Dragonschild Wrote:I currently have a stock heatsink/fan on my AMD Athlon X2 AM2+ CPU and a old power supply in my HTPC, they are rather loud and I would like to upgrade to very low or no noise options for both of these parts. Trouble is I do not know exactly what I am looking for when shopping for silent/low noise components so I need a little help. If you all could give me some suggestions or even inform me as to what to look for I would be most grateful.
Thanks,
Dragonschild
*edit*
I am using a regular ATX sized power supply in case that makes a difference.
Hey Dragonschild,
I am also quite demanding on silence on my PCs. I have three ATX-sized PCs at home: one server (Semprom L-1250) , one HTPC (C2D E4400) and one hackintosh (C2D E8400).
For all of them I went with Noctua NH-U12P CPU coolers. I actually run all of them fanless (even the C2D E8400). I just turn on the fans on the hackintosh one when I am converting video files (I use a Zallmant ZM-MFC1 controller to turn CPU Heatsin fans on and off when needed).
As mentioned above, if you would go fanless on the CPU Heatsink, make sure you opt for a nice silent 120mm case fan. I also use Noctua ones for that, the NF-S12.
As for the PSU, I use 450W all around as I don't have any power hogs on my machines (like ultimate double graphics cards, etc). I went for the Corsair PSUs, they are doing a great and silent job. You have the choice of both modular (HX450W) and a regular (VX450W) PSU. I run my server with 5HDs in a 450W without any problem.
If you are considering changing your case, I recommend Antec Solo family. It is a sturdy silent case, with noise-reduction features. For the HDs I recommend Western Digital Green Caviar family. Very silent and they auto-spin-off when not in use after some time.
As a measure of silence: at my living room, getting closer to the TV/AV rack, I can hear the buzzz of my LCD TV but cannot hear my HTPC.
Rule of thumb: keep as much as possible thing low power, then they will demand low cooling performance and less noise.
silentpcreview.com is your best friend for silent hardware reviews.