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Sound dampening mats?

M

monster.under.thebed

Gawd
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
830
i have been thinking about getting some from a local craft store, but dont they also retain heat as well? what are some things i should look for when trying to find the right kind of mat that would do this?


thanks (already used search)
 
I just picked up some of that art/craft foam stuff from Michaels. It looks like it won't retain much heat because I tested it out by blowing the heat gun on it for a few seconds until it was hot, but then it disappated the heat in another few seconds and was cool to the touch. Its pretty thin foam (like 2-3mm), but it looks like it should dampen some sound. I'll let you know how it goes. Here's pix of what it looks like if you were interested. Oh and the best part, its only 70cents for an 11x17 inch sheet. :D I also bought green foam just like it, and I'm cutting out an AMD logo and Nvidia logo to glue on it.. I might as well make something cool out of it. lol.

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they do not retain heat very much. however, unless you have a REALLY quiet rig (talking about SPCR like) to begin with, adding sound dampening will not help much (ie you are not going to notice a difference, loud fans will still sound loud).

in my case, it helped get the last of the "whoosh" out



 
w1retap said:
I just picked up some of that art/craft foam stuff from Michaels. It looks like it won't retain much heat because I tested it out by blowing the heat gun on it for a few seconds until it was hot, but then it disappated the heat in another few seconds and was cool to the touch. Its pretty thin foam (like 2-3mm), but it looks like it should dampen some sound. I'll let you know how it goes. Here's pix of what it looks like if you were interested. Oh and the best part, its only 70cents for an 11x17 inch sheet. :D I also bought green foam just like it, and I'm cutting out an AMD logo and Nvidia logo to glue on it.. I might as well make something cool out of it. lol.

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IMG_0473.jpg
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yeah thanks man that helps a lot, so i guess you can just like put it around, if not everywhere, the things that make the noise?
 
monster.under.thebed said:
yeah thanks man that helps a lot, so i guess you can just like put it around, if not everywhere, the things that make the noise?
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yea.. you can just put it where you want. I just measured the inside of my case, and cut out the areas where I wanted to put it. From there, just use double sided tape to stick it down. They even make this craft foam with peel off sticky backing, but they didn't have it in the sizes I needed. I don't expect it to make noise levels a whole lot lower, but it should absorb some vibration. I was mostly going for the looks to cover up all the shiny metal, so when you look thru the window, all you can see is darkness and UV reactive stuff. :cool:
 
I've found that doubling up with the stuff really makes a huge difference. At Home Depot, you can purchase this sheet (meant for flooring) that's basically styrofoam balls stuck to vinyl. No idea what it's called (I can ask tomorrow).

Sandwiching that between 2 layers of the black foam stuff made a huge difference around my radiator. It looks amazing too.

ALSO... lining the back of your mobo tray with the black stuff looks bad ASS. I mean, the entire tray (foam doesn't conduct electricity). Side bonus, it provides a bit of support for plugging things into your mobo.

Dont buy it at Michaels. Home Depot has a (about) 3'x2' square piece of black rubber coated foam in their Decor department (#34) for 3.99$ Canadian (Yes, I plug this store constantly).
 
w1retap said:
I just picked up some of that art/craft foam stuff from Michaels. Oh and the best part, its only 70cents for an 11x17 inch sheet.
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psst its cheaper at wal-mart :p
 
Arcygenical said:
I've found that doubling up with the stuff really makes a huge difference. At Home Depot, you can purchase this sheet (meant for flooring) that's basically styrofoam balls stuck to vinyl. No idea what it's called (I can ask tomorrow).
.
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this method is great. i have akasa paxmate foam over vinyl floor tiles. it weights down the case (for less vibration) and absore high frequency noise at the same time

 
I've never thought about using vinyl TILE before. That stuff is sooo easy to cut, just snap it. They're heavy as sin, however... I think a box of tile (16sqft) weighs almost 20lbs lol.

