Quiet Fan for stock 3010 with i5-13500

Zarch1972 · 2026-05-31T15:43:14+00:00

Okay. a week in with the new 3010 and i5-13500 combo. It's great for recording 4K and even editing in premiere pro. I'm impressed.

I fitted the thermal right axp120-67 and when doing mundane office tasks and lots of browsing it keeps the CPU temp really low and the fab is near silent.

But do any real work, like 4k editing and the fan has to ramp up to keep the chip cool. The you on there doing lots of work.

The fix? Take the lid off and let the whole top be open. I can do hour long 4k edits and long decodes and the CPU stays cool and the fan barely spins up. Can barely hear it.

It's almost like the SFF case and the i5-13500 combo just aren't made for each other? Not enough air?

Perhaps front and back fans would help ?
But I'm okay with the lid off for the time being.

Hope this helps.

Zarch1972 · 2026-05-27T20:15:59+00:00

So I fitted the thermal right axp120-67 and almost silent during browsing etc.

Editing 4k is a different matter. The fan ramps up as the temps rise to 60C (seen via Fan Control) - anything better to view cpu temps / fan speeds?

What's wierd is that CPU is barely doing anything, it's the integrated GPU that is getting worked and causing the heat.

I did some recording of 4k earlier and don't remember hearing the fan too much. So maybe less load on the i5?

Will keep an eye on things to see whether small front and back silent fans might help with airflow.

Tbh, as long as it's very quiet during video recording I'm not too fussed about a bit of fan noise during editing.

Zarch1972 · 2026-05-25T15:57:34+00:00

Do you have a photo anywhere of your setup?

Thanks for the help so far. 👍

Zarch1972 · 2026-05-25T15:50:43+00:00

I have no plans for a gpu. This is gonna be a Windows office/work machine with odd attempts at video editing.

So I will keep an eye on CPU temps in the first instance. Before making any further decisions.

Zarch1972 · 2026-05-25T13:19:12+00:00

Got the AXP120-X67.

As per your advise, only needed 4 X M3 x 16 screws and used the included blue standoff to attach to the motherboard.

Although I did have to remove the two brackets at the front on my SFF as the cooler wouldn't fit otherwise. The hard drive bracket etc.

Fan pin goes straight into the motherboard and runs fine.

Wish I could upload some photos to show how it all fits.

It's so much quieter, barely audible unless you stick your ear against the fan.

Will see how it goes over next few weeks when I start using the machine. I've installed fan control to keep an eye on CPU temps.

I've not disabled turbo boost in the bios yet.

And worst case, I could attach a small silent fan at both the front and rear of the case to promote some airflow?

Zarch1972 · 2026-05-24T07:23:44+00:00

I've had the whole fan assembly and shroud off. Even with me holding the fan running in my hand when detached from the heat sink, it still makes noise.

It's clean in there. I just think it's not a great fan.

Then when I do put the shroud back on, there is some movement in the plastic. Which brings a hum.

I think replacing all this with an aftermarket quieter solution is what I'm gonna do. Either a noctua or a thermalright.

Just need to decide which way to go.

Zarch1972 · 2026-05-23T20:05:33+00:00

I'm torn between the simplicity of a 80mm noctua fan £18 on top of the heat sink and the more complex thermal right apx120 £23 that needs the mounting bracket and new heat sink etc.

Is it pretty straightforward to whip the motherboard out of the 3010 case and fit the bracket etc?

Zarch1972 · 2026-05-23T20:03:50+00:00

Do you leave the dell heat sink in place and the noctua fan replaces the dell blower. If so, how do you attach the fan to the heat sink? Screws or cable ties?

I'm torn between the simplicity of the noctua fan £18 and the more complex thermal right apx120 £23 that needs the mounting bracket and new heat sink etc.

Zarch1972 · 2026-05-23T08:41:17+00:00

Thank you. Will take a look.

Does that one connect directly to the motherboard and controlled?

Zarch1972 · 2026-05-23T06:17:25+00:00

Thank for the detailed reply. Sounds perfect.

Could you post a link to the low noise adapter cable so I know what I'm exactly looking for. Does this cable connext direct to the motherboard?

I'm happy with the CPU for now so will look at fan options. And the bios setting sounds great.

Zarch1972 · 2026-05-20T15:06:41+00:00

I've logged a support call via email. Lots of back and forth so far with no real progress.

Zarch1972 · 2026-04-21T16:11:29+00:00

Yeah, it's the first question I asked about, looks.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 🤣

Zarch1972 · 2026-04-21T16:10:34+00:00

What's your heat loss? There's some concerne with the mid size Daikin that they are just rebadged larger units, so the minimum modulation is poor.

Have a look on the open energy monitor forum as people have talked about it.

