Project silence. Would this work?

[GargaZol]

Hi

I am about to expand my watercooling system where my goal is silence.

I am going to cool:
Intel 920 @ 3.6GHz
Ati 5870 @ stock
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 chipset(default block)


Priority:
1: Silence
2: Price
3: Performance

What I have:
Chieftec DA-01BD
Apogee XT for CPU
Eheim 1048


Now what I have in mind is 2 Alphacool NexXxoS Pro III - Rev.2 radiators with 1 Yate Loon D14SL-12 at 5V

Made a little paint drawing
http://www.gargazol.dk/pictures/Watercooling_Idea/Project_Silence.jpg

If it is going be needed I would place a 3rd rad in the bottom blowing into the pc with 1 Yate Loon D14SL-12 off at default or with 5V when needed


After much reading, I think the pump is the most silent I can get, but if you have an idea for another I would like to hear it.

Do you think it would be able to cool the pc like this or got some other ideas?

[Vinas]

Maybe look into the antec 200mm rad or even better, the Watercool MO-RA 2 Extreme (http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_457_667_672&products_id=25229). IDK but TBH three triple rads seems like a lot of waste going on with only one 140mm fan!

edit: I've run yate loons and can verify that they are very quite, even with head pressure, like when on a rad.

[GargaZol]

The reason for that rad is the price. 60$ each
I was thinking of Thermochill 140.3 but thats 182$ each and i just can't justify that price dif for my self.

I want it all to be inside of my cabinet.

[gmat]

You might want to get radiators really made for that very low airflow. Thermochill or BlackIce SR will do a lot better.
For the pump a D5 vario (or MCP655), properly decoupled, wont do any more noise than a 1048 when set at 4 or less, and produce a LOT more flow, and will be a lot easier to integrate.

[GargaZol]

The thought was that with a fan shroud it would use the whole area, and therefor have low air resistance even tho it aint just infront of the fan.

I am REALLY sensitive to sound and live in a quiet naborhood, so i want this as silent as possible. Every little bit help.

Do you think a single Thermochill 140.3 would beat 2(3) Alphacool NexXxoS Pro III - Rev.2?

[gmat]

Two TC will beat 2 alphacool's for certain, you would want to check various detailed tests on these forums to see the airflow vs dissipation power graphs and see how single rad performance varies. Now for 2 rads sandwiched like that, first the heat dumped from 1st rad will be directly transferred across 2nd rad, which makes it not as efficient as 2 separate rads. Then, 500rpm even for a 140mm is really LOW flow, and performance between different rads varies a lot there, like i said look at the data collected by Vapor, Martin, Skinnee...

[voigts]

For the pump a D5 vario (or MCP655), properly decoupled, wont do any more noise than a 1048 when set at 4 or less, and produce a LOT more flow, and will be a lot easier to integrate.

I would beg to differ with this. A D5 at any speed is annoying to me. I am very sensitive to higher pitches, and have gone through using a D5, MCP355, MCP350, and now an Aquastream XT which is a modified 1048. Without question the XT is noticeably quieter than any of the other pumps. Not only is it quieter, the pitch it puts out is noticeably lower.

You also need to really look at what fans you use as there is a big difference in their sound outputs. The Scythe Gentletyphoons are among the best in this regards.

[GargaZol]

Hmm, I think I will dump the idea of sandwiched radiators and just use 1 expensive TC 140.3

I have a D5 vario for my "earth" cooled pc (70L tank burrowed 3 meters down in the ground) and it is too loud at any setting besides 1, and even then I can hear it too much.

Yea I have also looked allot on the fans.
YL and Typhoon is the 2 best fans on a radiator where Typhoon is the better one.
I think an YL 140mm is better than a 120mm Typhoon.

[Church]

imho single rad in push-pull will outperform two sandwitched rads with one row of fans, and will take even less space. IIRC skinnielab results for swiftech rads in sandwitch mode showed rather poor results. most probably because of mentioned prewarmed air by one rad using to cool another one. afterall, all heat transfer effectiveness at other specs same depends on difference of temps. no wonder that when showing test results best to post also ambient temps. in this case 2nd rad might do even worse or comparably as single section rad with airflow of it's own (and be of less restriction to water flow then tripple).

[Nickel020]

Watercool is expected to release a new line of rads in the next few weeks and a Mo-Ra 3 should be one of them. It's supposed to hold 140mm fans and if the price isn't much higher than that of the Mo-Ra 2 it might give the Thermochill a run for the money ;)

I've got several Eheim 1046 versions (original 1046, Aquastream XT, Innovatek HPPS+) , and since the 1048 is unlikely to be quieter I can tell you that you probably won't be happy with it. I'm still unhappy with my Aquastream at a relatively low frequency setting (60Hz, range is something like 50-85Hz, mine doesn't get quieter below 60Hz). In the silent-crazy German forums people have come to the conclusion that a MCP350 when undervolted via something like the Aquaero is better noise wise, and I'm gonna switch to that (just got my Aquaero upgraded with the Powerbooster :)).
Be advised though that the top that you use for a Laing greatly affects it's noise characteristic. The EK V2 top is regarded as very noisy, while the XSPC V3 is much better and the Zern.at is the pinnacle of silent-ness.

I also got Gentle Typhoons from two sources, and they're not the fans for you if you're really crazy about noise. They are probably the best fans from a performance/noise standpoint at higher RPMs, but they always emit a "hum" that just won't go away, even at very low RPMs (the hum is barely noticeable over the airflow noise though at higher RPMS). I've got about 15 different 120mm fans (Noiseblocker, Noctua, Scythe etc.) and my favorite is the Be Quiet USC. It's the only fan that I'm completely unable to hear at ~600 RPM.

