Is your computer loud?

gflores

Senior member
Jul 10, 2003
999
0
0
mine seems to be really loud when i use a lot of resources and usually the fan is on at full power, it makes quite a bit of noice, but usually a restart and not using a lot of programs, will make it quiet like a mouse. Just wondering if your computer's get loud or anything like that.
 

Finnkc

Senior member
Jul 9, 2003
422
0
0
oh ya ... I got a Termaltake Vol 11 running at like 5000 rpm ... my leaf blower in the garage would be a quieter substitute lol. Plus the 4 Coolmaster case fans at like 2500-4500 rpm ... it can get noisy, but I just turn up the SB Live 5.1 connected to the Inspire 5.1 speakers and I couldn't hear a bomb go off in the next room ....


what? ..... WHAT did you say?
 

xSauronx

Lifer
Jul 14, 2000
19,582
4
81
1 80mm intake
1 80mm exhaust
1 60mm exhaust
1 psu
1 panaflo H1A on the heatsink

i keep the tower in a cabinet thats part of my desk, its noticeable only when theres no other sound in the room, but not disturbing. and all that isnt as loud as when i just had the psu, one 80mm fan and a Volcano 7+ on high, holy crap that thing is loud
 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
30,699
1
0
Pretty quiet, with five 18dB NMB case fans, a Vantec Stealth on the CPU, a fanless video card and a fanless motherboard. It has two 15000rpm hard drives, so there's a certain amount of idle noise from them, but not bad.

gflores, it sounds to me like you have a thermally-regulated CPU fan and it's picking up speed under load, in response to the rising case temperature. Try to improve your case ventilation a little, to prevent that.
 

SWScorch

Diamond Member
May 13, 2001
9,520
1
76
my main comp is fairly loud. 2x 80mm Panaflo L1As, 1 80mm YS Tech, 1 120mm Enermax, and the two Antec PSU fans.

My server, on the other hand, has an undervolted 92mm Panaflo L1A and a 18dB NMB 80mm for the PSU, and that's it. Not even a CPU fan (AMD Athlon 1GHz @ 850MHz with Alpha PAL8045) and is silent.
 

chocoruacal

Golden Member
Nov 12, 2002
1,197
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This is such a frequently discussed issue...the quiet computer. Its an easy fix though....

Heatsink: buy the biggest one you can.
Heatsink fan: buy the quietest one that still sufficiently cools the CPU.
Power Supply: shell out $$ for a quiet one, or take your current one and replace the noisy fans with quiet ones.
Case fans: realize that your 8 case fans are the product of crazy computer forum chest beating, and whittle them down to 1 intake, 1 exhaust. Cut a hole in the side panel and build a duct to the HSF. Thats all you'll ever need. Case fans will never make the air colder than the air outside the case, so cut out the middle man and go right to the source.

NMB and Panaflos are indespensible for the quiet computer. You could have 10 NMBs in your case and you'd never know it from more than a foot away. Panaflos are a bit louder, but push a little more air.

For your HSF, what could be better than a YS Tech adjustable? You crank it up during Battlefield 1942, and turn it down at night so it doesn't sound like you're sleeping in a Huey.

For your HS, check out the Thermalright family. Great stuff, and reasonably priced.
 

pelikan

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2002
3,118
0
76
Mine's quiet. I only use panaflo L1A's and I have a duct that brings cool air in through my side panel to a 92mm L1A on my slkl-800. I can run up to 1.9V on my cpu and keep good temps.
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
76
5 Antec Blue LED case fans at 2400rpm. Single fan powersupply. Zalman 7000Cu HSF, Zalman northbridge heatsink, msi gf4 stock heatsink.

It's loud like you wouldn't believe. I'm about to send performance PCs $200 for a sleeved zalman PSU and some sleeved panaflo or zalman fans.
 

ethebubbeth

Golden Member
May 2, 2003
1,740
5
91
2x panaflo 120mm L1A (30dB each), 1x Panaflo 80mm M1A (28dB), 1x Panaflo 80mm L1 (21dB), and a panaflo 90mm L1A on heatsink (28dB). My antec truepower 380w is supposedly quiet. i dunno, the case itself is not what i'd call silent, but mostly it is just the sound of air moving (removed fan grills and installed rubber grommets) so if there's any background noise it's almost impossible to hear the comp. i am satisfied with the noise level, especially with the approximate 220cfm of total flow through i'm getting.
 

Czar

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
28,510
0
0
nope

Zalman Flower heatsink on CPU
Zalman Heatsink on graphics card

9cm zalman fan above cpu, lowest rpm setting
8cm fan outtake fan near cpu, 5v and also rpm setting medium
12cm slow rpm fan in cpu

loudest is my damn segate disk, need to replace it
 

D0S3D

Member
Jul 18, 2003
71
0
0
ohh man my computer is so quiet, i have a water cooling system in it right now and i have 3 fans running inside my comp just to release some heat, but i can manage the speed of my psu so if i just pop my side panel off then turn the psu to low fan speed it won't be loud at all

i don't mind the sound since well i can barely hear it
 

magomago

Lifer
Sep 28, 2002
10,973
14
76
Nope

I have some fan blowing air in from the side but that isn't noisy- I have a volcano 9 on the processor but its running at around 1900 RPMs and its sufficient for the time being as I can't hear it

The only problem was my fan on top was annoying to me - wasn't too loud @2400 RPMs but it had this fugly whine....so I got rid of my overclock since Counterstrike really isn't stressing a PC and then I disconnected it so my computer is really quiet - and with music playing softly you can't hear it (who the hell doesn't blast music tho ;) )
 
Jan 31, 2002
40,819
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One 1500rpm 92mm fan mounted on rubber grommets. No CPU fan, no GPU fan, Seagate Cuda IV.

*mutes speakers*

Dead silent.

:D

- M4H
 
Jan 31, 2002
40,819
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Originally posted by: SilentZero
ive been thinking of going with Zalman...anyone have any experience with them?

That's what's sitting on my CPU right now.

I'd trust the "flower" models for lower-end cooling on socket-chips, but once you get past the CNPS3100+ model, they start to get way, way too weighty for my comfort. Resting 400g+ of copper on a single clip pair isn't something I like. The P4 and Operton bolt-mounting ones I have no experience with.

If you've got a Socket A solution, I'd go with a Thermalright SLK-800/900.

- M4H
 

mrgoblin

Golden Member
Jul 28, 2003
1,075
0
0
My computer is very loud and its a compaq. It keeps me up at night. I cant even begin to imagine what a slk 900u and some case fans and some in/out fans must sound like.
 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
30,699
1
0
Your best bet is a Radio Shack digital indoor/outdoor thermometer. What's your case ventilation like?
 

50

Platinum Member
May 7, 2003
2,717
0
0
I really don't know how to make mine more quiet. I really don't have all that much making noise, its mainly he Hard Drive, it is constantly making noise, is there anyway to slow it down or make it idle sometimes? I've heard of accoustic management tools, how well do they work?
 

xSkyDrAx

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2003
7,706
1
0
Well my old comp has a thermaltake dragon orb III..and it is loud! Louder than loud. I can hear it from downstairs. Its like a high pitched whine and im glad i wont have to listen to it any longer. I swear it can be heard over anything haha.