How to make my PC run at acceptable volumes?

[fraseyboy]

Dang my PC is noisy. So noisy that I have shut it in a cupboard and routed most of the cables through a hole in the floor and crawled around in the small space under the house so that I can shut the doors of the cupboard. But even then I can still hear it loudly.

So what can I do to make it quiet?

I think it may be the case that is increasing the volume quite a bit. It is a very crappy no-name case that is also ugly.

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I bought it. I think that better cases would probably block of the noise more somehow... Also it only has space for 3 80mm fans which can't help much.

I currently have 2 80mm fans installed, one in the side and one at the back. They are quite noisy, but if I bought a new case it should come with better fans probably?

My GPU is a Dual-Slot Msi 7600gt OC'ed beast but it doesn't seem to be that loud. I have the stock cooler on my Core 2 Duo E6300 which also isn't that loud.

So what is the cheapest way to shut it up? Just buy a new case or buy some new fans and stick them in this case? If I have to buy a new case, what is a good cheap case that also is fairly quiet? I am thinking of re-arranging the room a bit and moving the PC out of the cupboard but I can't do that at the volume it's running at now.

Help appreciated

 

[infinitesymphony]

You could go either route... Most higher-end cases use 120mm case fans because they don't have to rotate as fast to move the same amount of air as a smaller fan. Since smaller fans need to run faster, their resonant frequencies tend to be higher and thus more audible, especially in the case of tiny fans like you'll often find on the northbridge of a motherboard. Those are best replaced with a good heatsink.

It may be that the cupboard enclosure you put the computer inside is actually amplifying the sound like an echo chamber due to hard parallel surfaces. Consider padding the inside of the cupboard with foam or blankets (but be sure to leave some space near the intake and exhaust portions of the case for air flow).

Consider the number and size of fans inside your computer:

2 80mm fans = medium, audible
1 GPU fan = small, loud
1 CPU fan = medium, audible
1 northbridge fan (optional) = small, very loud
1 PSU fan = medium, audible

So, six fans. Most people who want a silent PC tend to select components that use heatsinks instead of fans. The only absolutely essential fans are on the case, though PSU and CPU fans are recommended.

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif You could go either route... Most higher-end cases use 120mm case fans because they don't have to rotate as fast to move the same amount of air as a smaller fan. Since smaller fans need to run faster, their resonant frequencies tend to be higher and thus more audible, especially in the case of tiny fans like you'll often find on the northbridge of a motherboard. Those are best replaced with a good heatsink. It may be that the cupboard enclosure you put the computer inside is actually amplifying the sound like an echo chamber due to hard parallel surfaces. Consider padding the inside of the cupboard with foam or blankets (but be sure to leave some space near the intake and exhaust portions of the case for air flow). Consider the number and size of fans inside your computer: 2 80mm fans = medium, audible 1 GPU fan = small, loud 1 CPU fan = medium, audible 1 northbridge fan (optional) = small, very loud 1 PSU fan = medium, audible So, six fans. Most people who want a silent PC tend to select components that use heatsinks instead of fans. The only absolutely essential fans are on the case, though PSU and CPU fans are recommended.

I thought about that. I may get a new case which has 120mm fans and has more noise blocking off mechanisms or something...

No point carpeting the cupboard since it will be coming out of there hopefully anyway. I think there is a heatsink on my mobo's northbridge instead of a fan so that should be ok.

I thought of coating the whole PC case in polystyrene and cuttings holes for the fans as a cheap way of shutting it up... A bit ghetto though

 

[fraseyboy]

I've been looking at reasonably priced quiet PC cases and got these so far:

iCute QH01

Not many reviews of this. I think they operate under a different name in the USA... It's a very interesting design though. It moves the PSU to the front down the bottom to make it alot smaller. It also has a huge 25cm fan which would cool well whilst being quiet. I also love the look.

Enermax Chakra ECA3052

"The fan is so quiet it is only audible if you put your ear next to it while in motion. Even with the case loaded up with the 25cm fan and two of Enermax's new 120mm Enlobal fans, it is extremely quiet while keeping all system components nice and cool." That's what someone said in a review. It isn't as small as the iCute but would be very quiet and have good ventilation...

I suppose either would be ok. Anyone have any experience with any of these?

 

[infinitesymphony]

It'll pay to go for brand names... Enermax should be alright, but I'm not sure about iCute

.

Other respectable case brands:

Antec
Cooler Master
Gigabyte
Lian-Li
Thermaltake
Zalman

Cases from these manufacturers tend to have thicker steel than offbrand models, which will help to reduce noise.

 

[Braver]

look at silentpcreview.com for a lot of information.

