Is it possible to have a "silent" pc?

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coffeejunkee

Golden Member
Jul 31, 2010
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I know! I know! And I wouldn't expect everyone to just run like Lemmings to my "Gentle Typhoon 4250RPM/117CFM" thread to reexamine my last twenty-page edit appended to my initial post, query -- request for comment. It is entitled "Ducting for Decibels."

I can adjust that fan down to 1,250 RPM, limited by a 20% duty-cycle floor on my fans. But lets face it: some noises are so non-distinct, of such a low frequency and low decibel volume, that you only might hear them by closing doors, windows -- putting up Styrofoam insulation -- while you smoke something to create a Carlos Castaneda "Giant Fly" perception.

I think we have different definitions of what is noisy and what is not. I also rather just have my fans spin at very low rpm during light usage instead of creating all sorts of ducts or opening my windows to have the sound of my pc drowned out by traffic noise.

It might seem like I'm a picky guy - possibly even anal - about sound but it just annoys me greatly that many manufacturers prevent us from having a quiet pc by building in artificial limits. And they don't even get slammed for it in reviews, software like Fanxpert gets praised all around, while in reality it's limited in all kinds of ways. Well maybe it's an improvement if you're used to your pc sounding like a jet engine.
 

Squeetard

Senior member
Nov 13, 2004
815
7
76
I have a L shaped desk in the corner of my office. I have a fairly quiet watercooled PC but it gets noisy under load. Not really loud. But now it is dead silent. How? I put a 1"x1" hole in the wall and the tower now sits in the closet of the spare room next to this room. 10' HDMI, Optical and USB cables. My g19 has a usb hub. Zero noise, it is glorious.

Edit: Pic of my silent room.
20131023_152806_zps38df8093.jpg
 
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BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,617
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I think we have different definitions of what is noisy and what is not. I also rather just have my fans spin at very low rpm during light usage instead of creating all sorts of ducts or opening my windows to have the sound of my pc drowned out by traffic noise.

It might seem like I'm a picky guy - possibly even anal - about sound but it just annoys me greatly that many manufacturers prevent us from having a quiet pc by building in artificial limits. And they don't even get slammed for it in reviews, software like Fanxpert gets praised all around, while in reality it's limited in all kinds of ways. Well maybe it's an improvement if you're used to your pc sounding like a jet engine.

The last time I had a "jet engine," it was for using early or pre- heatpipe coolers like the Thermaltake Volcano or whatever it was called. These things allowed for either 80mm or 92mm fans, and in those days, either the software was buggy or motherboard features too primitive. And to be openly humble about it, even though I observed BIOS settings and used the motherboard headers, I just didn't figure out how to use them. But the main theme here is "primitive."

I made some more minor improvements to my "tone attenuation" project today. And like I said many times here and there -- I don't have a decibel-meter, but I can tell the difference between air-turbulence and fan tones. At this point, I couldn't tell you how different the volume of that tone might be at 1,500 without acoustic strategy and with it, but it is totally silent now, and over the course of my experiments, I moved this "noiseless" perception up the RPM ladder to around the mid-2,500's. After that, you can hear a tone if you strain, but I compared it to my running refrigerator at a casual 5' distance, and the refrigerator could be 2X or 3X as loud.

At 3,000 to 3,200 RPM, my acoustic attenuation of the Gentle-Typhoon AP-30 means that I could be running IBT on "Very High" and I'd have to "think" just to hear the tone, while the air-turbulent white-noise is just not that noticeable.

Using the computer for partial 24/7 HTPC duty as I do, I can mute the volume of the AVR, and I still can't hear that fan at 1,500 -- nor the remainder of them. So it's mostly air-turbulence when I run up IBT "Very High," and that air-turbulence is now less than your air-conditioner room-vent gushing on a very quiet day.

Maybe I should just buy the decibel-meter and find a way of posting the results.

But this isn't just about the Typhoon -- it's about selective and minimal applications of Spire foam-rubber and motherboard fan-control.

I get more airflow from the 120mm GT fan at lower noise-level but higher RPMs than I do with an AKASA square 140mm Viper -- which was still good. By itself, the Viper was a very, very quiet fan at top-end. But I had to prepare the Typhoon to bury its characteristic tone.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,617
2,023
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I have a L shaped desk in the corner of my office. I have a fairly quiet watercooled PC but it gets noisy under load. Not really loud. But now it is dead silent. How? I put a 1"x1" hole in the wall and the tower now sits in the closet of the spare room next to this room. 10' HDMI, Optical and USB cables. My g19 has a usb hub. Zero noise, it is glorious.

Edit: Pic of my silent room.
20131023_152806_zps38df8093.jpg

That's not very long for those cables, only a bit longer than the standard sizes. If you want to go further, there are 25' powered-USB cables, and 25' HDMI's -- I have both.

So I suppose you leave open the closet door in the spare room -- for ventilation? Are your idle and load temperatures good? Or could they be better?
 

