Theoretical: active noise control case?

[lehtv]

Would it be possible to construct a case with active noise cancellation?

It'd be similar to the mechanism used in ANC headphones. A sensor detects the wave profile of external noise, and an inverted version of it is emitted by the noice cancelling speaker. In this case, there'd be for example four microphones at different locations in the case, and four noise cancelling speakers outside the case, corresponding to the nearest microphone. The speakers would emit a sound wave that is an inversion of the amplitude of the noise made by the components and the fans. The system would be powered via molex.

If the ANC system were sufficiently high quality, it'd be indistinguishable from magic possible to have a comfortably quiet setup with high end graphics cards and high air flow.

Just a thought, feel free to steal my business idea :whiste:

EDIT: Actually looks like this has been done on the server front: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1dkr9X21e8

 

[aigomorla]

yes i think it would be possible.

You dampen the lower range with dynomatt, and u active cancel the high range which the matt cant take care of.

But the money spent into active noise cancelation would proabably still cost more then you watercooling it at near passives.

 

[Phaleel]

It does happen, it is inversely proportional to the amount of cooling your fans provide; knowing that fan noise increases with fan speed.

I think the industry tends towards system cooling because it is the variable that will lead to system failure...

 

[TBay]

Cool idea, but I don't think it would be possible. It's a lot easier to cancel all external noises at one point (the ear) than to cancel noises originating from a few spots at all external points. I think such a setup would require a perfectly designed room (acoustically speaking), no random noises, an array of microphones (to detect it's effectiveness), and an array of speakers. Noise cancelling headphones are somewhat 1-dimensional where the case you mentioned is much more 3-dimensional.

I had some friends make noise cancelling headphones as a project for a class. To process the info fast enough to cancel the wave, they used FPGA's with LabVIEW.

It would definitely be a fun project to try (just so you don't accidentally transmit 1/2 wavelength late causing constructive interference and doubling the fan's noise level rather than canceling it!)

 

[lehtv]

It would definitely be a fun project to try (just so you don't accidentally transmit 1/2 wavelength late causing constructive interference and doubling the fan's noise level rather than canceling it!)

LOL. That'd be noise cancelling in the sense that YOU CAN'T HEAR THE FANS OVER ALL THAT NOISE

 

[aigomorla]

LOL. That'd be noise cancelling in the sense that YOU CAN'T HEAR THE FANS OVER ALL THAT NOISE

lol the project would be tribute to blackhawk down...

cuz the pc would go Womp womp womp womp... like a black hawk, until you downed the thing.

 

[QuantumPion]

My idea was to run a pipe from the house plumbing to the cpu block then back down the drain. No pump or radiator required. Adjust flow rate using a valve to achieve desired cooling performance and minimize water bill. The only problem would be dealing with potential corrosion or leaks of tap water. Alternatively you could use a crossflow heat exchanger but then you need a pump in the case.

 

[aigomorla]

the cost in water would be exponential.. compared to you putting it on a closed loop and moving the heat exchanger to another room, unless u got water nearly free.

 

[ElFenix]

easier just to dump the pc into a vat of motor oil. can't hear coil whine through that!

 

[QuantumPion]

the cost in water would be exponential.. compared to you putting it on a closed loop and moving the heat exchanger to another room, unless u got water nearly free.

Not really. Since the water is below ambient (esp. in the winter), you only need a trickle to handle the required heat load. I estimated it would be ~$5 a month.