I want a quieter PC.

Syth · 24-07-2005 1:57pm #1

My PC is too loud, so I'd like to get some quieter fans. I have an AMD Athlon64 3000+, and a qtec 350 W PSU. I don't play a lot of games so it's not over clocked. A friend of mine has this CPU fan and he says it's quiet. How do they make fans go quiet? What should I look out for?

Thanks.

zuma · 24-07-2005 2:09pm

The fan on a AMD64 3000+ is 80mm in diameter and is connected to an aluminium heatsink using a thermal pad(I have the same CPU)....whereas the Zalman is a massive copper beast(better heat conductor/larger surface area for heat dissipation) that has a larger fan(even 12mm extra diameter can shift a lot more air) and is using a thermal paste which conduts far better than a thermal pad.
If your after the Zalman 92mm then get the Alu/Cu variant(almost identical cooling performance) as the weight of the copper version puts a lot of strain on vertically mounted mobo's!!!

Done!!!

evilhomer · 24-07-2005 2:22pm

I have the same Qtec power supply and it makes a hell of a noise. I'm planning on replacing that first. I would be suprised if you can hear anything over the qtec. I can't and I have an AMD 3200+ in the PC.

silverside · 24-07-2005 2:26pm

big fan with big blades + slow RPM, big lump of copper -> quieter

Thermaltake Silent Boost is quiet as well (I have one)

install speedfan, and maybe get a quieter cooler for your GFX card

install AtiTool and run your GFX card slower when it is not under load

see if your bios has a setting to have the PSU fan at auto speed.

I've done all this, now my system is pretty quiet except when I'm running anything heavy duty or accessing the drives. Having said that I do have an antec sonata case/antec PSU which was pretty quiet to start with. dunno how loud your PSU is.

Spunog UIE · 24-07-2005 2:30pm

you really just have to go through your pc one by one and see what is making the noise. Once you eliminate whatever it is, you'll probally notice something else and so on till your happy.

The main sources of noise are generally from NORTHBRIDGE fans, these are the worst IMO, then maybe graphics card fans, then cpu, psu, harddrive seeking and so on. Anything with a small fan spinning fast gives that awful whine.

You should check out http://www.silentpcreview.com/ might give you a few ideas.

savemejebus · 24-07-2005 3:24pm

I'd get rid of the qtec psu first, should eliminate a good bit of noise. Had to do this with a jeantech myself a while ago, replaced it with a hiper and was shocked at how quiet my room became

Endurance Man · 24-07-2005 3:27pm

Bigger is quieter!!!
Get 120mm fans, that will help big time. If your gpu has a fan these always generate a load of noise. I am sooo close to getting mine almost silent

. Just 2 loud 80mm's holding me back but they will be gone this week. I ran the pc without them and all i got was a very faint hum, yay.

Tony H · 24-07-2005 3:54pm

http://www.hitide.ie/catalog/default.php/cPath/32?osCsid=b92a9c45bdf895a76b353e8693d09fa9

cant get any quieter than this lot , i have this one and its whisper quiet
! PSU BQT P5-470W Ultra Silent 2 Fans PFC

Ri_Nollaig · 24-07-2005 11:01pm

i have an alienware and its very loud but i just put a Control Unit this way u can just change the speed settings for when ur playing game etc to idle, i also have this CPU fan and it works fairly well for the cost. only other thing i think u cud do is sound absorbing material (dont no how well that works) or a fanless watercooling system or even an 100% noise-less case -> http://www.zalman.co.kr/

kasintahan · 25-07-2005 9:12am

Don't bother with sound absorbition/proofing (absorpition in modern english

).
For things that generate a lot of heat sound proofing is a nightmare as it invariably involves inadvertently involves thermal insulation.

Get fewer, bigger, slower, quieter fans.
Get a slient PSU (or less than 19dB anyway).

*this coming from a guy with the loudest pure Cu cpu cooler ever made!*

Khannie · 25-07-2005 9:57am

what fitzdragon said. I have a be quiet PSU, and the difference after installing it was AMAZING.

Syth · 25-07-2005 12:54pm

Thanks guys. I'm going to get replcae the PSU and see what difference that makes. Then maybe the CPU.

Kintarō Hattori · 25-07-2005 12:59pm

Unfortunately if you want a quieter PC you have to be prepared to spend a little more on decent names. It's as simple as you get what you pay for.

The Power Supply - Generally the source of most noise in people's computer. Try and purchase one that has a 120mm fan in it. This will move slower than an 80mm fan as it's bigger it moves more air so doesn't have to spin as fast. Also look out for a PSU that has a fan control knob on it. You don't need the fan running at full speed if your just listening to music.

