Quietening Case

[adrichardson]

Trying to quieten my sister's case for her (it sounds like it's about to take off).

She only uses the machine for Office and internet, so she won't be gaming or OCing it. (she's running an XP 2400, radeon 7500, dvd, cdrw, 1 hdd.

As a start I'm planning on switching the PSU (a cheap generic one) for a 300w Zalman. Cold I get away without a case fan (my 2.2c runs fine without one)?

Also, the case itself is pretty solid. Will changing the psu/fans be enough, or should I change the case as well?

 

[TruGeek]

You need to see what the loudest parts are. Generally this is the CPU fan. One fan I have used in comps I built for other people is this one:

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/cpu-arc-02.html

In my case I use these fans for the case fans and even replaced the fans above the Koolance radiator with them:

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/fan-26.html

And the PSU I use is this one:

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/psu-20.html

Those should greatly cut down on the noise level. If the case does *not* have a window then you can also coat the inside (all sides but make sure you leave room for the fans to get air and take air out) with this:

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/noi-02.html

I have never used the Pax mate material but I have read that it only works when covering every surface inside the PC that is possible to still promote better airflow.

That's the easy stuff to make a PC quiet.

 

[jaffy]

Pax mate didnt work too good for me. It did quite down the high pitch of my psu a little, but not much. I've heard Dynamat works good (I use it in my car, truely works great) and Magicfleece is good too. Check here for good info: silentpcreview

 

[homersapien]

1. Purchase quiet PSU.
2. Single 80/92/120 mm exhaust fan. You could buy an adjustable one and dial in just enough noise you can stand (YS Tech is okay, IMO) or 7 volt any old fan. I like 7 volting since it's free, and even my loudest fans seem to 'vanish' with 7 volts thru them.

 

[Grizzy]

Zalman flower heatsink with uber quiet 92mm fan
zalman silent heatsink
quiet case fan for exhaust, quiet fan in front for intake (I always have at least 2 case fans, I am paranoid or something)

 

[xphantg0d]

Zalman flower heatsink with uber quiet 92mm fan
zalman silent heatsink
quiet case fan for exhaust, quiet fan in front for intake (I always have at least 2 case fans, I am paranoid or something)

Great ideas..Also have you identified what the noisiest part is?

 

[adrichardson]

Looked into the problem a bit further - took the side of the case off and has a good listen (it's almost as nosiy with the side off!)

Near as I can tell the PSU fan and the case fan are far noisier than the CPU fan - and believe me are they noisy.

I'm looking into buying an Antec case/psu and starting again with that. I have my suspicions about the psu as it tends to lock up at odd intervals when dothing pretty much nothing (it's a terrible 250w model, only 13amps on the 12v rail).

Will also look into replacing the CPU fan.

 

[CallMeIshmael]

I'm looking into buying an Antec case/psu and starting again with that.

I'm very happy with my Sonata case, and have seen the 3700BQE highly recommended. For an efficient quiet HSF, try the Zalman CNPS 7000A. I have the all copper, but many like the Al/Cu just as well (slightly cheaper and significantly lighter).

 

[Lantec]

how hot is the room? You can probably get away with no case fans at all. Like the setup I was running before. SLK 900 with Panaflo L1, I had no case fans running at all. My room was about 29 degrees ambient during the afternoons and it idled around 48. If you're sister isn't going to do any o/c or heavy CPU stuff. That should be fine.