SFF + power + near silence =? possible

schismal

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
New User
Jun 19, 2019
9
3
Hello SFF world!

So I'm a bit of a newcomer to this arena. I'm an old SPCR guy, and my prior PC builds have all been mid-towers, more focused on silence. But I've become annoyed at the wasted space my tower commands in my office, so I'm looking to downsize quite a bit. At the same time, I'm a gamer and my partner does video editing, so we need some degree of power in the box. I come to you to find out whether SFF + power + near silence is possible.

I'm most interested in the Cerberus right now, partly due to build quality, flexibility, and mATX compatibility (those 4 DIMMs are nice). Here are the main components (the primary heat/noise generators, at least) that I'm considering for this build:

Case: Cerberus
PS: Corsair SF750
CPU: Ryzen 9 3900x
GPU: GTX 2080 (exact board TBD)
Storage: NVMe + SSD
Fans: all Noctuas

I've only ever done traditional air cooling in the past. But given that I want small size + power + near silence, I suspect that slapping an AIO cooler on the CPU is the way to go. Also, due to spousal concerns, I'm even considering the Cerberus without side vents (it looks "nicer"). Although if this raises too many thermal concerns, we can definitely keep the standard vents.

The cooling setup I'm considering is pretty much stolen from this build on Optimum Tech's youtube (YT link):

We'd have a 240/280 AIO at the bottom, with a front intake and top exhaust.



Unfortunately, he didn't talk about noise levels at all in the video. So I'm asking you guys. Even with high quality fans spinning at low RPM, how loud do you think this puppy would get under normal use? It would sit on a desk ~1 meter to the side.
 

CARC Mini

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jun 5, 2018
169
48
Hello SFF world!

So I'm a bit of a newcomer to this arena. I'm an old SPCR guy, and my prior PC builds have all been mid-towers, more focused on silence. But I've become annoyed at the wasted space my tower commands in my office, so I'm looking to downsize quite a bit. At the same time, I'm a gamer and my partner does video editing, so we need some degree of power in the box. I come to you to find out whether SFF + power + near silence is possible.

I'm most interested in the Cerberus right now, partly due to build quality, flexibility, and mATX compatibility (those 4 DIMMs are nice). Here are the main components (the primary heat/noise generators, at least) that I'm considering for this build:

Case: Cerberus
PS: Corsair SF750
CPU: Ryzen 9 3900x
GPU: GTX 2080 (exact board TBD)
Storage: NVMe + SSD
Fans: all Noctuas

I've only ever done traditional air cooling in the past. But given that I want small size + power + near silence, I suspect that slapping an AIO cooler on the CPU is the way to go. Also, due to spousal concerns, I'm even considering the Cerberus without side vents (it looks "nicer"). Although if this raises too many thermal concerns, we can definitely keep the standard vents.

The cooling setup I'm considering is pretty much stolen from this build on Optimum Tech's youtube (YT link):

We'd have a 240/280 AIO at the bottom, with a front intake and top exhaust.



Unfortunately, he didn't talk about noise levels at all in the video. So I'm asking you guys. Even with high quality fans spinning at low RPM, how loud do you think this puppy would get under normal use? It would sit on a desk ~1 meter to the side.


if you're looking for the best combo of power & near silence, in a SFF case right now, its this one - https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...-7-9l-case-available-on-www-z-cases-com.6643/

if you're willing to wait a few months, i'm going to create a 6.9L version.
 

NateDawg72

Master of Cramming
Aug 11, 2016
398
302
I've only ever done traditional air cooling in the past. But given that I want small size + power + near silence, I suspect that slapping an AIO cooler on the CPU is the way to go.
...
Even with high quality fans spinning at low RPM, how loud do you think this puppy would get under normal use? It would sit on a desk ~1 meter to the side.
Well, noise is incredibly subjective so it is hard to say. My 2 cents - when I've tried AIO coolers I've found that once the fans are reduced to a speed where they aren't noticable the pump noise becomes noticable, and I found it irritating. YMMV. I've only tried a couple AIOs but I find it easier to get near-silence with air coolers. You should be able to fit a nice big heatsink in a Cerebus with the power supply mounted in front.