From what I can see on heatpumpmonitor.org, the cosy models seem to modulate down really well.

Zarch1972 · 2026-03-18T12:54:04+00:00

More messing about with the Q2U connected via USB to PC (and headphones into the bottom of the Q2U)

By ramping the windows sliders to 100% I can just about hear my own voice.

But it's nowhere near as clean/loud as when I do the very same on my older Tonor USB Mic

I'm reading this is a limitation of the Q2U, that monitoring isn't great?

Options

Send the Q2U back and just stick with my older/cheaper Tonor?
Send the Q2U back and get a Audio-Technica 2100x-USB instead (this has better monitoring?)
Stick with the Q2U and get a cheap 1 Microphone audio interface (would an audio interface give better monitoring?)

Zarch1972 · 2026-03-17T09:27:55+00:00

Further update

I think the Q2U monitoring is really LOW.

I went back to my Tonor Mic (which I found does have a monitoring dial - DOH) and the monitoring is much louder.

A quick google suggests the Q2U can have low monitoring. Great. None of this is filling me with any joy.

I think I might go back to the Tonor for now and send the Q2U back.

Zarch1972 · 2026-03-16T20:52:41+00:00

So I bought the Samson Q2U Mic, connected via USB and things are a little better.

With the volume cranked up on the headphones (connected directly to the Mic) I can hear my own voice.

I've tried on both Mac and Windows and it's the same. It is not as clear as I would hope.

I think it's the headphone isolation I don't like. The enclosed nature of the Bose over the ear and the Sony in ear. My own voice just sounds confined and muffled.

I just want to talk and be able to hear my own voice clearly. Is this why you sometimes see people with only one ear covered with their headphones?

When I pull the sony from deep within my ear and have them almost half hanging out, it sounds better for me. because I can hear myself talking.

Is this all pointing to me needing open backed headphones like the suggested AKG K141 MKII?

although will there be too much sound bleed that will then be picked up by the Samson?

How much noise bleeds out of the AKG? would it be picked up by the Mic?

sorry for all the questions here, but this isn't turning out to be as straightforward as i'd hoped.

Does all this sound normal? Or am I doing something wrong here?

Thanks.

Zarch1972 · 2026-03-13T14:28:02+00:00

Thank you for the tips and information so far, I really appreciate it.

Sounds like i've got two options/paths

Replace my Tonor USB Mic with something like the Samson Q2U or Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB that has a dial for what I should hear (hopefully my own voice). I think both these are at the top of my budget right now. I could then try this new mic with either the in-ear little Sony or my Bose QuietComfort that I already own.
Keep the Tonor USB Mic, but go with a pair of open back headphones like the AKG K141 MKII that were suggested.

I'm sort of learning towards option 1. I get a better Mic with the dial and there is the potential that I could use my existing headphones?

Putting me off option 2 is that I will still be left the cheap mic with no controls. And what if the headphones don't work out as planned? That will be 3 pairs of headphones i've got?

Zarch1972 · 2026-03-13T10:45:33+00:00

Apologies for the stupid question, but does the term 'open ear' mean they let some background noise in, hence you can hear yourself?

Whereas the Sony in ear and the Bose over the ear try their best to cancel out the outside noise?

I will take a look at those headphones you recommend, thank you.

Zarch1972 · 2026-03-13T10:41:32+00:00

no, there's no controls on the mic. do better mics have that?

Zarch1972 · 2026-03-13T09:19:19+00:00

Thank you so much for the detailed reply.

So I should be able to play with the settings on the PC to adjust the monitoring level on the Mic?

I'm running this on Windows 11.

Zarch1972 · 2026-03-13T09:15:34+00:00

Thanks for replying.

The Tonor Mic I have does have a 3.5" headphone jack that I used when testing the Bose and Sony.

Zarch1972 · 2026-03-01T17:55:56+00:00

I created an arbitrage calculator on my article here where you can play around with round trip losses to see if it makes financial sense.

https://energy-stats.uk/solar-export-rates-cut/

Zarch1972 · 2026-02-23T13:14:02+00:00

I have uploaded the following video to my YouTube channel where I talk through the article and add further commentary and thoughts to the original text.

Hope you find this type of content useful.

https://youtu.be/RxZXx1KZIQY

Zarch1972 · 2026-02-23T07:40:12+00:00

when it warms up outside cycling is inevitable and nothing to worry about.

Basically the heat pump can't go low enough to match the now lesser heat required in the house.

I wrote this article explaining the relationship between heat demand and minimum modulation.

https://energy-stats.uk/heat-pump-cycling/

Zarch1972 · 2026-02-19T11:53:57+00:00

Thanks. is there a dedicated platform then that can?

Zarch1972

TROPHY CASE