The Lian Li V1000 plus includes two ADDA 120mm case fans. While they are higher in quality than most case fans I have seen included with a case, there were several options available to quiet these down. The choice became obvious when perusing the SilenX store at 3DCool.com. The 14db 120mm case that included the silicon mounts were sent as replacements to the OE case fans provided by Lian Li. A quick Google search of the part number on the ADDA fans showed that they are rated at 34dB. The SilenX fans should present a significant drop in db levels. The SilenX fans are ball-bearing design and are meticulously built to have the cleanest air movement possible to minimize noise. The fan hubs are smaller allowing for more effortless propulsion of the same volume of air as other fans due to a larger cross-section for throughput. The curved fan blades are noticeably sharper. This will decrease drag and noise. More efficienct means better airflow and lower noise levels.
SilenX 120mm 14dB
Here are the results.
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Before
After
A portion of the noticeable noise reduction comes from the silicon mounts of the rear case fan isolating the SilenX fan from the chassis and minimizing the ringing effect inherent in an all-aluminum chassis. If nothing else, you NEED to buy some of these for your system. I would not have thought this much improvement could be made just by using a higher quality fan, especially with the notion that all 120mm fans are quiet. The interior case temperatures as measured by nTune remained the same.
HEART OF DARKNESS
I wanted a challenge, remember, and when looking at the design of the Artic Cooling NV6 Rev2, I knew for a fact it would be quieter than the stock GPU cooler. What if two of these coolers could be quieter than one stock cooler? If SLI could be as quiet as a single card system, it would be a victory and I would feel this project was validated by making SLI as easy to live with as a single card system.
Artic Cooling NV6 Rev2
After following the thorough installation instructions, the first of the 6600GTs made its transition to the Artic Cooling GPU cooler. Quick tip, flex the back plate beyond level with the video card, quickly tighten both pins to where the bushings meet the back plate and release. This yields the AC recommended parallel back plate end result.
The single card with its new cooler is slotted back into place and I go fire up the system. This system is truly silent. Just look at these results.
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Before
After
Not only that, but idle temperature dropped 41C from 45C (both using AS5) and peak core temps when running rthdribl dropped to 60C from 66C.
DOUBLE DOWN
The second card received its NV6 and was slotted with the SLI bridge after flipping the SLI selector board. The power button beckoned. Here are the results.
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Single Card
Dual Card
Even with two GPUs, the system is QUIETER than with one 6600GT using stock cooling. Better still, it's not even close. The dual NV6 configuration is far quieter. I am absolutely elated. And while I can not say that with both cards the system is completely silent, the system is certainly very quiet.
