Make DELL PC Quieter

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DREAMLABS

New member
Hey Dudes,
I've got me a DELL 4550 which I bought in 2002. I've been trying to defeat the noise, but I can't seem to pinpoint the source.
What makes the most noise in a PC? Is it usually the hard drive or most likely the case fan?
All DELL users, your opinions are welcome and in desperate need.
HELP! :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
The fans and hard drive for sure. the more the harddrives, the more noise the system will generate. make sure to put rubber stoppers in between the harddrive and the screws that holds it to the chasis.this eliminates noise and vibrations.
 
Thanks for all your suggestions thus far guys!
The sound that I'm referring to is a constant whirring noise. I use an AT4040 quite alot and it can pick up the sound of an Ant farting in Greece!
I'm thinking that it can either be the CPU fan, the PSU fan or the hard drive. My video card is a dual head Matrox and it has a heat sink attached, so there's no problem there. Should I consider getting a high end heat sink for the CPU? I was told that the Dell machines use a different connector on their PSU, so that replacing it requires splicing and grafting. I'm pretty handy with ye old soldering iron, so I don't mind having a crack at it. Should I take the plunge? Hmmm..... :rolleyes:
 
The fans of choice are the Panaflo types. They are available in a variety of sizes and CFM ratings.

See www.heatsinkfactory.com and others.

The fan in the power supply is easily replaced with a Panaflo. Some of the small chipset fans can be pretty noisy, especially if the fan has some mileage on it. You can replace these with Zalman chipset coolers which are big, passive heat sinks and no fan. Be sure to use "Artic Silver" heat sink paste between the chipset and heat sink for optimum heat transfer.

Replace all case fans with Panaflo. Get the lower CFM models because they are dead quiet. A vigorous fan is not required to ventilate cases. If you have a fan in front of your hard drive cage, it is also a Panaflo candidate.

Last, you might have to build or obtain an isolation box for your computer tower. The box will have to be ventilated or you will get a rapid heat build up. This is a last resort effort, after replacing the noisy fans.
 
You could also build a "soundproofed" case to put the PC in.

You make a wooden box, line it with Auralex soundproofing foam, and leave some ports in it for airflow.



Tim
 
I had a similar problem, but after replacing the pre-installed PSU with a Seasonic S12 430 and the CPU fan with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 the noise was much less. Also remember to clean out your case, getting rid of the dust buildup every couple of months or so. Here's a superb site for advice on all aspects of quietening PC's down, the forums are excellent too:-

http://www.silentpcreview.com/index.php
 
Okay Dudes, here's the latest update.
I stripped my machine all the way down and cleaned EVERYTHING.
As it turns out there is no CPU fan, in fact it has a HUGE heat sink after all. There's a case fan with a funnel which channels air over and through the heat sink. I removed the fan assembly and cleaned it entirely.
I removed and took apart the PSU and removed and cleaned all the dust from the fan inside the unit too.
Right now my machine is dust free. Is it quieter than before? Stay tuned to the continuing saga.......As The DELL Turns!
 
I replaced my stock Dell PowerSupply with an Antec TruePower 430. It may have been a little bit quieter, but I have a hard time remembering. And I did have to snip out some metal to make it fit. Wasn't really an issue with the connectors, just the metal case not having the holes where I needed them for the back plug or something.
I think upgrading fans and moving the whole mess into a Sonata Case or some other good quiet case will give the best results.
 
I replaced my stock CPU fan with a quiet Zalman (with fan speed control) fan and upgraded my case to an Antec Sonata II with a quiet antec PSU. It's still not quiet enought for me. I think the issue I'm having is the Video card fan. I'm thinking of trying this next: http://www.xoxide.com/zm80d.html
 
Yeah, those graphics cards with the little fans are not exactly made for quietness. You should get one that doesn't have a fan. I use an ATI 9550 or whatever with a heatsink.
 
buy some keyboard,mouse and monitor extention cables and put the damn thing in another room..or a closet...problem solved! :D
 
Markaholic said:
buy some keyboard,mouse and monitor extention cables and put the damn thing in another room..or a closet...problem solved! :D
Click to expand...


Best idea, and costs almost nothing. If your desk is near a closet, try putting it in there too.
 
Reggie said:
Yeah, those graphics cards with the little fans are not exactly made for quietness. You should get one that doesn't have a fan. I use an ATI 9550 or whatever with a heatsink.
Click to expand...

I've got a Nvidia 6600GT(a Leadtek one) and the fan on it is almost silent. When I bought it I was worried it would be a little on the noisy side but I was pleasantly suprised. :)
 
The video card that I use is a Matrox G450 Dual VGA Card. It too has a heat sink instead of a fan, best bet for DAW's.
I'm thinking of slowly swapping out my components, beginning with the hard drive. I'm buying one of those Seagate 7200.9 quiet drives to replace the Western Digital that's in the machine now. Then I'll replace the power supply and then the case fan in that order.
 
I might be wrong, having not heard your computer, but my harddrives are rarely the big noisemakers. The whirring noise you hear are the fans in your system most likely.
 
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