5 ms·

I totally understand the appeal of a totally silent desktop, been there :-) Making it fanless sounds like the obvious way but it gets quite expensive very soon

I totally understand the appeal of a totally silent desktop, been there :-) Making it fanless sounds like the obvious way but it gets quite expensive very soon (I just checked and just the DB4 seems to cost >200€ here in Europe). I secretly keep on wishing to build a true fanless system, but I have personally opted for something in between. A good quality PSU (fanless or with a fan only active after certain threshold), SSD drives (mechanical ones are terrible offenders about noise), a bulky CPU heatsink and good quality fans spinning at no more than 800 RPM can give you a really silent desktop for a reasonable price. If you need to add a discrete GPU to the equation you can get a not too power hungry one with decent fan regulation (they can work fanless under low workloads). While not fanless and not a truly 0dB system, any potential noise is covered by any background noise, even in quiet places, your own keyboard typing or the audio from your gaming session if you are stressing your GPU.

dtgriscom 5y ago
This. I have a Ryzen 7 3700X-based machine [1] with the factory CPU cooler, an SSD, and a quiet system fan. When idle, it's inaudible even with the exhaust fan facing you. When I'm compiling, the fan speeds up but you can only hear a quiet ticking. Any quieter would have had no value for me. [1] https://pcpartpicker.com/user/dtgriscom/saved/#view=P84p23 https://pcpartpicker.com/user/dtgriscom/saved/#view=P84p23
PragmaticPulp 5y ago
> a bulky CPU heatsink and good quality fans spinning at no more than 800 RPM can give you a really silent desktop for a reasonable price I’ve followed fanless PC cases for years, but I always arrive at the same conclusion: Modern fans, PSUs, and PC cases are so good that it’s not hard to build an effectively silent PC that uses fans for cooling. My GPU and PSU don’t even spin up their fans at all unless I’m playing a video game, at which point I’m wearing headphones anyway. A large CPU heatsink allows for slow spinning fans that are so quiet I can’t tell if they’re spinning at all without looking at them. The case itself is lined with acoustic damping material to attenuate noise even further. The loudest part of my recent builds hasn’t been the fans. It’s the noise made by the electromagnetic coils in the PSU. I had to swap power supplies to find an even quieter one, even though the fan wasn’t spinning. I could see how a truly fanless PC could have used (recording studio or maybe a dusty environment where airflow isn’t an option) but for most of us it’s not hard to build an effectively silent case with good fan and component selection.
- Willox 5y ago
  This is my experience too. Unless there's some sort of heavy workload going on you can have an "inaudible" computer fairly easily. Something I've seen people fall for is the idea that water-cooled computers will be more quiet but that's definitely not the case. You'll struggle to find a water pump that is quieter than a decently air cooled PC (when not under heavy load.)
  - PragmaticPulp 5y ago
    > Unless there's some sort of heavy workload going on you can have an "inaudible" computer fairly easily. The catch with these fanless setups is that they're mostly limited to low-TDP CPUs anyway. You can't use the most powerful CPUs with a passive heatsink unless you add fans to help when the workload peaks, which starts to defeat the purpose. > Something I've seen people fall for is the idea that water-cooled computers will be more quiet but that's definitely not the case. Water-cooled can be quieter for certain edge cases like cooling the CPU and GPU. You have to work hard to keep the pump quiet, though. I've tried several of the popular pumps (D5, DDC) with various PWM strategies, but they're never entirely silent. For CPU-only workloads, air cooling with a big heatsink is the way to go. A lot of people are surprised when they look at benchmark charts and see the best heatsinks outperforming most water coolers on the market.
  - Abishek_Muthian 5y ago
    > This is my experience too. Unless there's some sort of heavy workload going on you can have an "inaudible" computer fairly easily. I agree and it doesn't even need to be a custom built computer. Any laptop with 15W TDP CPU with a power saver governor would be completely silent for most day-to-day task. Since they are usually entry level the cost saved can be invested in buying nVME storage, RAM and what not. Many have USB 3.1 with display port and if connected to a monitor you have easy access to the more ports than a >$1000 laptop.
- runjake 5y ago
  > Modern fans, PSUs, and PC cases are so good that it’s not hard to build an effectively silent PC that uses fans for cooling. This is a lie. Or we have entirely different definitions for what silent means. It’s pretty hard. I just did this with a pretty good budget. It’s taken a number of parts swaps to get to a truly silent PC. Amongst the issues are: - Lack of hardware/OS optimization. Coming from the Mac world, the coupling between hardware and software is much more loose. The driver quality is quite a bit more poor. - Product variances. Eg. I had two fans of the same model that had different sound profiles.
hutrdvnj 5y ago
> I just checked and just the DB4 seems to cost >200€ here in Europe True, but you would likely spend about 100€-150€ for a decent case + CPU cooler (e.g. noctua) anyway. If you consider that, then the DB4 is actually not that expensive.
- maxmalkav 5y ago
  Fair point
SavantIdiot 5y ago
Depends what you want to do with it. I have a 0dB system: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdel-Powerful-Desktop-Computer-Industrial/dp/B07DM1MGG8 https://www.amazon.com/Kingdel-Powerful-Desktop-Computer-Ind... Works fine as my primary linux server.
