Help me lower noise and keep cool

[jardows]

So the fan noise in my computer is finally starting to get to me. I guess what really tripped the line is that I discovered how easy and beneficial it is to mildly overclock my video card. Only problem is that the fans go crazy loud under any load. What was annoying but tolerable is really getting intolerable, and as the summer months come, I will be looking at even more fan action needed to keep things cool.

Water cooling is out of my budget, but I am willing to invest a bit in some more or better fans. Of course for you all to help me, you have to know what I've got!

My case is a NZXT Source 210 Elite. Here's a nice TPU review that gives a good look at the case: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NZXT/Source_210_Elite/
I haven't added any fans to the case.

My CPU is a Xeon E3 1230 v2 - no overclocking here. Cooled with a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO

My GPU is a Gigabyte Windforce Radeon R9 285

In order to get the noise down a bit, I had tried disconnecting the top 140mm exhaust fan, but that really didn't do anything to reduce noise. On the plus side, I didn't really see an increase in temperature. After trying some overclocking on the GPU, and seeing the fans ramp up considerably, I moved the top fan to the side panel mount, hoping that the air pushing on the GPU would keep it cool enough to have the fans stay at a low temperature. This actually made the noise worse!

I've really only played around with basic cooling setups, so any advise here would be welcome.

 

[GlacierNine]

There isn't a magic bullet here. GPUs are hot as hell and have far smaller coolers than CPUs do, that can't be upgraded as easily.

Removing, or moving, case fans will not help the problem either. Your GPU is hot because it is overclocked, and it is hotter again if it is starved of air. The only way to avoid starving it of air is to fill those case fan slots.

Reducing the number of fans will not help you, because it forces the remaining fans to work harder, and therefore spin faster. Many slow fans is quieter than a single fast fan, so you're making your problem worse.

Cover the side intake, fill every other fan location with a half-decent PWM 120MM fan. If that doesn't make the case quieter, you'll just have to deal with the fact GPUs are noisy.

FYI - Sound deadening material is not tremendously effective in the thicknesses and quantities you can buy it from PC Parts stores. It mostly reduces errant high frequency noise.

 

[pgaster]

AMD gpus can usually be undervolted a bit, or at least some of them can. It's hard to give exact specifics, but since you already know how to overclock it I would suggest trying an undervolt and see how it goes.