Example (not mine)
 
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schismal

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
New User
Jun 19, 2019
9
3
Well, noise is incredibly subjective so it is hard to say. My 2 cents - when I've tried AIO coolers I've found that once the fans are reduced to a speed where they aren't noticable the pump noise becomes noticable, and I found it irritating. YMMV. I've only tried a couple AIOs but I find it easier to get near-silence with air coolers. You should be able to fit a nice big heatsink in a Cerebus with the power supply mounted in front.

I appreciate your input! I've wondered about the trade-off between fan noise and pump noise, and I've had pretty good luck with Noctua in the past. The loudest part of my system now is the stock GPU (when stressed) and my two HDDs -- I never actually hear the fans. But I'm in a well-deadened Fractal Design case, and I don't expect a SFF build to be absolutely silent. I'm just trying to get as close as possible. :)
 

TheHig

King of Cable Management
Oct 13, 2016
951
1,171
I appreciate your input! I've wondered about the trade-off between fan noise and pump noise, and I've had pretty good luck with Noctua in the past. The loudest part of my system now is the stock GPU (when stressed) and my two HDDs -- I never actually hear the fans. But I'm in a well-deadened Fractal Design case, and I don't expect a SFF build to be absolutely silent. I'm just trying to get as close as possible. :)

Big heatsinks and low RPMs on the fans are key to quiet computing. Certainly a challenge in SFF chassis. A 65w cpu and the Noctua L9i or a are your friends for LP coolers for sure.

+1 on Cerberus or Cerberus X. I know they are a bit "large" around here but one can get good cooling with bigger heatsinks and lower rpm fans in those chassis IMO. My Son's build has a Ryzen 1600 with the stock Spire cooler, 2 noctua 120 mm fans as intake and one 15mm x 120 Noctua as exhaust. Has a reference Titan xp and the under normal loads is VERY quiet. Gaming of course that reference GPU is pronounced. We wear headphones while gaming so its not an issue. Anymore , personally, the first thing I look for in a GPU is a zero RPM fan in idle to light loads to make things even more quiet. MSI as well as EVGA have several models that do this and it is fantastic.

Here is his setup for reference. perhaps a bit space inefficient with all the room but super easy build with tons of airflow. Lighting is crap but you get the idea..

 

Aux

Cable-Tie Ninja
Dec 5, 2018
179
155
Well, noise is incredibly subjective so it is hard to say. My 2 cents - when I've tried AIO coolers I've found that once the fans are reduced to a speed where they aren't noticable the pump noise becomes noticable, and I found it irritating. YMMV. I've only tried a couple AIOs but I find it easier to get near-silence with air coolers. You should be able to fit a nice big heatsink in a Cerebus with the power supply mounted in front.

I have a thing about quiet, I have two pcs under my desk. One is air cooled with big coolers and fans (scythe), the other is watercooled.
No matter what, I can hear the aircooled pc, and in summer it gets worse.
The watercooled pc, I have an aquaero controller on a custom loop. The pump is set to its lowest speed. You can hear it, but its not intrusive. When its being used hard, the temperatures climb and the fans (there are currently four fans) start, but its still fairly quiet. The graphics card is probably the source of most of the noise, so I will be fitting that into the watercooling loop. The aircooled pc dominates at all times the watercooled for noise.


sensor 5 is radiator out
sensor 6 is radiator in
sensors 1 - 4 are in various places around the pc
fans 2 and 3 are on the radiator, fan 1 is on the back of the pc

re the Z case, Im sorry but anything with a 1u flex atx psu in with a 40mm fan is likely to be noisy, and then add two 60mm in basically an open air case. I would want to see/hear this in the flesh before I bought it. Or at the very least a noise test
For the video you show with the cerberus, there are eight fans in there. I presume the radiator (with two fans) is exhausting down, the graphics card (with three fans) looks to be directly competing with that. Noctuas are quiet, but . . . The temperatures shown look ok, but again I would want to hear it, or see some noise results .. . it could be quietish. It can be that the cpu is using the radiator as a thermal mass, and the fans are barely running (thats how mine mainly works), giving the graphics card easy airflow . .. . with two fans venting the case

