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Attractive looking acoustic material

S

sarbz

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 1, 2005
Messages
1,319
I was screwing around the other day and I lined the inside of my case with 1" soft foam. It drastically cut down the fan noise. Has anyone seen any attractive looking sound proofing materials? I would like to do this, but I don't want to spend a lot, and I don't want it to look bad.
 
sarbz said:
I was screwing around the other day and I lined the inside of my case with 1" soft foam. It drastically cut down the fan noise. Has anyone seen any attractive looking sound proofing materials? I would like to do this, but I don't want to spend a lot, and I don't want it to look bad.
Click to expand...
Whats attractive to you? I'd think it'd be cool to get that pyramid shaped stuff used in sound studios, or if your cheap black spray painted egg cartons. But that may not be your style. Every review I've read about that sound deadening material they use for cars tells me it doesn't work as well as your above foam. Not worth paying for to me. I'd stick with free stuff.
 
good point. I guess it's personal taste.

I think it would be cool to line the foam with something that looks nice, like carbon fiber or something. But I think that might take away from the foam's sound absorbing properties.

Part of the reason the foam helped so much in my case, is because it sealed the front and back. I'm using an apple G5 case, and the front and back are pretty much wide open, designed for easy airflow. I think I can get away with insulation as long as I keep the intake fan clear in the front, and the two exhaust fans clear in the back.

I'll cut the foam real nice and try to make it look as professional as possible and post some pics.
 
sarbz said:
good point. I guess it's personal taste.

I think it would be cool to line the foam with something that looks nice, like carbon fiber or something. But I think that might take away from the foam's sound absorbing properties.

Part of the reason the foam helped so much in my case, is because it sealed the front and back. I'm using an apple G5 case, and the front and back are pretty much wide open, designed for easy airflow. I think I can get away with insulation as long as I keep the intake fan clear in the front, and the two exhaust fans clear in the back.

I'll cut the foam real nice and try to make it look as professional as possible and post some pics.
Click to expand...
Not sure if I understand what you meen by lining it with carbon fiber? Like hiding the foam befind a sheet of cf or something? I think that would negate the foam by allowing the noise to echo off of the additional walling.
 
If you're looking for products specifially designed for a PC that works well, then you wat AcoustiPack. Other sound reducers, like Sonex, or Auralex, are generally a minimum thickness of 2" and would take up to much room in your case. If you have a problem with vibration then a good solution is Sorbothane. I'm using both in my new Gaming Bomb II case I'm putting together.
 
After re-reading his original post I agree, I though it was for sound dampening outside the case. Any foam is bad for PC's because its a thermal insulator. Get some Dynamat and line the case interior with it. Get some quiet fans too.
 
qdemn7 said:
If you're looking for products specifially designed for a PC that works well, then you wat AcoustiPack. Other sound reducers, like Sonex, or Auralex, are generally a minimum thickness of 2" and would take up to much room in your case. If you have a problem with vibration then a good solution is Sorbothane. I'm using both in my new Gaming Bomb II case I'm putting together.
Click to expand...
The paper stuff like AcoustiPack hardley seems to do anything by every review I've read. It's the same stuff as for cars. There's reason that 2" thick stuff is used in professional recording studios. But you should be able to come up with a creative solution rather than pay for the pro foam.
 
BossNoodleKaboodle said:
After re-reading his original post I agree, I though it was for sound dampening outside the case. Any foam is bad for PC's because its a thermal insulator. Get some Dynamat and line the case interior with it. Get some quiet fans too.
Click to expand...
From what I've read Dynamat smells bad in a PC environment. No personal experience, but I've read that more than one place.
 
Because of the design of the case, I'm not worried about the foam insulating too much and causing overheating. I have a straight air flow from front to back. My components get a nice constant breeze.

The case fans aren't loud. They're running at 7v, and they are barely audible. I bought good fans. It's the cpu and video card fans that are the problem. I have a BFG 6800GT and it has 2 fans on that sound like a dremmel. I just ordered an NV Silencer 5, so hopefully that will help.

Any recommendations on a quiet fan for my cpu? I don't want to spend a ton of money for a new heatsink/fan combo.

After I install that stuff, I'm going to try the foam thing anyway. It would be nice to have an EXTREMELY quiet pc, not just a quiet one.
 
sarbz said:
Because of the design of the case, I'm not worried about the foam insulating too much and causing overheating. I have a straight air flow from front to back. My components get a nice constant breeze.

The case fans aren't loud. They're running at 7v, and they are barely audible. I bought good fans. It's the cpu and video card fans that are the problem. I have a BFG 6800GT and it has 2 fans on that sound like a dremmel. I just ordered an NV Silencer 5, so hopefully that will help.

Any recommendations on a quiet fan for my cpu? I don't want to spend a ton of money for a new heatsink/fan combo.

After I install that stuff, I'm going to try the foam thing anyway. It would be nice to have an EXTREMELY quiet pc, not just a quiet one.
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What size fan? The quietest fans are supposed to be the SilenX Fans. But they are quite expensive. For a cheaper alternative spend some time at Silent PC Review. See Recommended Fans.

I'm going through the same thing you are. I'm tired of noise. I'm going to build as quiet a system as I can.
 
I can highly recommend Cooler Master's cheap, aluminium line of CPU coolers. They cool exceptionally well with some AS5 installed, and they have a quiet Cooler Master fan on the top. Zalman also makes good CPU coolers that are very quiet.

