Cooling I need some tips for making my PC quiet yet cool

The system in my sig has just been moved off my floor and up onto my desk because I made it look all tidy and pretty so it deserved to be admired. But since then I've noticed how loud it can be when under load, the GPU mainly.

What sort of things could I buy to make it run cooler and quieter? (I know "silent edition" fans would help, but I have no clue which brands are the good ones)

As it stands I have my CM Storm Stryker with stock fans (200mm roof, 2x120mm intake on front) but with the rear 140mm exhaust removed so I could install a Corsair H60 in it. I have the option to use the following fan configurations; Roof - 2x120mm or 2x140mm or 200mm. Front - 2x120mm. Side - None. Bottom - 2x120mm (one blocked by HDD cages). Rear - 1x120mm or 1x140mm (Used for H60 rad)

What does Bit-Tech recommend that I do to keep temps down and noise along with it?

Temps in games;

PlanetSide 2 large fight - 86C GPU @ 60% fans. 56C CPU on auto fans.
Assassins Creed III - Pretty much the same
Battlefield 3 - Pretty much the same give or take a few degrees

Stress test temps;
Furmark* & Prime95 - GPU gets up to 95C @ 100% and CPU to around 65C

As you can see, my GPU gets toasty. I've already ruled out case airflow and crappy thermal paste as the causes. Would buying an Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme III help with that? I had a similar cooler on my old GTX580 and I rarely saw 80C even in furmark.

*I had to reduce factory overclock to standard GTX580 clocks to keep it from breaking 100C

 

Ghetto rig a 120mm fan blowing air up into the GPU.. ?

EDIT, like this (appreciate the 939 lovin')



I favour reducing voltage over buying new fans. I normally run mine between 9v and 7v (Medium speed Yate Loons) and that seems to be a good balance between airflow and noise.

 

Problem with a PC case on your desktop is once you eliminate one sound another becomes more prominent and irritating! Those temperatures look a little high for a GTX 580; I would expect that from a 480 but not its successor. Have you tried undervolting the 580? That could help reduce temperature whilst maintaining stability.

 

I put a desk fan blowing into the case and saw the temps drop by 3C, a 120mm probably wouldn't do too much

I thought that it was on the toasty side, I'll look into undervolting even more now, I've already dropped it from 1038 mV to 1000mV and dropped the clocks to 772 core and 2000 memory.

 

Four 120mm fans should actually be enough. Two in the front for intake and two (rear and top) for blowing the same amount of air out.

First of all, install the drive-cages aligned to the front, so that the fans are actually pushing air into the case. Don't install any HDDs into the upper drive-cage, as this would heavily block the airflow towards the CPU and GPU. Best position for the HDDs would be in the 5.1/4" slots up there, where they don't block any airflow at all. Your HDDs don't really need to be cooled with a fan.

Get rid of the 200mm fan in the top, as it makes alot of noise due to it blowing against the metal, as the cutout is nowhere big enough for it. Install a single 120mm there.

EDIT: Seeing that you use the H60 for the CPU, install the radiator of the H60 in the top instead of the 200mm fan.

These steps should solve most of your problems, and if you're happy with the result, then you don't need to buy other fans at all. If your GPU is still running hot and loud, then check the cooler of your GPU aswell, as it actually shouldn't be that loud to begin with.

 

Does the Twin Frozr II heatsink make good contact with the GPU? Otherwise if your room temperature isn't sky high I'd be questioning weather the heatsink is doing its job properly. Maybe a defective heatpipe or two in the mix!

 

I've reseated it twice now with different thermal paste, I'd assume it makes good contact. If it is a defective heatpipe, Scan really need to up their "intensive testing" procedures since this was a warranty replacement card.

 

Oh, as I see an Asus Xonar DX in your sig now aswell.... where is it placed? Make sure to slot it as far away from the GPU as possible.

 

The problem from your setup is definitely the 580, I have enough first hand experience of PC silencing and my own 580 to certify that much

And since you seem to have a defective heatpipe (can see NO other reason apart from dodgy cooler as to why your temps are that high in your system), you are left with a couple options. Either re-replace the 580 if you can, or buy a trusted third party cooler. A Prolimatech MK26 like I have is probably the best option aside from watercooling (and in fact even over budget watercooling), but costs about £50 and takes about 4 slots. Of course something like an Icy Vision will do the job slightly less well for £30. But it does grate on the fact that you already paid for a damn Twin Frozr II..

