my computer is loud and large...

B

beatdown

n00b
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
57
so I built my own computer for once. last time i bought a computer it was a compaq about 5 years ago. In comparison so far (ive had my computer for 1 week) here are the differences.

built computer is larger, louder (even though the case says to be quiet etc), the video card emits a high pitch noise, and I probably could have got at least a matching price from a prebuilt computer. it usually runs at around 44 degrees. My old compaq never had a single issue EVER in its entire 5 years (even now when its infected with several worms - still no problems - its just slow and old in comparison). You couldnt even tell it was on - i think the case might be more sturdy (even though i bought a pretty expensive case that advertised quiet) and it knows how to suspend itself - my new computer doesnt - it just keeps running its fans really fast. basically there is no benefit in building your own computer unless you want to know where all the different parts go.
 
Wow! I think you failed to research things a little before making your decisions. For one, you could easily build a very tiny computer today. You didn't HAVE to have some kind of large bahemoth computer, you could have gotten a Shuttle for instance. Or you could have gone w/ one of the other similar small cases made for HTPC's. Second, you didn't research the video card before you bought it. Not all cards have super loud fans. You could have even gotten one that was completely silent and didn't have a fan at all. Or, you could have picked up a Zalman or Artic Cooler for whatever card you have that would make it near silent while still cooling it.

As for your case/computer temps. I'm not sure what processor you have, but things have been getting faster AND hotter in the last 5 years. I remember when processors used to only need a heatsink, now they put out a 100w+ of heat. You should have researched which cooler was best for the processor you got. Using the stock one is fine and all, but there are better solutions out there.

Your problem with having the computer go into suspend mode is just a simple box you need to check off in Windows. Or, its possible that you don't have that enabled in the BIOS. Your motherboard came with a manual for a reason. You have to read it to know what the options mean.

Finally, as for getting a matching price for a prebuilt, I doubt it. The only companys that I can't match price wise is the big names such as Dell and Gateway on their low end systems. They can knock out a computer for $300 dollars. But, the people that buy those don't want a real computer, they want something to check their email and surf the net. They wont be able to play games on that machine. And most of the time they can't upgrade it very far if at all. Once you get into $1000+ computers from those companys I can easily build something that is 2X better for $300 dollars less. And when you get into Falcon or Alienware systems I could build the same things they sell for half the price.

Point is, you need to read more before you just go out and arbitraily buy some parts and decide to put a computer together.

EDIT: If you post all the hardware that you purchased I can tell you what you could/should do to get cooler temps, less noise, and not spend a lot.
 
Well to make things simple get an after market heatsink for your proc and video card and replace the stock fans in your case that will bring the noise down alot.

for 120mm fans i'd day get the scythe s flex,

heatsink either scythe ninja or the zalman 9500

video either zalman 900 or the new accelero whichever you like better.
 
beatdown said:
I would appreciate it - this is the gist of it. Basically I asked you guys on the forum to come up with a decent gaming comp at a reasonable price and went with it since two people agreed on these parts.



p.s.
i dont know what happened to my video card - its gone from newegg
Click to expand...

Perhaps why you should do your own research. Why didnt you? too lazy or what?
 
Computers are supposed to be loud and large ;). I have trouble going to sleep in places other than my room, I am lulled into dreamland by that nice whirring thrum of all of the case fans and hard drives in my big steel full tower case.
 
Big and fast computers do not have to be loud. My computer is among the largest you will find (in ATX or EATX form factor), yet it is pretty quiet. I can tell you that it is quieter than most Dell and Gateway systems I have had in my lab working on for clients.

My case is about as big as they come, with 8 92mm fans installed. I switched out the fans with Panaflo's (quiet fans) and volt-modded the splitter feeding them power to 5V.

A PSU grommet will help smooth out the vibrations the PSU adds to the case. They are cheap and can be found at most online retailers (newegg, for one). As for PSU, I like Seasonic 500w and 600w models - darned quiet, and enough power for most rigs you will run into.

Video card fans suck. They are loud, often prone to failure, and designed for cooling not quiet. Buy an aftermarket HSF, such as from Zalman. Much quieter! Most modern cards cannot be passively cooled, although Nvidia and ATI both have some cards on the market that do not require active cooling (7600 GS comes to mind).

Processor heatsink and fan combinations are always a source of annoyance due to high CFM fans. Get a Zalman, Big Typhoon, Scythe, or any of the other quality HSF that are both high performance and low noise.

Another easy fix is getting rid of the high pitched 40mm Northbridge fan that most motherboards come with. Zalman has a passive northbridge cooler that is pretty cheap, although you might try modifying an old heatsink to work if you don't feel like spending the $10 on the Zalman.

Hard drives can also make a ton of noise - get isolation grommets, or buy a quieter hard drive. The Samsung Spinpoint series are considered pretty quiet, as are some Seagate models. Do a little research and you'll find plenty of information. There are also some cheap tricks you can do to quiet down the hard drive, such as suspending it with elastic bands so that vibrations are not transferred to your case.

Do not buy aluminum cases! No matter how pretty and sweet they look, they don't have enough mass to stay quiet. Also, stay away from any cheap thin steel cases - they are even worse. You want large and solid.

Just sit down and pay attention to each source of noise and start to eliminate one annoyance at a time. Pretty soon you'll have a quiet computer, and the quiet parts (like high quality HSF) sometimes help you achieve higher performance (read: overclocking).

Lastly, don't forget water cooling - solve your video card, processor, and northbridge noise problems all at once.
 
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