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nononsensetype
New member
What are your computer specifications? I wanna know what kind of power you have and how quiet the box is so I'll know what to look for.
JUSTTIGHT
New member
I have two
I have a sony vaio which is extremely quiet. The other is a matrix which makes a little more noise. However the Matrix is alot more powerful. The amount of power may directly be related to the amount of noise it makes
I have a sony vaio which is extremely quiet. The other is a matrix which makes a little more noise. However the Matrix is alot more powerful. The amount of power may directly be related to the amount of noise it makes
JUSTTIGHT
New member
check this out
This may help you ! There is a post that deals with the quietness of P.C's
Computer Recording and Soundcards > Best thing I've done for my DAW
This may help you ! There is a post that deals with the quietness of P.C's
Computer Recording and Soundcards > Best thing I've done for my DAW
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WildFire
New member
Laptops are generally quiet... 
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bdemenil
New member
Fans are what make most of the noise. Every computer has at least one fan in its power supply, and another on its cpu. As long as you don't overclock, a super fast cpu does not necessarily need a louder or more powerful fan. However it is recommended to have a good cpu fan. I'm sure you can get special power supplies and cpu fans that are extra quiet. You can optionally also get fans in your case to help with air circulation. They can be positioned to help cool the cpu, motherboard, hard drives, or whatever. Hard drives get very hot, and do not benefit from the power supply or cpu fan, so I do recommend putting a fan on them if possible.
My computer is loud as hell, so I put it in a closet, and have extension cords for keyboard, mouse, and monitor.
My computer is loud as hell, so I put it in a closet, and have extension cords for keyboard, mouse, and monitor.
db51
New member
Another closet user
I have my PC in the closet too!
I think it's a good solution, since you don't need to buy a silent cpu fan, a silent power supply and a silent hardrive: just soundproof your closet!
I have my PC in the closet too!
I think it's a good solution, since you don't need to buy a silent cpu fan, a silent power supply and a silent hardrive: just soundproof your closet!
kristian
New member
If you want silent computers, i would recormmend building one yourself. Start with a silent power supply, they cost a little more due to the "silent components". Then you can go two ways, buy a water cooler for your CPU, or you can get silent fan as well, they cost about $30 with the heatsink. Its really a small price to pay for silence. Of course, case designers should just do what apple does with the cube and use convection to cool off the cpu, no need for a fan.
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nononsensetype
New member
The problem is that I am trying to upgrade from this antique pentium II that I have because even if the drive is idle, it kind of sounds like a small refrigerator. If I was to put the computer in a soundproof area would that allow me to make noise-free recordings?
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mixsit
Well-known member
<I have my PC in the closet too!
I think it's a good solution, since you don't need to buy a silent cpu fan, a silent power supply and a silent hardrive: just soundproof your closet!>
Which is exactly why I had to bail' on the 'MDR' route- unless you get a complete remote controler/front end, you can't stuff the thing away in a quiet place. It sat there 20" from my face and roared. Way louder than the old adats.
wayne
I think it's a good solution, since you don't need to buy a silent cpu fan, a silent power supply and a silent hardrive: just soundproof your closet!>
Which is exactly why I had to bail' on the 'MDR' route- unless you get a complete remote controler/front end, you can't stuff the thing away in a quiet place. It sat there 20" from my face and roared. Way louder than the old adats.
wayne
kristian
New member
be careful with how you soundproof where ever you are putting your computer, because a lot of loud fans in a room with no circulation, and your computer will overheat AND be loud.
db51
New member
I really believe that's the way to go...If you don't want the computer to interfere with your recordings you have to put it in another room, or in a closet...
A 'silent' fan and 'silent 'power supply and 'silent' harddrive might be quiet enough for the average gamer who doesn't want to be bothered by noise, but if you're gonna use your pc as a DAW, you should put it in the closet. It's more efficient at killing noise, and it's a lot easier to soundproof a closet than a pc case
db51
New member
Yep, watch your temps! This isn't as bad as I feared though: my cpu (XP1700+) and motherboard (A7N266-C) are respectively at 37C and 41C with the closet door closed.
With the door open the temps go down to 33C and 37C
DavidK
New member
I throw my Jacket on the puter when I record. Poor Man's soundproofing.
A1A2
New member
my 3 yr old hard-drive makes noise more than anything else in my room.
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lucid
New member
db51 those are some impressive temps... what fans you using?