Jhsto 5y ago
Each to their own. I have a 6 disk HDD RAID server in my sleeping room, because I find the random read and write sounds relaxing at night. It's not disturbing either, as the sounds are muzzled by a noise dampening case.
- Forbo 5y ago
  Using rubber grommets for all my mounts has made my HDD sounds so much quieter. An absolute world of difference.
walrus01 5y ago
What I would recommend if going for a quiet case with fans, look at 140mm low rpm fans. Disregard all midtower atx cases designed for use of 120mm fans. You can safely use a fairly large passive cpu heatsink if with a 65W tdp cpu. Human annoyance noise from small DC fans increases as they get smaller (40/60mm size fans are perfect examples). A slow 140mm size fan can move quite a lot of air and very quietly.
- aidenn0 5y ago
  There is no need to spend extra for 140. A quality 120 is negligibly higher CFM then a quality 140 at the same RPM. It used to be that bigger is better, but there are diminishing returns, and manufacturers have started making quiet fans in all sizes [Edit] To be clear, if the case you like happens to have 140mm fan bays, that's fine, but no need to specifically look for that.
  - Dunedan 5y ago
    > There is no need to spend extra for 140. A quality 120 is negligibly higher CFM then a quality 140 at the same RPM. Where do you get these numbers from? Take Noctua fans for example, which are arguably some of the best on the market. A 140mm NF-A14 PWM [1] does have a throughput of 140.2 m³/h at 1,500 RPM, while a 120mm NF-A12x25 PWM [2]does only have a throughput of 84.5 m³/h at 1,700 RPM. And that even with the NF-A12x25 PWM being a newer generation fan than the NF-A14 PWM! [1]: https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a14-pwm/specification https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a14-pwm/specification [2]: https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a12x25-pwm/specification https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a12x25-pwm/specificatio...
    - aidenn0 5y ago
      Thanks for that, I'm apparently just wrong. I should point out that the 140mm doesn't get the extra airflow for free, as it's about 2dB louder. The lower frequency makes up for that though, and you will probably see more than a 2dB rise in noise for adding a second 120mm fan so it is still a net win at any given CFM.
    - 5y ago
gautamcgoel 5y ago
100% this. I have a system with a fanless PSU from Seasonic, 3 Noctua case fans and a Noctua CPU heatsink/CPU fan. I couldn't be happier with it. It is completely drowned out by any background noise (for example, the sound of typing, the hum of the AC, etc) and gives off a very, very faint whooshing sound when the house is truly silent. Personally I like the sound, it's the sound of high-end Austrian engineering working perfectly. I highly recommend Noctua fans.
s0rce 5y ago
I'm really happy with my integrated water cooling for my desktop, the large fan barely has to run and the water pump is almost inaudible except for the occasional gurgling noise. Its not the same sound as a whining small CPU cooling fan so much less annoying. The PSU fan also doesn't have to run much unless you really load the system. Been working well for almost 10 years.
eins1234 5y ago
I used to build my own desktops when I was younger, but my most recent desktops have all been Intel NUCs, mostly due to valuing time/space/noise over raw price/performance (and due my rapidly declining gaming needs). One feature that I've really grown to love that I don't remember ever seeing with custom machines is the ability to fully customize the fan-curve, including the ability to completely turn off the fan below certain temperatures. This makes it as good as a truly silent build for most day to day use, but with effective cooling available for intensive tasks for when I need the extra power. Maybe these days there are motherboards that allow you to configure the fan curve this way as well? I personally think this kind of configuration gives the best of both worlds.
- montecarl 5y ago
  Since you asked. Most of the motherboards I've worked with recently let you set a custom fan curve with the option to turn the fan off completely. You can also adjust which temperature sensor the fan curve is based on. This can be controlled for each fan connected to the motherboard.
_carbyau_ 5y ago
I find myself more sensitive to unnecessary noise as I get older but "fanless" seems to be the Designers Dream while a fan is practical in terms of build cost and utility. A fan CAN spin up and provide a LOT of cooling if needed. And stay still otherwise. An absence of fan provides no options. I get a fan for my computer case. But lament service and retail centres with with echoing brick walls, polished concrete floors and hard surface ceilings. It isn't relaxing ambience, it is echoing noise...
greggyb 5y ago
It depends on what you need from the PC. There's a huge market of fanless mini PCs, which are taking generic laptop motherboards + CPUs (likely bulk orders of surplus from white-label ODMs) and putting them in thick aluminum enclosures. The CPU is mounted such that it directly contacts the case. For the <30W power output of these components, cooling is handled completely passively. Depending on your workload, these can be great value for money (especially with CPUs that are a few generations old). If you need to do heavy compute, these won't fit your needs. For most desktop (as opposed to workstation) use cases, these are great. https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20210806123326&SearchText=fanless+mini+pc https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=S...

