I want to make my computer fans QUIET!! Help?

[Trevelyan]

Okay... my computer is the following:

400watt (good brand) PSU
Ti4200 128MB video card
AMD 2000XP with oem HSF
Has a 120mm fan in front, and 80mm fan in back for outtake


So here's what I want to do: I want to make my computer quieter... it's not super loud now, but the main problem is that the fans are just crap... sometimes they sound fine, but then sometimes they get real high pitched and make weird noises... almost like they are dieing or just plain CRAP.

So I want to replace:
- One 120mm fan for front of case
- One 80mm fan for back of case
- One HSF on my video card
- One HSF (or just fan) on my XP2000 CPU
- Maybe the fan in my PSU, if that's possible

So what fans should I get? I don't want to sacrifice a lot of cooling, because I do overclock my video card...

 

[Davegod]

work out what is noisiest and quieten it until something else is the noisiest bit, then work on that etc...

maybe replace your case fans, maybe even a drop of oil will quieten them down. 120mm intake and 80mm outtake is an odd configuration, usually good to balance airflow equally or have more on the outtake. Deciding what fan to go with is up to you, not so easy when you only have one each end, might find this page useful ttp://www.gizzo.8m.com/fans/ Panaflo seem to be rated for quality & low noise, YS Tech also does some fans with decent noise for decent CFM.

for quiet hsf, maybe best way is go for a big copper hs and stick a low rpm fan on it. I get the impression a SLK800 would fit the bill though maybe relatively trickly to install, heavy, lots of $ etc. useful page for hsf http://www.dansdata.com/coolercomp.htm If youre temps are good now you can get away with a lower rpm/cfm fan which means a little less noise.

dunno about the gfx card, depends how much you want to spend... probably looking at something by zalman.

 

[Trevelyan]

Definately the HSF on my CPU and the one on my video card are the loudest... they spin really fast and are the most annoying out of everything...

So should I replace them first?

 

[DaveSimmons]

There are guides and recommendations at www.silentpcreview.com you might be able to just use "fanmate" devices to slow down the fans, but for both CPU and vidcard this will make the temps rise. Quiet generally means lower airflow which means more heat.

 

[John P]

If you are not overclocking just throw an SVC GC68 on your CPU with either the stock fan or a Panaflo L1A. A tad bit noisier but more CFM you could use a Thermaltake Smart Case Fan. The GC68 won't help with cooling much but it's cheap, if you have some cash do the above with one of the Thermalright heat sinks.

If you are not overclocking (or even if you are) you don't necessarily need an intake and exhuast fan (your PS fan is probably enough exhaust). If you want them stick in some panaflo L1A's or NMB ultra quiet fans (80mm) or Vantec Stealth (120mm). The Thermaltake Smart Case Fan works nicely too and is cheap, but is a tad noisier. Run your computer with the fans off, either fan on, or both fans on and monitor your case tempurature. Depending on the case it may not be necessary to run them all.

This will cut your noise in half if not 2/3 (at least it did in my case). Depends on loud your PS fans are.

You can buy all the above for fairly cheap form www.svc.com.

 

[Trevelyan]

I have already a Thermaltake HSF for my videocard from the SVC.com site, but it's 26dBA... so it's kinda loud... but nothing on SVC.com is quieter than that except the Zalman thing but it's real expensive.

 

[Viper96720]

Uh 26dba is quiet for a fan

 

[spanky]

do u know which fan is making the most noise? my guess would be the cpu fan and the case fans. over in the cases and cooling forum... many ppl say the panaflo l1a is the best. also there are some 80mm nmb that are super quiet, those not as powerful as the panaflo. as for the hsf... if ur heatsink allows... u can mount a panaflo on top and that will make for a nice quiet rig.

 

[vegetation]

I don't know what size fan your video and cpu are using, but you should only use 80mm and larger for your entire system. Those smaller fan sizes can shoot out that high freq sound you hear. On the dba scale it's pretty soft actually, but the high freq is what makes you go insane. Keep in mind not everyone can hear those frequencies. Also, for your bigger fans, see if you can cut the voltage down so they spin at a lower rpm, the noise will drop considerably.

 

[imported_Phil]

I have the same problem, my 80mm Sunon fan in the front of the Supermicro case is well noisy, the HSF ontop of my Duron and the fan on top of my Radeon 9k card are really quite quiet.

I'd recommend looking at quietpc.com, they stock lots of fans and cooling stuff to quieten your PC down. PC Pro (here in the UK) played with a few bits and pieces and saw quite a noticeable drop in sound levels after installing their products. AFAIK, they do all the fans you want. Don't quote me on that though lol

Phil