El Cheapo silent PC

[Favu]

I'm looking to do a little project -

I have around 20 GBP to spend on this, so here we go :

I'm looking to get my hands on an old and unwanted PC, and then to convert it to fully fanless (and therefore silent) operation.

I've been cruising around ebay and most of the stuff I am seeing is around the P1 / P2 level, which is plenty powerful enough for me

I figured I would ask if anyone has a PC floating around they don't want anymore, I should be able to cover postage and such. The PC will of course, if I get it done, fold 24/7

Anyhow, for the CPU cooling I was thinking of getting a cheap modern heatpipe CPU HSF assembly, removing the fan and running it as a passive cooling system. I reckon that should work out OK as older processors didn't produce too much heat

I have less of a clue about the PSU though. I am thinking that I will either have to mod a PSU to fanless, or I will have to see about using an external power brick.

Anyhow, does anyone have any offers, ideas, suggestions, hints, tips or tricks?

[Refusenik]

What about some of the water cooling units? Would they work in a fanless setup?

[Favu]

I think they would, but pumps could also introduce noise, plus water cooling is generally pretty expensive (well, considering my budget it is anyway!)

[Samuknow]

You should be able to do this if you can come up with some old larger heat sinks. You can cut to fit for each component you need to cool.

The PSU is a different animal. You have to be super careful when messing with one. You can still get zapped even if it has been unplugged for some time. IF you have a low end machine you should be able to cool the PSU passively.

[Favu]

I was thinking of attaching the heatsinks to the CPU with thermal adhesive since they are unlikely to fit the mounting mechanism, and I won't be using them again

For the PSU I am considering something similar to what Surly Joe did HERE for his "Poor man's EPIA" mod.

Hopefully that should work

[Samuknow]

That should work fine. Using the case as a heat sink is a great idea.

[Necorum]

Well favu i can toss sam or you some parts

[Favu]

Thanks for the offer guys! Looks like fate stepped in for me - tevildo has come across as system that was going to be thrown out, and saved it for me!

Word on the street is that it's a K6-300

[Necorum]

im about to toss ALOT of **** so if interested just ask. I might be throwing a sloted dual processor server

[Favu]

I'M ASKING ABOUT THE SERVER

Now that I have the hardware sorted out - does anyone have a huge HSF that they no longer need?

I have around 10 quids left of my budget (after postage for the PC itself) and I would be happy to cover postage for my happy donor

[Necorum]

server got jumped on already favu but i might have a second one that works have to check it first will let you know but i skipped work today

[Favu]

Righty hoo, I'm expecting to become the proud owner of a shiny K6 300Mhz PC on wednesday.

I still have 10 GBP left in my piggy bank to take care of cooling.

So, can anyone remember back to the days of the K6? How much heat do these things pump out? And how big does a heatsink need to be for me to be able to cool the CPU passively with it? And does anyone have any spare?

Phew, that's a lot of questions! I await your help and advice with bated breath!

[Samuknow]

I still have a gateway pc with a K62 450 in it. If I recall they were a little warm. I remember a GORB would hold it about 35C or so. Your K6 300 may fair better.

[Favu]

That sounds pretty promising, I take it by GORB you mean the Thermaltake Golden Orb?

If that's so then I think a decent modern cooler should do a decent enough job passively. Now I just need to get my grubby little mitts on one!

I am wondering how best to attach the eventual HS - how big is socket 7? Will I be able to mod a clip to hold the HS down, or is thermal adheisive the better (and more expensive) way to go?

[Samuknow]

Socket 7 is about as big as socket A.

Yes Golden Orb. I nice shiny Zalman should do fine.

[Favu]

Hmm, I can't seem to find any new HSF complete with P&P for th 10 pounds I have left, however I have had the beginings of an idea - I have a spare arctic cooling VGA Silencer (one that I used to kill my 9600 a while back) and I think I should be able to either mod or glue that onto the K6.

If it doesn't work out fanless then it's OK as the fan is very quiet in slow mode

[noob]

I had the K6-350MHz and used a 89W pelt, it took it into the negatives.

The K6-2 300MHz under 2.2V shows a thermal design of 17.2W, so any half decent cooler that will fit, will work. A small amount of case flow, should be enough with a passive cooler.

[Got EpOx]

I've got a PIII-551Mhz and it runs very nicely, even with a tiny 40mm fan running fairly slowly!

[Favu]

Righty, well the PC came yesterday and I now have some pix to post up.

Unfortunatly the HSF assembly came loose during transit and rattled around the case a fair bit. But luckily no lasting harm was done, and after a bit of prodding the PC booted up just fine.

However I had discovered a new problem - the HDD and very noisy. I am thinking of using just one HDD and encasing it in foam, so that it is queiter, I must be careful not to make it overheat though.

anyways, pix yo!

[Got EpOx]

Who sent you this PC? was it from ebay or from a member?