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Computer Too Loud

B

BusterStacks

Junior Member
Hey all, nice to meet you. I recently ditched my Thermaltake Xaser III (expensive), for an Antec Sonata on sale at Compusa (kinda expensive). I'm pretty irritated because my computer is still loud as hell. I'm running an Abit IC7-G, p4 2.8c, radeon 9800 pro those are the only things with fans on them. Everything is stock, I was thinking maybe upgrade the heatsink for the P4, but I don't want ot shell out any more money if it doesn't fix the issue. Your thoughts?
 
Exactly what is loud about them? Fan noise? If that's the case, you might want to look into some Vibration Dampening. Other than that, about the only option you have is to invest in a fan controller and manually lower the fanspeed when you're doing low load things (web surfing, desktop productivity, etc.). Then, when gaming, you can jack the fans and have the sound from games drown them out easily.

If it's motor noise from HDDs or Optical Disks, there's not much you can do there except seek out other drives and see if they're quieter.
 
Get an Arctic Cooling unit for your video card. With that set to the low fan speed, you'll have as good cooling as the stock cooler on the 9800 Pro with less noise. At about $15, it's a cheap way to drop some db... Also, you could move to a larger, quieter fan on your processor. What PSU do you have? If you're using a loud PSU, then you'll have to fight that too. You could also check to see if it's the case, the video card or processor cooler too... Power up your system without the mobo and video card connected (might need to jumper the mobo power feed, or use a PSU tester here). If it's the same volume as before, then you know it's either the case fans and/or PSU. If it's quiet, then connect everything else up (mobo and video card) and try again. If it's loud as hell, then you've narrowed it down. I'd also try using a tube (pvc pipe or even an empty paper towel tube) to check to see if the noise is from the processor fan or video card fan.

Either way, the Arctic Cooling item is a good, solid, investment (cheap too). It's easy to install which is always a good thing.
 
Generally the smaller fans run at a higher rpm and are much louder. Stop each fan by applying pressure to the hub and see how much it contributes to the overall noise level. The IC7-G has a tiny northbridge fan that is loud and annoying and is probably the loudest component you have. The second loudest is probably your video card.
 
Did your system get quiet when you unplugged the northbridge fan? If so, then replace the fan. Generally speaking, mobo makers don't just toss fans where they are not needed. If you want to go silent, then you'll need to get a much better heatsink for the NB. Still, you're probably better off just getting a better fan. The one on the NB now might be old and getting tired, hence the noise level from it.

I'd still go with the AC unit for your video card. You will notice the difference in noise level, and your system will get cooler because of it (vents the air out of the case, doesn't move it around after getting heated by the GPU).
 
I went to arctic-cooling.com and they don't list my video card. My choices are 9600(all models) or 9800XT. What do you suggest? Also, has anyone ever seen a dual DVI card that is fanless? I'm weighing my options for having a dead silent computer for work and a regular loud one for gaming.
 
If you are using the stock Intel heatsink fan, then you should look into an aftermarket heatsink/fan combo. Or you could also try and see if your IC7 Bios has Q-Fan option, or is that only on Asus boards? This option in your bios may help to quiet down the stock Intel fan when your computer is idling.
 
Originally posted by: BusterStacks
I went to arctic-cooling.com and they don't list my video card. My choices are 9600(all models) or 9800XT. What do you suggest? Also, has anyone ever seen a dual DVI card that is fanless? I'm weighing my options for having a dead silent computer for work and a regular loud one for gaming.
Click to expand...

Get the Silencer Rev. 3 item ($20 from newegg.com)... That will work with the 9800 Pro (I've used it before). The heatsink on it is easily 3x the amount of material as the stock cooler on the 9800 Pro series cards (more akin to the cooler found on the 9800XT cards). With $.99 shipping from newegg on the item, it's a rather cheap investment (think it was closer to $15 when I purchased mine last time).

Installation on a 9800 Pro is a snap... Just remove the stock cooler (should be compression pins that come out easily) and follow the included instructions. Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes from start to power up.
 
Originally posted by: Thor86
If you are using the stock Intel heatsink fan, then you should look into an aftermarket heatsink/fan combo. Or you could also try and see if your IC7 Bios has Q-Fan option, or is that only on Asus boards? This option in your bios may help to quiet down the stock Intel fan when your computer is idling.
Click to expand...


Q-fan is on Asus boards. Combined with AMD's Cool 'n' quiet and Q-fan, the CPU fan in my system will shut completely off for up to 10 minutes at a time and then spin up briefly to cool the CPU. Also have Sonata case. Using Aerocool VM101 on XFX 5900XT card (fanless heatpipe cooler - works on 9800 Pro and 5900XT cards). Barely audible. Much quieter than my Dell 400SC (which I thought was quiet as heck when I got it).

VM101 fanless at SVC.
 
Ok I have more questions 🙂

Is there any solution for the annoying Northbridge fan? Also, for a P4, can I cut a significant amount of noise with a better heatsink and maybe a 120mm fan? What about fanless PSUs, can I trust them?
 
