Hi all,

Have done a little browsing at Maplin etc for separate components for 
silencing my PC - but I just wondered if any of you knowledgeable lot could 
recommend a decently priced way to make a big dent in the noise my PC makes. 
From the sounds of it, I'd say it was mostly the fans, so I could replace 
that right off, but I'm not sure if its the CPU fan too - would that be 
replaceable or is that pretty much glued to the cpu - so I'd have to replace 
the mobo/cpu/ram - I am thinking of upgrading these eventually but again, 
waiting for the right price!!

Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated :)

Thanks
Gem

On Tue, 9 Aug 2005 11:15:25 +0100, "gem :o\)" 
wrote:


>Hi all,
>
>Have done a little browsing at Maplin etc for separate components for 
>silencing my PC - but I just wondered if any of you knowledgeable lot could 
>recommend a decently priced way to make a big dent in the noise my PC makes. 
>From the sounds of it, I'd say it was mostly the fans, so I could replace 
>that right off, but I'm not sure if its the CPU fan too - would that be 
>replaceable or is that pretty much glued to the cpu - so I'd have to replace 
>the mobo/cpu/ram - I am thinking of upgrading these eventually but again, 
>waiting for the right price!!
>
>Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated :)
>
>Thanks
>Gem 
>


The CPU fan can be replaced. Indeed, the CPU heatsink as a whole can
be replaced with a silent heatsink. I use a Zalman 6000cu and it is
very quiet and does an admirable job. Their are other HSF around that
are even better, but it depends on your CPU as to what you can get.

If its fans then you could replace the fans with quieter ones. This
however can result in lower air flow in your PC and therefore cause
overheating.

Of course you could consider replacing the PC case with a better
ventilated case. This will allow you to run quieter fans without
increasing the risk of overheating. If you look at the fan vents on
the back of the case, most cheap cases have vents that have poor
airflow. The result is higher fan noise as the fans try and push the
air out of the back of the case. Get a case with honeycomb style vents
that allow greater airflow out the back. Also look for a vent on the
front of the case that allows you to place an intake fan. 

Finally, to improve airflow consider is a new power supply with a fan
that is situated over the CPU heatsink. This will draw heat away from
the CPU and out the back of the case.

HTH

Harry


-----------------------------
Web Design for Wise Owls - www.WiseWebs.co.uk

"gem :o)"  wrote in message 
news:Zq6cnZ2Uu4XdH2XfSa8jmw@karoo.co.uk...

> Hi all,
>
> Have done a little browsing at Maplin etc for separate components for 
> silencing my PC - but I just wondered if any of you knowledgeable lot 
> could recommend a decently priced way to make a big dent in the noise my 
> PC makes. From the sounds of it, I'd say it was mostly the fans, so I 
> could replace that right off, but I'm not sure if its the CPU fan too - 
> would that be replaceable or is that pretty much glued to the cpu - so I'd 
> have to replace the mobo/cpu/ram - I am thinking of upgrading these 
> eventually but again, waiting for the right price!!
>
> Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated :)
>

Big Fans (120mm, inc. PSU), Slow Speed (use slow fans, add resistors or run 
them off 5v rather than 12v) and as few cables as you need, all tied down 
out of the airflow path :)  Your CPU fan should be replaceable too, get as 
big a fan as you can fit.
-- 
Alex

"gem :o)"  wrote in message 
news:Zq6cnZ2Uu4XdH2XfSa8jmw@karoo.co.uk...

> Hi all,
>
> Have done a little browsing at Maplin etc for separate components for 
> silencing my PC - but I just wondered if any of you knowledgeable lot 
> could recommend a decently priced way to make a big dent in the noise my 
> PC makes. From the sounds of it, I'd say it was mostly the fans, so I 
> could replace that right off, but I'm not sure if its the CPU fan too - 
> would that be replaceable or is that pretty much glued to the cpu - so I'd 
> have to replace the mobo/cpu/ram - I am thinking of upgrading these 
> eventually but again, waiting for the right price!!
>
> Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated :)
>
> Thanks
> Gem


It could be the power supplies fan, the CPU fan, the graphics card fan, the 
case fans so you need to narrow down the list. Has it always been noisy or 
has it got worse? It could be that the fans just need a good clean and a 
little lubrication?

You could try opening the case and sticking your ear in to locate the 
source(s) of the noise you want to minimise? While it is open you could try 
briefly removing the power supply to each fan in turn if you cannot locate 
it using your ears?