Squeetard

Senior member
Nov 13, 2004
815
7
76
I leave the closet door open yes. I don't get guests in that room but once or twice a year. The temps are identical as they are in a room no different than any other room. I don't need longer cables, gonna tidy those up too and put a grommet in the wall..
Dead silent is quite awesome!
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,617
2,023
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I leave the closet door open yes. I don't get guests in that room but once or twice a year. The temps are identical as they are in a room no different than any other room. I don't need longer cables, gonna tidy those up too and put a grommet in the wall..
Dead silent is quite awesome!

No doubt, that's as good as it gets for dead silence.

I have a closet about four feet away. It is one of those under-the-stairway closets with the ceiling that slopes toward the floor. If I wanted to do the same (as much to say if I could clear out that closet), I still have the problem of so many USB -- possibly speaker connects. But I could put three computers in that closet.

Not that I plan on doing this, but I bet you could hook up a portable AC to a vent going into a closet, and exhaust it with a fan somewhere. Since the dew-point for room-temperature is somewhat lower than ambient and it's the temperature that is exclusive to closet-interior anyway, you could really put a chill on your machines. Moreover, the smaller the closet, the less power-draw on the AC, or so I might think, if it were thermally-controlled. Have to think about that, but you might fix it so that the only air exhausted comes from the exhaust vent(s) of however many computers you put in that small space.
 

sxr7171

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2002
5,079
40
91
It depends. Do you mean a fast gaming PC or just a PC? If the latter it's easily done.

Buy the biggest possible overclocking air cooler and let it cool passively. Passive power supplies are available. Use an ssd. That setup has no moving parts.

Another option was when I found a custom aluminum case maker that will make the outer case your heat sink. Those were expensive. The design is similar to those megabuck krell power amplifiers.

If you must use a case fan then make sure you get a quiet one and use a padded case. Like the antec one or the Lian Li padded case.

For gaming I found the corsair H50 to be reasonably quiet inside the Lian Li padded case. The big issue is the GPU. Even with the new MSI cooler it gets loud. I guess you would have to watercool the GPU with a corsair etc.

I used to run custom water and honestly those pumps are louder than the corsair OEM sealed water cooling systems. Also I do keep my gaming PC in the other end of the room. I use a hdmi over cat 5 solution. Maybe you could get a long display port cable.

Unfortunately I still hear the GPU fan since I have not put it on water. It makes about the same noise as an xbox but with far more power. The game audio drowns it out.
 
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sxr7171

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2002
5,079
40
91
I have a L shaped desk in the corner of my office. I have a fairly quiet watercooled PC but it gets noisy under load. Not really loud. But now it is dead silent. How? I put a 1"x1" hole in the wall and the tower now sits in the closet of the spare room next to this room. 10' HDMI, Optical and USB cables. My g19 has a usb hub. Zero noise, it is glorious.

Edit: Pic of my silent room.
20131023_152806_zps38df8093.jpg

I've considered that option once. Just put it in another room.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,617
2,023
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Well, I had the thought that there are ways to chill your processor without water or risk, if you had a closet and were willing to make the modifications that would only be a good idea if you expected long-term usage.

And generally, it depends on the extremes to which you're willing to go. To a larger number of folks several years ago, water-cooling was extreme. You can check my post of some few minutes ago on the "Typhoon" thread about extremes for high-output fans.

And the idea about making an aluminum case a heatsink would only be limited by the number of pipes you could weld into a copper CPU block or how you would bend them so they could affix to an aluminum surface of the case. At least, that's what I imagine. Zalman came out with something like that some years back . . .

I just think I can prove that it boils down to a tolerance for air-turbulent white-noise or your obsession with total silence. With a lot of games and air-cooling, I think you wouldn't hear much of the former until your CPU was approaching ~65C degrees -- if it followed my "fan-curve" prescription.
 

Squeetard

Senior member
Nov 13, 2004
815
7
76
Me again! In my other place I built a fanless PC using the AC condensor from a chev truck:

SA400168.jpg


SA400169.jpg


SA400171.jpg


It worked well, but the temps would slowly creep up when gaming. So I went back to a case, then stuck it in the closet.

So I had another idea, my rads were running on low rpm quiet fans, from when the case was in the room with me. I ordered some 2500 rpm corsair sp120's and stuck them in today. Still can't hear the pc and it knocked 3-5c off my load temps while gaming. Here is the PC in the next room closet.

20131023_152822_zps8c393bce.jpg
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,617
2,023
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Me again! In my other place I built a fanless PC using the AC condensor from a chev truck:

SA400168.jpg



It worked well, but the temps would slowly creep up when gaming. So I went back to a case, then stuck it in the closet.

So I had another idea, my rads were running on low rpm quiet fans, from when the case was in the room with me. I ordered some 2500 rpm corsair sp120's and stuck them in today. Still can't hear the pc and it knocked 3-5c off my load temps while gaming. Here is the PC in the next room closet.

So . . . I don't get it . . . a mainstream custom water-cooling configuration was better than the Chevy AC condenser?
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
So . . . I don't get it . . . a mainstream custom water-cooling configuration was better than the Chevy AC condenser?

