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CPUs like the Pentium III can be underclocked and underpowered to the point that they work just fine without a fan. The VIA C3 is a Socket 370 / P-III compatable processor designed for low power and fanless operation. Check out the mini-itx motherboards for examples of these in operation.

Most video cards don't need a fan at all, although passively cooled cards can still heat up the interior of your case. It's doubtful that you really need the absolute latest and most powerfull leaf-blower video card on your home server.

Hard drives and power supplies are the other big sources of noise. Hard drives noise is noticable because it comes and goes, while power supplies need to push all the heat that those passively cooled components have been producing out of the case. A well made drive seated on noise absorbing padding, rather than bolted directly onto a steel frame, can be reduced to a low, cricket-like chirping noise while large, slower case fans can take a lot of the load off of the PSU without raising noise levels significantly. Take a look around Silent PC Review for more on this topic, or just look for a retailer in your area who carries quiet PC parts.

I have been slowly replacing all the computers around my home with silent parts over the last few years, and the difference is stunning. Just last week I needed to replace a power supply and used a spare that I had sitting on a shelf -- It sounded like a jet engine compared to everything around it. If that's the kind of noise that's coming out of your server, then I understand your frustration. You don't need to turn to rare, high tech prototypes from military labs to quiet down your PC -- All you need now is to shop around a bit.

The drives are fairly low-speed, either 5400RPM or maybe 7200RPM, so they don't generate much noise or heat either.

--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu

Exactly. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I have implemented this by tossing away the AMD athlon factory heatsink with is relatively noisy and replacing it with an Alpha PAL 8045 which is one of the best heatsinks out there. (The Thermalright SLK-800 comes to mind as well.) Use Artic Silver 3 or Ceramique thermal compound and then put a big ol' 80 mm silent fan on top (Panaflo Low or Vantec Stealth 80 mm) and presto! Much of the case noise is gone and still with decent CPU temps.

Don't replace your PSU's fan with a low noise one though because PSUs were specifically designed to work with the fans they came with. Instead, you could get a silent PSU. I am seriously looking a Nexus NX-3000 silent PSU as well as one of the Zalman ones. (FYI: Zalman is a Korean company that specialises in low-noise components. You can get silent GeForce4 coolers from them.)

For hard drives, look into Seagate's Barracuda IV (IDE) and V (ASTA) series - they are the quietest 'modern high-end consumer' drives on the market right now.

With this setup, you can actually avoid generating the noise in the first place. That way, noise dampening material will not be necessary.

Anyway, if you're in Canada and you're looking to get some of this gear, check out QuietPC (which also has US, British, Kiwi and Irish dealers) as well as Bigfoot Computers. I am a satsified customer of both of these dealers.

How about adding a 6-channel baybus ? Even if you don't have fans to connect to it, there is something I find funny about having analog switches on the front of a computer. The only real problem is that the LED's are far too bright. Of course, if you have nothing connected to it, you can turn them on or off at will. When your friends and family ask what the lights and switches are for, tell them they are blinkenlig

Someone PLEASE post a link to a reputable site that has QUIET fans (CPU fans, projector fans, powersupply fans) that can be bought in Canada! PLEASE!!!

Bigfoot Computers

I'm not sure if they have the quiet fans but I have a feeling they do since they carry just about every heatsink, fan and case mod product out there. And they are based in Ontario, prices aren't too bad either.

Here you go! Check out the Panaflo Lows and Vantec stealth fans. Overall, this place has tons of really excellent gear. These people are based in Toronto and I have ordered from them several times. Highly recommended.

A very good point indeed. Always RTFM.

Here are some more points for would-be computer-builders.

- You need a thermal interface compound between the heatsink and CPU. Don't just assume you can get by without one. Some heatsinks come with wax on the bottom which is slightly better then nothing. But it you want to step up a notch, get yourself a Thermaltake or Thermalright as opposed to the silly "Cooler-Master" HS that came with your machine and some Artic Silver 3 thermal compound. If you want to go hardcore, get an Alpha 8045 HS for Athlons or a Thermalright SLK-600/800 for P4's plus AS3.

[I fully expect 1-2 followup posts from people who cooked their CPUs by not using a thermal interface compound.]

- Don't put one hard drive right on top of the other in 3.5" mounting slots. They generate too much heat unless you've got a fan right on top of them.

- Always set the master/slave jumpers of CD/DVD and HDD drives BEFORE you install the drive because it is hard to access/see the jumpers when the drive is mounted in the machine. Make sure you plug in CD-Audio cables before the drive is mounted.