[Hakker]

another option would be two MCR360 rads and 3 Gentle typhoons. a 140mm in any case isn't preferable and medium gentle typhoons are silent and you could even undervolt that if it's too noisy.

[GargaZol]

another option would be two MCR360 rads and 3 Gentle typhoons. a 140mm in any case isn't preferable and medium gentle typhoons are silent and you could even undervolt that if it's too noisy.

Your saying MCR360 with 3 typhoons is better then TC 140.3 with 140mm YL fans?

[Nickel020]

The OP has a different view of what "silent" is. To him (and to me) medium Gentley Typhoons aren't silent, they're just not particularly noisy.

There's a really old test in a thread by Marci that shows that a Thermochill PA120.2 is right on par with a Swiftech MCR320 (which in turn beats the Alphacool Pro). Since a PA140.3 is similar to a P120.4 performance-wise, it's safe to assume that a PA140.3 will be similar two two lesser triples when not sandwiched.

Edit:

Your saying MCR360 with 3 typhoons is better then TC 140.3 with 140mm YL fans?

He's talking about two MCR320s.

I would definitely wait for the annoucement of the Mo-Ra 3, it might just turn out to be the best silent rad (and best high-performance rad) there is.

[GargaZol]

I think I have gotten my shopping list now.
It is going to be a lot of testing, but I have ordered some different fans I can try with and I will just sell those I don't like.


Parts:
1 ThermoChill PA140.3
3 Yate Loon 140MM D14SL-12 Black 1000RPM
1 Scythe 120MM Gentle Typhoon 1450RPM
1 Scythe S-FLEX 120MM 1600RPM
1 EK-FC5870 - Acetal
1 mCubed T-Balancer bigNG


I will make a fan shroud that will make me able to mount only 1 120/140 fan that use the whole area of the rad.

The 2 120mm fans are a bit high RPM, but it was what the shop had, and they can both go down to ~600 RPM I think.

I bought 3 YL to make sure I had some backup if the shout idea did not work.

I will be keeping my Eheim 1048 and hope it can push the water round.


Thanks for the help so far. I will return in a couple of weeks when i get the parts.

[gmat]

Most of those fans including GT can be made silent with a fan controller... And GT's will push more air.
Also the D5 can be made quiet, if you hear it there are 2 possible reasons:
1- there are air bubbles in your loop (they make a lot of noise going through that pump, and that's a high pitched whine)
2- the pump body is not properly decoupled: use those gel pads.
I have a 1048 too, and i'm also a silence extremist... i can tell you a soundproofed D5 is satisfying. Just make sure there is NO air in the loop...

[WeeMaan]

The OP has a different view of what "silent" is. To him (and to me) medium Gentley Typhoons aren't silent, they're just not particularly noisy.

There's a really old test in a thread by Marci that shows that a Thermochill PA120.2 is right on par with a Swiftech MCR320 (which in turn beats the Alphacool Pro). Since a PA140.3 is similar to a P120.4 performance-wise, it's safe to assume that a PA140.3 will be similar two two lesser triples when not sandwiched.

Edit:


He's talking about two MCR320s.

I would definitely wait for the annoucement of the Mo-Ra 3, it might just turn out to be the best silent rad (and best high-performance rad) there is.

I am also extremly picky about noise, but IMHO 4 Gentle Typhoon @ ~500rpm is inaudible from 1m.

[wez]

The reason for that rad is the price. 60$ each
I was thinking of Thermochill 140.3 but thats 182$ each and i just can't justify that price dif for my self.

I want it all to be inside of my cabinet.

Same reason I use those Alphacool rads :) Very cheap compared to other options, but doesn't lack in performance. Very common re-branded rad as well.



You might want to get radiators really made for that very low airflow. Thermochill or BlackIce SR will do a lot better.
For the pump a D5 vario (or MCP655), properly decoupled, wont do any more noise than a 1048 when set at 4 or less, and produce a LOT more flow, and will be a lot easier to integrate.

The Alphacool rads are actually great for low speed fans. Running three fans in pull with shroud, at 5v for each rad. Dead silence to me, and good air/water delta (3C). But only cooling CPU atm with two triples, so quite expected.

[GargaZol]

Now that i am already going to test some fan setups, i have also ordered a "Antec Big Boy 200 " to see what happens if i put a fan of that size to a shoud and on to the TC PA140.3 :p:

[Sideroxylon]

Hello all, It's been a long time since I posted but I thought I'd throw my thoughts in on this one.

I can't help but feel that unless your shroud has some air directing fins that the use of just one fan won't come anywhere close to using the entire surface of the rad for cooling purposes.

You may be able to get away with it though since I see that performance is on the bottom of your list in terms of priority. I also see you ordered enough fans to cover your rad just in case. :up:

I'm very picky also when it comes to noise but we all have different ideas when it comes to what's too loud. I think you'll find that having all 3 fans on the rad thermally controlled with the bigNG will give you the best of both worlds.

Good luck bud. :cool:

[GargaZol]

I can't help but feel that unless your shroud has some air directing fins that the use of just one fan won't come anywhere close to using the entire surface of the rad for cooling purposes.

Yea i have also thought of that, but in theory it will make a little bit of pressure between that fan and the rad, so it will use most of the surface.
Atleast thats how i imagin it :)
The shoud will put the fan ~8CM from the rad, so it have some area to spread the air on.