The thing is, nothing else will silence your PC. Improving airflow, swapping case fans around, removing hard drive bays will all make a difference but the effect won't be enough to tame a 580. The cooler is simply too loud, especially with your case that close to you.

Edit; notice you mentioned the Accelero Extreme III, yep you're thinking on the right lines.

 

Sell the card on ebay and pick up a new one.

A Accelero Extreme is a great idea but they are a stack of money to stick on a card imo.

 

New card won't be as quiet as using a good aftermarket cooler on the current one. Depends on how quiet you want it. I definitely recommend the aftermarket cooler route, much quieter than anything else.

Just to put into perspective the level of sound I'm talking about, I've set up my own PC to be totally inaudible despite load, so when gaming or stress testing. You walk past it and can't tell if its on by sound, despite running Dota 2 maxed out at 120FPS 120Hz in the background To the extent I removed my mechanical hard drive from the PC entirely, as it was the major source of noise! Even after downgrading said hard drive from a loud 7200rpm F3 to a quieter 5400rpm WD Green model.

 

its funny this came up today...i might have a arctic cooling accelero xtreeme3 for sale in the next week or so ( when my mk26 arrives )
its only issue is it is HUGELY long

 

The only way to get any further away would be to put it in a different PC

The price of them really puts me off buying one though, I'm a jobless student you see.

I think I'll just email Scan and demand a new GTX680 for being messed about with another dodgy card

 

well as i said i might have a 2nd hand xtreme3 going once my replacement arrives ( i changed due to space restrictions on my case
it might be wise to measure your case / card before buying one ( i screwed this up and had to take out an intake fan from my raven 02 )
best way to measure is from the rear of the gpu socket backwards ( to the front of the case ) to see if anything will interfere with the card, ill get mine measured up so you can see if it even fits in your case
other coolers at lower price points are the gelid icy vision rev2 ( £30 from scan) , or the Prolimatech Mk26 ( this week only on overclockers £46.79 ) the prolimatech has the advantage in that you can use any 120 / 140 mm fan that you want with it but its more expensive and doesnt ship with any fans ( also it might prove difficult to get it in your case if it isnt wide

 

My old GTX580 had a very similar cooler, but that was what came on it by standard so I couldn't keep it. My case is a large case, I can fit it without a problem

As for this 2nd hand cooler of yours, how much would you want for it if you can sell it?

 

MK26, be amazed! I have 2x 140mm X-Silent fans on mine, hooked up to a fan controller (sticking them on the GPU 4pin thing is just way too loud, they always run at full speed thay way, I think it's because they aren't PWM). Fan controller means I keep them inaudible at all times and still get great temps!

 

So I seriously got in touch with Scan about that hot GPU and they said they could offer me a GTX660ti to replace the GTX580.

When I said I'd be losing out on £150 of value (from original purchase) they replied saying they choose replacements based on performance over costs. Are they allowed to do this? And how good is a 660ti in comparison to a 580?

Help from Blogins would be great right now

 

I think they can offer something that is as good regardless of the price but I am not sure to be honest.

The GTX660ti is a decent card though, and I think it performs better than the GTX 580 whilst running cooler and using less power.

My dad is using just a single GTX660 and it performs better than my old GTX480 if that helps.

 

I've seen benchmarks where its as good in some and worse in others. Never seen one that would be noticeably better

http://www.overclock.net/t/1295358/gtx-660ti-vs-gtx-580-upgrade
After reading that I won't settle for a 660ti.

 

Before I start, please don't berate my idea, it's actually a really sound method that I've tried and tested. The only issue is potentially cost, it pays to be patient and wait for a deal.

Get hold of a Zalman Reserator (either the original blue one or the grey 1 v2) second hand - should be able to source one cheap these days and if not I have one going spare. You'll need some coolant too.

Get a block for the 580, doesn't have to be fancy, just full cover. These pop up in the marketplace from time to time.

Fit it all together, and enjoy a completely silent GTX580, which will never exceed 50°C delta-T. I achieved this with a £20 second hand Reserator 1 V2, a £30 block and £5 of coolant. Total cost £55, result = heavenly silence.

I wouldn't stick anything else in the loop mind, but it looks awesome and I clocked the nuts off the card as well. Coupled with the TT Frio and case fans on the lowest possible settings in a P182 I had a genuinely quiet bedroom gaming PC, nothing more than a very subtle background noise from the fans, but with the option to crank everything up a notch if required - which it never was.

Some of the fun of WCing with less of the hassle.