Build the ultimate quiet PC
Now you've sorted the case and the ventilation, it's time to focus on the components. The biggest culprits of noise pollution are the heatsink and fan that cool a PC's central processing unit (CPU). Most computers ship with the standard heatsink designed by either Intel or AMD. These are designed to provide optimum cooling, but noise reduction isn't their forte. For the ultimate quiet CPU, swap your desktop processing unit for a laptop model as the latter has lower power demands and require less cooling. We've chosen an ASUS N4L-VM DH motherboard (picture 1) as it's designed for desktop use, but accepts Socket 479-type laptop CPUs including the Intel Core Duo and Core Solo chips found in modern laptops. We've paired this with a Pentium M 750 CPU running at 1.86GHz (picture 2). This isn't the fastest chip in the world, but it stays cool during use and doesn't require a massive fan. The heatsink and fan included in the ASUS N4L VM DH motherboard package (picture 3) perfectly adequate as it spins only occasionally. We'll control just how much it spins in step 8. If your budget doesn't stretch to a whole new CPU and motherboard, we recommend replacing your current heatsink with a noise-reducing alternative. First identify your motherboard's CPU socket type then choose a quiet heatsink and fan that's compatible. We've chosen the CNPS9500-AM2 AMD Aero Flower Cooler to go with our existing Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64 FX60 CPU (picture 4). We like the Aero Flower Cooler's striking design (it glows green in the dark) and it has a manually adjustable fan rotation speed of between 1,350 and 2,650rpm. This means you can control exactly how much noise it makes. You'll need to crank it up to its full velocity when running demanding applications, but you can run it at the lowest setting for everyday tasks like Web browsing or watching a DVD. | ||||
)
- Talkback
-
There are currently no comments for this story.
To post comments, you need to become a member. It's FREE.
