Hi Chuck,

There are a few things to explore. First is to determine what temperature
the CPU normally runs at with your current setup. What would be considered
a normal or acceptable temperature depends on what kind of processor you
have. If you have a Northwood (P4C), then it tends to run cooler than the
Prescotts (P4E). A temperature below 40C for a Northwood, or 50C for a
Prescott is fine. You might be able to adjust the fan speed via settings in
the motherboard BIOS if the CPU fan is plugged into the appropriate header
connector. Some motherboards (I have an Asus P4P800E which does), can
control the fan speed as the CPU temperature varies. If the CPU runs
hotter, the fan speed increases. Running the fan slower will reduce the
noise, and may still provide adequate cooling. If your motherboard doesn't
support this kind of feature, you can try getting a fan speed controller,
or replacing just the fan with a quieter one. Most aftermarket fans publish
their speed and noise specs. The slower the fan turns, the quieter it is,
but you need to make sure it still has adequate flow. You probably need at
least 10-20CFM, but perhaps higher if you have a very fast processor (2.8G
or above). See this site for a lot of different cooling options.
http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/

As an extreme solution, you could go with water cooling, but this can get a
bit expensive, so it depends on just how much quiete is worth to you.

Russ Poffenberger
[log in to unmask]

At 04:48 AM 11/15/2004, you wrote:
>i just installed an Intel D865GBF motherboard in an Antec Sonata case with
>the goal of having a quiet PC. Problem is the P4 fan is noisy and the CPU
>sits too close to power supply to allow any cooling unit much wider than
>the CPU enclosure. has anyone found a quiet heatsink and fan that will fit
>in this combo?

         PCBUILD maintains hundreds of useful files for download
                     visit our download web page at:
                  http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml