How to Silence a Computer
source:
http://technoblog.org/?p=73
CPUs, hard drives, power supplies, video
cards, RAM ? they all generate heat, so your computer needs cooling.
Some PC cases have up to five or more cooling fans, which create a lot
of noise. Drastic options for reducing noise include placing your
computer in a ?machine room? and using mouse/keyboard/monitor extender
cables, or buying a special rack enclosure designed to house, quiet,
and cool PCs. However, you can often reduce noise levels sufficiently
with a thorough analysis and treatment of computer itself. To turn your
roaring beastie into a silent computer requires minimizing heat
build-up, choosing the quietest cooling methods possible, then using
appropriate acoustical treatment. Although I?ve recommended a few
specific products, there are so many options (with new ones arriving
all the time) it?s impossible to cover all of them. Therefore, this
article describes noise reduction basics so you can make informed
decisions on the best approach for treating your PC. See the links at
the end on where to find more information on products and silencing
techniques.
Power supplies and fans
A poorly-designed power supply is usually the major noise generator
in a PC. Inexpensive (cheap!) fans may have poorly designed blades that
cause the air to oscillate at audible frequencies as it?s pulled
through the fan housing, as well as inexpensive, noisy bearings. Better
fans have improved ball bearings or noiseless sleeve bearings designed
to rotate at high RPM with little friction, and a more efficient blade
design. Unfortunately, with power supplies it?s hard for sleeve-bearing
fans to move enough air, so ball bearing-based units are usually
preferred. A ?bonus? of ball bearing fans is that they often get
noisier just before failing, whereas sleeve-bearing fans can seize up
without your knowing it potentially leading to failure of the whole
power supply. Audible oscillation of air can be generated as the fan
pulls air past internal components, adding even more noise.
Poorly-designed chassis holes in the power supply?s case often cause an
audible ?siren effect? as air is forced through the openings. Unlike
older single-speed power supply fans, some of the better power supplies
now available include temperature-sensing circuits and variable speed
control so the fan rotates only as quickly as needed for proper
cooling. This is good for audio applications, but make sure you check
out any power supply under full load; a unit that?s quiet when idling
can get very noisy when the fan?s higher speeds kick in. There are now
off-the-shelf power supplies that produce in excess of 350W yet are
virtually inaudible. Installing a quiet fan in the power supply can be
a worthwhile upgrade, but the procedure requires a qualified
technician. Power supply capacitors can retain a lethal shock, even
when unplugged. Also, the fan connector may be non-standard or may
require a direct solder connection to the board.
There are some relatively new models of fan-less power supplies now
avaiable which are very well designed and very efficient, but remember
that the main source of venting for most internal case heat build-up is
usually the power supply fan so you may have to install an extra case
fan anyway to exhaust the internal case heat. Also, a fan-less power
supply may not need a fan because it doesn?t produce a very high
output, so you may not be able to expand your computer without pushing
it over the edge. There are more elaborate silencing methods, such as
water or oil cooling, but these options are generally impractical in
the typical sound production/playback environment. When selecting a
power supply, look for ?sheathed? cables that supply 5V and 12V power
on the ATX connector (as well as the serial ATA connectors if so
equipped) to the PC?s various components. These improve airflow and
don?t have gaps that can generate noise as air goes through them. I?ve
had excellent results with the QTechnology line of power supplies;
they?re quiet, efficient, and have sheathed cables.
Special fan-less power supplies are now available such as this impressive 503 watt model made by SilentMaxx. How about ?0' dbA!
Some power supplies have the exhaust fan mounted on the power
supply?s bottom. This helps keep fan noise inside the case rather than
directly out of the back where there?s a more direct path to your ear.
However, as the area at the top of the inside of the case behind the
power supply gets less air flow, try to mount hard drives toward the
bottom of the case to avoid inadvertently creating ?heat pockets.?
This Ultra Quiet 460W Gold Series power supply unitmade by QTechnology
is super quiet, generating only 17db(A), with an overall acoustic noise
level range of 17 - 26dB(A).
CPU coolers
Older CPU coolers used heat sinks with a relatively small surface
area, coupled with a fixed RPM high-speed fan to move air over the
small surface area. Newer CPU cooling systems may use copper instead of
aluminum for better heat transfer, and elaborate heat sink designs that
dissipate more heat into the air. If you couple these with a large fan,
the fan can rotate more slowly, further reducing noise levels even
further. Some heat sink/fan designs, as used in some products pioneered
by Zalman, don?t couple the two components directly; the fan used in
this example may be much larger than traditional designs, and suspended
over the CPU heat sink by a special frame that connects to the PC
chassis. This reduces noise dramatically due to using a larger fan, and
minimizing noise-causing air flow effects. There are also some new
models of CPU coolers from that have special sealed internal channels
which contain chemical gases that cool more efficiently that
traditional pure solid elements such as aluminium or even copper.
This radical new Zalman design reduces noise by eliminating the fan
cowling and throat by suspending the fan blades insite the heatsink
itself. The innovative deployment of heat pipes transfers heat from the the
CPU via copper pipes into the aluminium fins for efficient dissapation
in the ?Freezer 64' model from Arctic-Cooling.
Some newer CPU?s themselves have an improved physical architecture
incorporating a narrower internal buss width and generate far less heat
as a result. VIA even has a ?fanless? CPU, but the math processing
capabilities ? which are crucial for audio ? are less powerful than the
better-known CPUs. (It?s fine for general office duty, however.) CPU
fan upgrade kits usually include thermal ?grease,? a paste that
maximizes thermal conductivity between the heat sink and the CPU. But
it?s worth spending a little more for something like Arctic Silver 5,
which has a special formulation incorporating a high-density filling of
micronized silver and thermally conductive ceramic particles.
Hard drives
One of the most painful experiences I ever had in an audio career
that spans 20+ years was editing on my first digital audio workstation,
which had a Seagate Barracuda II SCSI hard drive. The whine was almost
intolerable. Seagate figured out this was a problem, and their newer
Barracuda drives are almost silent right out of the box, largely due to
a new fluid-bearing design. These drives are now common in audio
workstations. If you have a noisy drive, you can mount it in a special
audio baffle unit that fits in a spare 5-1/4? drive bay such as the
original ?SilentDrive? which is fine for drives dissapating heat levels
up to 6.8 watts or for hotter-running drives you can use an enclosure
like the Silentmaxx Aluminum Hard Drive Enclosure which can even handle
the heat from 10,000 RPM drives, or build a baffle around the area
where the drive is mounted with special sheets of acoustic materials
designed for this purpose.
The Silentmaxx Aluminum Hard Drive Enclosure. It?s about as sexy as aluminum can get! The original SilentDrive. It?s made of special thermal plastic with tow aluminum plates to transfer heat outside the enclosure.
Note that heat builds up quickly in an enclosed space. Using an
enclosure used to only work for5,400 RPM drives, and most (but not all)
7,200 RPM drives without overheating them until the newer enclosures
became avaiable. Inexpensive, stick-on thermal monitors can indicate
the drive temperature, which you can check against the manufacturer?s
temperature ratings to make sure you?re not cooking the drive. 10,000+
RPM drives are much more difficult to silence but it can be done. Be
realistic about what kind of track counts you need; a slower drive
might create a more pleasant working environment.
Case fans
Case fans, CPU fans, motherboard, and video card cooling fans share
the same design considerations described under ?Power Supplies,? and
you pretty much get what you pay for. You can also decrease case fan
noise with vibration isolation. Even rubber grommets placed over the
mounting bolts, between the fan frame and the surface to which the fan
mounts, will help reduce the transfer of vibrations to areas of the
case that can resonate sympathetically and acoustically amplify the
noise. You could also cut your own gaskets out of sound dampening
materials and place them between the fan and mounting area. Recently,
Acousti Products has introduced some fairly inexpensive, yet effective,
silicone gel fan mounting grommets and similar fan gaskets. Acoustic
absorbing materials (available from companies that sell components for
quieting PCs) can be placed around the airflow path inside the case to
absorb noise. Just be careful not to impede the airflow itself.
Standard 80mm case fans usually come in one or two wiring
configurations, and each has its own type of connector. A four-pin
Molex connector (like the type that supplies power to a hard disk
drive) delivers 12V DC. It doesn?t inherently accommodate speed
control. The ?three-wire? type of fan allows feedback from the fan so
the user can see the fan speed, and/or an alarm can sound if the fan
fails. If your three-pin fan speed isn?t controlled by the motherboard,
inexpensive fan speed controls let you limit the fan speed to a lower
RPM. This can drop unwanted noise levels quite a bit, but make sure
there?s still enough airflow to dissipate heat.
AcoustiFans from Acousti Products come in various sizes including 80mm, 92mm and 120mm.
Fan specifications
A fan?s spec sheet will specify air throughput in ?CFM,? or
cubic-feet-per-minute. As a general rule, bigger is better; a 120mm fan
rotating at a low speed with usually move more air than a smaller fan
running at a higher RPM. I?ve had the best results so far with the
AcoustiFan 120mm fans from Acousti Products, which are literally
inaudible. CASES Many people feel that aluminum cases are better at
dissipating internal heat buildup than steel; however, a thick steel
case reduces mechanical transmission and sympathetic resonance, while
providing a barrier mass to stop internal sound from getting out of the
case. Well-fitted case parts can help reduce noise that escapes through
cracks (e.g., where the side panels meet the front bezel). Some people
leave the side of their PC off, thinking it provides more ventilation.
However, many cases need to be fully assembled for the air flow design
to work effectively. When evaluating PC cases, consider getting a
full-sized tower instead of a smaller tower even if you don?t need the
extra space. A larger internal space means that less air needs to go
through the system per minute. Always think ?efficient air flow? and
?convection is good? when installing internal components. If you can
leave some air space between multiple hard drives, do so.
Acoustic treatment
There are several user-installable sound dampening/absorbing
aftermarket kits. These are usually a better buy than purchasing a case
with the materials pre-installed, because you can customize the
installation to your specific hardware. The best kits contain at least
one type of foam to absorb noise acoustically, along with sound
dampening material to inhibit sympathetic vibrations. Kits with a good
barrier mass component are ideal; they reduce unwanted resonance and
block sound energy. Watch out with cheaper kits ? one product I was
fire testing burst into flames in just a few seconds when I held a
match to it, and burned profusely while emitting toxic fumes. I have
achieved the best results by far with AcoustiPack kits from Acousti
Products. These incorporate properly designed, fire-resistant
open-celled acoustic foam sheets plus a thick rubbery barrier mass.
The AcoustiPack kits from Acousti Products are the best available in the world.
Accessories for heat control
Motherboard heat sinks, video card heat sinks, memory heat sink
spreaders, and round cables (as opposed to ?ribbon? types) are good.
Additional heat sinks can help pull concentrated heat out to areas
where the heat buildup can be more efficiently dealt with by the fans.
Also, new ?heat pipe? technologies (e.g., from Zalman) seem very
promising for improving heat dissipation.
PC cases - the final frontier
If you are building your system from scratch or if you want to
relocate your components in a new case specifically designed for
silence there are now a variety of options available and they come with
a wide range of price tags. You can opt for a well-designed
conventional case that has comes with acoustic treatment and special
goodies like sound-absorbing feet such as the AcoustiCase pictured
immediately below or you can go the whole distance and get a case that
has zero noise whatsoever - yes, you did read that correctly: ZERO
NOISE. Here are a couple of noise eliminatoring solutions for you to
drool over:
This AcoustiCase looks simply elegant and yet unassuming ? ? until we look inside to see the fitted custom acoustic
treatment. A reasonably economical and highly effective solution to the
problem of PC noise.
? and The Zalman ?Totally No Noise? zero noise solution:
It looks very industrial ? ? ? because it is. The case incorporates a very sophisticated
network of heat reduction technologies to achieve the ultimate in quiet
case technology.
Installation considerations
If a computer is not in a rack, place it on a carpet or some other
soft surface to avoid mechanical sound transfer into the floor or other
surface on which it sits. Place it as far as possible from reflective
surfaces, and put soft carpet or acoustic energy absorbing material on
surrounding surfaces to minimize sound reflections. There are a few
special ?case feet? on the market that reduce or eliminate mechanical
transfer of noise to hard surfaces; I?ve had excellent results with
QuietFeet from Quiet PC and also the AcoustiFeet from Acousti Products.
Final comments
Some kits contain a mix of various bits of hardware such as a quiet
power supply, CPU cooler, and case fan. Fortron makes some excellent
kits for folks on tight budgets. Regarding video cards, you don?t need
a gaming card with a loud fan for most audio work. Less video card
memory also means less heat. Many new hard drives and CD-R/DVD
components have a smart onboard BIOS that some ?thermally intelligent?
motherboards such as the ?Green? motherboards made by Fujitsu Siemens
can directly control. Some motherboards have on-board thermal sensors,
along with connectors for addition sensors that can be placed inside
the case, for advanced thermal control. The fans connected to the
motherboard will be speed-controlled accordingly. Also, don?t trust all
of the dB specs you read for computer components; sadly, many are
fabrications. You can generally trust established companies with large
product lines and a long production history. The final and surest way
to silence a PC is simply to turn it off. A recommended follow-up
procedure is to go outside into an area filled with nature?s serene
beauty, or if it?s night-time, possibly a friendly tavern that serves
up a good pint, but only if it has good music . . . or better yet,
silence!
source:
http://technoblog.org/?p=73
CPUs, hard drives, power supplies, video
cards, RAM ? they all generate heat, so your computer needs cooling.
Some PC cases have up to five or more cooling fans, which create a lot
of noise. Drastic options for reducing noise include placing your
computer in a ?machine room? and using mouse/keyboard/monitor extender
cables, or buying a special rack enclosure designed to house, quiet,
and cool PCs. However, you can often reduce noise levels sufficiently
with a thorough analysis and treatment of computer itself. To turn your
roaring beastie into a silent computer requires minimizing heat
build-up, choosing the quietest cooling methods possible, then using
appropriate acoustical treatment. Although I?ve recommended a few
specific products, there are so many options (with new ones arriving
all the time) it?s impossible to cover all of them. Therefore, this
article describes noise reduction basics so you can make informed
decisions on the best approach for treating your PC. See the links at
the end on where to find more information on products and silencing
techniques.
Power supplies and fans
A poorly-designed power supply is usually the major noise generator
in a PC. Inexpensive (cheap!) fans may have poorly designed blades that
cause the air to oscillate at audible frequencies as it?s pulled
through the fan housing, as well as inexpensive, noisy bearings. Better
fans have improved ball bearings or noiseless sleeve bearings designed
to rotate at high RPM with little friction, and a more efficient blade
design. Unfortunately, with power supplies it?s hard for sleeve-bearing
fans to move enough air, so ball bearing-based units are usually
preferred. A ?bonus? of ball bearing fans is that they often get
noisier just before failing, whereas sleeve-bearing fans can seize up
without your knowing it potentially leading to failure of the whole
power supply. Audible oscillation of air can be generated as the fan
pulls air past internal components, adding even more noise.
Poorly-designed chassis holes in the power supply?s case often cause an
audible ?siren effect? as air is forced through the openings. Unlike
older single-speed power supply fans, some of the better power supplies
now available include temperature-sensing circuits and variable speed
control so the fan rotates only as quickly as needed for proper
cooling. This is good for audio applications, but make sure you check
out any power supply under full load; a unit that?s quiet when idling
can get very noisy when the fan?s higher speeds kick in. There are now
off-the-shelf power supplies that produce in excess of 350W yet are
virtually inaudible. Installing a quiet fan in the power supply can be
a worthwhile upgrade, but the procedure requires a qualified
technician. Power supply capacitors can retain a lethal shock, even
when unplugged. Also, the fan connector may be non-standard or may
require a direct solder connection to the board.
There are some relatively new models of fan-less power supplies now
avaiable which are very well designed and very efficient, but remember
that the main source of venting for most internal case heat build-up is
usually the power supply fan so you may have to install an extra case
fan anyway to exhaust the internal case heat. Also, a fan-less power
supply may not need a fan because it doesn?t produce a very high
output, so you may not be able to expand your computer without pushing
it over the edge. There are more elaborate silencing methods, such as
water or oil cooling, but these options are generally impractical in
the typical sound production/playback environment. When selecting a
power supply, look for ?sheathed? cables that supply 5V and 12V power
on the ATX connector (as well as the serial ATA connectors if so
equipped) to the PC?s various components. These improve airflow and
don?t have gaps that can generate noise as air goes through them. I?ve
had excellent results with the QTechnology line of power supplies;
they?re quiet, efficient, and have sheathed cables.
Special fan-less power supplies are now available such as this impressive 503 watt model made by SilentMaxx. How about ?0' dbA!
Some power supplies have the exhaust fan mounted on the power
supply?s bottom. This helps keep fan noise inside the case rather than
directly out of the back where there?s a more direct path to your ear.
However, as the area at the top of the inside of the case behind the
power supply gets less air flow, try to mount hard drives toward the
bottom of the case to avoid inadvertently creating ?heat pockets.?
This Ultra Quiet 460W Gold Series power supply unitmade by QTechnology
is super quiet, generating only 17db(A), with an overall acoustic noise
level range of 17 - 26dB(A).
CPU coolers
Older CPU coolers used heat sinks with a relatively small surface
area, coupled with a fixed RPM high-speed fan to move air over the
small surface area. Newer CPU cooling systems may use copper instead of
aluminum for better heat transfer, and elaborate heat sink designs that
dissipate more heat into the air. If you couple these with a large fan,
the fan can rotate more slowly, further reducing noise levels even
further. Some heat sink/fan designs, as used in some products pioneered
by Zalman, don?t couple the two components directly; the fan used in
this example may be much larger than traditional designs, and suspended
over the CPU heat sink by a special frame that connects to the PC
chassis. This reduces noise dramatically due to using a larger fan, and
minimizing noise-causing air flow effects. There are also some new
models of CPU coolers from that have special sealed internal channels
which contain chemical gases that cool more efficiently that
traditional pure solid elements such as aluminium or even copper.
This radical new Zalman design reduces noise by eliminating the fan
cowling and throat by suspending the fan blades insite the heatsink
itself. The innovative deployment of heat pipes transfers heat from the the
CPU via copper pipes into the aluminium fins for efficient dissapation
in the ?Freezer 64' model from Arctic-Cooling.
Some newer CPU?s themselves have an improved physical architecture
incorporating a narrower internal buss width and generate far less heat
as a result. VIA even has a ?fanless? CPU, but the math processing
capabilities ? which are crucial for audio ? are less powerful than the
better-known CPUs. (It?s fine for general office duty, however.) CPU
fan upgrade kits usually include thermal ?grease,? a paste that
maximizes thermal conductivity between the heat sink and the CPU. But
it?s worth spending a little more for something like Arctic Silver 5,
which has a special formulation incorporating a high-density filling of
micronized silver and thermally conductive ceramic particles.
