What is making my computer noisy?

[coolpurplefan]

OK, I built a computer with the following:

Seasonic 500 watt
Zalman 7000

I also have in my machine, purple LED Coolermaster fans (80mm and 120mm) inside a Coolermaster Centurion 5 case.

Everything is running at stock speeds if you will. I have not under- or over- volted anything.

I also have a Samsung Spinpoint SP2514N hard drive and I took off the northbridge chipset fan on my Asus K8N4-E Deluxe and installed a Zalman NB47J. I also put a 40mm blue LED Coolermaster fan on the NB47J (that fan was taken off a Coolermaster northbridge heatsink).

In any case, my computer is not dead silent as I thought it would be. Seems to me the most sound comes from the Zalman 7000. Is this possible? I`m running a Clawhammer 3700+ and usually in the 40+ range. Would it be worth it to turn the fan down a little? I`m not overclocking.

 

[scrawnypaleguy]

If nothing's undervolted, then everything's making noise. Take off the 40mm fan on the northbridge cooler, and undervolt all the fans with either a fan controller or a bunch of Zalman fanmates.

 

[Howard]

Anything that moves makes noise. It's just a matter of which moving parts make the most noise.

After a while you either get complete silence, or you give up.

 

[Shadowknight]

You need to turn off all your fans and run them one at a time. That's the easiest way to find your biggest noisemaker. Also turn off your hard drive, it can generate vibrational noise which could be an issue as well.

 

[bigpow]

I have not used "purple LED Coolermaster fans (80mm and 120mm)", but I've used a "Zalman 7000" and I can almost say it's your Zalman.
Use the Zalman regulator all the way down, and the Zalman should be less noisy.
Even at 7V, I could still hear my Zalman (very annoying) so I replaced it.

You forgot to mention what's your graphics card and how it is cooled.
Graphic card coolers/fans are NASTY!

It's also possible that "40mm blue LED Coolermaster fan" is contributing to what you're hearing.
That NB47j will do the job nicely w/o any additional fan (I have it on my NF4 SLI chip)

Do the finger test, slowly stop the fan one by one till you find the loudest - then replace it or undervolt it.
Repeat this step 2-3x

Don't forget to suspend the harddrive using elastic bands.

Noise is also subjective.
e.g.: I don't find 80mm panaflo @7V annoying, but some would say it's too much.

Good Luck!

 

[Howard]

If you do suspend your HD (which I recommend), use something more durable than elastic bands, like clothing elastic. Also, suspend it in such a way that if the case is bumped, it won't hit anything.

 

[keldog7]

Like everyone is saying - if it moves, it makes noise. Different moving parts will not sum linearly though (i.e. a fan making 32dB with another making 38dB will produce some 40-odd dB of noise.) Also keep in mind the pitch of some of your noises - is it high or low pitched sound that you're hearing? That *might* tip you as to which part is causing the most noise. I'd suggest that your approach be to disconnect devices one by one, to see which is noisiest, then prioritize. My personal thoughts on your setup?... (I have one PC with a very similar setup in an Antec Sonata)
1. The Seasonic (assuming an S12-500) PSU is about as good as it gets for quiet NON-PASSIVE PSUs...I have two of them, can't hear either.
2. The Zalman 7000 puts out an easily heard amount of noise unless its undervolted. To check, just put your finger in the blades to stop them when its spinning. This will be safe for a second or two, unless you're looking to upgrade your CPU in smokey fashion. You could try a fan swap with the 7000, but any quieter solution would almost certainly involve a sleeve-bearing fan, when a ball bearing fan is usually strongly recommended. Of course, I've had no sleeve bearing fan failures on my rigs in a long long time....
3. The NB47J mod is a pretty good one, but your addition of a 40mm fan to it is ...uh....not so good. You'd be better off rigging a quiet 120mm fan somewhere near the NB47J, and just aiming some airflow at the heatsink - much quieter.
4. The Samsung drives are known for being quiet - and heat efficient, so they're good in quiet (and usually minimally ventilated) cases. I doubt you need to suspend one of these babies, though many other HDD would benefit greatly from that.
5. I know very little about your case, but a simple test is to see if it sounds different just by pressing down on it with your hands. Sometimes, your hand will quell some vibration in the case, and make it quieter. If that's the case, a variety of case damping and silicone grommet solutions are available. Other than that, check out silentpcreview, and they might have some info on your case.
Best of Luck,
A

 

[scrawnypaleguy]

Hard drive suspension doesn't always help. In my case, the audible idle noise of my drive is far worse than the vibrational noise. I suspended my drive and found that the noise didn't go away at all, not even the seeks, so you may want to look into an enclosure. The current best in this department is the Scythe Quiet box.

 

[RallyMaster]

Your case fans are the problem. I have a lot of experience with Cooler Master LEDs and I can tell you they make a LOT of motor whine at full speed.

 

[coolpurplefan]

Originally posted by: bigpow
but I've used a "Zalman 7000" and I can almost say it's your Zalman.
Use the Zalman regulator all the way down, and the Zalman should be less noisy.
Even at 7V, I could still hear my Zalman (very annoying) so I replaced it.

