In a computer system, what piece of hardware gives most noise?

[AirForceElite]

I grew out of that age where I must have latest technology as soon as it comes out to gain few more FPS in games.
In fact due to the fact that I pretty much stopped playing games altogether, I want my next system to be very very silent, and i dont care how it will perform in games because i dont plan to play any.

I brainstormed, and pretty much came to the conclusion that there are only 3 real pieces of hardware that make the noise. (4 if you count HDD, but it doesnt really make any noise if you dont do any file intensive work like re-encoding, or moving large files, so i will leave it out)

I also know that it all depends on hardware used (for example, CPU fan can be the loudest on 1 system, but its next to silent on another because its brand name CPU fan...)

Anyways, out of CPU fan/PSU/Video card, what makes the most noise with stock fans (no name brand hardware)

Basically what I am trying to do, is for my next dual core system is so buy some budget hardware, and upgrade the hardware that makes most noise (i cant upgrade all 3 components at the same time due to low budget, i can only do 1 hardware)

 

[Synomenon]

I think the video card is usually the noisiest component.

 

[Modelworks]

If your not going to play games then there are video cards with passive cooling that make no noise.

so you would just need to get a quiet cpu cooler.
Hard drive would defenitely be last, my new seagates I can't even hear at all.

 

[AirForceElite]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that I am most likely will be getting passive video card like Modelworks suggested. I figured why would I need a powerful video card if the most video intensive task I will be doing is watching DVD movie.
So yeah, I am going for fan-less video card, thanks for suggestion.
So right now, its pretty much 2 components:

no name Power Supply (400W or so)
no name CPU Fan

P.S. Is the money spent on fanless video card worth it? I mean if I won't play games on it, why not go integrated video card to even save more money by ignoring video card?

 

[PurdueRy]

Well, theres a difference between annoying noise and just noise IMO

In my computer, my WD hard drive produces a high pitched(think CRT TV) sound when its spinning. That is the most annoying sound. Next would be the wooshing of the fans.

 

[Laminator]

I have a crappy PSU (Ultra V-Series) and it's not as loud as my Pentium D/Core 2 Duo stock cooler, which itself is pretty quiet. Your hard drive should be quieter than your fans but if it starts to get old, it will make very annoying noises. I have a WD hard drive which has the same problem as PurdueRy's. The whining/screeching noise it makes drowns out the noise of my CPU fan, but "luckily" it gets overpowered by the god-awful cooler on the X850XT. The X850XT fan is louder but the hard drive noise is migraine-inducing.

For most computers, the video card cooler is the loudest thing in the case, followed by the CPU fan. Most aftermarket VGA coolers are much quieter than stock VGA coolers, though, as well as better performing. A lot of budget video cards now come with passive cooling, and I assume you're getting one of those.

I would not recommend getting integrated graphics. A lot of people I know buy computers with integrated graphics because they think they won't game. Then when that one game comes out that they really want to play, they find that their integrated graphics set doesn't cut it by a long shot.

 

[AirForceElite]

Originally posted by: Laminator
I would not recommend getting integrated graphics. A lot of people I know buy computers with integrated graphics because they think they won't game. Then when that one game comes out that they really want to play, they find that their integrated graphics set doesn't cut it by a long shot.

It's funny that you should mention this, Laminator, but thats exactly the reason why I want to buy integrated graphics. You see i get addicted to games very fast. I played WoW like madman. Even thought right now i am free of any game addiction, it doesnt mean i wont start playing in the future (which is exactly what i dont want)

So the only solution: buy integrated card so that all games will be out of question. hehe
Yeah, i dont want to play games anymore because i think i spent too much time playing games. I am getting fatter month by month, and it has to stop. Anyways, is integrated video card that much worse than passive fanless video cards? Can those passive ones play any games? And besides, integrated costs so much less as opposed to any video card, and i am on a tight budget

 

[Ruptga]

Basically all integrated is major crap, except AMD's 690G, which is just plain crap

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...owdoc.aspx?i=2942&p=11

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Uhh your CPU and case fans should be the loudest. I can't even hear my GPU fan over them.

 

[AndeeG]

well for me it's the stock intel CPU fan and maybe the GPU when it really starts ramping up.

You should definitely visit www.silentpcreview.com and their forums. There are a lot of knowledgeable people there, many of whom are pretty crazy about silencing as much as possible.

 

[Laminator]

Originally posted by: AirForceElite
It's funny that you should mention this, Laminator, but thats exactly the reason why I want to buy integrated graphics. You see i get addicted to games very fast. I played WoW like madman. Even thought right now i am free of any game addiction, it doesnt mean i wont start playing in the future (which is exactly what i dont want)

So the only solution: buy integrated card so that all games will be out of question. hehe
Yeah, i dont want to play games anymore because i think i spent too much time playing games. I am getting fatter month by month, and it has to stop. Anyways, is integrated video card that much worse than passive fanless video cards? Can those passive ones play any games? And besides, integrated costs so much less as opposed to any video card, and i am on a tight budget

Heh...one of my close friends played too many video games in high school and did pretty badly, so when he went off to college he spend as little money on a computer as possible. Another friend of mine played WoW obsessively until his computer broke and he had to send it in for repair. He then vowed to stop playing WoW, which worked for, like, a few months. Face it: WoW is the new EverCrack.

Don't worry; integrated video cards are worse than passively-cooled discrete cards. None of the best integrated graphics solutions today (AMD X1250, nVidia 6150, Intel X3000) are as fast as my passively-cooled, 64-bit, AGP, 4-pipeline, POS GeForce 6200 that I got off of NewEgg for $40 shipped last year. And they better video decoding features, so your DVD movies should come out okay. Unfortunately, you will still be able to play WoW, UT2004, Sims 2, and most other games at low to medium settings.

By the way, if you are on a very tight budget, a pre-built system may be a better deal for you if you don't mind not building your own. A lot of them come with 19" LCD's, too.

 

[Laminator]

Originally posted by: DLeRium
Uhh your CPU and case fans should be the loudest. I can't even hear my GPU fan over them.

I guess it depends on your CPU/GPU coolers. My stock 7900GT and X850XT coolers are much louder than my Core 2 Duo coolers. I stuck a VF900 on my 7900GT and now it is inaudible over the CPU cooler, even at 100%. From what I've heard (literally), the X850XT and X1800/X1900 coolers are loud to the point of constant annoyance. I hate ATI's dual-slot blower, though the X1950's are supposed to be much better.

 

[Rubycon]

Depending on the situation the user can easily end up making the most noise. :laugh:

 

[corkyg]

Good point, Rubycon. In my systems, the most noise comes from the case fans - one on side door and another bottom front. The units are on the floor under the desk, and the noise is not really a factor one way or the other. I like to hear them - then I know the system is working.

 

[Roguestar]

My video card, when gaming, would probably be loudest but when I'm gaming I've got my headphones on and can only hear the explosions and gunfire . When not gaming and not listening to music I think it's a tie between my video card and CPU fan - I have the video card fan run really slowly when not gaming.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Depending on the situation the user can easily end up making the most noise. :laugh:

Yowsa :Q That's one noisy computer system :laugh:

I'd bet you could use a high end cooler with a couple of big low speed fans to keep cpu noise down. The C2D chips run pretty cool, and if you aren't overclocking you could run them passively.

 

[Modelworks]

I wouldn't get a board with integrated video.
Even the cheapest of video cards is better than the onboard stuff, while not playing games, you will want fast screen updates, some apps use opengl for non-game stuff, good video/movie playback, etc.