dtgriscom 5y ago

This. I have a Ryzen 7 3700X-based machine [1] with the factory CPU cooler, an SSD, and a quiet system fan. When idle, it's inaudible even with the exhaust fan facing you. When I'm compiling, the fan speeds up but you can only hear a quiet ticking. Any quieter would have had no value for me. [1] https://pcpartpicker.com/user/dtgriscom/saved/#view=P84p23 https://pcpartpicker.com/user/dtgriscom/saved/#view=P84p23

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

> a bulky CPU heatsink and good quality fans spinning at no more than 800 RPM can give you a really silent desktop for a reasonable price I’ve followed fanless PC cases for years, but I always arrive at the same conclusion: Modern fans, PSUs, and PC cases are so good that it’s not hard to build an effectively silent PC that uses fans for cooling. My GPU and PSU don’t even spin up their fans at all unless I’m playing a video game, at which point I’m wearing headphones anyway. A large CPU heatsink allows for slow spinning fans that are so quiet I can’t tell if they’re spinning at all without looking at them. The case itself is lined with acoustic damping material to attenuate noise even further. The loudest part of my recent builds hasn’t been the fans. It’s the noise made by the electromagnetic coils in the PSU. I had to swap power supplies to find an even quieter one, even though the fan wasn’t spinning. I could see how a truly fanless PC could have used (recording studio or maybe a dusty environment where airflow isn’t an option) but for most of us it’s not hard to build an effectively silent case with good fan and component selection.

Willox 5y ago
This is my experience too. Unless there's some sort of heavy workload going on you can have an "inaudible" computer fairly easily. Something I've seen people fall for is the idea that water-cooled computers will be more quiet but that's definitely not the case. You'll struggle to find a water pump that is quieter than a decently air cooled PC (when not under heavy load.)
- PragmaticPulp 5y ago
  > Unless there's some sort of heavy workload going on you can have an "inaudible" computer fairly easily. The catch with these fanless setups is that they're mostly limited to low-TDP CPUs anyway. You can't use the most powerful CPUs with a passive heatsink unless you add fans to help when the workload peaks, which starts to defeat the purpose. > Something I've seen people fall for is the idea that water-cooled computers will be more quiet but that's definitely not the case. Water-cooled can be quieter for certain edge cases like cooling the CPU and GPU. You have to work hard to keep the pump quiet, though. I've tried several of the popular pumps (D5, DDC) with various PWM strategies, but they're never entirely silent. For CPU-only workloads, air cooling with a big heatsink is the way to go. A lot of people are surprised when they look at benchmark charts and see the best heatsinks outperforming most water coolers on the market.
- Abishek_Muthian 5y ago
  > This is my experience too. Unless there's some sort of heavy workload going on you can have an "inaudible" computer fairly easily. I agree and it doesn't even need to be a custom built computer. Any laptop with 15W TDP CPU with a power saver governor would be completely silent for most day-to-day task. Since they are usually entry level the cost saved can be invested in buying nVME storage, RAM and what not. Many have USB 3.1 with display port and if connected to a monitor you have easy access to the more ports than a >$1000 laptop.
runjake 5y ago
> Modern fans, PSUs, and PC cases are so good that it’s not hard to build an effectively silent PC that uses fans for cooling. This is a lie. Or we have entirely different definitions for what silent means. It’s pretty hard. I just did this with a pretty good budget. It’s taken a number of parts swaps to get to a truly silent PC. Amongst the issues are: - Lack of hardware/OS optimization. Coming from the Mac world, the coupling between hardware and software is much more loose. The driver quality is quite a bit more poor. - Product variances. Eg. I had two fans of the same model that had different sound profiles.

hutrdvnj 5y ago

> I just checked and just the DB4 seems to cost >200€ here in Europe True, but you would likely spend about 100€-150€ for a decent case + CPU cooler (e.g. noctua) anyway. If you consider that, then the DB4 is actually not that expensive.

maxmalkav 5y ago
Fair point

SavantIdiot 5y ago

Depends what you want to do with it. I have a 0dB system: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdel-Powerful-Desktop-Computer-Industrial/dp/B07DM1MGG8 https://www.amazon.com/Kingdel-Powerful-Desktop-Computer-Ind... Works fine as my primary linux server.

