Acoustic Materials

[CamisaAmarela]

Guys,

I'm looking for alternatives for my noisy machine (just finished reading of "Next Step in Quieting Computer?" - tks dblevitan & McVan) and found some "acoustic materials" at 2CoolTek. They have 2 options:
1.Akasa
2.Sonex
Do they really work ? McVan said (or wrote) that they must be at least 1" thick, so does the Akasa really work ?
If some of you are using them, please give your opinion.
If some of you know about reviews or comparisions or whatever about those things,
let me know.

Thanks in advance.

 

[CamisaAmarela]

No comments ? No help ? C'mon guys, someone must know something...

 

[Barrei]

The best is magic fleece check google on specs.

 

[Den]

Dynamat is another one (from the car stereo world) that I have heard works well...

 

[CamisaAmarela]

Sorry, Barrei, but I didn't get it: What is "magic fleece" ?

 

[CamisaAmarela]

Please, somebody help me!!!
I can't be the first around the world to think about to use them...

 

[Kindjal]

Magic Fleece

 

[goophie]

has anyone ever tried this stuff? foamorder

They have some different kinds of acoustic foam, some with egg crate patterns, some without.

 

[nagger]

I've tried the PowerSnooze kit from quietpc.com, I got the silence I needed and the heat that I didn't need (specially now in 25-30 degrees celsius) so I had to dump my box and got me a 6-bay Chieftec box.

If you live in a mild temperature place go for this dampening kit, if you don't you'll be surprised how hot your case can turn into...

 

[Deskstar]

No one can give you a solid answer to the noise reduction question because each case is different and to my knowledge no one has tried each material on the same working case using a noise meter to see what works and what does not work. I have Dynamat and lots of eggcrate acoustic foam that I got from a stereo shop. Is my computer quieter...I really don't know. By the time you add all the extra fan holes, any noise damper seems like putting a rock into a river in an attempt to stem its flow. Solution: get low wattage, low noise, high CFM fans. In other words, stop the noise at its source. Don't forget the power supply as a major noise maker sometimes.

 

[Woody419]

I made my own "Magic Fleece" and saved a bunch of bucks. My case is now completely silent, all I hear is the fan from the PC P&C Silencer 400. I also have 4 PC P&C Silencer 80mm fans installed and a Silverado hsf. Instructions and pics here.

 

[Howard]

This is the real stuff.

 

[CamisaAmarela]

I want to thank everybody who answered to this thread. Now I figured out that
those things really works and that's a home made class of them. I'll study your
approach, Woody419.

The magic fleece looks nice; the problem is the price + freight + Taxes.

Mr. Yucky, do you have that thing in your rig? It seems to be very, very expensive.

Thank you very much!!!

 

[GiZzO]

Hmm i guess i better say something on this...
Do a search on this topic, its been discussed alot in the past.

If vibaration is not a problem in your case, stay away from Dynamat and Akasa pax-mate, there both designed for lowering vibaration, dynamat is not for soaking acoustics, Akasa kinda is, but 4mm of open cell foam is nothing. Sonex is not a bad choice, that is purely a for soaking sound, cheap alternative i've seen ppl use is the underlining under carpet its like recycled neoprene very cheap probably cover your case under 5 bucks. From long research i've gone with skinned open/closed cell acoustical foam from Mcmaster, its rated at .80NR supposedly double the noise reduction of Sonex and the eggcrate style, whats nice about it is the top layer is skinned, its smooth its not open foam that dust and dirt gets trapped in, you can just clean it off with a wet cloth and its clean, air also travels over it smoother. Its 1" thick. For about $20 you get enough too cover 2 full towers, also has an adhesive back.
You can see old pics of it here

Too really make this work out in conjunction with quiet fans and having a quiet HD or quieting it in some way. You gotta do something about your fan holes, sounds is gonna escape that way, so what you wanna do is drape some acoustical foam like 1 1/2" away from the fan inside the case a peice slightly bigger then the fan hole, the air will still be able too go around it cause of the 1 1/2" space but will make it alot harder for sound to escape out. This will hinder your airflow so do it on a case that already has good airflow too begin with and you should have your heatsinks oversized cause of the lower air presure blowing through.

GiZzO's Fan Database Page