Most likely culprit for my loud PC.

[whattaguy]

Edit: hit "return" by mistake.

I just put in a Seasonic S12 430W PSU in my system, and the noise is a "little" quieter, but not much.

It could either be my:

A. 2 PC Power and Cooling 80mm fans
B. Zalman AlCu CPU cooler 92mm fan
C. MSI 9800Pro GPU card
D. Enermax full-tower server case (vibration)

Any ideas where to start?

Thanks.

 

[wisdomtooth]

1. run that Zalman 7000 with the included Fanmate at the lowest setting. It is virtually silent at the lowest speed.

2. Yes, the stock 9800pro HSF is LOUD. Get something better like an Arctic ATI Silencer 1 (what I have) or a Zalman VF700.

3. get Panaflo L1A 80mm fans (Japanflo models if you can get it). PCP&C fans aren't known to be quiet. AND, get more Fanmates.

4. Check your NB HSF. If it has a fan, it's probably spinning at what the Spaceballs call Ludicrous speed (they've gone plaid!). :laugh: You will need to put it on a Fanmate and slow it down if you have an NBHSF.

HTH.

 

[cyberknight]

I have the MSI RX9800, and that mother was loud with its 40mm fan. Once I replaced it with a VGA Silencer Rev3 on LOW, it made a huge difference. heck, even the Silencer on HI was still amazingly more quiet.

You can always do the finger test though. Just put your finger on the centre of one of the fans in your case and see how much noise difference it makes.

I also hear good things about the Zalman VF700. Either one would do. One thing about the ATI Silencer 1 is that it spins at a constant 2000RPM, so unless if you undervolt, it isn't gonna be whisper silent. the VGA Silencer Rev3 has a HI/LOW toggle being 2400RPM/1200RPM respectively.

 

[Farmer]

Do be minded that installing the Silencer MIGHT increase temps.

And yes, Panaflo L1As are awesome.

 

[whattaguy]

Originally posted by: cyberknight
I have the MSI RX9800, and that mother was loud with its 40mm fan. Once I replaced it with a VGA Silencer Rev3 on LOW, it made a huge difference. heck, even the Silencer on HI was still amazingly more quiet.

You can always do the finger test though. Just put your finger on the centre of one of the fans in your case and see how much noise difference it makes.

I also hear good things about the Zalman VF700. Either one would do. One thing about the ATI Silencer 1 is that it spins at a constant 2000RPM, so unless if you undervolt, it isn't gonna be whisper silent. the VGA Silencer Rev3 has a HI/LOW toggle being 2400RPM/1200RPM respectively.

Cyber,

Do I purchase the Silencer for the 9800pro or the 9800xt? The model numbers are quite confusing to me. Or could you just link up the exact one that I need? Thanks.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

If silence is what you're after get the zalman vf700 cu. I have both a silencer and the zalman, and the zalman is a bit more quiet. It also actually fits the dang card too.

 

[WraithAkaMrak]

It could either be my:

A. 2 PC Power and Cooling 80mm fans
B. Zalman AlCu CPU cooler 92mm fan
C. MSI 9800Pro GPU card
D. Enermax full-tower server case (vibration)

Any ideas where to start?

Start by unplugging fans one-by-one, to see how much noise difference there is when they aren't running. You can unplug the cpu fan and gpu fan briefly, as long as you can easily plug them in again. As wisdomtooth said, also check your northbridge fan, if you have one.

This should at least tell you which fans are making the most noise. Then you can replace and/or undervolt them.

 

[whattaguy]

Thanks. I'll probably replace my case fans and get the Zalman GPU fan, or I may just replace my case (The server case is huge, so I can't put it under my desk).

I have a feeling that it's my PCP&P Silencer fans and my RX9800Pro GPU fan.

 

[Tiamat]

First priority: Check out your gpu fan by stoping it for 1 second
Second Priority: check out your mobo chipset fan if you have one. THese are usually loud.
Third priority: Panaflo L1A for case fans with fan controller, or just get a fan controller to downvolt your fans.

 

[Mucker]

If you have a NB fan it could be the source, those have been the culprits for me lately. The DFI 939 Ultra-D NB fan howled like a banshee before I got it under control. My Abit IC7 was the same story....

m

 

[cyberknight]

Originally posted by: whattaguy

Cyber,

Do I purchase the Silencer for the 9800pro or the 9800xt? The model numbers are quite confusing to me. Or could you just link up the exact one that I need? Thanks.

I believe the ATI Silencer 1 is what you want (for the PRO), but anyways, the VGA Silencer Rev3 fits for sure I know, cuz I have it on my green pcb MSI RX9800

 

[tallman45]

Start with the 9800 Pro, then just disconnect each fan (carefully) while the system is running to find your noise offenders.

The Silencer 3 is cheap, less that $15 (old version now) and it works great on 9800 Pros, I have 2 myself and they made a huge difference in sound, plus they duck the hot air directly out of the case.

Check the srews on the fans, sometimes they are a little loose and that vibration can cause noise.

 

[Injury]

with most fans, most people hear hard drive noise over fan noise. Unless you have some serious screamers, you are probably putting the blame on the wrong components.

 

[Jotho]

Originally posted by: whattaguy
I'll probably... get the Zalman GPU fan

Good choice, the Zalman VF700 AlCu has worked out perfectly on my RX9800 XT I have the red PCB version, and it was a pretty easy install.

 

[slashDevSlashNull]

Agree w Injury, check you hard drives. HDs tends to produce a screaming high pitched noice thats really annoying. Listen to the sound, if it's high pitched you will probably find you HDs guilty.
Besides HDs, my experience is that northbridge- and GPU-fans are the worst screamers. Replace the NB fan with a passive solution(if you are not a serious overclocker i.e.) and replace the GPU fan with a silent one (a few good already mentioned in this thread).

 

[whattaguy]

I don't have a NB fan (DFI LanParty NF3). I haven't had much time to check out the noise-makers, but I'll have a chance to do it tonight. Thanks for all of your help.

The rest of my system that generates some noise:

AMD64 3000+ w/Zalman heatsink and fan (low-mid setting)
MSI RX9800Pro (Green version)
Hitachi Deskstar 160gig IDE (System)
Seagate 160gig (Files)
Maxtor 60gig (Backup)...this one is really loud when loading
Seasonic S12 430W
2x 80mm PC Power and Cooling Silencer fans (supposedly <24db)
Enermax full tower case.

 

[acivick]

Yeah probably the two loudest components, as mentioned by others, are going to be your GPU fan and hard drives. You can stick your finger (or a pen, if you prefer, assuming its plastic) into the GPU fan briefly to test its loudness. And all you have to do to test the hard drives is take out their power connection and boot up. That should narrow things down greatly.

 

[Mucker]

My guess is that it's the 9800pro. I replaced my 9800pro with an x800pro and couldn't believe the difference. The howling completely dissappeared....

m

 

[whattaguy]

I changed out the fan/heatsink on the GPU with the Zalman VF700.
I changed out one of the fans to a Panaflo and undervolted it along with the PCP&P to 5V.

Case temp is around 34C at idle.

I have to focus on the computer to hear it now. But once I hear it, there is a little whine (don't know if it's the HDD or the undervolted fans). Overall, it is much quieter.

Thanks for all the suggestions and help.

 

[wisdomtooth]

Welcome to the Club of Quiet Computing! :beer::thumbsup:

 

[imported_Kensai]

As Antec says, "Hear the Silence!"

 

[wisdomtooth]

Except he's using a Seasonic. :laugh:

 

[AlabamaCajun]

While on the fan silencing subject, has anyone used the 7 volt trick. It's done by tying the + wire to 12V (yel) and the - wire to 5V (red) resulting in effective 7 volts. Don't try this unless you have electricel experiance. The only side effect I see is, it may raise the 5V line by a millivolt or so.

I've got 6 fans going 1-psu, 1 exhause, 1 NB, 1 front pusher and 2 on the video in my loudest case. The NB is a whiner, the rear fan is next with a buzz and the video falls in thrid with a low whine. The others are quiet, PSU is almost silent (CM 450 ACLX).