an i7 and quiet.
http://www.frostytech.com/

Then buy a Thermalright T-rad2 GTX for the GPU and put two high quality quiet medium fans on it.

Your done and only spent $200 MAX.

We can't have quiet anymore unless you go really high end water. Or really work the case air flow and go TOP on air cooling stuff. Then your quieter, but not like high end watercooling.

Meaning a 120x3 rad and low speed fans plus a pump for Just the CPU, the a seperate 120x3 rad, low speed fans and pump for the GPU. TWO loops.

Thats easily over $600 I spent more.

My latest rig:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=604016
 

lypon

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That's way too much :( But thanks for all the information...i'm looking into it (already have past few months too). Wouldn't a 240 be sufficient enough and put it onto the back of the case replacing the case fan? The Black Ice 240 is only 17 dba or so.
 

lypon

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Keep in mind...only reason I'm buying a cooling system is because the stock cpu and gpu fans (i7 920 radeon 4890) are too loud.
 

Conumdrum

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You need a MINIMUM 120x2 rad for just the CPU and a 120x2 for the GPU.

The black Ice 240? It doesn't make noise. I don't know where you get it's 17 DBA. rads don't make noise, fans do.

There are Many Black Ice rad series, there are three series I think made in the last 3 years. Two of them need LOUD HS fans to cool properly. The one I linked is there latest series and made for quiet fans.

I understand why you want to get rid of the noise. You do that by replacing the small heatsinks with BIG rads or BIG air heatsinks and quality low speed fans. And reducing the temps in the case by allowing more air flow.

That's it, simple. Now how much do you want to spend? Air, under $200 easy, Water, over $400 easy.
 

overshocked

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Conundrum, not nessacarelly will he need fans, the video card will not be as cold as stock cooling but it will be well within specs.

I am going to the workroom i will be back later.
 

lypon

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I see..seems a little dangerous though for a system with these specs? So basically, you could buy this and put a super quiet fan on top?
 

lypon

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I sound like such a noob. :D Looking at the 'core contact freezer' fan goes up to 20dba which is pretty quiet. So I can use this without a fan on a core i7 at stock?

Same with the passive cooling blocks you linked for the VGA?
 

overshocked

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Yes, thats correct. You can use it and it might even cool a little better than the stock cooling, i havnt tested these exact parts, you could look for reviews online (=
 

overshocked

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Here...http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=54394

that was a test done with a fan on the back of the case with a duct... so expect a little higher temps than that. like maybe 45-50 idle 75 load...

those are fine temps.
 

lypon

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According to reviews it doesn't come with 1366 brackets and would be difficult to install on an Asus P6T.

I'll look around for a good passive cooling option. I would prefer to not use a fan..but I do game as well and I'm afraid things could overheat. What would you say? What do you do?
 

Conumdrum

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Passive works by having good case air flow over the parts.

Tets talk science for a second. I'm sure you took thermodynamics 101 in school... LOL just kidding. The heat the CPU/GPU creates is removed by conduction onto the heatsink fins. They rise in temperature. The air flowing over them is cooler, so by a law of thermodynamics (forget who) the heat is transferred to the air, and you move the air away from the heatsink and replace it with more cool air. So the heat from the CPU is hotter now than the fins on the heatsink, it moves onto the fins of the heatsink OR the fins of the radiator. The air cools it.

Your problem is, if you take the time to review that CPU and GPU cooler (google is your hero here) you will see it's passive performance is just OK. You have a VERY VERY hot chip on the CPU AND GPU. BOTH coolers will need fans, slow speed but quiet. I have 9 Fans on my PC, and TWO pumps. It's 4 ft away from me behind my monitors. It's quieter than my TV, or my AC or a car outside the street.

You can go niosless on those in your case, but you'll need really HS fans, and add the side fan I mentioned AND cut a hole on the top of the case. More quiet fans than a few loud ones is quieter.

I'm done here, I gave you more than enough info. Hope you use that noggin of yours and start working. I used to teach electronics to 20 year olds for years, but I'm not about to spoonfeed someone who has no clue.

Learn.