Originally posted by: BusterStacks
Ok I have more questions 🙂

Is there any solution for the annoying Northbridge fan? Also, for a P4, can I cut a significant amount of noise with a better heatsink and maybe a 120mm fan? What about fanless PSUs, can I trust them?
Click to expand...


Fanless PSU's are very good but cost much money!!!

You can add another 120mm fan at the front of your Sonata and use the "fan only" molex connector to connect it. The "fan only" molex is controlled by the power supply and only revs up when needed (you should have the rear fan connected to this also. By adding the 120mm fan to the front cage (screws on between motherboard and hd on outside of cage), you might elimiate the northbridge fan altogother as the 120mm fan will direct some airflow across it.
 
Get a new NB hs/fan. Zalman supposedly makes good passive types and that would cut down noise. www.svc.com has some great prices on this stuff. They have the Artic Silencer 3 for only about $10. gl
 
Before spending any more money, do a few simple tests on your computing environment. Very possibly you are getting harmonics from the computer desk/stand/table and not realizing it. Your furniture can actually amplify the sound with sympathetic vibration. You can either isolate the furniture or the computer. It's most simple to use something like a rubber mat or small piece of carpet to absorb any vibration that the cases are passing into the furniture.

If that doesn't work, and you have the freedom to do so, try moving the case onto the floor (and a hardwood floor is equally capable of "some" harmonic vibration, although it's unlikely, unless the house is quite old, or the floor installation was a poor quality job (in other words, some of the boards in the floor are LOOSE.) You can also obtain a wide variety of fan speed controlling devices, some expensive, some not. With those, any individual cooling fan creating sounds you personally find objectionable can be adjusted to sound differently.

The two noisiest items, potentially, on a modern PC are the CPU's hsf unit, and the video card. Few of the cooling fans on motherboards make much noise, and the average power supply fans aren't usually among the noisier items. The hsf can usually be quieted by the inexpensive route of getting an adapter and a larger fan; the small 60 mm fans on a lot of hsf's spin very fast, and make a lot of very high pitched whining noise.

Video card hsf's are the (noise) offenders so often that various aftermarket replacement cooling options are popular; you have already been reminded to look into the Arctic Cooler brand. They are supposed to be quite good.


:beer:
 
If you know the Northbridge fan is actually a troublemaker, you can most probably replace the cooling unit with a passive unit if(!) you have enough airflow through your case in first place.

A lousy small piece of tin with a lousy fan will work less well than a good passive cooler in decent airflow.

But frying your Northbridge next to a GPU with no airflow will make you unhappy with no matter what passive sink.
 
Originally posted by: BusterStacks
Do you guys trust the fanless GPU coolers?
Click to expand...


Yes. At least on mid-range cards (9800 Pro, 5900XT, etc). My 5900XT runs flawlessly all day long on the Aerocool VM101. Thought about replacing the 9800 Pro's Silencer Rev. 2 with one just to cut some noise, but I'm not sure the Aerocool will fit in the Dell case.
 
Originally posted by: BusterStacks
Do you guys trust the fanless GPU coolers?
Click to expand...
Yes, but all the heat will just stay in the case. I'd go with the Arctic Cooling Silencer Rev. 3. On low it's pretty much inaudible inside a case.

Definitely go passive for Northbridge cooling to get rid of the small whiney fan.

For the Sonata's 120mm rear case fan, undervolt it to 5 or 7 volts by rearranging the molex pins. Google for '7 volt mod' for details.

To test if your CPU fan is loud, either unplug it for a few seconds while it's on. Or before starting up the computer, hold the fan so it doesn't spin up for a few seconds, then let it go and see if it contributes to a lot of noise.
 
Originally posted by: lazybum131
Originally posted by: BusterStacks
Do you guys trust the fanless GPU coolers?
Click to expand...
Yes, but all the heat will just stay in the case. I'd go with the Arctic Cooling Silencer Rev. 3. On low it's pretty much inaudible inside a case.

Definitely go passive for Northbridge cooling to get rid of the small whiney fan.

For the Sonata's 120mm rear case fan, undervolt it to 5 or 7 volts by rearranging the molex pins. Google for '7 volt mod' for details.

To test if your CPU fan is loud, either unplug it for a few seconds while it's on. Or before starting up the computer, hold the fan so it doesn't spin up for a few seconds, then let it go and see if it contributes to a lot of noise.
Click to expand...

That depends. If the fanless cooler uses heatpipes and a nice, large radiator positioned close to the rear case fan (120mm in the Sonata), then the cooling would be pretty nice with no extra fan noise added. That's exactly why I chose the Aerocool VM101 (and the price wasn't bad either 😉 ). I actually like the passive stuff so much, I'm thinking of getting one of the larger heatpipe passive CPU sinks, but at this point, not sure. Using Q-Fan and Cool'n'quiet, the darn fan only runs part time anyway. Will have to wait until summer and warmer weather to make that decision (based on fan useage).! 🙂

 
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