Post your PC silencing stories.

Author	All Replies
justin Australian join:1999-05-28 Brooklyn, NY Host: IPv6 Business Connectiv.. Home/Office setup .. Console/Handheld g.. Console Tech	Post your PC silencing stories. Maybe nobody else has them. Anyway, here is mine: * Stock P4 fan replaced with socket 478 Zalman Quiet CPU Cooler, set to lowest * Case replaced with Antec Sonata (comes with quiet 380w PSU) * Radeon 9800 cooler fan replaced with VGA Arctic Cooler set to "low" (the AGP card now makes a PCI slot unusable) * Case insulated with AcoustiPack Deluxe that I cut up * 2xWestern Digital Whining Drives replaced with 1xBaracuda * Power management set to power down disks after 3 minutes The result? the result is awesome. There is a very quiet low 'huffing' sound from the various airflows, and that is it, despite there being 4 fans and 1 hard drive in there. When the CD drive starts up it sounds 10x as loud! Temps are fine. 31 degrees while browsing, 48 running the "cpuburn.exe" program. The most expensive thing was the AcoustiPack. You can probably get decent results just finding something thick and sticky to cover the inside of the Antec side-lid with - it offers no insulation at all, and has airflow holes stamped as "Antec" to further allow noise out!
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 02:12:54 ·
ObdH Premium join:2003-06-11	my only story is going from a vantec tornado 80mm to a sunon 25dba 80mm its like using a broom instead of a vaccuum soo much quieter
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 02:45:31 ·
Exit Premium,ExMod 2002 join:2001-04-10 Canada	reply to justin I took my PC out of the case. That eliminated 5 case fans That's my story
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 03:20:09 ·
The WeaseL Premium join:2001-12-03 Minnesota	reply to justin I went to water cooling. The only fan you can hear is that loud fan in my 400 watt Sparkle PSU. You can't hear any other fans... -- How lucky am I to have known someone who is so hard to say good-bye to.
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 03:55:19 ·
ccallana Huh? Premium,VIP join:2000-08-03 Folsom, CA	reply to justin Replaced case/ps with the Sonata - quiet power supply, plugged the Chassis fan into the PS - so its quieter now too. Installed a ThermalTake Spark 7+ set to about 2500 RPM. Much Much quieter. Now all I hear is the air flow from my wife's SFF on her desk. Just bought a speed controlled 80mm for that, hopefully we can quiet that down too. -- Your never ending spree of death and violence and hate, Is gonna tie your own rope - The Offspring
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 09:11:50 ·
hsindogg Premium join:2002-06-21 Potomac, MD clubs: ·Verizon FIOS ·Comcast ·Cavalier Telephone ·Verizon Online DSL	reply to justin I had the Antec Sonata, with a Panaflo U1A 120mm running at 7V, using the molex volt mod. But at 7V it wasn't pulling enough air, as my temps were high for me at 44C under load. My CPU had the SLK-947U and a Panaflo M1A 92mm fan on it, so it should have been cooler. I also had the stock 120mm Antec fan mounted on the HDD cage, blowing in. I put in the Vantec 3.5" fan controller, and hooked up the Panaflo U1A 120mm to it, but it too loud at the lowest setting still. I ended up getting the Panaflo L1A 120mm from TheDarkElf on DSLR for a good price compared to online vendors. Back to the Sonata...I taped up the Sonata "bullet" holes on the side of the case for more efficient air flow, but even with the L1A 120mm, it sounded like a windtunnel. Then I got the P160 for X-mas. Not as quiet as the Sonata, but there's less of a windtunnel noise since it's a bigger case I guess. The noisiest part of my system is the video card fan now...it's getting louder to me, since it's about 2 years old now. Case temps are 38C/28C under load with just the 120mm pushing air out the rear. When I mounted the front case fan, it was too loud, as the open front grill lets too much noise out. Overall though, I think the Sonata is a much better value than the P160, which doesn't look as nice when set up compared to the Sonata, which also comes with a 380W Silent PSU. -- "I triple guarantee you, there are no American soldiers in Baghdad." - Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf, Iraqi Information Minister
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 10:09:34 ·
justin Australian join:1999-05-28 Brooklyn, NY Host: IPv6 Business Connectiv.. Home/Office setup .. Console/Handheld g.. Console Tech 1 edit	I don't really know why I dont have case or cpu temp problems with the Sonata. The CPU is 31 degrees C to maybe 40 under "load" and 48 under "obscene lets burn the cpu" load. The motherboard temp is about 32, hard disk temp about 36. The case fan seems to always be on min RPM, and the cpu fan is throttled back to 1250 rpm by the inline adjustable resister thingie that you get with this cpu fan. The VGA Silencer is also on min fan speed, and I can overclock the 9800PRO decent amounts before seeing speckles. Is the 2.4ghz P4 not a particularly hot chip? or is this Zalman cooler with its plastic hood that pushes air to the case fan, just really useful? I don't know why anyone would need the headroom the case, cpu or vga silencer fans all seem to provide.. Or are the temps on the floor of my apartment helping things (brr winter drafts - its maybe 60 degrees down there).
