Single room recording with a noisy computer. What do I do?

JerryD

New member
Hi all,

I only have a single room which sounds pretty good actually. Since the whole room has ceiling to floor book shelves it adds great defusion. My problem is the computer is in the same room that I'm recording on. Now if I cover the thing up with foam it will burn up. What can I do to stop the noisy? I mean the room is perfect except for the computer noisy.

Thanks.
 
I'm looking at the same problem, since I have a noisy HDR, and am getting ready to add an equally noisy computer to the rig.

I've found 3 companies that make noise-isolation equipment racks: 19" EIA rack mount cabinets with gasketed doors front and back, and cooling/air handling systems built in. They are Raxxess, Middle Atlantic, and Sound Construction and Supply. There may be others- I just haven't found them yet...

http://www.custom-consoles.com/isobox.html
http://www.custom-consoles.com/isomac.html
http://www.middleatlantic.com/studio/saccess/ecisorack.htm
http://www.raxxess.com (but they don't mention their iso-box on their site yet- it's too new).

These are *all* pretty damned pricey (~$1000), but they are supposed to work extremely well for quieting noisy gear. At the very least, the web site illustrations can give you some ideas on how to build a regular rack into an iso-box, and put together a labyrinth muffler on the air handling system to keep the racket down and still prevent the gear inside from burning up...

I'll probably try and build my own, since these things are a little too rich for my blood. A cheap MDF rack cabinet, some Auralex foam, some lead sheet or limp 1/8" vinyl, a couple of fans, and some bad intentions can go a long way!

[Edited by skippy on 11-09-2000 at 19:14]
 
Jerry D apart from spending $1000 you may wish to

1.) Extend your leads for the Keyboard,mouse and monitor and put your puter in another room. It can be done, I'm just not sure of the details, Slack??

2.)Purchase a wireless keyboard and mouse remote.

3.) Stick your puter in a box lined with insulation and put a quiet fan in the back

4.) Record the ambient noise as a noiseprint in Soundforge Noise Reduction and remove it in your track.

Cheers
John :)
 
From what I gathered from this board, http://www.pcpowercooling.com has some quiet fans, but my question is for you computer knowledgable folks out there,
What fans are needed?
I know there is a definite CPU fan that is a most, but I also see a power supply fan.

Has anyone every tried getting either one?Which one is the most important and that would make the most difference?

The CPU types listed in their listing beside the fan are a bit outdated. I own an AMD K7V, I already have dual ball bearing fans installed. Im just wondering if ill need to install two quite fans in order to keep the cpu nice and cool. They don't have any fans list for AMD K7v.

Any one experienced with these guys?
 
Getting extension cables has been tried but with poor results. The mouse goes haywire if the cable is longer than a couple of metres. That is if you're using the regular PS/2 mouse connection (the round one) - USB gets you all the way but at a higher price. The Logitech wireless mouse/keyboard may work if the radio signal can get through the wall. I'm not sure about monitor cables though. Go to a computer store and see if they can demonstrate it with long enough extension cables. Also, search the computer forum for info. Maybe there’s a success story somewhere but as far as I could remember, it never worked properly with extension cables.

I think that building a MDF cabinet is the best way to go. Put in a fan with an on/off switch so you can turn it off during the actual recording 'cause no fans are quiet enough. If your spouse will let you, build the cabinet next to a wall and run the fan outlet through the wall to the adjacent room.

Even if you get completely silent system cooling (water cooling), your HD will still make noise so there’s no way around it. You gotta muffle that box…

/Ola
 
ola said:
the wall. I'm not sure about monitor cables though. Go to a computer store and see if they can demonstrate it with long enough extension cables.

I have tried this myself and the monitor was not as focused. Usable but not a solution.
 
William Choi is on the right track with that link to PC Power & Cooling.

Replace the entire computer case.

Some manufacturers make very quite cases. I've even heard of some that have vibration isolators for the hard drive (you could do this yourself).

One caution - some computers like Dell and Gateway have "proprietary" motherboards. They don't fit the standard mounting or input device locations.
 
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