The Graphic's Card Fan - The fan on a graphics card is generally small, which mean's it's most likely to generate alot of noise. A popular way to decrease the noise is to install a new fan and heatsink such as the ones Arctic Cooling do. These are big and much much quieter. Another popular meathod is to replace the fan altogether which a hugh heatsink with heatpipes such as Zalman make.

The CPU fan - These can be a killer. Bigger is always better. A bigger fan moves more air and doesn't have to move as fast. If your on a budget Arctic Cooling do some great coolers, and their thermal controlled ones are very very quiet, though I'm not sure if I trust it completely! Look out for a cooler which has a potentiometre or some way of allowing you to regulate the speed. Another popular option is to use something like the Thermalright heatsinks. These are MASSIVE heatsinks on which you can mount a 120mm fan - very nice.

Case Fans - Some of these can be shockingly noisy. Try and look for ones which are below 21dBa. They don't need to be savagely powerfull if you have them installed the correct way. Try and hook them up to a fan control unit. Almost all the big manufacturers have one of these, such as Coolermaster, Thermaltake, Zalman etc etc. Also you can buy little pads that you mount between the casefan and the case itself. Dunno if it really works, but they are cheap and every little helps.

Hard Disks - Once you have everything else sorted out this is probably what you'll hear the most. Unfortunately there isn't really much you can do about these. The only option I'm aware of at the moment is to stick them in a 'cooling unit' such as the Coolermaster Cool Drive series. Undoubtedly it will be quieter but heat would be an issue.

steviec · 25-07-2005 1:18pm

In relation to power supplies with control units, is it dangerous to keep it set to quiet all the time? Is it the power supply itself that can over heat or are those fans for keeping the whole case cool? Is there any way of knowing when it's a good idea to turn it up?

Kintarō Hattori · 25-07-2005 1:23pm

steviec wrote:

In relation to power supplies with control units, is it dangerous to keep it set to quiet all the time? Is it the power supply itself that can over heat or are those fans for keeping the whole case cool? Is there any way of knowing when it's a good idea to turn it up?

It depends really on how well you have your system ventillated, cooled etc, but in general I'd say yes. Turn it up when your system is under alot of stress such as playing a game. You can turn it down when your doing something such as surfing the net or listening to music etc.

Khannie · 25-07-2005 1:35pm

The "Be Quiet" ones regulate PSU fan speed based on the temperature of air passing through the unit. NICE!

vibe666 · 25-07-2005 2:42pm

i have a sharkoon psu (got off someone here) with a knob on the back forfan speed. pretty quiet when down low, but when the PC is busy, i turn it up.

just got 3x variable speed 120mm fans for my case and xp120 cpu cooler, so i guess we'll see what happens.

DemonOfTheFall · 25-07-2005 2:54pm

Once you get that Qtec piece of arse out of the pc it'll be far far quieter. I can't believe that any shop has the nerve to stock Qtec, theyre such incredibly low quality that they should never even make it into the country. Once I replaced the qtec 450 with a fortron 300 in my last PC the difference was massive.

Syth · 07-08-2005 1:12pm

I bought this PSU. When I put it in and booted up I wasn't sure if I could hear the difference. Then I heard a funny noise from my PC. Then again. It was my harddrive. My old PSU had blocked out the sound of it. My PC is much quieter now.

axer · 07-08-2005 2:17pm

what about these Thermaltake 350 watt Fanless Power Supplies? anyone know if they are any good?

jc94062 · 07-08-2005 3:15pm

I use the 92mm Zalman Cu\Al fan on my CPU (Venice 3200+) and its pretty quiet. If you shoot it up to 2700 then its definatly audible but its virtually silent down at 1800 or so. Really depends upon everything else though, my Tagan PSU was meant to be fairly quiet but it's by far the noisiest thing in there.

Whatever you do, pick up 1 (or 2) fan speed controllers, I use the Coolermaster Aerogate 3 ones so you can control the speed of the fans (they each control 4), depending upon what you get I find anything from 1200 to 1800 is quiet.

Alkers · 07-08-2005 7:55pm

I have a 3000+ too and I doubt it is that that is making your pc loud. The cooler is very quiet and the fan normally is only in or around 1k rpm. Check you have cool n quiet turned on in your Bios. After building a new rig the other day and the GFX card is by far the loudest component. Is there something similar to cool n quiet for GFX cards? Gainward 6600GT?

I want a quieter PC.

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