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 11:27:37 ·
hsindogg Premium join:2002-06-21 Potomac, MD clubs: ·Verizon FIOS ·Comcast ·Cavalier Telephone ·Verizon Online DSL	I guess my case temps are a combination of things. One, I have the 2.4C overclocked to 3.4Ghz, and the FSB is pushing the temps on the northbridge as well. Secondly, the temps in my computer room are about 71F, so that definitely effects the temps...I wish I could get my place colder, but my woman likes our place to be warm. Maybe I should hook up a vent duct straight from the window to my computer air intake. I'm thinking about going back to the Sonata with the 120mm L1A though instead of the U1A. For those who don't know: panaflo has 4 speed designations, and hence corresponding dBA ratings. L1A = low M1A = medium H1A = high U1A = ultra-high -- "I triple guarantee you, there are no American soldiers in Baghdad." - Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf, Iraqi Information Minister
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 11:47:37 ·
dvandervelde Premium join:2003-02-11 Abbotsford, BC clubs: 1 edit	Well - I can't say I am anywhere near silent - but I can hear myself think. Here are some of the things I have done: 1.) My whole case (everywhere possible) is lined with sound absorption material. It doesn't really take away the sound, it just deadens it. I use this - »www.vibecomputers.com/index.cfm?···D=190312 2.) All of my case fans use vibration dampeners. I use this - »www.vibecomputers.com/index.cfm?···D=190786 3.) I have switched all of my case fans to coolermaster fans. They have great airflow (32 cfm) at a quite noise level (25db). These are much better than stealths, and are nearly silent. I use this - »www.vibecomputers.com/index.cfm?···D=190738. 4.) I also use a home-grown method to deaden the sound of my case fans. What I do is gut an old fan, leaving only the outside frame of the fan. Then I attached this frame/duct to the case fan. The effect is that the fan noise is embedded further from the surface of the case, where the sound can escape to me ears. 5.) Finally, I switched from my slk-900 with a high CFM fan to h2o. 6.) On top of all this, I use a fan controller to keep the fans on low when I don't need them. -- "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliott
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 15:36:39 ·
Noley join:2001-01-22 Tallahassee, FL	reply to justin Antec Sonata w 380 Trupower Round Cables 2 Vantec Stealth 120's Barton 2500 Stock Cooling (bumped to 3200) Seagate 120 BG HD (Very Quiet) ATI Radeon 9600 XT So quiet you can't tell it's on... -- My MP3 Collection
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 16:10:37 ·
Bobaroo Aqua Teen Hunger Force 1 In The Hood, G Premium join:2002-04-14 Glen Rock, NJ clubs:	reply to justin I went watercooling! If I put everything on High it is still loud, but when everything is running at 7v, it is nice a silent, all you hear...err heard was the pump vibrating. A little foam under neither solved that
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 16:16:21 ·
chmod Premium join:2000-12-12 Joliet, IL clubs:	reply to justin My Klipsch 4.1's are used to drown out a buzzing 92mm tornado a 120cfm sunon and a handful of 80mm led fans. -- /dev/null
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-19 16:33:47 ·
strapjock My Nuts Itch join:2001-02-16 Richmond, BC clubs:	reply to justin Is the Antec Sonata the best available case for noise right now? It seems to be according to this thread. Are there any others worth considering? -- I've upped my hardware...up yours!
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-20 08:40:50 ·
justin Australian join:1999-05-28 Brooklyn, NY Host: IPv6 Business Connectiv.. Home/Office setup .. Console/Handheld g.. Console Tech 2 edits	No, it isn't. It really is just a normal case with a low noise power supply, and a big (slow) case fan, and rubber mounts for your disks. On the downside, the lid is flimsy sheet metal, and there are 'bullet holes' in both sides of the case that leak noise. There is a company that sells custom silenced cases with acoustic padding in them. I bet they are quieter. They are also more expensive. eg this one: »www.acoustiproducts.com/en/acousticase.asp I effectively did the same thing to my antec case by buying the padding kit from them and cutting it up to fit. With the seagate drive (very important), the final box could be installed in a london club and all you'd hear is the creak of the leather on the chairs, and the rustle of newspapers.
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-20 10:11:47 ·
Logan 5 Be Seeing You Premium,MVM join:2001-05-25 The Village ·Pacific Bell - SBC 2 edits	said by justin : I effectively did the same thing to my antec case by buying the padding kit from them and cutting it up to fit. With the seagate drive (very important), the final box could be installed in a london club and all you'd hear is the creak of the leather on the chairs, and the rustle of newspapers. It may be quiet, but with LONG-TERM use how bad are you frying the components? Every review I have ever read on the subject of PC case sound deadening materials (from cork and rubber sheets to a spray on foam...lol) all suffer from the same downside...increased heat. I see above that you are having no issues which is very rare. Any further speculation as to why or how you've managed to be lucky where the majority of people have not been so fortunate? Thanks EDIT: Thanks for the clarification
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-20 16:24:01 ·
justin Australian join:1999-05-28 Brooklyn, NY	My temps are 29 (motherboard) 30 (cpu) and 36 (drive).. the fans (case and cpu) are all spinning about as slow as they can go. There must be a lot of crazy overclockers out there.
