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OMG my computer is so loud....

D

doug_7506

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 17, 2004
Messages
3,247
Please excuse the title that sounds like it is from a 5yr old, but it caught your attention didn't it! :D

To the problem. So I currently have 6 fans in my computer:
3(2,5,6) x Cooler Master 120mm Silent Case Fan (45CFM @ 20dBA)
1(3) x Stock Fan off of Hyper 212 Plus (21-77CFM @ 13-32dBA)
1(1) x Scythe 120mm Slipstream Case Fan (110CFM @ 37dBA) (Removed this one. Empty slot now.)
1(4) x 120mm x 20mm Yate Loon Low Speed Case Fan (44CFM @ 21 dBA)

This is a product of not really thinking and just picking up random fans as needed... Here is a picture of my current configuration.
2v0g07o.jpg



So what I am thinking about doing is this.
Changing all the fans except the Yate Loon with 5 x Akasa 120mm x 25mm Viper PWM Fan w/ Hydro Dynamic Bearings (84CFM @ 7-29dBA). I am open to other suggestions here as to make and model of the fans. I will connect all these fans using Akasa Flexa FP5 PWM 5-Way Splitter - Smart Fan Cable.

I have 3 4pin pwm fan connectors on my motherboard. Here is a pic of the two at the top:
sl4bbo.jpg


1 if for the MoBo and the other is the CPU fan. I would connect the 5 fans through the non-CPU connection and the CPU fan through of course the CPU connection.

The only problem I am left with is the non-pwm Yate Loon. I can't change it since I can not a regular 25mm thick fan. I was thinking about going with a CM Xtra-Flow Slim (17-58CFM @ 8-30dBA) but its $35!

Would to love to get some feedback from you guys on how to make this setup quieter... I have a quiet case (p180b) and it is a shame how loud my computer is right now. I am pretty sure the culprit is the 38dBA scythe, but I would like to make it quieter.

Thanks,

Doug
 
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Maybe I got a bad batch but the fan that came with my Hyper 212 was horribly loud. Sounded like it was unbalanced too because it would make a rattling noise between 50-75% load. After replacing it noise levels dropped significantly.

That being said, even after replacing it my desktop noise was fine, but then I had completely forgot about my video card. The stock fan in my 6950 completely overpowers everything else in the machine in terms of noise (leaf blower!), fortunately it only does that during BF3.
 
Hahah, I got tired of my girlfriend's loud PC today as well. The Noctua 140mm fans were really driving me insane so I basically rewired the entire PC to clean up the cable mess and added the included resistors to limit the fan speed.

I also realized that the Fractal fans do not like being placed flat down and seem to be unbalanced and therefore rattle when placed in the roof of the case. I replaced that fan with a couple Scythe SP1225FDB12L Kama Flow2 Series 120mm. If I get a couple more of those resistors, wire some up myself, or buy some better fans, it would be even more quiet.

That Akasa fan adapter seems really nice as I hate having a fan speed controller in the case, but that might just be my aversion to knobs/rheostats/stuff sticking out past the front. I guess if it were one of those flat panels, it wouldn't bother me so much. Blah, but then again, why not just buy some quiet fans?
 
With that setup you can get away with 3 fans.

One for CPU push
One for rear exhaust
One for the HDDs. If it's just a single HDD & low powered you can even get away without that if you want.

Then for those 2-3 fans get PWM fans that run at low speed all the time and only kick up when things get hot. Can also add some sound damping foam, etc.
 
Drakenfeng said:
Maybe I got a bad batch but the fan that came with my Hyper 212 was horribly loud. Sounded like it was unbalanced too because it would make a rattling noise between 50-75% load. After replacing it noise levels dropped significantly.

That being said, even after replacing it my desktop noise was fine, but then I had completely forgot about my video card. The stock fan in my 6950 completely overpowers everything else in the machine in terms of noise (leaf blower!), fortunately it only does that during BF3.
Click to expand...

Yeah i have a 480gtx that is ridiculously loud also when i'm gaming, But when the computer is idle I would like it to be nearly silent...

sonsonate said:
Hahah, I got tired of my girlfriend's loud PC today as well. The Noctua 140mm fans were really driving me insane so I basically rewired the entire PC to clean up the cable mess and added the included resistors to limit the fan speed.

I also realized that the Fractal fans do not like being placed flat down and seem to be unbalanced and therefore rattle when placed in the roof of the case. I replaced that fan with a couple Scythe SP1225FDB12L Kama Flow2 Series 120mm. If I get a couple more of those resistors, wire some up myself, or buy some better fans, it would be even more quiet.

That Akasa fan adapter seems really nice as I hate having a fan speed controller in the case, but that might just be my aversion to knobs/rheostats/stuff sticking out past the front. I guess if it were one of those flat panels, it wouldn't bother me so much. Blah, but then again, why not just buy some quiet fans?
Click to expand...

The problem is no real quiet fans push 80cfm of air. I want high airflow and don't mind noise when my computer is maxed out, but I want it to be as quiet as possible when idle and doing such task as typing in word..
 
If anyone knows of any <20mm thick 120 mm pwm fans I would appreciate a link!

Thanks
 
Eliminate ALL fan grills. That alone will reduce the noise quite a bit while increasing airflow at the same time.

Fan grills build into the case are the worst as they are very very bad for noise levels.

A dremel tool and cut off discs are the best for making a nice clean cut, but for a quick fix a tin snips or heavy duty wire cutter will do nicely until you have a chance to clean up the cuts with a dremel tool.

Make sure to either remove everything from the case before cutting with a dremel tool as it will throw shavings all over the place.
 