HD usually has cheap shit .69c vinyl self adhesive tile deals. These things are super thin (only double layer, compared to the 3-4 layers of let's say a quality traffic master tile) and can be adhered to the aforementionned black foam. Just adhere them onto the back of the foam (so you dont have slate/granite in your case :D) and have the tile side facing something metal. I'll pick up a couple of tiles and report back to see if it had any effect for me.

PS Tiles are awesome for making ducts in your case, as they can be "broken" into 90' angles but still stay together because of the pattern layer on top. The self sticking ones can even be adhered to, let's say, the outside of a fan so you dont need any other kind of mount, just stick it on.
 
well aluminum case resonates alot. after i put tiles and foam on 1 of the panel (other was a window) and top and bottom of the case, there were definetly a difference.

the tiles, for .99 cent (the most heavy kind) a piece, was a no brainer for me

 
What do you use to hold the foam down onto the case once you have it cut to size? I've also been thinking about doing a sound dampening project but I thought i'd ask on good ways to hold it down to the case first. Is 2 part epoxy good, or is that too much?
 
kill4killin said:
What do you use to hold the foam down onto the case once you have it cut to size? I've also been thinking about doing a sound dampening project but I thought i'd ask on good ways to hold it down to the case first. Is 2 part epoxy good, or is that too much?
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spray on epoxy is pretty effective

 
monster.under.thebed said:
ok i bought the same foamie things with the sticky side, should i put some all over the inside of the side panel of the case too?
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you shouild put it anywhere you see fit. i've seen people gone crazy with these sound dampers and cover every nook and cranie of their case

 
I would suggest something like "Dynamat" which is used in cars for sound proofing when sound systems are put in. But I dont want to recommend that here without looking into the thermal properties 1st. It is thick (about 1/8") and I think is made of a rubber or tar like material. But with a case lined in that stuff, you wouldnt hear a thing, even with your head against the case wall. :p
 
-=WooDWorKeR420=- said:
I would suggest something like "Dynamat" which is used in cars for sound proofing when sound systems are put in. But I dont want to recommend that here without looking into the thermal properties 1st. It is thick (about 1/8") and I think is made of a rubber or tar like material. But with a case lined in that stuff, you wouldnt hear a thing, even with your head against the case wall. :p
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however, they are known to stink for awhile after appiication

 
I really like the idea of the stuff from Walmart, I may have to give it a try.
 
What do you use to hold the foam down onto the case once you have it cut to size? I've also been thinking about doing a sound dampening project but I thought i'd ask on good ways to hold it down to the case first. Is 2 part epoxy good, or is that too much?
Click to expand...

Eesh. Spray on epoxy (AKA Appliance epoxy) will be like, impossible to remove. Get a roll of double sided carpet tape... That stuff sticks like a demon (if, ahem... demons... stuck?)

On a side note, I managed to pick up a box of 16sqft of cheap ass tile and cover it in the foam. It made literally no difference over straight foam. I guess the weight from all the Water in my WC loop had the same effect as the weight of the tile. I was able to make an awesome shroud for my intake fans (and move them an inch into my case, which reduces noise levels).
 
Renswic said:
psst its cheaper at wal-mart :p
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Where exactly do you find it in WalMart (which department)?

Also, if you have an AC Moore near you, they are much cheaper than Michales. :D
 
PsycoGeek said:
Where exactly do you find it in WalMart (which department)?

Also, if you have an AC Moore near you, they are much cheaper than Michales. :D
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i found it back in the craft area
 
Renswic said:
i found it back in the craft area
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OK... Thanks. I thought it would be there, but it could have easily been in with stationary. I hate wandering around a store when I know what I want.
 
I found the mats back in the Crafts department. I know for the one i go to, its back between automotive and like the bedsheets and stuff.

So far, i put it in, and i have not noticed any sort of insulation factor from it at all.
 
Do you have any high pitched sounds in your case? How loud is your setup to begin with...?
 
