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Would you stop the noise and try to get some rest...
ben0207
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, my GF has supersensitive hearing. That`s not a real medical term, by the way.
Anyway, I want to try and get her PC (which we use in the living room connected to the TV, but use for everything) as silent as possible, and maybe give it a little speed boost in the process. But more than anything price is the factor (as is keeping this secret until I can get a free day and get her out of the house for enough time to build it).
So, what are my options? I´d obviously like to reuse as much as possible of the old machine, indeed if possible I´d even prefer to avoid reinstalling Windows.
The specs (like I said, itś a couple years old now and wasnt great when she bought it)
P4 2.6 GHz
1 GB Ram
2 x 3.5" HDs
2 x DVD Rom drives (one is a burner)
1 x rubbish floppy drive-sized card reader
Some POS PSU
All currently in the ugliest beigest case ever to grace mankind.
I`d love to give more detailed specs, but she's sat right there using it and so I cant open it up in front of her, nor dig about in Device Manager.
Anyway, I want to try and get her PC (which we use in the living room connected to the TV, but use for everything) as silent as possible, and maybe give it a little speed boost in the process. But more than anything price is the factor (as is keeping this secret until I can get a free day and get her out of the house for enough time to build it).
So, what are my options? I´d obviously like to reuse as much as possible of the old machine, indeed if possible I´d even prefer to avoid reinstalling Windows.
The specs (like I said, itś a couple years old now and wasnt great when she bought it)
P4 2.6 GHz
1 GB Ram
2 x 3.5" HDs
2 x DVD Rom drives (one is a burner)
1 x rubbish floppy drive-sized card reader
Some POS PSU
All currently in the ugliest beigest case ever to grace mankind.
I`d love to give more detailed specs, but she's sat right there using it and so I cant open it up in front of her, nor dig about in Device Manager.
ben0207 on
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http://www.silentpcreview.com/
Start reading.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Look into the case fans aswell. Get quieter fans. Same for the CPU heatsink. Most noise from PCs comes from it's cooling. On NewEgg, you can search by noise level for case fans and heatsinks.
I'm not sure if there's a way to reduce noise on a spinning ROM drive. Maybe some insulation, but the drive still has to spin to read the disc.
Edit: Here's an idea I've thought about but never tried. Using the Dynamat stuff for cars on the panels of the CPU case. It might help, but I've never gone so far as to attempt it.
Step 2: CPU fan - get an aftermarket heatsink like the Scythe Ninja (or something else with widely spaced fins) and a silent fan
Step 3: Case fans - either undervolt them or get quieter ones
Step 4: PSU
Those are going to be the 4 biggest noise producers in order of noise approximately. Hard drives aren't a big deal until you get those first 4 quieted.
www.silentpcreview.com is a great resource.
This isn't always true but normally on a very old computer like that one upgrades are all or nothing.
For instance, a prime upgrade for you would be a new CPU. A new CPU would require a new motherboard and a new motherboard will not support ddr so you need new ram.
My second suggestion is to just bite the bullet, save a bit and do exactly that. Salvage but not at the expense of performance/noise level. It sucks but you will actually save in the long run (You're basically buying the whole computer, bit by bit over the course of X time rather then just buying the whole thing at once and being able to enjoy a fast computer for the whole duration of X time.)
If you don't know then find out: http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php
You should also mention how much you're willing to spend. Location: "Greifswald DE" Are you in North America, Europe, or somewhere else? I know a lot of part sites and shops but I need to know what country you live in for shipping.
There is a company called Akasa that sells a melamine foam for this purpose. I've used it before and it helps, but don't expect drastic results.
Edit: I forgot to mention that the larger the case the better and it really helps out a lot more on aluminum cases from what I've read. The case I installed it on was not aluminum but you can expect to see average drops of anywhere from 5-8 dB range, enough to notice the difference.
This is really just a temporary stop gap, next year we'll be replacing it with a Mac Mini and it will probably just get Linux chucked on it and dumped in my office room.
I'm going to look for some 120mm fans today, and hopefully I'll get enough time alone to take a good look inside the case and rummage about.
Would putting the HDs / ODs on rubber washers help reduce vibration and thus noise?
Maybe, but not much. Vacuuming it out while you have it open wouldn't be a bad idea though.
People are on the right track here about getting quieter fans. Couple of suggestions: If you want really silent, I saw recently that the new geforce 9500 can be purchased with passive cooling. Also, my Antec power supply has connectors that vary fan speed based on case temperature, makes a huge difference.
My current plan is to swap out the PSu with something a bit nicer, and then a bit trickier I'm going to line the case walls with foam** and fit a 12 or 14 mil into the bottom back of the case to suck out hot air.
I'm also tempted to try putting the HD and ODs on rubber grommets.