I've got my case loaded with Dynamat and a Prescott CPU that gets plenty hot and the Dynamat doesn't stink at all. It only smells a little funny when you first take the backing material off. Lexus uses similar asphalt linings on their car's body and they're some of the quietest vehicles on the road, so I'd say it works well. My PC is very quiet with the Dynamat installed and its got a very(without soundproofing) loud Intel stock cooler on the CPU and 7 other fans at normal volatge.

The Dynamat is better at mass attenuating the sound rather than diffusing reflections so its more like putting the PC in a safe than an anechoic room.
 
sarbz said:
I was screwing around the other day and I lined the inside of my case with 1" soft foam. It drastically cut down the fan noise. Has anyone seen any attractive looking sound proofing materials? I would like to do this, but I don't want to spend a lot, and I don't want it to look bad.
Click to expand...

Carpet underlay...pretty colors...

MD
 
BossNoodleKaboodle said:
I can highly recommend Cooler Master's cheap, aluminium line of CPU coolers. They cool exceptionally well with some AS5 installed, and they have a quiet Cooler Master fan on the top. Zalman also makes good CPU coolers that are very quiet.

I've got my case loaded with Dynamat and a Prescott CPU that gets plenty hot and the Dynamat doesn't stink at all. It only smells a little funny when you first take the backing material off. Lexus uses similar asphalt linings on their car's body and they're some of the quietest vehicles on the road, so I'd say it works well. My PC is very quiet with the Dynamat installed and its got a very(without soundproofing) loud Intel stock cooler on the CPU and 7 other fans at normal volatge.

The Dynamat is better at mass attenuating the sound rather than diffusing reflections so its more like putting the PC in a safe than an anechoic room.
Click to expand...
thanks for your experince with the Dnyamat. Now I've heard from someone who really used the product.
 
Carpet underlay reminds me of the jello with chunks of fruit in it that my grandma makes at christmas and thanksgiving. Maybe I'm just a freak, but that's what comes to mind. I don't think I could stand it inside my computer. I would always be thinking of fruity jello.

qdemn7 - Glad someone else feels the same way. There's a thin line between having awesome looking case inards, and having a near silent computer. Since the only other person that sees the inside of my case is my wife, and she can't tell the difference between a floppy drive and a fan, I'm going to cross that line and make it "silently ugly".
 
Well, depending on how thick that window on the case is (I'm assuming you have a windowed case), it could still be a major weak spot for sound transmission from the case. You might want to look into getting a non-windowed side pannel.

My case is a Cooler Master ATC's 710 server chassis and its enormous, so it did take almost two full rolls of Dynamat($80US) to quiet it down enough for my tastes, which means its inaudible when a normal desk fan is running side by side with it. The Dynamat weighs about 4-5LB/roll I believe.
 
I have an Apple G5 case. It's made of at least 1/8th inch aluminum. It's very solid, and very heavy. The problem is the front and back are a mesh:

G5_03.jpg

G5_08.jpg


That's where all the noise is coming from. These pictures are old, I now have 2 fans in the back, and one in the front.
 
Well that changes a lot. Putting sound absorbion material inside the case won't do much for you at all since there are going to be plenty of holes in the front for it to get through. The foam, if properly placed with respect to the CPU HSF might do a little bit, but with a case like that, it will make soundproofing extremely difficult.

Are you using the original guts of the Mac or is that just its shell with other stuff inside it?

Are you using all SilenX or Vantec Stealth fans with vibration damping silicone gaskets around them? Those can reduce the fan noise by over 12dB. You should find out what the SPL rating of the fans on 7v is because you might be able to go lower. As for the GPU fan, some foam on the case floor will absorb the sound from its fans if properly positioned. The more spiky the better in that case. The CPU HSF's that are quietest would probably be Zalman 120mm CPU coolers.
 
cut up some interestingly-designed mouse pads (old school types). You can find outdated ones at your local mom&pop computer shop for sure. They'd work decently as well, since they're bound to be slightly denser, they probably wont' do AS good a job, but it'll be cheap :D
 
BossNoodleKaboodle - I plan on putting the foam behind the metal mesh on the front and back of the case. I completely enclosed the case (leaving holes for the fans) with paper just to see if it heats up due to less airflow. It increased the ambient case temperature by one degree. I think that's acceptable.

As for all the holes making it difficult to sound-proof...when I covered the holes with the foam, it was quite a bit quieter. But I loose the cool "see through" effect.

And it's just a shell. The specs are listed at the bottom of this page:

http://www.sarbz.com/g5

The real mac guts are beautiful. Check them out here:

http://images.apple.com/powermac/gallery/images/powermacG5open06092004.jpg
 
sarbz said:
BossNoodleKaboodle - I plan on putting the foam behind the metal mesh on the front and back of the case. I completely enclosed the case (leaving holes for the fans) with paper just to see if it heats up due to less airflow. It increased the ambient case temperature by one degree. I think that's acceptable.

As for all the holes making it difficult to sound-proof...when I covered the holes with the foam, it was quite a bit quieter. But I loose the cool "see through" effect.

And it's just a shell. The specs are listed at the bottom of this page:

http://www.sarbz.com/g5

The real mac guts are beautiful. Check them out here:

http://images.apple.com/powermac/gallery/images/powermacG5open06092004.jpg
Click to expand...

where did you get a g5 tower case?
 
i found it on the side of the road.......actually, a friend of mine works somewhere where he was able to get 2. They were going to be thrown out. He was going to make a coffee table out of them, and then decided he didn't have time. I thought it would be cool to build a pc in one, so I asked if I could buy one from him, and he just gave it to me :D

I think the other got converted into an end table.
 
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