-=WooDWorKeR420=- said:
Have you noticed a difference in ambient temps, or did it not affect it, as previously thought
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The only way you should notice a difference in temps is if the air inside your case is stagnant. Good airflow won't allow temps to rise no matter what material is used to dampen sound inside the case.
 
Not sure if that was a message for me, but my case was sort of loud to begin with, it cut down on some of the rattles from my fans and it quited my cd/dvd burner quite a bit. Ill also put it around my PSU because i noticed that it was rattling a little bit againts my case, and it fixed that. All in all its worth the $2 price of 4 sheets of the foam matting. And it has a sticky side so no extra adhesive is necessary.
 
kill4killin said:
Not sure if that was a message for me, but my case was sort of loud to begin with, it cut down on some of the rattles from my fans and it quited my cd/dvd burner quite a bit. Ill also put it around my PSU because i noticed that it was rattling a little bit againts my case, and it fixed that. All in all its worth the $2 price of 4 sheets of the foam matting. And it has a sticky side so no extra adhesive is necessary.
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Is it really sticky, that when you goto pull it off it will leave a bunch left over and tear?
 
Not from what i could tell. It hasnt left behind any resedue atleast. And when i put it in the wrong spot and had to take it off it didnt tear. Its actually really good. The only time its really annoying is when your trying to fit it into a small space and the adhesive hits something and gets stuck, this forced me to cut some of it up into smaller pieces to get it into some of the smaller areas of the case. It is definately a project you want to do when the case is empty though, im almost positive it would have been easier had mine been. I'm getting a new case soon though, and ill put it in while the case is empty next time and let you know if its any easier
 
Ive used mouse pads. not the cheap ones. but the ones with the thick rubber backing. i used some double sided tape and mounted them front side down. they're pretty thick and eliminated most rattling and fan noises
 
Well I picked some of these after work yesterday, and installed them. At first I thought there is no way I am going to be able to do this. But I just took my time, and I can't believe how well it turned out. I am very impressed. Plus the sound doesn't seem so "high" in my case. It sounds nice and "low". I say for the $1.50 I spent, it was very well worth it. Plus just how clean it makes your system look inside is amazing! :eek:
 
nodle said:
Well I picked some of these after work yesterday, and installed them. At first I thought there is no way I am going to be able to do this. But I just took my time, and I can't believe how well it turned out. I am very impressed. Plus the sound doesn't seem so "high" in my case. It sounds nice and "low". I say for the $1.50 I spent, it was very well worth it. Plus just how clean it makes your system look inside is amazing! :eek:
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pics =D!!! Good to hear a small success story. :)
 
nodle said:
Well I picked some of these after work yesterday, and installed them. At first I thought there is no way I am going to be able to do this. But I just took my time, and I can't believe how well it turned out. I am very impressed. Plus the sound doesn't seem so "high" in my case. It sounds nice and "low". I say for the $1.50 I spent, it was very well worth it. Plus just how clean it makes your system look inside is amazing! :eek:
Click to expand...


yea man, i told you it makes your case look clean as hell.

I haven't put all of mine in yet, but i will finish eventually (unless i get the new case im looking at, then ill do that one) and when i do, ill be sure to show you what it did.

But definatlly post pics of yours up! :p
 
kill4killin said:
yea man, i told you it makes your case look clean as hell.

I haven't put all of mine in yet, but i will finish eventually (unless i get the new case im looking at, then ill do that one) and when i do, ill be sure to show you what it did.

But definatlly post pics of yours up! :p
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Ya as soon as I get a chance to take some pics I'll post them.
 
Do you guys think this stuff would help in a stacker with it being open and all?
 
i'll let ya know soon, i got a stacker, and i just bought some of the foamies mats today
 
Thanks for all the info guys. I picked up 5 sheets today for 97 cents!!!!! I will let you know how well it help my system.
 
Here's some pics of an Okay install (mine) of some foam lining.

There is a nicer / slighty quiter sounds surrounding the case now. I'm happy withit for now.

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