Jhsto 5y ago

Each to their own. I have a 6 disk HDD RAID server in my sleeping room, because I find the random read and write sounds relaxing at night. It's not disturbing either, as the sounds are muzzled by a noise dampening case.

Forbo 5y ago
Using rubber grommets for all my mounts has made my HDD sounds so much quieter. An absolute world of difference.

walrus01 5y ago

What I would recommend if going for a quiet case with fans, look at 140mm low rpm fans. Disregard all midtower atx cases designed for use of 120mm fans. You can safely use a fairly large passive cpu heatsink if with a 65W tdp cpu. Human annoyance noise from small DC fans increases as they get smaller (40/60mm size fans are perfect examples). A slow 140mm size fan can move quite a lot of air and very quietly.

aidenn0 5y ago
There is no need to spend extra for 140. A quality 120 is negligibly higher CFM then a quality 140 at the same RPM. It used to be that bigger is better, but there are diminishing returns, and manufacturers have started making quiet fans in all sizes [Edit] To be clear, if the case you like happens to have 140mm fan bays, that's fine, but no need to specifically look for that.
- Dunedan 5y ago
  > There is no need to spend extra for 140. A quality 120 is negligibly higher CFM then a quality 140 at the same RPM. Where do you get these numbers from? Take Noctua fans for example, which are arguably some of the best on the market. A 140mm NF-A14 PWM [1] does have a throughput of 140.2 m³/h at 1,500 RPM, while a 120mm NF-A12x25 PWM [2]does only have a throughput of 84.5 m³/h at 1,700 RPM. And that even with the NF-A12x25 PWM being a newer generation fan than the NF-A14 PWM! [1]: https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a14-pwm/specification https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a14-pwm/specification [2]: https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a12x25-pwm/specification https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a12x25-pwm/specificatio...
  - aidenn0 5y ago
    Thanks for that, I'm apparently just wrong. I should point out that the 140mm doesn't get the extra airflow for free, as it's about 2dB louder. The lower frequency makes up for that though, and you will probably see more than a 2dB rise in noise for adding a second 120mm fan so it is still a net win at any given CFM.
  - 5y ago

gautamcgoel 5y ago

100% this. I have a system with a fanless PSU from Seasonic, 3 Noctua case fans and a Noctua CPU heatsink/CPU fan. I couldn't be happier with it. It is completely drowned out by any background noise (for example, the sound of typing, the hum of the AC, etc) and gives off a very, very faint whooshing sound when the house is truly silent. Personally I like the sound, it's the sound of high-end Austrian engineering working perfectly. I highly recommend Noctua fans.

s0rce 5y ago

I'm really happy with my integrated water cooling for my desktop, the large fan barely has to run and the water pump is almost inaudible except for the occasional gurgling noise. Its not the same sound as a whining small CPU cooling fan so much less annoying. The PSU fan also doesn't have to run much unless you really load the system. Been working well for almost 10 years.

eins1234 5y ago

I used to build my own desktops when I was younger, but my most recent desktops have all been Intel NUCs, mostly due to valuing time/space/noise over raw price/performance (and due my rapidly declining gaming needs). One feature that I've really grown to love that I don't remember ever seeing with custom machines is the ability to fully customize the fan-curve, including the ability to completely turn off the fan below certain temperatures. This makes it as good as a truly silent build for most day to day use, but with effective cooling available for intensive tasks for when I need the extra power. Maybe these days there are motherboards that allow you to configure the fan curve this way as well? I personally think this kind of configuration gives the best of both worlds.

montecarl 5y ago
Since you asked. Most of the motherboards I've worked with recently let you set a custom fan curve with the option to turn the fan off completely. You can also adjust which temperature sensor the fan curve is based on. This can be controlled for each fan connected to the motherboard.

_carbyau_ 5y ago

I find myself more sensitive to unnecessary noise as I get older but "fanless" seems to be the Designers Dream while a fan is practical in terms of build cost and utility. A fan CAN spin up and provide a LOT of cooling if needed. And stay still otherwise. An absence of fan provides no options. I get a fan for my computer case. But lament service and retail centres with with echoing brick walls, polished concrete floors and hard surface ceilings. It isn't relaxing ambience, it is echoing noise...

greggyb 5y ago

It depends on what you need from the PC. There's a huge market of fanless mini PCs, which are taking generic laptop motherboards + CPUs (likely bulk orders of surplus from white-label ODMs) and putting them in thick aluminum enclosures. The CPU is mounted such that it directly contacts the case. For the <30W power output of these components, cooling is handled completely passively. Depending on your workload, these can be great value for money (especially with CPUs that are a few generations old). If you need to do heavy compute, these won't fit your needs. For most desktop (as opposed to workstation) use cases, these are great. https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20210806123326&SearchText=fanless+mini+pc https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=S...