Legit Reviews

Hey guys!
As you guys *might* remember, I originally came here with next to ZERO knowledge of PC parts or how a PC even worked. Now that I've done a lot of learning, I've been enjoying the machine I built a few months ago, and my dad is looking to me with big doe eyes hoping to get me to build a new family computer! I'm more than willing to oblige, but my knowledge rests in performance parts, and I have NO clue to what the quietest parts would be. :X

I'm hoping to build a computer that is true to two features: as close to silent as possible and cheap.
I'll be looking to go the Intel route, but I'm not brand-specific when it comes to parts.
The machine we have right now is an Asus mobo, a Barton AMD CPU, some old noisy video card, and some very noisy harddrives.

Anyhow I'm hoping to go C2D with some nice and quiet gear in there, and once again I'm looking to the LR community for suggestions. I'll head you off at the pass knowing that this PC will NOT be a HTPC, but will be used for everyday use, mild Photoshopping, and some mid-level gaming (i'm probably looking at going passive cooling on the vid card). Thanks so much guys!

The Sapphire Radeon HD 3850 512MB card is available with a passive cooler - http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products ... =200&grp=3
Another choice would be the XFX Fatal1ty GeForce 8600 GT Video Card XXX Edition as it is passive and is cheaper - $154.99

As for hard drives... The new Western Digital Green series offers low power usage (less heat) and low noise - http://westerndigital.com/en/products/g ... anguage=en
The Green Power Drives have low noise

500GB Green Power Drive Acoustics
Idle Mode 25 dBA (average)
Seek Mode 0 27 dBA (average)
Seek Mode 3 25 dBA (average)

500GB WD Caviar SE Drive Acoustics
Idle Mode 28 dBA (average)
Seek Mode 0 26 dBA (average)
Seek Mode 3 29 dBA (average)

15GB WD RaptorX Drive Acoustics
Idle Mode 39 dBA (average)
Seek Mode 0 46 dBA (average)

CPU Cooling is Critical, but you need to pick a specific CPU before I can suggest a cooler... Are you going Intel dual-core or quad-core?

Thanks for the quick reply, Apop! Definitely going the dual-core route - no need for four cores, and its less heat to worry about.

*edit* also i think he’s probably wanting to keep the same form factor as the last family PC, and keep it mATX. Here’s a motherboard that seems to fit what he’d want: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6813131199

as for CPU I'm thinking most likely an E6600

You might try looking at the Silent PC Review forum, http://www.silentpcreview.com. You can find all sorts of articles, reviews and advice on quieting down PCs there.

Silent computers are nice, I've grown to hate the noise of fans over the years. My web server is nearly totally silent, not even a fan on the CPU or PSU, only noise is the hard drive.

Personally, I would stay away from the via chipset. My Intel PC's have always run the most stable with an Intel based chipset. Here is one from Newegg that I'm currently using. It even supports the faster 1333fsb. It also features the newer HD audio codec (Realtek ALC888 vs. Realtek ALC662).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130121

Quick and dirty parts list (aka no links):
I see you live in the US, so pick up a cheap C2D/ECS combo at Fry's.
Pick up a tower cooler and put a Scythe S-Flex fan on it. Or get an Arctic Freezer and call it a day.
Pick up a passively cooled video card. You don't need a 8600GT unless he games. I know you can find cheap passive cards all day long.
Read some PSU unit reviews that take noise tests and decide from there.
Samsung drives are by far the quietest drives I've ever heard/used. I don't know how quiet the new Green Power drives are but Samsung drives are quiet and run relatively cool.
Since you want a quiet case make sure you pick up a couple of (preferably Scythe S-Flex fans) to install as case fans. They don't need to be high RPM but you will need some added airflow moving in and out of the case.
There you have it a quiet case that doesn't break the bank.