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Computer case sound dampeners - do they really work?

They help cut down some of the vibration noise, but overall they don't do too much.

In addition, they increase the heat inside of the case dramatically.

It is not an approach I recommend. It is generally much better to replace fans with quieter ones.
 
I agree; the various sound dampeners only work if your case is vibrating a lot or transmitting sound. I have even tried putting 1" think foam into the case with little effect with assessed with a sound meter. It can change the frequency and thus make the sound less difficult for you. But, even that is case dependent.
Get slower fans, reduce the number of fans, use "ducts" for your fans, measure the noise objectively, don't just keep adding fans after you have reached a maximum benefit. It takes more knowledge to create a silent PC (Overclocked of course) than to create a 15 fan monster.
 
rubber washers/gromets placed between case & fan (maybe even between HDD & chasis?) are almost certainly worth the money, not because they fantastically reduce sound (they dont) but because they cost pennies 🙂 Seen odd review which tacled sound insulating material, general view was a couple of dBa max, and at least same effect can be done with quieter fans - with less of a rise in case temps.
 
Originally posted by: Davegod
rubber washers/gromets placed between case & fan (maybe even between HDD & chasis?) are almost certainly worth the money, not because they fantastically reduce sound (they dont) but because they cost pennies 🙂 Seen odd review which tacled sound insulating material, general view was a couple of dBa max, and at least same effect can be done with quieter fans - with less of a rise in case temps.
Click to expand...
I don't recommending putting anything between the HD and the case, unless one is already using a hard drive cooler with its own fans to hold the hard drive. With out a hard drive cooler the hard drive spreads the heat to the case and the larger the contact area the better (copper screws even make a slight difference). Besides that, I would say Davegod gave good advice.
 
Originally posted by: kreno
what? so now the stuff I recommended is crap? lol j/k
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Everyone I know who has tried any sound dampening material has not been happy. Have you personally tried the stuff from that Web site? Do you mind providing more information, like how much difference it made in noise in temperature.

A nice graph showing dB vs. frequency before and after installation would be nice 🙂 j/k
 
lol, well... I had a delta and it shut it up pretty good... it doesn't remove all noise, but the annoying higher pitched sounds are definitely muffled quite nicely. Temps went up by 0.5C
 
So have you guys actually tried sound dampening yet? I don't think it's that bad but for the money it doesn't give much bang per buck. The whole point of sound dampening is to convert the acoustical energy into thermal energy so of course it may get hotter. Not by much IMO as my PC temps didn't change at all. As for the sound, it didn't get totally silent because my case has a ton of holes in the sides and a lot of sound escapes through the exhaust fan holes. I'd say it decreased about 2-3db, the frequency that now emits from the case is deeper and not as high pitched. If you tap on the sides of the case it sounds as if you're tapping cardboard as opposed to a tin can.

I tried using a RS SPL meter but it doesn't record low enough. My Dynamat Case

Was it worth $30? probably not, but paying 50 cents for resistors to slow my fans to the right rpm was worth it. The $3 rheostat to control my main fan was also worth every penny. I'd definitly buy quiet fans, but most of them just can't move a lot of air which is why it can be nice to have adjustable fans.
 
Once created, noise is extremely difficult to control, so the real answer is to not make it in the first place. The effects of noise dampening/absorbing materials like paxmate are generally slight, and best considered as the finishing touch to an already quiet system. It's also occasionally useful to kill the sounding board effect of some funky box panels if touching them reduces noise noticeably.

Better to devote your energies to identifying the most offensive noise source, fixing that first, then move on down to the next loudest. Killing the noise from a 7000 rpm 60mm screamer fan is like pounding sand into a rathole- whatever function it serves, it needs to be replaced with something a lot quieter.

The worst offenders are usually cpu coolers, vidcard and chipset fans, in that order.....
 
I just got finished replacing the fans in my PC, and it just so happens that I did have one of those 7000rpm 60mm screamers. It is soooo much better now, it kind of freaks me out because its hard for me to tell if its even on to begin with. Definitely worth the money.
 
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