In general, get a better case, at least an Antec 1650, to get a 12cm outtake-fan in the rear. That should be enough for almost any PC. And the rubber grommets will absorb some harddrive noise.

I don't like those huge fans on the side of those cases you posted. Those big holes will also mean a lot of sound from inside (cpu-fan, harddrive, videocard-fan) will have a straight path to the outside. In fact, all really silent cases (like the Antec Solo), are closed on the sides, and have an indirect intake in the front, jus to keep the noise in.

A new case is a good place to start. Then you need to figure out what is exactly making the most noise. Could very well be your cpu-fan, or the one on the videocard. If you've narrowed down the noisiest components, you can replace those and make a couple of steps towards a silent system. Good cpu-coolers aren't that expensive and can make a huge difference. Changing the stock cooler on my parent's PC to a €15,- Nexus cooler made it go from loud-vacuum-cleaner-noise to a slight 'whoosh'.

Good luck

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Braver /img/forum/go_quote.gif look at silentpcreview.com for a lot of information. In general, get a better case, at least an Antec 1650, to get a 12cm outtake-fan in the rear. That should be enough for almost any PC. And the rubber grommets will absorb some harddrive noise. I don't like those huge fans on the side of those cases you posted. Those big holes will also mean a lot of sound from inside (cpu-fan, harddrive, videocard-fan) will have a straight path to the outside. In fact, all really silent cases (like the Antec Solo), are closed on the sides, and have an indirect intake in the front, jus to keep the noise in. A new case is a good place to start. Then you need to figure out what is exactly making the most noise. Could very well be your cpu-fan, or the one on the videocard. If you've narrowed down the noisiest components, you can replace those and make a couple of steps towards a silent system. Good cpu-coolers aren't that expensive and can make a huge difference. Changing the stock cooler on my parent's PC to a €15,- Nexus cooler made it go from loud-vacuum-cleaner-noise to a slight 'whoosh'. Good luck

Sadly the Antec 1650 isn't sold here in New Zealand. Not many Antec cases are and the one's that are are very expensive. All the ones on SilentPCReview aren't cheap enough here... Coolermaster, Thermaltake and iCute cases are at good prices here.

 

[Braver]

Well, figure out what's wrong first. If it's harddrives, you'll want rubber-mounting like in Antec cases. On other cases, something simple like Nexus Disktwins can also make a world of difference, but I've had a lot of difficuly with those. On silentpcreview you can also find a lot of examples of HDs suspended in elastic bands which is fine as long as you don't move your computer a lot.
If the HDs are silent though, any case that's properly built and has a 12cm outtake will do fine. Then you might still need a change of cpu-cooler. Just pick a case that looks good to you and check the silentpcreview.com forums for opinions. The Coolermaster Centurion is ok and looks nice. Even cheap Aopen cases are cool too. It's those small fans that are killer. If you want to make it inaudible though, it can get expensive quick (I spent almost €200 to make mine silent).

 

[uraflit]

spcr for some good information!

 

[terrymx]

I use the Chakra crase, and two Scythe 120mm fans, which runs at below 10db.

Get a psu with 120mm fan, also another Scythe fan to replace the cpu's fan.

Buy a Zalman 5" fan controller. Connect all the computer's fans to it. Set them to low. Since the Charka's fan cools the entire case it will be cool enough. Make sure all your fans are below 10db. Install Ntune first, then you can use RivaTuner to underclock the video card and slower the fan speed.

This should make the case very quiet.

 

[utilisateur]

Got the Enermax Chakra , quite nice as a case coming from a crappy grey box BUT
You have to be careful with your CPU HS choice as many bigger Heatsinks wont allow for the sidepanel with the big 250mm fan to be mounted

[size=xx-small]im on E6300 too (not OC'ed (it just doesn't want to))
on P5B deluxe
Passive asus GPU[/size]
Mine is still to loud though ,
fitted with 120mm akasa amber fans controlled by PSUs fan out(bequiet darkpower)
i had to change the fan in the PSU as the stock one was way to loud being a generic globe fan
CPU cooler is the EVO120 from Akasa , said to be rather quiet as well

i think vibration decoupling has a lot to do with the noise too a) coupling of moving parts to case and b) coupling of case to whatever it stands on


imo if you want a realy quiet PC youll atleast need to get a damped case ,passive or atleast modified PSU
a good concept(airflow! (perturbations)) if you want to use aircooling
and a more efficient cooling solution for your GPU

 

[fraseyboy]

Wow. Thanks for the suggestions guys.

That CPU cooler you have looks cool!


Once I get enough money lol, I'll buy that case and work on ****'ng my pc