Noisy Antec Sonata

GoneShootin

Lew

I bought this case specifically to have a nice quiet PC, but it's still so bloody noisy!

I've a P4 3.4 CPU with a Thermaltake Silent 775 sitting on it since last night with 1GB RAM. A Radeon 9800 PRO with an Arctic VGA Silencer sitting on that, and the Antec PSU that came with the case, with a big ass 120mm system fan that also came with the case. It might be my imagination, but I swear the PC was quieter when I had the Intel stock fan inside. I cant seem to get a reading for the System Fan on uGuru either strangly enough.

I'm running Abit uGuru on a ASV-8 Mobo.

Without shelling out for noise dampening material, how do I go about making this thing quiet? Im not sure on what values to set on uGuru in fear of borking something

Im not going to get into water cooling as I dont game that much to make it worthwhile.

I cant stick the noise, and I'll sell this damn thing and buy a freakin laptop if I have to

WizZard

Is there a fan on the motherboard chipset? Abit one's are notoriously noisy. Replace with a Zalman NB47J (€10 in Peats)

I don't know how "silent" that TT HSF is.

I bought an Arctic Freezer LGA775 in Peats and put it in my friends Sonata and it's whisper quiet.

GoneShootin

No to the chipset fan. Really annoyed with all this noise. Think I'll put the stock back in.

On a seperate matter - how might I remove the existing thermal paste so I can apply a fresh batch. Is there such a thing as too much paste?

WizZard

GoneShootin wrote:

On a seperate matter - how might I remove the existing thermal paste so I can apply a fresh batch. Is there such a thing as too much paste?

Yes, too much paste will raise your temps. Use a bit about the size a grain of (Uncle Bens) rice. No more.

Remove it with rubbing alcohol or Akasa TIM Cleaner. Oh, and a soft cloth.

jozi

I have a sonata and i can sleep with it on.
I did ditch the psu for a ocz one and the fan for 2 papst 120mm's together with a fan controler.
I had a TT volcano, noise bugger at high rpm.

Turn the pc on and stop each fan with your finger till you find the one that makes the most noise, make sure the fan spins again after you stop it

sionnach

basically, you're not going to have a nice quiet 3.4 ghz pentium pc without spending a fair bit of money. That thermaltake silent is far from quiet, and very far from silent. Always read some in depth trusted reviews before buying any thermaltake product.

GoneShootin

Welp Ive made things a bit quieter. Seems the paste was causing my problems, too bloody much of it.

Im thinking of downgrading the processor - with the gig o' ram that I have an the 9800 PRO what CPU would do me for quieter work but that will also handle the like of COD and Splinter Cell (HL2 maybe in 800*600). I dont think I need the full whack of the 3.4 CPU, I think I went a bit mental when I was putting it all together

WizZard

It's not the processor making the noise, it's the TT fan on it. Get an Arctic Freezer LGA775 or Zalman cooler and it will/should be much quieter!

sionnach

WizZard wrote:

It's not the processor making the noise, it's the TT fan on it. Get an Arctic Freezer LGA775 or Zalman cooler and it will/should be much quieter!

the hotter the cpu, the noisier it is to cool. Changing from a ridiculously hot p4 prescott to a nice cold athlon 64 venice will allow him to use a quieter cooler with an undervolted fan.

unkel

GoneShootin wrote:

Im thinking of downgrading the processor

Now why would you do that? And especially changing your 3.4 for a second hand 3.0 and only getting €40 for it?

sionnach

unkel wrote:

Now why would you do that?

if it's a really quiet pc he wants it's the move to make.

Col_Loki

What way do you have the 120mm fan connected to the power?

In order for the Sonata to be silent, you must connect the fan to the "fan only" connector in the PSU (which runs it at a little over 6v - silent and changes the speed based on load)..... if you have it connected into the normal 12v, its noisey and annoying.

Also Thermaltake wouldnt be noted for low noise, like was said Zalman are a great way to go.
Problem is once you've silenced one thing, it means you begin to pick out the next noise .... silence that... then find another (but the pc is getting quieter).

GoneShootin

Its connected to the FAN ONLY connector all right. I was fooled then by the "Silent" part of the Thermaltake product. Silent compared to an airplane perhaps!

WizZard

GoneShootin wrote:

Its connected to the FAN ONLY connector all right. I was fooled then by the "Silent" part of the Thermaltake product. Silent compared to an airplane perhaps!

You'll find that a lot when you choose TT products. Best to read a lot of reviews from reputable sites before you go believing in manufacturers "morkeshing" hype.