Stock coolers noisy?

[lefty2]

I'm trying to make a new PC quieter. I'm not quiet sure, but I think it's the CPU fan. It's a stock cooler and its going at 1550 rpm. Would an after market cooler get the rpm much down from that?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Find out for sure if it's the CPU fan. Don't assume it is.

Stock coolers generally work very well on a non-overclocked system, but they can become quite noisy if the PC is under a good load and the fan ramps up.

Aftermarket coolers generally have larger fans which can spin at lower speeds and still move the same amount of air.

My CPU has a large (120 mm) Scythe fan that usually spins at around 900 rpm. It's virtually silent. But RPM isn't the only factor--some fans are just noisier than others and some cases just leak noise more than others. The best way to quiet a PC is to buy quiet components to begin with, rather than try to make noisy stuff quiet.

So, it's not a certainty that a slower fan would lower your overall noise much. It may turn out that you have a noisy PSU fan or noisy drives also.

 

[Charlie98]

I would set it up on the desktop with the side cover off and run it... make sure what component is making the noise.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Before you go forward with anything, check your BIOS settings to see if the BIOS contains menu for thermally controlling the fan. It really should, but I'm no longer intimate with OEM computers: last one I bought was in 1995.

If there are features in BIOS that allow thermal control of the CPU_FAN, there may even be proprietary software with the OEM system that allows you to refine the control within Windows.

Once you've explored that possibility and decide it either doesn't make a difference or the computer is still noisy, and knowing in my mind's eye enough about Intel CPU coolers -- I can tell you some simple ways to make it quieter and cooler without buying another cooler with fan.

 

[lefty2]

Thanks for the answer.
No it's not OEM. I probably should say the rig, I have a Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H,
Corsair CX500 V2 500W,
BitFenix Prodigy M, ASUS Radeon R7 260X DirectCU II,
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1TB and Intel Core I5-4570.
I checked BIOS settings, but I already have it on "silent" (actually doesn't make much difference, it's always about 1550 rpm matter what setting)
I took the video card out just to narrow it down and it's still a bit loud. One of the video cards fans has a slight ticking noise. I think those two contribute to most of the noise

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Thanks for the answer.
No it's not OEM. I probably should say the rig, I have a Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H,
Corsair CX500 V2 500W,
BitFenix Prodigy M, ASUS Radeon R7 260X DirectCU II,
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1TB and Intel Core I5-4570.
I checked BIOS settings, but I already have it on "silent" (actually doesn't make much difference, it's always about 1550 rpm matter what setting)
I took the video card out just to narrow it down and it's still a bit loud. One of the video cards fans has a slight ticking noise. I think those two contribute to most of the noise

If both silence and money are important, I'd think many would recommend a different CPU cooler like the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ or EVO. It's compact; uses "direct-touch" heatpipes; is good "bang for buck." And since I personally don't think much of either CoolerMaster or Noctua's fans for moving air, I'd probably recommend either a Cougar Vortex 120mm or an Akasa Viper 120mm. But the fan-swap would mean spending another $15 or so.