Hello SFF world!
So I'm a bit of a newcomer to this arena. I'm an old SPCR guy, and my prior PC builds have all been mid-towers, more focused on silence. But I've become annoyed at the wasted space my tower commands in my office, so I'm looking to downsize quite a bit. At the same time, I'm a gamer and my partner does video editing, so we need some degree of power in the box. I come to you to find out whether SFF + power + near silence is possible. I'm most interested in the Cerberus right now, partly due to build quality, flexibility, and mATX compatibility (those 4 DIMMs are nice). Here are the main components (the primary heat/noise generators, at least) that I'm considering for this build:
Case: Cerberus
PS: Corsair SF750
CPU: Ryzen 9 3900x
GPU: GTX 2080 (exact board TBD)
Storage: NVMe + SSD
Fans: all Noctuas
I've only ever done traditional air cooling in the past. But given that I want small size + power + near silence, I suspect that slapping an AIO cooler on the CPU is the way to go. Also, due to spousal concerns, I'm even considering the Cerberus without side vents (it looks "nicer"). Although if this raises too many thermal concerns, we can definitely keep the standard vents.
The cooling setup I'm considering is pretty much stolen from this build on Optimum Tech's youtube:
We'd have a 240/280 AIO at the bottom, with a front intake and top exhaust.
Unfortunately, he didn't talk about noise levels at all in the video. So I'm asking you guys. Even with high quality fans spinning at low RPM, how loud do you think this puppy would get under normal use? It would sit on a desk ~1 meter to the side.

In my opinion it would not be a good idea to remove the side vents, that is the source of the power supply cool air.
 
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NateDawg72

Master of Cramming
Aug 11, 2016
398
302
@Aux it's always very subjective and configuration dependent. Excuse me for saying so but imo if the pump can be heard then the air cooled PC can be configured to be quieter and it is just a matter of what heatink/fans you need to deal with your hardware. (unless it's a very high core count overclocked HEDT platform I guess)

Everyone has a different level of ambient noise and if they are aiming for silence it will influence their choices. The ambient noise in the room I have my computer is pretty low and there is little noise in the rest of the house. I've actually tried 3 different Noctua NF-F12s and disliked all of them because I could hear the motor hub when the RPMs were low enough that I couldn't hear any noise from airflow.

I may be at an extreme when it comes to near-silent PCs :)
 
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schismal

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
New User
Jun 19, 2019
9
3
I appreciate the input, everyone!

I think I'll skip the AIOs on this build. I'll have two 140mms on the bottom blowing directly onto the GPU. For the CPU, I'm leaning towards the NH-C14S, which is a top-down configuration that can pull air through the side vents and exhaust through a 92 and 120mm on the back and top panels, respectively.
 
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rapidshrub

Trash Compacter
Jun 3, 2019
42
48
The Be Quiet! Dark Rock TF is another solid top down cooler. I ran mine with a single fan cooling an overclocked 7700k and it was as quiet as any Noctua cooler that I've used. Reviews seemed to vary when I bought mine for whatever reason but I was very impressed with the noise levels and cooling, even when coming from a Noctua D15s. The mounting system is less refined than a Noctua cooler but it will fit in a Cerberus and is definitely worth considering.
 

Smanci

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Apr 21, 2017
126
160
Silencing a computer is actually really simple and requires just a load of metal on the CPU and GPU at low fan speeds for as few fans as possible. In this power class, what you absolutely need to do before anything else is replacing the GPU heatsink with an Accelero or Morpheus. Fans are not as relevant as long as they're spinning slow enough; we're not dealing with super dense rads.

Considering the need for near silence, the setup in the video seems bad. Or at least very turbulent and hot in the bottom section of the case. Cerberus might also be a bit of a question mark due to only having 148mm of CPU cooler clearance at ~24L. Several 16-25L mITX/mATX cases already offer the room for triple slot cards and ~160mm heatsinks.
 
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