Hard drives
One of the most painful experiences I ever had in an audio career
that spans 20+ years was editing on my first digital audio workstation,
which had a Seagate Barracuda II SCSI hard drive. The whine was almost
intolerable. Seagate figured out this was a problem, and their newer
Barracuda drives are almost silent right out of the box, largely due to
a new fluid-bearing design. These drives are now common in audio
workstations. If you have a noisy drive, you can mount it in a special
audio baffle unit that fits in a spare 5-1/4? drive bay such as the
original ?SilentDrive? which is fine for drives dissapating heat levels
up to 6.8 watts or for hotter-running drives you can use an enclosure
like the Silentmaxx Aluminum Hard Drive Enclosure which can even handle
the heat from 10,000 RPM drives, or build a baffle around the area
where the drive is mounted with special sheets of acoustic materials
designed for this purpose.
The Silentmaxx Aluminum Hard Drive Enclosure. It?s about as sexy as aluminum can get! The original SilentDrive. It?s made of special thermal plastic with tow aluminum plates to transfer heat outside the enclosure.
Note that heat builds up quickly in an enclosed space. Using an
enclosure used to only work for5,400 RPM drives, and most (but not all)
7,200 RPM drives without overheating them until the newer enclosures
became avaiable. Inexpensive, stick-on thermal monitors can indicate
the drive temperature, which you can check against the manufacturer?s
temperature ratings to make sure you?re not cooking the drive. 10,000+
RPM drives are much more difficult to silence but it can be done. Be
realistic about what kind of track counts you need; a slower drive
might create a more pleasant working environment.
Case fans
Case fans, CPU fans, motherboard, and video card cooling fans share
the same design considerations described under ?Power Supplies,? and
you pretty much get what you pay for. You can also decrease case fan
noise with vibration isolation. Even rubber grommets placed over the
mounting bolts, between the fan frame and the surface to which the fan
mounts, will help reduce the transfer of vibrations to areas of the
case that can resonate sympathetically and acoustically amplify the
noise. You could also cut your own gaskets out of sound dampening
materials and place them between the fan and mounting area. Recently,
Acousti Products has introduced some fairly inexpensive, yet effective,
silicone gel fan mounting grommets and similar fan gaskets. Acoustic
absorbing materials (available from companies that sell components for
quieting PCs) can be placed around the airflow path inside the case to
absorb noise. Just be careful not to impede the airflow itself.
Standard 80mm case fans usually come in one or two wiring
configurations, and each has its own type of connector. A four-pin
Molex connector (like the type that supplies power to a hard disk
drive) delivers 12V DC. It doesn?t inherently accommodate speed
control. The ?three-wire? type of fan allows feedback from the fan so
the user can see the fan speed, and/or an alarm can sound if the fan
fails. If your three-pin fan speed isn?t controlled by the motherboard,
inexpensive fan speed controls let you limit the fan speed to a lower
RPM. This can drop unwanted noise levels quite a bit, but make sure
there?s still enough airflow to dissipate heat.
AcoustiFans from Acousti Products come in various sizes including 80mm, 92mm and 120mm.
Fan specifications
A fan?s spec sheet will specify air throughput in ?CFM,? or
cubic-feet-per-minute. As a general rule, bigger is better; a 120mm fan
rotating at a low speed with usually move more air than a smaller fan
running at a higher RPM. I?ve had the best results so far with the
AcoustiFan 120mm fans from Acousti Products, which are literally
inaudible. CASES Many people feel that aluminum cases are better at
dissipating internal heat buildup than steel; however, a thick steel
case reduces mechanical transmission and sympathetic resonance, while
providing a barrier mass to stop internal sound from getting out of the
case. Well-fitted case parts can help reduce noise that escapes through
cracks (e.g., where the side panels meet the front bezel). Some people
leave the side of their PC off, thinking it provides more ventilation.
