Report after first build!

galvo_clare

Hi

Thanks to all who recently helped me spec two machines, a low power, quiet PC, intended as a backup server and a games machine.

I got all the bits from HWVS and they arrived this afternoon.
I have more need of the server, so I started with that and I'm happy to report that the build went very well and at just over an hour I'm happy it didn't take too long. It's been over ten years since I came close to building an entire machine, but I'm always messing around with bits and pieces so I found it pretty easy, although some of the instructions were quite sparse. Often it's a case of taking an educated guess but it worked out in the end. I only missed the 12v connector on the first go, which stopped the graphics working.
Right now, the OS is happily installing. Unfortunately, the PC is nowhere near as quiet as I expected but I have a nice machine for very little money that I can use elsewhere.
I have a few spare Dell Optiplex and although they're a few years old, they run very quietly and I might use one of those instead.
I'll start the gaming build shortly - I have everything except the graphics gard, which I'll wait 'til the last minute to spec.

Again, thanks for all the help. Looking forward to building a few more.

Serephucus

I'm surprised. If I remember correctly, you went with a server that I specced you. That thing should have been almost silent. The only things making noise being the PSU, CPU, and case fan. (I'm a little dubious, because it's very similar to a server I'll be building in the semi-near future)

galvo_clare

Serephucus wrote: »

I'm surprised. If I remember correctly, you went with a server that I specced you. That thing should have been almost silent. The only things making noise being the PSU, CPU, and case fan. (I'm a little dubious, because it's very similar to a server I'll be building in the semi-near future)

Yes, it was your spec I went with. I only changed the case for a smaller item.
Most of the noise appears to be coming from the PSU. I've mounted it with the fan pointing down into the case. Putting it the other way would have it up against the top of the case and there's no vent there.
I'm pretty sure the CPU cooler is silent, there's lots of passive cooling going on anyway.
The bios has options for auto fan speed control but there's no setting for the PSU fan.

Pity.

Serephucus

I'm very sorry then. I've read that the CX430 is supposed to be a quiet PSU, and that's what I was basing it on. I only have experience with four PSUs myself. Two of them weren't by any means quiet, one was horrible quality, and the other is far more powerful than your server would require.

Moon54

Hmmm, that sounds like a dodgy power supply to me.

The CX430 is usually a very quiet PSU, it's used in a lot in office machines because it is so quiet.
I don't know your spec but it should be an ideal PSU for a low-power PC or a server.

galvo_clare

Moon54 wrote: »

Hmmm, that sounds like a dodgy power supply to me.

The CX430 is usually a very quiet PSU, it's used in a lot in office machines because it is so quiet.
I don't know your spec but it should be an ideal PSU for a low-power PC or a server.

Well, it's much noisier than the Dells beside it. Is it ok to fire up a PSU on the bench without connecting a mobo etc? I have a slightly higher spec Amazon PSU that I could compare it to.
Anything else to check?

deconduo

galvo_clare wrote: »

Well, it's much noisier than the Dells beside it. Is it ok to fire up a PSU on the bench without connecting a mobo etc? I have a slightly higher spec Amazon PSU that I could compare it to.
Anything else to check?

I'd swap in the Amazon instead, its probably a quieter PSU.

galvo_clare

deconduo wrote: »

I'd swap in the Amazon instead, its probably a much quieter PSU.

It's an Amazon in there already. the 450w version. I have a 550w one intended for the gaming machine.

Serephucus

Wait wait, what PSU is noisy - a Corsair CX430 (what I remember speccing you) or a Superflower Amazon 450?

galvo_clare

Serephucus wrote: »

Wait wait, what PSU is noisy - a Corsair CX430 (what I remember speccing you) or a Superflower Amazon 450?

No, you specced Amazons for both machines, just different power outputs (450 and 550W). For a second there I thought I had a slap'ead moment and put the wrong PSU in.

So, should I have gone for this Corsair PSU? Is it considerably quieter than the Amazon?

Serephucus

Going from this thread, I specced you a CX430, unless you're referring to another one. I just had a quick look at the threads you created and got that one.

As regards which would have been better, I really don't know. I haven't had personal experience with either.

deconduo

galvo_clare wrote: »

No, you specced Amazons for both machines, just different power outputs (450 and 550W). For a second there I thought I had a slap'ead moment and put the wrong PSU in.

So, should I have gone for this Corsair PSU? Is it considerably quieter than the Amazon?

Could be bad luck with the PSU then. Every build I've done with the Amazon 450W has been very quiet.

galvo_clare

Serephucus wrote: »

Going from this thread, I specced you a CX430, unless you're referring to another one. I just had a quick look at the threads you created and got that one.

As regards which would have been better, I really don't know. I haven't had personal experience with either.

On that thread, you did spec an Amazon, unless I'm going mad!

Serephucus wrote: »

How's this?

Item|Price
Total build cost: €445.24 + €30 shipping
ASRock H61M-S (B3), Sockel 1155, mATX|€43.85
Intel Core i3-2120T Box, LGA1155|€116.71
NZXT SOURCE 210 Midi-Tower - white, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€30.49
8GB-Kit A-Data Value PC3-1333 CL9|€33.20
Xigmatek Loki SD963 Heatpipe Cooler 92mm|€14.63
OCZ Vertex Plus 30GB SSD SATA 6,4cm (2,5")|€42.25
MS Windows 7 Pro 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€124.00
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€40.11

It'll be a week or so before I can do the other build but I'll be interested to
see how quiet the other Amazon is.