- Don't immediately install the motherboard into the case. It is often easier to install the CPU + heatsink, plug in the HSF (heatsink fan power cable) plus set any jumpers and check for any cable orientations BEFORE you install the mobo. (The necessary connections may be behind the power supply after the mobo is installed.

- Remember that in some cases, you have to flip the orientation of the data cable for the a-drive floppy and use the IDE cable that has the twisted wire in it. (You'll know it when you see it.)

- Bundle up the wires in twist-ties and keep them out of the way so that they don't vibrate in the breeze from fans. It only takes a small touch to disrupt an HDD power cable. Some, but not all, also say that this will improve airflow. It will definitely make your case look tidier and make later work inside it more easy.

- The first time you turn the box on, be looking at the heat sink fan and make sure it starts spinning, otherwise your CPU may come to a quick death. If it spins, immediately enter the BIOS and check the temperatures and make sure they are not insane.

- Don't close the case when you're done setting up the system. This is because you probably forgot to do something and it's annoying to have to remove the screws again.

Interesting ... I read an account from one company where the Thawte people actually physically came to the premesis (a computer equipment + mod/cooling + hotrodding shop) and verified that they were a real legitimate business. If you browse the linked site's news archives, you'll see mention of it.

I wouldn't be surprised. There are kits in existence that are designed to help people do such mods.

Being Canadian also, and having hand-built a computer in the past months, I have to say that I was quite happy doing business with New Type Computer Workshop. They're also located in Vancouver, which saves me the provincial tax (I'm from Montréal), and they had some parts that are still pretty rare locally (Asus A7M266-D). Else, your (good) local dealers can probably order anything available, although the price they'll charge might or might not be worth it.

For overclocker's gear, Big Foot Computers from Toronto seems to be the place, except if you're looking for pre-modded motherboards or CPUs.

If you order something from the US, there's always the chance that it'll get taxed at it's entrance in Canada. UPS ground seems to be the worst for that. Or the other annoying thing which may happen is that they won't take your canadian credit card, only a TT, which is usually extra at your bank.

I'm still trying to locate a good canadian place to order a watercooling kit. Anybody have some experience to share?

The 'cool' cases will soon be those that are reflective. You've seen the nice shiny aluminium ones, but how about anodized blue? Frankly I think that this rocks... if only it came with a factory-installed side-window. If only I had money to buy it...

You can already buy water cooling kits for your PC. (This company is accepting backorders.)

• Upgradable cache memory. Not just 1 or 2MB with the $100 difference between the 7x10 and 7x50 series that is standard.
• Different Port Configuration. I recently found that in a 4U server case (with a 7410) having 4 drives (stacked horizontally) with the vertically placed IDE connectors on the Escalade board itself a challenge to wire. Those wide parallel ATA cables just got in the way too much. I eventually choose to buy some very convienient rouded IDE cables (from Bigfoot Computing.)
• ATA/133 Support. I imagine this will come with time, but again, I'm looking forward to improved performance (I wonder, will they be called 8xx0s?)

Someone has been saying that they are only getting the 10%-20% preformance increase on their CPU. This is so wrong i have an Athlon 900 one of the harder Chips to OC and I currently have it running stable @ 1168Mhz, that's about 30%. I can't go any higher on the FSB because for the short term I'm stuck with -75 Micron Ram which runs about 140Mhz or so but the -7E Micron does 155Mhz no problem. that would be 1240Mhz that's a 37% increase and that is with a Multiplier of 8 with the CPU unlocked like it is the road is endless, and with a relitively cheap water cooling solution it is right up my alley. probably go for a kit from Bigfoot though

Also, it would make sense that a 400W or greater power supply would be necessary. Priced one of those lately?

Actually the Tyan board according to AMD needs a 460W PSU.

You can get a 530W Enermax for around $130 USD including from Canadian store Bigfoot Computers. Not too bad if you are willing to shell out $575 for the motherboard.

Enermax makes a high quality quiet power supply that you can get at Bigfoot Computers.

I also use Dynamat sound and vibration matting from Crutchfield to block noise.

Lot's of motherboards out now. I got mine here, and they did a great job with everything. But anywhere you look, on the web, should have them.

Generally, the MicroStar, the Fester (from AMD), and the ASUS are considered pretty decent. Main problem with the ASUS is that it isn't supported very well (the American webpage has NOTHING on it about the K7M, only the Taiwan page has info on it). I have heard that the FIC board (SD-11) was just a prototype board that was pushed into production because AMD needed the boards.

As for finding the boards, I haven't had a problem.