Longer term, but does anyone know how much a 32ish Flash HD would be? IDE or SATA. The I could use that as the boot device and page / swap file, mave keep certain apps installed to it that are used a lot (Firefox etc). That would stop the intermittent whirring and clicking of a drive access.
*Or possible because I prodded it a bit trying to get a good look at the video card. Now the Comp is running half naked and the motherboard is up to about 51 C.
** I'm pretty certain theres a company that sells realls thin sheets of foam backed aluminium that work just for this purpose but cant remembr the name.
SSDs are only worth it if you've got big bucks to spend. I know intels 60g solid state goes for around $600.00. It is absolutely silent though.
edit: there 80 not 60g
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
A couple things:
Getting a new PSU is a good idea and should cut down on noise - make sure you get a quiet PSU and not a fanless one (fanless PSUs require a lot more thought process on how the entire machine is set up).
The foam dampening material isn't going to do very much unless you've already quieted the fans in your case. Also it's going to make the case a lot hotter.
Trust me, I had the same problem with a girlfriend who said my PC was too loud. I got a silent video card, upgraded the CPU heatsink to a Scythe Ninja (w/ included fan) and undervolted the case fan (you could also use a zalman fan mate), and the complaints went away. Doing those things will make way more difference than sticking foam on the inside of your case.
Hard drive noise is inconsequential next to the things I've mentioned above.
If you really want to see how much noise those fans are making, open up the case while the computer is on and push the eraser end of a pencil against the hub of a spinning fan to make it stop. You will see how much noise those fans are making.
Funny, I just got a new girlfriend. Cost less, and turned out better.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I moved the tower to a different room, behind a closed door. The thirty pounds was spent on buying a long DVI cable, USB relay cables, a USB hub and two dozen cable ties.
It's not sexy. Most silent PC enthusiasts will break down in tears at the mention of it. It's cheating. But it is cheap, and it works perfectly. It's more effective than any other solution on the market. The only requirement is a rarely-used room or closet within a reasonable distance of where the workstation will be.
A sensible solution for sensible folk on a very sensible budget.
Do you have any recommendations? My keyboard and mouse are now the only noise-producing components of my workstation. Any inquiries I've made into getting a silent keyboard or mouse have been met with confusion. I don't need to hear a clickity-clack to know that I've hit a key. Apparently, that makes me fucking bonkers.
With newer software and the popularity of digital distribution, it really isn't that big a deal. Other than Diablo II, the last thing I installed from CD was EverQuest II almost a year ago, and I would have done that digitally if I weren't a bit thick.
I'm going to have a genuine proper convo with my GF about putting the PC in a cupboard.
Out of curiosity would this be possible with a 360 or would it die?
Mumbly's solution is a good idea, and certainly not one that a silence enthusiast would frown upon (at least not this enthusiast) but I'm sure there's plenty of ventilation in that other room, even with the door closed.
Rather than putting it in a cupboard, why not "behind" the TV in a sideways orientation? You can leave plenty of space for airflow fore and aft - you'd just have to be diligent about watching for dust buildup.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I can't say whether the 360 would take kindly to being put in a cupboard. My PC is poorly cooled, but it's in an unheated room (two by two metres) - which is quite a bit roomier than the average armoire - and in the north of England heat is so very rarely a concern.
Yeah, the current chicklet design is quieter than most easily available keyboards on the market. Hell of a sign quieter than most OEM keyboards, but not completely silent.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
but that's a bit larger-scale than what you're looking for, I'm guessing.
An integrated GPU sucks performance wise, even for older games. But there are good performing passive cooled cards out there. Usually, more than one slot is used though.
If you are just using the PC for movie playback, then even the recent Intel integrated graphic shit will do just fine , with a decent CPU.
Step 2: CPU fan - get an aftermarket heatsink like the Scythe Ninja (or something else with widely spaced fins) and a silent fan.
I would recommend this as well.
Somebody might suggest a water based cooling solution, but depending on the setup they can be rather big (if you use an external radiator) and difficult to setup if you are not experienced. Getting a god fan is still the cheaper solution.
Try to avoid the Core 2 Quad processors - in my experience they output more heat than the core duo processors and have the tendency to include broken thermal sensors - Depending on you main board this might prevent the CPU fan from using a slower rotation speed - thus making the system very loud.
Step 3: Case fans - either undervolt them or get quieter ones
A good idea is getting a quality case in the first place (which most likely includes) quality fans.
If you are going to use small for factor bare bone PC, make sure to put components inside which won't create much heat/noise.
Even if small form PCs look ideal for the living room, more stuff crammed into a tiny space means more heat and thus more noise. (if it isn't based on laptop technology like the mac mini) High performance Shuttle PCs can get very loud (I am accustomed to PC "jet engine noise level", but I think it can get annoying in the living room
Step 4: PSU
There are also external PSUs (comparable to the XBox 360 power block) which are air cooled. Otherwise, a decent PSU shouldn't create much noise if it has a big slow spinning fan to blow the heat out.