Sound proof material for PC?

[theplanb]

Is there a cheap and easy way to sound proof the PC case from inside? (and safe as well.)

 

[alisajid]

I can tell you what not to do: Back in "the day" when I had a noisy 233 I bought some sound dampening material (meant for cars) from a local hardware store. I cut out two pieces and stuck them to the side panels of my case cover. It made no difference at all, except the case became heavier and used to give off an unpleasant odor. I would suggest looking into the subject a little more than I did. Directron sells "Dynamat" foam that's supposed to act as a sound dampener. You might also consider looking into the noise made by your PSU and HSF first, and whether you can get that under control. The direction of airflow of fans, and turbulence may also be factors in adding to noise problems.

 

[cookieman]

Here I come again with my carpet experience ...

The sound damperint the "alisajid" had bought it was made to damper the VIBRATIONS and not the sound. That's way the case got too heavier. Dynamat is the same. It does not damper sound...

Here is a link to some other thread in which I replied this question.
For short: I use some thin "carpet" material to cover the big surfaces of my case. Works wonderfully even now!

Cheers,

P.S. Maybe I should change my handle to carpetman instead of cookieman

 

[McPhreak]

<< Here I come again with my carpet experience ...

The sound damperint the "alisajid" had bought it was made to damper the VIBRATIONS and not the sound. That's way the case got too heavier. Dynamat is the same. It does not damper sound...

Here is a link to some other thread in which I replied this question.
For short: I use some thin "carpet" material to cover the big surfaces of my case. Works wonderfully even now!

Cheers,

P.S. Maybe I should change my handle to carpetman instead of cookieman >>



Just out of curiosity, wouldn't all these sound or vibration dampening materials (especially carpet) trap heat as well?

 

[whitelight]

<< Just out of curiosity, wouldn't all these sound or vibration dampening materials (especially carpet) trap heat as well? >>


it probably does but i would guess its effect is minimal if you have good airflow in your case.

 

[Egrimm]

I've tried using both sound-dampening material made for cars and specially made for pc's, and to me there were'nt that much difference.
In my old system (Codegen case, 80mm front intake noname fan, 90mm back exhaust noname fan, DragonOrb3 7000rpm hsf) I used the flat, rubber-like asphalt mats (it really is some kind of asphalt) on both sides, and it reduced noise a little, but the 7000rpm fan also made the whole case vibrate so that's why material made for dampening vibrations helped. So if you can feel your case vibrate then this could help reduce the noise, but don't expect miracles (see below).
For my new case I use two 80mm Papst Ultra High Output fans as intake and exhaust and since they made more noise than my older (but worse performing) no-name fans I got some sound-dampening material made for pc. The back is about 2mm thin and made of the asphalt vibration-dampening material and on top of that there's 5mm foam rubber to take the noise. It doesn't help at all, there might be a little difference in noise but not much, and the reason for this is that the sound is made by the air rushing through the pc. At least the temps haven't rised at all.
The noise is that of the air being moved, so the only way to get a truly silent pc is to get slower fans, soundproofing material won't help much as the sound of air being moved will be heard unless you do some serious soundproofing (such as closing all holes in the pc where the sound can get out, that means blowholes for fans and such).

 

[NoiseControl]

Check out this link for a test of sound dampning materials:

Link

note this is the old 3mm version of the material, the new is called "Magic Fleece" and is 11mm thick and it works wonders.

 

[Luden]

they make some spray on foam for sound proofing cars, It seems like it would be a good choice. I think Rockford Fosgate makes some.

 

[cookieman]

Hi!

McPhreak:
My case had an not so good air flow back then. It was usualy at 10C above ambient in day-to-day use. Back then I didn't use any extra case cooling. But after instaling the carpet the MB temp (and the CPU temp) went 2-3C up. No more.
Since then I installed one case cooler and made some case mods (ducts over CPU and the case cooler, moved the PSU up a little,...) and enlarged the wholes on which the air comes in.
Now I'm back at 8-10C MB temp above ambient but the CPU got a lot better because of the ducts.

Overall I can say that the temp would be a little better without the carpet but I really much enjoy the noise "free" PC use now. And I'm in normal temp ranges.
The carpet is so good that only the PSU is (I mean was ) making noticeable noise. I think that is very good, don't you?

Cheers,

 

[FlowerMan]

jeez, there was a flood of sound proofing threads a few days ago (or was it a week?)...

www.b-quiet.com

 

[cookieman]

Hi FlowerMan!

You're right.
I feel there is the time to some DUCT discussion thread (again)

Cheers,

 

[anandfan]

Wow! There really seem to be 2 camps now: The Overclockers and The Silencers!

Thanks to all the tips I found here at AT, I replaced my CPU and PS fans for a much quieter system. I also ordered a Seagate Barracuda 4 (ok, IV) to replace my whiny CompUSA special. I also plan to insert a small resistor in series with my chipset cooling fan to drop it to 10 volts. I expect then just to hear the gentle sussaration of air flowing through my computer.

 

[FlowerMan]

The Cooling Dilemma: Performance vs. Noise