In my P182b I removed the top fan and stuffed the spoiler like cover with padding. I have one fan as push on the cooler. Aftermarket fan back of case. Fitted the low mid-case slot with a 140mm. Intake also aftermarket fan (no originals left). + fan controller. Go check SPCR for tips on quieting down this case, I remember there was plenty info.
 
So I pulled off the 40dBA scythe and it is running a lot quieter now. Temps may even be cooler. Having that super powerful fan at the top might have actually been hurting performance.
 
Tisca said:
In my P182b I removed the top fan and stuffed the spoiler like cover with padding. I have one fan as push on the cooler. Aftermarket fan back of case. Fitted the low mid-case slot with a 140mm. Intake also aftermarket fan (no originals left). + fan controller. Go check SPCR for tips on quieting down this case, I remember there was plenty info.
Click to expand...

What part is the mid-case slot?

Yeah Im running 4C cooler without the top fan...

Also what is SPCR?
 
Get a fan controller. Most of the time you can almost switch the fans off and turn them up when gaming.

I've found that the temps difference between fans spinning at 600rpm and 1500rpm during idle is only about 2-3C.
 
slh28 said:
Get a fan controller. Most of the time you can almost switch the fans off and turn them up when gaming.

I've found that the temps difference between fans spinning at 600rpm and 1500rpm during idle is only about 2-3C.
Click to expand...

What kind of fans do you use with a fan controller?

mannyman said:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7...x_20mm_Slim_Fan_-_Medium_Speed_D12SM-12C.html Love these little guys.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's the exact fan I have on my HSF right now.

Tisca said:
- the fan between the PSU and HDDs
- www.silentpcreview.com > forum
Click to expand...

Thanks
 
There's also a fan in the PSU, isn't there, so seven fans?

I"d start by getting rid of the top mounted fan and close off the case opening. Then I'd try getting rid of the fan in front of the hard drive bay. If your PSU has a fan and the PSU/drive compartment is isolated, it may provide adequate airflow and cooling for the drives. If not, try a very low RPM fan there.
 
doug_7506 said:
The problem is no real quiet fans push 80cfm of air. I want high airflow and don't mind noise when my computer is maxed out, but I want it to be as quiet as possible when idle and doing such task as typing in word..
Click to expand...

This might be overkill for an air cooled PC, but when I was building overclocked watercooled PC's, I'd simply use a programmable fan controller with temperature sensors to automatically ramp the fans up and down as needed. Individual fans went from 400rpm to 1800rpm all automatically and depending on what individual sensors were detecting. Used a couple of T-Balancer BigNG's, but as that was several years ago, there is probably better technology on the market now.
 
echn111 said:
This might be overkill for an air cooled PC, but when I was building overclocked watercooled PC's, I'd simply use a programmable fan controller with temperature sensors to automatically ramp the fans up and down as needed.
Click to expand...

Do you need special fans to do this? Or can you do this with any fan?

JJ Johnson said:
There's also a fan in the PSU, isn't there, so seven fans?

I"d start by getting rid of the top mounted fan and close off the case opening. Then I'd try getting rid of the fan in front of the hard drive bay. If your PSU has a fan and the PSU/drive compartment is isolated, it may provide adequate airflow and cooling for the drives. If not, try a very low RPM fan there.
Click to expand...

Yeah I took that off. I realized the dBA level was twice that of my other fans. Right now i have a soft cover text book sitting on top of the vent.
 
Why not do the obvious process of elimination.

Shut down ALL the fans, except the CPU and power supply. Open the case and listen. Then take your finger and stop the CPU fan. That should only leave your power supply. You can go through the process of elimination slowly adding fans till you figure out which ones are causing the noise.

One of the reasons I chose the HAF 912 is becase it handles 2 200mm fans which are dead quiet. It also handles Hyper 212 and really long graphics cards. The only problem is because it's so "open" that it is a bit noisy. So I replaced the 120 mm fans with pwm 120 and 140
 
Noticed the P180 setup figured I'd share.
CIMG2119_resize.jpg


My setup--well, I did get a new psu, and a hard drive died, but CLOSE.
I made alot of tweaks
#1, (you can't see it) but I have a 120mm fan in front of those drives. its a simple way to get your hard drives happy. check this link: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=40696
#2, most of the sound you are hearing is moving of air there are a ton of tricks on the forums to eliminate sound in the p180, I took out most of the grills at the front of the case, dust accumulates mostly through the top fan slot...I blocked mine.
#3, fan controller, hidden away is a 4 fan controller, keeps the yate loons (I have them too) happily spinning at 70%, its about 50% quieter without losing the airflow, in my system I load the CPU at 42C.
 
skeeder said:
Noticed the P180 setup figured I'd share.
CIMG2119_resize.jpg


My setup--well, I did get a new psu, and a hard drive died, but CLOSE.
I made alot of tweaks
#1, (you can't see it) but I have a 120mm fan in front of those drives. its a simple way to get your hard drives happy. check this link: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=40696
#2, most of the sound you are hearing is moving of air there are a ton of tricks on the forums to eliminate sound in the p180, I took out most of the grills at the front of the case, dust accumulates mostly through the top fan slot...I blocked mine.
#3, fan controller, hidden away is a 4 fan controller, keeps the yate loons (I have them too) happily spinning at 70%, its about 50% quieter without losing the airflow, in my system I load the CPU at 42C.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great reply! Your case is clean. Will definitely be hacking some stuff out now!
 
we have the same ram, is taht a 25mm fan on your HSF?

Also CPU power cord wouldnt fit behind?
 
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