I have bought an "affordable" core i7-2600 PC with AsRock h67m Motherboard, SSD disks and a crappy case. However the fans' noise are way too high and there is no way to somehow adjust the fans speed.
So I am wondering how to deal with this noise problem? I know that one can use some Supermicro motherboards with passive cooling on servers but not sure of the available passive cooling motherboard/cases for Desktops.
Most non-factory-installed cooling setups are much quieter. I have a midrange Thermaltake cooler, and it makes effectively no noise, even under load. Putting a DVD in the burner is shockingly loud by comparison.
This was something i was looking into at work a while back. There are fanless i7-rated heatsinks out there, but they are HUGE (example).
I've found the Zalman CNPS7500 to be a nice balance between cost and noise-level - its not the quietest on the market, but you find that once you've quietened your CPU, you start to notice the noise of other components..
Search for 'Speedfan' on the web. Can't guarantee it will work for you but it is a useful utility that will often allow you to change fan speeds, and cut-in/cut-out temperatures. it also allows you to check the S.M.A.R.T status of your hard drives, which is what I use it for. (A lot depends on your motherboard what facilities it provides, basically suck-it-and-see) Obviously if you do adjust the fans, you need to also make sure you don't overheat!