Serephucus

....

Right, I've no idea what I was thinking when I said I specced the CX, sorry about that.

You can try the other Amazon, but if it is just too noisy for you, it won't make a difference. If the first one is defective, then you should know pretty quick.

galvo_clare

Serephucus wrote: »

....

Right, I've no idea what I was thinking when I said I specced the CX, sorry about that.

You can try the other Amazon, but if it is just too noisy for you, it won't make a difference. If the first one is defective, then you should know pretty quick.

Ok

Can anyone recommend a PSU known to be quiet for reasonable money?

FlyingIrishMan

galvo_clare wrote: »

Ok

Can anyone recommend a PSU known to be quiet for reasonable money?

Someone is selling a CX430 on adverts, deconduo is already bidding on it though.

http://www.adverts.ie/hardware/corsair-430w-psu-power-supply-new-with-receipt/1400737

Serephucus

If you haven't ordered the gaming PC yet, you could get another PSU from HWVS. I'll probably be using something from Be Quiet in my server when I build it. There's a 300W Pure Power for around €35 or so.

galvo_clare

Serephucus wrote: »

If you haven't ordered the gaming PC yet, you could get another PSU from HWVS. I'll probably be using something from Be Quiet in my server when I build it. There's a 300W Pure Power for around €35 or so.

I think I'll relegate this machine to a Linux test server. I've been meaning to get back into it for a while.
I'm going to build a Mini itx with a silent psu. The power savings alone over a year will pay for it and I don't need much processing power.

Monotype

Did you try the 550W? I'm surprised that the 450W amazon would be noisy with a load that light. Nearly any modern PSU of similar quality and low load like that should be quiet.

galvo_clare

galvo_clare wrote: »

Yes, it was your spec I went with. I only changed the case for a smaller item.
Most of the noise appears to be coming from the PSU. I've mounted it with the fan pointing down into the case. Putting it the other way would have it up against the top of the case and there's no vent there.
I'm pretty sure the CPU cooler is silent, there's lots of passive cooling going on anyway.
The bios has options for auto fan speed control but there's no setting for the PSU fan.

Pity.

Apologies for the confusion. When I had time to go back and do some simple tests, the PSU is the silent component. The noise is coming from the fan mounted on the processor cooler.
Is there any way to deal with this? The BIOS options are one possibility but should I be looking at something else.
Stalling the fan on the cooler briefly with my finger results in a silent PC so it's just that fan I need to deal with.

deconduo

galvo_clare wrote: »

Apologies for the confusion. When I had time to go back and do some simple tests, the PSU is the silent component. The noise is coming from the fan mounted on the processor cooler.
Is there any way to deal with this? The BIOS options are one possibility but should I be looking at something else.
Stalling the fan on the cooler briefly with my finger results in a silent PC so it's just that fan I need to deal with.

I knew it was weird that the Amazon would be so noisy :pac:

What cooler do you have? What sort of temperatures are you getting under load? It could be that you have it mounted wrong, or that you used too much thermal paste.

galvo_clare

deconduo wrote: »

I knew it was weird that the Amazon would be so noisy :pac:

What cooler do you have? What sort of temperatures are you getting under load? It could be that you have it mounted wrong, or that you used too much thermal paste.

I have this cooler, per the original spec suggested here

Xigmatek Loki SD963 Heatpipe Cooler 92mm

I don't think it's mounted wrong, it just seems there's too much noise coming from the motor.
I didn't slosh thermal paste all over the shop, just little beads over the entire surface and let the mounted cooler spread it out. There's just a very thin layer on the surface.

deconduo

galvo_clare wrote: »

I have this cooler, per the original spec suggested here

Xigmatek Loki SD963 Heatpipe Cooler 92mm

I don't think it's mounted wrong, it just seems there's too much noise coming from the motor.
I didn't slosh thermal paste all over the shop, just little beads over the entire surface and let the mounted cooler spread it out. There's just a very thin layer on the surface.

Download prime95 and hwmonitor. Run prime95 for about 5min and see what CPU temperatures show up on hwmonitor. Post them here.

galvo_clare

deconduo wrote: »

Download prime95 and hwmonitor. Run prime95 for about 5min and see what CPU temperatures show up on hwmonitor. Post them here.

Just had a quick look at the bios and there was a setting for the chassis fan. I've set it down to the lowest level and the machine is as quiet as a mouse.
Temperature according to the bios is 30 degrees for cpu and 29 for mobo. The heatsink is very cool to the touch. I'll run it like that for a few hours keeping a close eye on the temperature. If it gets hot, I can always give the fan a few more revs. What's considered a dangerous temperature?

Very happy - an almost silent PC - although I went ahead and built the Mini Itx, which is tiny and completely silent so that's what I'll use as the backup server.
This PC will now make a very nice desktop or a linux box.

Many thanks for all input.

NiallFH

I have a CX500 myself and theres hardly a sound off it so I would expect the 430 to be the same, definitly quiter than what is in those Dell optiplex

galvo_clare

NiallFH wrote: »

I have a CX500 myself and theres hardly a sound off it so I would expect the 430 to be the same, definitly quiter than what is in those Dell optiplex

It's not a 430 - there was some confusion about that earlier. It's a 450w
Amazon and I've no complaints whatever about the noise.