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-20 16:32:34 ·
XCOM digitalnUll Premium join:2002-06-10 Houston, TX clubs:	I went water cooling Silents as it can get Temps are 22C to 27C. -- Over Kill Systems
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-21 09:49:16 ·
psiu_nws join:2004-01-20 Plymouth, MI ·Comcast ·AT&T DSL Service	reply to justin Being on a budget and realizing my case was a noisy beast is a bit of a challenge. I had just gotten a new case (Raidmax 228) in December. here's the Newegg link: »www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe···E&depa=1 I had been using a friend's case, and had two 80mm generic case fans in it. These were bought about the same time (summer time) as a new motherboard (ASUS A7N8X), CPU (AXP 1800), RAM, a floppy, video card (TNT2 32MB--BLAZING SPEED--;)) power supply (some generic 300 watt from the local computer store), and then later, a Cd burner from a friend (4x--yeehaw), 2 hard drives from my brother in law (15 & 20 GB, replacing a 4 GB--whooo). Of course these were all bought after the one he had bought had blown up (well, smoke and FIRE anyway...). The Raidmax came with a power supply (got it local, newegg's doesn't include the psu) and side panel fan. Only problem was the back fan port is 60mm. The other problem is with the 2 80's in the front, and the one on the side, that thing was loud. Especially after rearranging the living room so it was up on a shelf next to the desk (like turn the TV up so it would cover the noise loud). Just had the chance to build a computer for someone (and it was based on the Sonata), so in the profits I included a 60mm Vantec Thermoflow for the back of the case, some rounded cables, and then convinced my wife to shell out for an Antec Truepower 330. All in all, with the addition of 2 fans (the Vantec and additional fan on the Antec PSU), it is night and day. The 3 80mm fans are plugged into the Antec fan-only connectors (which automatically throttles them down at cooler temperatures) and the Thermoflow does it's job beautifully, throttling up when necessary and then back down. Also got my CPU temps lower by about 30 degrees F with some Arctic Silver 5 and switching the side panel fan to intake. For my future silencing efforts, I'll probably just get a Sonata (well, Sonata will be very future), but with this case I'll be doing some hacking (well, more hacking) on it with Dremel. I'm going to try mount a 120mm fan in the front, (as a side note, this case comes with 4 (FOUR) 80mm fan mounts for the front, 1 on the side, and then 1 damn 60mm in the back. grrrr....) and I also have a 60 mm Vantec Stealth (I meant to order the 80mm--oops) that I want to mount to the CPU heastsink, but I need some longer screws. Oh, a quieter hard drive, but that'll be awhile yet. Of course, an HTPC is intriguing and I really like the look of the other 2 Antec cases in the series with the Sonata. So maybe in a year or so I'll attempt that project (which should be fun--Uber-fast, uber-quiet, oh and it shouldn't cook itself;)). Later... -- "Pets. The other white meat." Psiu
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-21 11:03:21 ·
Keizer I'M Your Huckleberry Premium,MVM join:2003-01-20 1 edit	reply to justin I replaced my loud, high RPM Vantec Aeroflow, with the quiet Zalman that justin mentions. That alone made a world of difference, with the fan set at around 2000 RPM! I use a hardcano to adjust the speed instead of the included high/low switch. I also replaced the stock fan on my 9800 pro with the VGA Arctic cooler, set to low speed. About the only noise I can complain about now, is the Maxtor hard drive that I have. Keizer
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-21 13:01:18 ·
djrobx join:2000-05-31 Valencia, CA ·PHONE POWER ·AT&T U-Verse ·AT&T CallVantage ·Time Warner VOIP ·RoadRunner Cable	reply to justin Zalman rocks! I have a home theater PC in a custom case that I've tried to get as quiet as possible. It's an Athlon so I'm using the Zalman flower cooler. P4's seem a lot easier to keep cool. Also using the 80gb Seagate Barracuda IV drive (thing is near silent even wheen seeking, the 120GB versions seem a lot louder). I lined the inside of the case with Dynamat (because I had it lying around), I think I'm going to order some of that AcoustiPack stuff that Justin recommended, looks like it's more appropriate for what I'm trying to do. Another perhaps non-obvious thing I found was to put some something soft on the wall directly behind the case. Sounds would come out of the power supply fan and bounce off the wall. Putting something soft on the wall cut the remaining noise almost in half. -- \\ROB - a part of the SCB local network
	to forum · permalink · · 2004-02-21 13:16:15 ·


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