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PC noise

arcticpenguin

Philosopher
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
5,687
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...&e=1&u=/nm/20031109/tc_nm/column_pluggedin_dc

Here's an article on quite PCs. I think this is an interesting topic because as x86 chips climb up into the multi-GHz, they are getting noisier. There are manufacturers and vendors responding to the call for quieter PCs. Without radical changes, you can switch to an acoustically insulated case, and better designed CPU and case fans.

I may experiment with a small form factor Pentium-M motherboard soon, which is a more radical solution, and also addresses ths issue of space.
 
If I ever win the lottery, this is the case I will buy:

Swiftech Q-Power Liquid Cooled Case
http://www.swiftnets.com/products/liquid.asp

Then it's just a question of:

ATX Zalman PSU 400W
Nexus NX-4000 PSU 400W
SilenX 400 Watt Active PFC silent PSU

... for a power supply.

Couple that with some Seagate Barracuda's and I'm set.
 
It's the moving parts and subsequent air movement that are the noise-makers. Work on them and you have it beat. Nothing to do with the computer stuff itself which just sits there.

Exception! The 19KHz hum from the back of glass-tube monitors. Get a flat-screen if it bothers you.
 
The things I did to help:

Enermax "Whisper" PSU- Can't really hear it at all.

All fans Vantec "Stealth" about $11 each on a fanbus that sits in a drive bay.

Thermaltake CPU coooler with ajustable RpM.

The problem will be with the new P4's "Prescott" they are saying
that the first models will put out 107 Watts at stock voltages. You are going to have to go to water if you want them to overclock at all.


If I had the money I would get this:

http://www.cooltechnica.com/Merchan...=VapoChill-P4&Category_Code=Phase-Change-Case

Basicly a fridge.
 
Here's some inspiration for forum members, who want to start soundproofing:

Inaudible PC

Hardware has been since upgraded a bit, but sound levels have remained the same.

Mind you, this case will not be able to house a P4C 3.2 GHz or similarily extreme stuff without additional fans, but an Athlon XP 2400 is working just fine in my friend's (virtually identical) box ATM.
 
Computers getting noisier?

Insanity.

Clearly whoevr made that claim has never worked with an MFM or RLL hard drive... Or the old 386's that had an insane number of cooling fans; my friend's olf 386 sounded like a jet taking off when you turned it on. And don't even get me started on mainframes and tape readers.... gaaa...

Compared to all that, the noisiest PC you can buy off the shelf today is whisper-quiet!
 
scribble said:
Computers getting noisier?

Insanity.

Clearly whoevr made that claim has never worked with an MFM or RLL hard drive... Or the old 386's that had an insane number of cooling fans; my friend's olf 386 sounded like a jet taking off when you turned it on. And don't even get me started on mainframes and tape readers.... gaaa...

Compared to all that, the noisiest PC you can buy off the shelf today is whisper-quiet!
Sure, the old mainframes, etc were noisy, but no one tried to stick one on my desk! It had its own room, complete with extra air handling, fire suppression, etc. While I sat in my office with a VT terminal. PCs are getting noisier.

Here's my next mobo
 

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