However, many cases need to be fully assembled for the air flow design
to work effectively. When evaluating PC cases, consider getting a
full-sized tower instead of a smaller tower even if you don?t need the
extra space. A larger internal space means that less air needs to go
through the system per minute. Always think ?efficient air flow? and
?convection is good? when installing internal components. If you can
leave some air space between multiple hard drives, do so.
Acoustic treatment
There are several user-installable sound dampening/absorbing
aftermarket kits. These are usually a better buy than purchasing a case
with the materials pre-installed, because you can customize the
installation to your specific hardware. The best kits contain at least
one type of foam to absorb noise acoustically, along with sound
dampening material to inhibit sympathetic vibrations. Kits with a good
barrier mass component are ideal; they reduce unwanted resonance and
block sound energy. Watch out with cheaper kits ? one product I was
fire testing burst into flames in just a few seconds when I held a
match to it, and burned profusely while emitting toxic fumes. I have
achieved the best results by far with AcoustiPack kits from Acousti
Products. These incorporate properly designed, fire-resistant
open-celled acoustic foam sheets plus a thick rubbery barrier mass.
The AcoustiPack kits from Acousti Products are the best available in the world.
Accessories for heat control
Motherboard heat sinks, video card heat sinks, memory heat sink
spreaders, and round cables (as opposed to ?ribbon? types) are good.
Additional heat sinks can help pull concentrated heat out to areas
where the heat buildup can be more efficiently dealt with by the fans.
Also, new ?heat pipe? technologies (e.g., from Zalman) seem very
promising for improving heat dissipation.
PC cases - the final frontier
If you are building your system from scratch or if you want to
relocate your components in a new case specifically designed for
silence there are now a variety of options available and they come with
a wide range of price tags. You can opt for a well-designed
conventional case that has comes with acoustic treatment and special
goodies like sound-absorbing feet such as the AcoustiCase pictured
immediately below or you can go the whole distance and get a case that
has zero noise whatsoever - yes, you did read that correctly: ZERO
NOISE. Here are a couple of noise eliminatoring solutions for you to
drool over:
This AcoustiCase looks simply elegant and yet unassuming ? ? until we look inside to see the fitted custom acoustic
treatment. A reasonably economical and highly effective solution to the
problem of PC noise.
? and The Zalman ?Totally No Noise? zero noise solution:
It looks very industrial ? ? ? because it is. The case incorporates a very sophisticated
network of heat reduction technologies to achieve the ultimate in quiet
case technology.
Installation considerations
If a computer is not in a rack, place it on a carpet or some other
soft surface to avoid mechanical sound transfer into the floor or other
surface on which it sits. Place it as far as possible from reflective
surfaces, and put soft carpet or acoustic energy absorbing material on
surrounding surfaces to minimize sound reflections. There are a few
special ?case feet? on the market that reduce or eliminate mechanical
transfer of noise to hard surfaces; I?ve had excellent results with
QuietFeet from Quiet PC and also the AcoustiFeet from Acousti Products.
Final comments
Some kits contain a mix of various bits of hardware such as a quiet
power supply, CPU cooler, and case fan. Fortron makes some excellent
kits for folks on tight budgets. Regarding video cards, you don?t need
a gaming card with a loud fan for most audio work. Less video card
memory also means less heat. Many new hard drives and CD-R/DVD
components have a smart onboard BIOS that some ?thermally intelligent?
motherboards such as the ?Green? motherboards made by Fujitsu Siemens
can directly control. Some motherboards have on-board thermal sensors,
along with connectors for addition sensors that can be placed inside
the case, for advanced thermal control. The fans connected to the
motherboard will be speed-controlled accordingly. Also, don?t trust all
of the dB specs you read for computer components; sadly, many are
fabrications. You can generally trust established companies with large
product lines and a long production history. The final and surest way
to silence a PC is simply to turn it off. A recommended follow-up
procedure is to go outside into an area filled with nature?s serene
beauty, or if it?s night-time, possibly a friendly tavern that serves
up a good pint, but only if it has good music . . . or better yet,
silence!
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