Rochey
New member
I have to disagree with Db51
"A 'silent' fan and 'silent 'power supply and 'silent' harddrive might be quiet enough for the average gamer who doesn't want to be bothered by noise, but if you're gonna use your pc as a DAW, you should put it in the closet. "
I kitted out my rackmount system with the silent fans, power supply and i didn't even need to get the hard disk 'cover' --- It's more than quiet enough. Look at the computers built by carillion. They are used in loads of studio's, studio's which don't necassarily have the isolation boxes.
Admittedly, standard PC boxes (from high street retailers) are shite for noise. My last PC sounded like a boeng 747 when it started up. I eventually found that it was the CPU fan that was the loudest.
The best Hard Disks I have found (and the quietest) are the IBM 60GXP drives. You literally can't hear them. but don't put them in a silentdrive enclosure... they get really hot.
Also, if your pretty handy with a soldering iron, you could put a variable resistor in front of the fans, so that you could slow the fans down when recording. Or, even kinkier.... head over to ucapps.de
A guy has designed a circuit that switches things on and off with midi - He can even switch his kettle on and off!!! you could set it up, so that when you press ' record' the fans slow down!
just an idea *pipe dream*
d
"A 'silent' fan and 'silent 'power supply and 'silent' harddrive might be quiet enough for the average gamer who doesn't want to be bothered by noise, but if you're gonna use your pc as a DAW, you should put it in the closet. "
I kitted out my rackmount system with the silent fans, power supply and i didn't even need to get the hard disk 'cover' --- It's more than quiet enough. Look at the computers built by carillion. They are used in loads of studio's, studio's which don't necassarily have the isolation boxes.
Admittedly, standard PC boxes (from high street retailers) are shite for noise. My last PC sounded like a boeng 747 when it started up. I eventually found that it was the CPU fan that was the loudest.
The best Hard Disks I have found (and the quietest) are the IBM 60GXP drives. You literally can't hear them. but don't put them in a silentdrive enclosure... they get really hot.
Also, if your pretty handy with a soldering iron, you could put a variable resistor in front of the fans, so that you could slow the fans down when recording. Or, even kinkier.... head over to ucapps.de
A guy has designed a circuit that switches things on and off with midi - He can even switch his kettle on and off!!! you could set it up, so that when you press ' record' the fans slow down!
just an idea *pipe dream*
d
db51
New member
Lucid, I'm using a Thermaltake Volcano 7 fan & heatsink on the cpu, here's a pic: http://www.thermaltake.com/products/heatsink/v7.htm
I also have an Enermax 430W power supply with an intake fan just above the cpu.
The cpu is not overclocked!
Rochey, Carillion use PIII and dual PIII if I'm not mistaken, which require less powerful (ie noisy) fans than AMD cpus.
Then again, it would probably be cheaper to do a little soundproofing work and buy an AMD than to buy one of those underperforming and overpriced computers.
I built my pc myself, it's not a "high street retailer's" box.
I'm using the IBM 60GXP , and I'll agree it's pretty quiet, but all reports tend to say the Seagate Barracuda IV has the edge in quietness (it uses platters on fluid bearings and is *extremely* quiet)
-Dan
I also have an Enermax 430W power supply with an intake fan just above the cpu.
The cpu is not overclocked!
Rochey, Carillion use PIII and dual PIII if I'm not mistaken, which require less powerful (ie noisy) fans than AMD cpus.
Then again, it would probably be cheaper to do a little soundproofing work and buy an AMD than to buy one of those underperforming and overpriced computers.
I built my pc myself, it's not a "high street retailer's" box.
I'm using the IBM 60GXP , and I'll agree it's pretty quiet, but all reports tend to say the Seagate Barracuda IV has the edge in quietness (it uses platters on fluid bearings and is *extremely* quiet)
-Dan
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lucid
New member
db51. i am also using the thermaltake volcano 7. yet my CPU temps are usually about 52-53 degrees C.... when running 100% it goes to about 58 degrees C...
what is going on?
what is going on?
J
j
New member
bdemenil said:
i.e., another room...do i buy a new fan for my cpu or perhaps a cordless mouse?
db51
New member
Lucid your temps are pretty high...
Did you use thermal compound??
Is the heatsink seated properly on the cpu?
Is your case well ventilated??
And, now that I think of it, is it hot this time of year in Malaysia??I'm in France and it's winter at the moment, and I like to keep my room pretty cool (being swedish and all
) so I'd say the room temp is probably around 15°C. I expect my temps to rise quite a bit this summer 
Did you use thermal compound??
Is the heatsink seated properly on the cpu?
Is your case well ventilated??
And, now that I think of it, is it hot this time of year in Malaysia??I'm in France and it's winter at the moment, and I like to keep my room pretty cool (being swedish and all
) so I'd say the room temp is probably around 15°C. I expect my temps to rise quite a bit this summer