Tips on making PC quiet?

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easlern

easlern

Boredom artist
Hi guys- what are your experiences making a midtower PC quieter? I've put the PC in a closet behind my workstation and enclosed it in a box with a blanket thrown over to muffle the sound. Still getting a lot of higher frequency noise from the fans though, and it's ruining my tracks. Any creative suggestions?
Thanks!
 
Yeah!

Keep the blanket over it until the fan melts right thru the plastic of the 'midtower'!

Now, seriously ---

Heat is the enemy of all things to do with computers.

If the noise is so apparent that it can be heard --- much less interfere with your recordings --- in a closet and under a blanket it's high time to have that computer looked at by a qualified professional.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
Check out this site:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/index.php

The loudest things in a PC are generally
CPU fan
case fan
Hard drive
fans on video card

that sort of thing (usually in the order above). Putting a 'silent' CPU fan(it isn't exactly, but it is pretty quiet) made a big improvement in the last PC I built and only cost about $40. I also have gone a bit further and use a KVM switch ($30) (which has long cables for controlling multiple comps with one monitor and keyboard, lucky end resuylt being that i can put the PC far away from the monitor and keyboard) and now my PC box is actually about 12 feet away from my workstation, and behind some shelves and such. Between those two things PC noise is minimal.

Daav
 
also remember the general rule that the bigger the fan, the slower it can operate and still move the same amount of air
 
I've got an onboard temp monitor so I'll experiment with disabling different fans and replace the ones I absolutely need with quieter models. I have a feeling I'm going to end up just moving the whole rig out of the room and into the hallway. I'll let you know how it goes. :)
 
A silent psu, cpu fan and video fan can make a world of difference.

Checkout Zalman's products.
 
Man I went through simular issues....
I ended up changing alot of parts that helped but it was a bit too noisy.

One thing I did do that helped alot in terms of noise.

Ever heard of Dynamat? If you havent its used in cars usualy around the speakers to stop rattles and distortion.
Its a black mat with a foil on one side and sticky on the other.

It value is that it dampens the case some low frequencys and such arent transfered buy the metal it self.

Try it, when your pc is running put your hands on both sides of the case and see how much overall noise and low hum goes away.
You just put it on the shell of the case and on the back of the plate that the MOBO is attached to (not the side that faces the MOBO all I can say is ZAP).

Nowadays I have to actualy put my ear down by the machine to make sure it started sometimes.

I know your battling higher freq's but I found this helps with alot of sound.

Also I am using these Cooler Master fans they are cheap and pretty quiet.

-Blaze
 
Computers love fresh air................

easlern said:
enclosed it in a box with a blanket thrown over to muffle the sound.

Wow I can't believe your computer is still working. The fans in the puter are for cooling the processer. You are darn lucky so far........better make sure fresh air gets to that puter or it will burn up. Then you will have it quiet...but will not be a happy camper.
 
Folks, a computer does not "melt" the second you put it in an enclosed space, especially if the person doing the enclosing takes precautions to allow necessary dissipation of heat, the details of which are outside the scope of this thread. Even without precautions, the most you'd really have to worry about is excessive wear on the components, whose mechanical lifetimes usually last far beyond the time they become obsolescent. You might want to read up on mobo temperature monitoring and current hardware and software safeguards against damage to modern PC's from excess heat. Regardless, please stick to the topic, thanks. ;)
Thanks for the Dynamat idea, blazingstrings. I will definitely check that out. Browsing prices, I've found that it'll be cheaper to get extension cords and move the computer into the hall (separated by a door), so I'm going to start there. If it's still bad, I guess I'll start collecting noise reduction equipment in addition to music gear, sigh. :)
 
I picked up a DVI monitor extension cable and a USB hub with extension cable for about $50 total. I moved the PC out into the hall and it's practically silent now, although I can hear some noise on the other side of the door. The loudest things I can hear are the plumbing and the neighbor's fan. I think I'll be happy with this for a while. Thanks for your suggestions!
 
easlern said:
I picked up a DVI monitor extension cable and a USB hub with extension cable for about $50 total. I moved the PC out into the hall and it's practically silent now, although I can hear some noise on the other side of the door. The loudest things I can hear are the plumbing and the neighbor's fan. I think I'll be happy with this for a while. Thanks for your suggestions!


that is one crazy ass loud computer if you can still hear it on the "other side of the door"
 
It has a crappy power supply, a cheap case, vid card w/ fan, and mobo w/ fan. The fans are healthy but really noisy. :P I made this to be a gaming rig originally, so noise wasn't a concern.
 
easlern said:
It has a crappy power supply, a cheap case, vid card w/ fan, and mobo w/ fan. The fans are healthy but really noisy. :P I made this to be a gaming rig originally, so noise wasn't a concern.


ah, that explains a lot lol.
 
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