how to make computers quiet?

[luv2liv]

how do i make my computer super dooper quiet? please help.

its so loud, i can hear from another floor. unbelievable! i would get these headaches cause of the noise pollution n thought it was nothing. till i realized the source of the headache was really the comp.

one thing i did was just cut loose all of the fans. that wasnt too smart cause next thing i know, its really hot

 

[tweakmm]

search for 'quiet' in cases and cooling

 

[luv2liv]

tweakmm
thanx i knew it was somewhere.
i'll definitely look into it further there

 

[tweakmm]

trust me, I know what you are going though. I actualy just got a new case in today and hopefully my panaflos will get in before the weekend. I had a 120 mm fan in my old case.... sounded like a freaking jet.....

 

[toant103]

take all the fans out. even the cpu. hehhehe.

 

[lowtech1]

1. Turn it off
2. Duct tape a pillow on each side of the case.
3. Large hammer.
4. Replace the fans, case & hdd with quiet low dB ones.
5. Put it in a separate room & uses long cables/wireless.

 

[Viper GTS]

Invest in quality fans, pay the extra for cool running CPUs (Tualatin P3 is an excellent choice), avoid video cards that require active cooling (I run a G450), modify your power supply with a quieter fan, buy quieter drives (Seagate Barracuda IV, Kenwood 72X).

It's very possible to have a fast but quiet system.

Viper GTS

 

[JeffSpicoli]

Dood,

1. Turn it off
2. Wear ear plugs.

Otherwise, I once saw an article in MaximumPC mag about some space age noise dampening stuff you could tape to the inside of your PC that was supposed to reduce noise. Don't remember the specifics though. Sides, it's probably cheaper to get quieter fans. Ear plugs are really cheap, though.

 

[benhar]

If you are running an Athlon, and are willing to spend around 40 bucks, replace your hsf with an Alpha PAL 8045 heatsink and stick a 80mm Panaflo L1A on it. And if they fit, replace all of your case fans with the Panaflos. These things are super quiet. My computer runs at a whisper. You can get the Panaflo fans for $2.95 here, and I'd recommend Newegg for the heatsink. However, there is a catch to the Panaflos; you must have a minimum of a $15 dollar order. I'd recommend trying the cases and cooling forum to see if there is a better deal on the panaflos and to make sure the hsf is right for your processor.

My 2 cents.

 

[tweakmm]

<< If you are running an Athlon, and are willing to spend around 40 bucks, replace your hsf with an Alpha PAL 8045 heatsink and stick a 80mm Panaflo L1A on it. And if they fit, replace all of your case fans with the Panaflos. These things are super quiet. My computer runs at a whisper. You can get the Panaflo fans for $2.95 here, and I'd recommend Newegg for the heatsink. However, there is a catch to the Panaflos; you must have a minimum of a $15 dollar order. I'd recommend trying the cases and cooling forum to see if there is a better deal on the panaflos and to make sure the hsf is right for your processor.

My 2 cents. >>


this is exactly what i am doing currently.

 

[freebee]

Or the simple answer, buy a Dell.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Water will dampen the sound of your computer, do you have a 75Gal fishtank?

but seriously have you thought of water cooling?

Just make sure you have a full pitcher of water near by incase you "accidently" turn your PC on while putting the water block on <--couldn't resist

 

[Scootin159]

<< If you are running an Athlon, and are willing to spend around 40 bucks, replace your hsf with an Alpha PAL 8045 heatsink and stick a 80mm Panaflo L1A on it. And if they fit, replace all of your case fans with the Panaflos. These things are super quiet. My computer runs at a whisper. You can get the Panaflo fans for $2.95 here, and I'd recommend Newegg for the heatsink. However, there is a catch to the Panaflos; you must have a minimum of a $15 dollar order. I'd recommend trying the cases and cooling forum to see if there is a better deal on the panaflos and to make sure the hsf is right for your processor.

