[matti620]

For people who sit for hours a day near a desktop computer, isn't the fast spinning fan a source of constant high frequency?
I can hear only up to 17kHz it seems. What's the best solution to silence the pc (to use the biggest slowest fan)?

 

[Rebel975]

Bigger/slower fans, sound dampening material, etc. None of the fans in my computer squeal, although I want to buy a fan controller just to ramp back the RPM's on them a bit. Actually, the loudest thing in my case is called coil whine, or coil squeal. Basically, my GPU's produce a squeal when they are under heavy stress. It's not the fans though- it's definitely coil whine. I can hear it change with the load on the GPU. It's quite infuriating if I listen for it. I'm too lazy to fix it, so I've kind of learned to tune it out.

 

[jenneth]

Quote:

What's the best solution to silence the pc (to use the biggest slowest fan)?

 
That depends on your needs. If you're not a hardcore gamer, you could make your computer near-silent with a good case and a few good fans (ie. Noctua).

 

[Headzone]

I use 2x 120mm case fans, with analog fan controllers. All fans run ~1000rpm or less, even under load. I can barely hear my computer noise now.
 
Also took the GPU off to reduce noise.

 

[somestranger26]

The above are some good suggestions to reduce noise. To address the topic, however, even very loud fans are nowhere near loud enough to damage high frequency hearing. At my computer's loudest (8x 120mm fans at high, 2 HD 5850 graphics cards at ~80% fan speed, 6 hard drives) it doesn't get over maaaaybe 60-65dBC according to my sound level meter. The potential for hearing damage doesn't even start until 80 dBC which is about 10x louder since decibels are using a logarithmic scale.

edit: numbers

 

[matti620]

Much useful info here.
My guess is playing the piano affected my hearing more significantly the the pc...

 

[anetode]

Even the whizziest loud 40mm fans would top out at ~10khz at 70db (@ 1m). You're fine, even long term, unless you're running a caseless test bench and you can't even hear yourself over it. Check out OSHA to learn more.