You forgot to mention what's your graphics card and how it is cooled.
Graphic card coolers/fans are NASTY!

Thanks all for the comments. Fortunately, the kind of sound coming from my machine doesn`t annoy me. I was just really "surprised" my "ultimate setup" was not as quiet as I thought it would be. I mean, my old HP would make a high pitch whine. This is low pitch so it`s not bad.

My current graphics card is an Asus Geforce 6600 (can`t wait to get DX10 card, hehehe).
Also, my DVD-RW is a BenQ DW1655 which is sweet.

But, one of the factors that makes my machine a tad noisy is the fact my case has like a front mesh side panel. Seems to work great at cooling my motherboard though.

What are less noisy CPU HSF? I think it might be the Zalman 7000 because if I block the front panel I can still hear noise coming from the back.

How will that affect CPU temperatures if the Zalman 7000 is undervolted? I have a temperature of 48`C when playing video games (with room temperature of 25+C.

 

[996GT2]

Yes, I have a Cooler master LED in the back of my case and it isn't the quietest fan by any means at full speed. Look into Arctic Cooling or Scythe S Flex fans

 

[Shadowknight]

Originally posted by: coolpurplefan
What are less noisy CPU HSF? I think it might be the Zalman 7000 because if I block the front panel I can still hear noise coming from the back.

How will that affect CPU temperatures if the Zalman 7000 is undervolted? I have a temperature of 48`C when playing video games (with room temperature of 25+C.

Ninja running passive is literally silent. If you want active cooling you can use the included fan, or else use a 120mm of your own. I use a passive Ninja, and I'm totally happy with it.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: coolpurplefan

Originally posted by: bigpow
but I've used a "Zalman 7000" and I can almost say it's your Zalman.
Use the Zalman regulator all the way down, and the Zalman should be less noisy.
Even at 7V, I could still hear my Zalman (very annoying) so I replaced it.

You forgot to mention what's your graphics card and how it is cooled.
Graphic card coolers/fans are NASTY!

Thanks all for the comments. Fortunately, the kind of sound coming from my machine doesn`t annoy me. I was just really "surprised" my "ultimate setup" was not as quiet as I thought it would be. I mean, my old HP would make a high pitch whine. This is low pitch so it`s not bad.

My current graphics card is an Asus Geforce 6600 (can`t wait to get DX10 card, hehehe).
Also, my DVD-RW is a BenQ DW1655 which is sweet.

But, one of the factors that makes my machine a tad noisy is the fact my case has like a front mesh side panel. Seems to work great at cooling my motherboard though.

What are less noisy CPU HSF? I think it might be the Zalman 7000 because if I block the front panel I can still hear noise coming from the back.

How will that affect CPU temperatures if the Zalman 7000 is undervolted? I have a temperature of 48`C when playing video games (with room temperature of 25+C.

If the 6600 has a fan on it it's probably loud.

The NB47J was designed to run passively, you don't need to put a fan on it.

The Zalman 7000 is a bit annoying at 12v but very quiet at 5v. I've built several systems with that heatsink and let the BIOS control the CPU fan, at idle it runs at roughly 5v equivalent speeds (1300RPM) which is very, very quiet.

 

[bigpow]

Originally posted by: coolpurplefan

Thanks all for the comments. Fortunately, the kind of sound coming from my machine doesn`t annoy me. I was just really "surprised" my "ultimate setup" was not as quiet as I thought it would be. I mean, my old HP would make a high pitch whine. This is low pitch so it`s not bad.

My current graphics card is an Asus Geforce 6600 (can`t wait to get DX10 card, hehehe).
Also, my DVD-RW is a BenQ DW1655 which is sweet.

But, one of the factors that makes my machine a tad noisy is the fact my case has like a front mesh side panel. Seems to work great at cooling my motherboard though.

What are less noisy CPU HSF? I think it might be the Zalman 7000 because if I block the front panel I can still hear noise coming from the back.

How will that affect CPU temperatures if the Zalman 7000 is undervolted? I have a temperature of 48`C when playing video games (with room temperature of 25+C.

I completely understand your situation.
I was going through the same deal after I bought my Seasonic S12-600.
-swapped all fans to Panaflo L1A, undervolted them. (4x80mm)
-replaced Northbridge HSF with Zalman NB47j
-replaced Zalman CPU HSF with Ninja plus S-Flex, undervolted
-replaced XFX GPU HSF with Vf700, undervolted
-replaced 2x160GB HDD with 1x300GB, ACM set to quiet, suspended

 

[keldog7]

Pick up a second hand Ninja or Zalman 7700...specifically something with a bigger fan - bigger may not be better, but its usually alot quieter whereever fans are concerned. You can usually track down noise levels for your parts on the web - just combine something like "Leadtek 6600GT" with "dB" or "decibel" on Google, and you'll find lots of results. Also, silentpcreview has noise levels on a pile of cases, fans etc etc etc.

 

[coolpurplefan]

thanks for all the comments