Sound Dampening Material

[tyanni]

I have a server (PII 366) which is running quite loud. I plan on replacing the fans in the machine with quieter ones, but has anyone used any of the sound dampening materials out there?

Thanks,
Tim

 

[Zepper]

I think dansdata.com might have some tips in that regard. I understand the stuff from Akasa/Speeze isn't very effective.
.bh.

 

[Gravity]

Try to first discover where your noise is coming from. The vents from the fans will continue to be a source of noise unless you lower their noisy rpms. Is it the northbridge cooler? Is it the drives? Is it the psu fan? Find the noise first, or you may get disappointing noise results from your dappening material.

 

[PliotronX]

I applied a layer of rubberized asphalt (similar to Brown Bread or Dynamat w/o aluminum covering) and on top of it a layer of Spire's SoundPad (almost exactly the same as Akasa PAX.Mate) to the top, bottom, and sides of my older Antec full tower case. I can't tell you how each performed on their own as I did it in one fell swoop. I do notice a difference, and I have about 8 fans running around, but it's almost not worth the effort I put into it. I was just curious about it I think what would help your problem better is applying convoluted or melamine foam to the surfaces of wall or desk facing the rear of your machine because I think most noise comes from there, bouncing back into your ears. Also if you've got skills you could construct a muffler for the exhaust fans that would further deaden the sound (see example of intake muffler for an idea -- air moves around corners well whereas higher frequency sound does not, image from Yoshi of TechTV's project). A more immediate and probably effective way to quiet 'er down would be the 7V mod for the noisiest fans. It will raise component temps but it doesn't sound like you need the lowest temps possible for extreme overclocking Good luck.

 

[Zap]

As Gravity said, you should try cutting the noise at the source before trying to dampen sound. High RPM fans are a likely culprit, as well as rattling/grinding fans. In a machine as old as a P2, I'd imagine some of the fans have started to rattle.

 

[tyanni]

Well, it doesn't matter anymore, as the PII bit the dust when the power supply exploded and fried my MB. But a bunch of good suggestions - thanks.

Tim