My 2 cents. >>



They are $2.95 HERE as well, but no minimum order

 

[CSoup]

Yeah, I get those headaches too. You can use ear plugs to reduce the sound. You might also want to investigate quieter fans and sound insulation for your case (cheap insulation is roofing material).

 

[ThaGrandCow]

If you're replacing the fans, look into a new power supply with a low noise fan in it. I think my power supply is one of the loudest fans in my computer.

 

[Scootin159]

<< If you're replacing the fans, look into a new power supply with a low noise fan in it. I think my power supply is one of the loudest fans in my computer. >>



Just replace the fan in your existing PSU - MUCH cheeper & if done right, MUCH quieter.

 

[Nefrodite]

get a nice metal case clad in plastic, i find it muffles the vibrations/sound a bit.

get temperature controlled fans, i think dansdata.com recently reviewed two.

some cases, li lian? have fan speed control switches.

use or rig larger low rpm fans in place of loud little fans. good place to replace generally cpu fan

rubber spaces between fan/case.

buy accoustic foam and attach it to as many surfaces inside case as possible. i got mine from some home hardware site, i can't ermember bloody sites addy but it was 1/2" skinned pretty dense self adhessive stuff, works like a charm

get a nice temperature controlled powersupply.. or just carefully replace your current powersupplies fan with a low rpm ver. thats what i did i just stuck in a temperature controlled 80mm fan in place of the original and didn't place the temp probe anywhere near heat runs nice and slow all the time, now my pc's pretty damn quiet. i'd still rather have pure silence though

if you do bother opening your powersupply be warned, if you don't know what your doing.. maybe you shouldn't try. stuff in there can shock you. i don't even run the ps fan off the fan header in there, rather not fiddle

 

[bandXtrb]

I have a very quiet computer. What I did is:

* put the hard disk in a black plastic enclosure called a SilentDrive (see molex.com)
* replaced all fans -- including power supply and Northbridge chip fan -- with Papst 8412NGL 80mm fans .. very, very quiet
* got a special larger heatsink that allows me to use one of my 80mm Papst fans on it instead of a 60mm.

remember, louder and slower fans are much quieter than smaller and faster fans while pushing a similar amount of air. The Northbridge fan was 40mm, and rally noisy, so I took it out, and just hang the 80mm in front of it.

The Silentdrive enclosure helps a lot in isolating the high pitched whiny sound of my hard disk. Unfortunately, my system has a heat problem from using these "low flow" fans, and I have to keep the hard disk out of the case with a fan pointed at it, but it's worth it, because my system is pretty darn silent.

 

[Lars]

easy - turn it off

 

[vegetation]

Don't forget that the hard drive tends to make a lot of noise too, especially if it's 7200rpm variety. Older drives will grow louder as they age. Might want to consider getting some newer 5400 rpm drives.

 

[Kaervak]

<< Don't forget that the hard drive tends to make a lot of noise too, especially if it's 7200rpm variety. Older drives will grow louder as they age. >>



The loudest part of my system. When it's spinning, it has this lovely whine to it. That's the only part I need to make quieter.

 

[Nefrodite]

yup 7200 rpm can be loud, but it depends on model, some drives are pretty quiet, others aren't. you can get an enclosure or just pack your case with acoustic foam i can't really hear my harddrive at all

 

[Kadarin]

<< how do i make my computer super dooper quiet? please help. >>



Sell on eBay, then purchase iMac.

 

[littlezipp]

Depending on what kind of setup you are running, you might not even need a case fan, but it is a good way to keep air flowing. When I had a P3 800, all I had was the cpu fan and the fan on the power supply. It never overheated, and the cds came out normal temp. What kind of processor do you have in your computer? Be careful if you choose to do what Viper said and change the power supply fans. It will void the power supply... Just make sure not to touch the capasitors.

 

[b0mbrman]

My solution was to get Klipsch 4.1's and just drown the fans out with loud rock music