Notice the lack of fans. A regular water cooling config would be utterly useless without fans
 

Essence_of_War

Platinum Member
Feb 21, 2013
2,650
4
81
Notice the lack of fans. A regular water cooling config would be utterly useless without fans

Yeah, convection is a cruel mistress if you're not giving it a little...push...as it were :)
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,617
2,023
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Very true...
Passively cooled, SSD equipped PC's are no mystery.


;) It's good you added that qualifier to your claim.

Even the Chevrolet has a fan on that sucker. Nice experiment, but you wouldn't even hear 2x200mm 600 RPM fans, which might be ideal for it.

But this isn't much different than passive external "radiator towers" without the evaporative "bong" aspect. You could get any automotive radiator, have it cleaned and repaired for any leaks, and have a helluva water-cooling system. But like our friend's AC condenser, where ya gonna put it? Dawns on me that with a radiator/condenser the right size, you could mod a case sidepanel -- a bit more complicated because you'd still . . . want . . . those . . . pesky . . . little FANZ!
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
21,067
3,574
126
Take out the fans, passively cool the CPU and GPU, and swap the HDDs for an SSD...

what about the powre supply? lol..

passive PSU also?

So . . . I don't get it . . . a mainstream custom water-cooling configuration was better than the Chevy AC condenser?

Size... he has a size advantage.. in which it takes longer for the radiator to reach equilibrium.
 
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MongGrel

Lifer
Dec 3, 2013
38,466
3,067
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I've several times thought about building a water loop with somthing like these as a passive radiator myself and have never done it, that or two shorter versions.

You could just mount it on the wall and let it do its thing and loop it into the system.

Pump and resoiveour, all mounted to the side of the desk and just plumb it in.

Not that ambishous these days I guess, but a wall mounted cooling system even with a couple shorter runs looped.

http://www.pexsupply.com/Slant-Fin-103061070-H-1-Heating-Element-for-Multi-Pak-80-7-ft
 
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BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,617
2,023
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Size... he has a size advantage.. in which it takes longer for the radiator to reach equilibrium.

Sure, but wouldn't that equilibrium change if he had a couple 200mm fans configured to the Chevy condenser? As it stands, it appears that his use of the condenser was left totally to passive cooling. Maybe I'm mistaken . . .
 

rgallant

Golden Member
Apr 14, 2007
1,361
11
81
what about the powre supply? lol..

passive PSU also?



Size... he has a size advantage.. in which it takes longer for the radiator to reach equilibrium.

just saying for the quest for a quiet psu

I cut a 140mm noc 800rpm [set to 650] into the cart that my system sits on with it blowing up into the seasonic x1050 in hybrid mode so the psu fan never turns on any more at idle.[couldn't handle the odds of buying something else and getting a coil whiner ]

-also installed a 550 watt psu down stairs with the rads[turned on via a 12v relay from system] to power the 2 pumps 9 rad fans ,also ran 12v back up into the system for it's fan controller,[x 8 fans]
all to lower the seasonic idle load watts to cut down on it's heat and fan ramping .
seems to work for me so far.

-over all mods to reduce sound

-last spinner 1t wd black out of system took for ever to track a whine down to it.-all ssd's now.

-used a Y to split the flow of water into a ek bay res.[pumps at 3] too much flow using only 1 port in , would hit the face and curl up and maybe mixing air with it.
-also moved the one pump in the system down with the other one.

-old apc 1000 smart ups , out for buzzing [ was used for everything but system] also a fire risk .

so over all with
-1 x 140mm noc at 650rpm , rear out
-4 x gt ap 13's 600ish , side panel
-1 x new CM 200mm at 400 rpm , front in
-1 x 140mm noc in the cart
-1 x CM 200 mm top out not used so far [ lots of air coming out]

this old haf 932 / room is really quiet now. took a month and a few bucks but cheaper than replacing the psu I blamed for all the back ground crap coming from the system.
 
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dn7309

Senior member
Dec 5, 2012
469
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Nuh uh.

The op hasn't come back to validate the brainiest posters. Therefore, it can go on forever.

:p

I like the idea of having an entire passive cooling system from the first reply lol

but I'm seriously thinking of just getting a H90 to cool my 4770k and have that act as an exhaust in push mode, and just get a nice quiet video card as soon I can get rid of my SLI set up and prices for the 290x to go down. I'm eyeing the Windforce or Sapphire Toxic version since they're cool and quiet.
 

dn7309

Senior member
Dec 5, 2012
469
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as for the PSU fan, I honestly never heard my HX750 spin at all. It doesn't spin unless it like under 80% load. My old OCZ ZT750 however, that thing roar.
 

MongGrel

Lifer
Dec 3, 2013
38,466
3,067
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Honestly I could probably make one easily, water loop, I do aerospace R&D everyday and have been for years.

Seems unnecessary to me for the quite, the big guy on my right here barely makes any noise, and I just don't like having water near my electronics.

With the aftermarket stuff out there I don't bother for day to day home use I guess, others have all ready made solutions for most problems in practical usage.
 
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