Can I get my htpc/nas to run fanless?

BigEejit

Apologies for the long post, I just want to have enough details that you dont spend the next 10 posts asking for info.

I have been putting together a htpc/nas type computer that can handle bluray and xvid playback at 1080p and maybe an hour of gaming at medium settings here and there. While it is very quiet, but I'd like it fanless if possible because its going to be on most of the time.

So I have a Antec Fusion Veris Remote case (black) with a 400 watt fanless power supply. Case has great wife acceptance factor, looks great and fits in nicely with everything else.
The mobo is a DFI Lanparty JR 790gx-m2rs (built in hdmi output, but that 790GX chip gets pretty hot if there isnt some airflow its a HD3300 under there and with fans in the case runs at 40C in 2D windows vista), plugged into the mobo is a AMD 5050e processor (45W tdp) and 4GB of corsair ddr2 800, finally a LG Blu-Ray.
My cpu cooling is done by a scythe shuriken and my case cooling is a single Noctua 120mm 800rpm fan.
I use a pair of 1TB Seagate 7200.11 in raid-1 (data availability over data capacity)... The hard disks are in the slots in the case but instead of sitting on the silicone wotsits, I have suspended them with some bungee cord. I have cool n quiet enabled and it throttles nicely.

All very quiet, but not silent .... I've had a complaint from the wife department that when everything else is turned off and she's reading a book or something she can hear it. I dont want to be throwing out any of the major components (especially not the mobo as my windows license is tied to it!!) and ideally would like to keep cost to €200 or lower. Another reason for going fanless is that I have to use filters because my living room can be dusty and my pc would look like a crows nest after a year of being on most days.

I was thinking of getting a 32 or possibly 64GB SSD for my OS drive, with the 2 x 1TB drives allowed to spin down after a short while of being inactive.

I was also thinking of getting a fanless 5550 or 5570 for graphics, I saw a few of them on sites and while they are not speed demons they should do the job (which is offload video for blu-ray playback etc and be able to play games at medium settings through HDMI to the telly)
There are slots in the top of the case above the graphics card slots, I was thinking there would be some natural convection and a little airflow through there .... I may even take a drill/dremel to it and open it out and/or enlarge it.

That leaves my CPU cooling. I am restrained on heatsink size due to the case, from the topside of the mobo to the bottom of the lid is 115mm or so .... which I would guess gives me about 105 mm for the heatsink.

I will probably test having a undervolted 80mm sharkoon golfball fan internally blowing across the cpu and graphics card heatsinks if heat is a ongoing problem.

Anyone have any suggestions or insights? Particularly in relation to a cool running but still decent passive graphics card and a largish passive AM2 cpu cooler thats is around 100mm high.
I had another thought, is there something that would turn on fans (i.e. not adjust speed - I mean actually turn them on) if the case temp rose above a temp ...for example 45C and turned off again when temp dropped under 40C?? Note that I dont have a 5.25 slot anywhere to put one of the normal ones, would be handy if it was just a little box :P

Solitaire

It depends on where you have the system (HTPCs are usually very bad as they're often tucked away in poorly ventilated corners!) but you're almost always going to need some active cooling when working with non-ULV stuff (i.e. 99% of hardware! ).

First point: Make sure that the case has good, thick foam feet.

Second point: Use fans that are known for low noise generation. Arctic FDB fans if possible, low-noise Scythes/Sharkoons/Noctuas/Alpenfohns if not (as the FDB fans are ~35mm thick).

Third point: Always try to have some foam or silicone padding in-between fans and drives and the case itself, otherwise vibrations are passed right through the chassis

Fourth point: Modern, efficient hardware and Overclocking are your friends. Only in this case instead of increasing voltages to suit increased speed, you're reducing voltage to suit your desired speed, thus reducing power consumption and heat output. Modern AM3 CPUs are good for this, although LGA1156 isn't bad either

As for fan speed, if you're using a nice 790GX mobo with lots of fan headers odds are you can use the mobo as a fan controller by using software to diddle with the PWM settings. No good with stock fixed-speed Antec fans but any new PWM-capable three-wire fan can be controlled via software so long as the mobo itself supports PWM on the fan headers you're using. Try messing with SpeedFan

BigEejit

Hmm ... I need to investigate these fdb fans (fluid dynamic bearing like in harddisks?)

The case has silicone feet, and the htpc is on a shelf with a Denon amp, plenty of air circulation all round... denon is fanless, htpc exhausts on side away from it.

My hard disks are not the problem I think, I have them suspended my bungee cord and they dont touch the case anywhere. The Noctua 120mm fan is fitted using those rubber/silicone push in wotsits, there is a gap of ~1mm around it, it does not touch the case either.

I have to look into underclocking the cpu, cool n quiet is doing it already, I should be able to do it manually .... I dont know if I can do that with the built in graphics though, its integrated into the northbridge.... I have to investigate that too....

My mobo has 5!! 3 pin fan headers, but I thought they just adjusted speed rather than actually stopped and started the fans ....I have to investigate that as well doh :eek:

Solitaire

BigEejit wrote: »

Hmm ... I need to investigate these fdb fans (fluid dynamic bearing like in harddisks?)

Yup AFAIK Arctic have the full-size ones trademarked, you can tell them apart from Arctic's bog-standard fans by the fact they're domed 35mm thick units rather than normal 25mm "flat fans". Last place I saw them was Pixmania oddly enough... but if you already have Noctuas I doubt you'll see a big improvement

My hard disks are not the problem I think, I have them suspended my bungee cord and they dont touch the case anywhere. The Noctua 120mm fan is fitted using those rubber/silicone push in wotsits, there is a gap of ~1mm around it, it does not touch the case either.

Where the heck is the noise coming from then?! :eek:

I have to look into underclocking the cpu, cool n quiet is doing it already, I should be able to do it manually .... I dont know if I can do that with the built in graphics though, its integrated into the northbridge.... I have to investigate that too....

You don't need to underclock neccessarily... especially with that naff ancient CPU! Just see how low you can take voltage before you lose stability. AM3 CPUs have something like 4 p-states and there's an app to edit the whole lot (speeds, voltages, transition conditions) but I doubt your old Athlon supports them

My mobo has 5!! 3 pin fan headers, but I thought they just adjusted speed rather than actually stopped and started the fans ....I have to investigate that as well doh :eek:

They adjust speed, but they can adjust speed to 0%...

Just make sure you find out which headers are PWM-enabled, not all are in my experience! You can then define your own set of behaviours for each linked fan via independent PWM manipulation using apps like SpeedFan. No need to ever have a fan maxing out at 100% either; most fans actually lose the bulk of their turbulence and vibration at <80% speed so if you have big high-CFM Noctuas keep them under whatever speed makes them start to misbehave!