How quiet do you need it to be, it may be cheaper to just turn the stereo up 
a little more!!

gem :o) wrote:


> Have done a little browsing at Maplin etc for separate components for
> silencing my PC - but I just wondered if any of you knowledgeable lot
> could recommend a decently priced way to make a big dent in the noise my
> PC makes. From the sounds of it, I'd say it was mostly the fans, so I
> could replace that right off, but I'm not sure if its the CPU fan too -
> would that be replaceable or is that pretty much glued to the cpu - so I'd
> have to replace the mobo/cpu/ram - I am thinking of upgrading these
> eventually but again, waiting for the right price!!
> 
> Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated :)


http://www.quietpc.com

First identify the main source of noise. Take the case off, and listen
moving you ear around. If your hearing is bad use the inside of a loo-roll
for assistance. It will either be case fans, CPU fans or PSU fans. Deal
with the loudest thing first and then repeat until (near) silence.
 
CPU Fans: Most heatsinks are not glued on. However if you dont know what you
are going either get someone experienced or take the plunge after reading
some PC building web pages. Get Artic Copper Silent from Ebuyer for about 7
quid. Very quite for the price. There are more expensive models about.
Zalman etc.

Case Fans: Most case fans can have the speed reduced wither using a fan
controller, or re-wiring from 12V to 7V. Again there are pages on how to do
this.

PSU Fan: If this is the noisy part then you have some options. Expensive
option. Change entire PSU - If you are thinking of upgrading your PC anyway
this could be worthwhile. 
As a PSU has an important job, it pays to get a quality one. A good PSU is
around 50quid though. Google for recommended makes (Antec, Enermax?,Hiper
etc). (SVP used to sell Hiper ones) Alternatively the Cheap, dangerous
option. Change the fan in the PSU or step it's voltage down. There are
pages on how to do this. Bear in mind that PSU can hold dangerous charges
even when unplugged. Only do this if competent and after having a practice
with the case fans. 
 
-- 
usenet at lordy dot org u k

Harry wrote:

> On Tue, 9 Aug 2005 11:15:25 +0100, "gem :o\)" 
> wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Have done a little browsing at Maplin etc for separate components for
>> silencing my PC - but I just wondered if any of you knowledgeable
>> lot could recommend a decently priced way to make a big dent in the
>> noise my PC makes. From the sounds of it, I'd say it was mostly the
>> fans, so I could replace that right off, but I'm not sure if its the
>> CPU fan too - would that be replaceable or is that pretty much glued
>> to the cpu - so I'd have to replace the mobo/cpu/ram - I am thinking
>> of upgrading these eventually but again, waiting for the right
>> price!!
>>
>> Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated :)
>>
>> Thanks
>> Gem
>>
>
> The CPU fan can be replaced. Indeed, the CPU heatsink as a whole can
> be replaced with a silent heatsink. I use a Zalman 6000cu and it is
> very quiet and does an admirable job. Their are other HSF around that
> are even better, but it depends on your CPU as to what you can get.


Also you pretty much have to completely disassemble the PC to do this on 
most machines.
If you try and swap the fan with the board in place you are very likely to 
break things badly.

>
>
> -----------------------------
> Web Design for Wise Owls - www.WiseWebs.co.uk


-- 
Alex

Hermes: "We can't afford that! Especially not Zoidberg!"
Zoidberg: "They took away my credit cards!"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk    www.ebayfaq.co.uk

In article , ""gem :o\)" 
" "gem :o\)"  says...

> Hi all,
> 
> Have done a little browsing at Maplin etc for separate components for 
> silencing my PC - but I just wondered if any of you knowledgeable lot could 
> recommend a decently priced way to make a big dent in the noise my PC makes. 
> From the sounds of it, I'd say it was mostly the fans, so I could replace 
> that right off, but I'm not sure if its the CPU fan too - would that be 
> replaceable or is that pretty much glued to the cpu - so I'd have to replace 
> the mobo/cpu/ram - I am thinking of upgrading these eventually but again, 
> waiting for the right price!!
> 

There are two easy aways to quieten fans without replacing them - 

run them at 7v instead of 12v by connecting across the 5v and 12v 
leads - Google for "the 7v trick"

cut out restrictive grills in the case - where the fan is exposed fit 
a wire grill, inside the front panel you can just leave a hole


A cheap way to a quieter CPU cooler is to fit an adaptor to take an 
80mm fan - this will run quieter than a smaller fan that produces the 
same air flow, and you may be able to use the 7v trick here too.

If the hard drive seems loud you can mount it on some form of shock 
absorber to reduce noise transmission through the case - either with 
rubber grommets, or suspended in rubber bands in a 5.25" bay

Always check the temperatures when changing the cooling in your PC - 
there's no point making it nice and quiet if it's going to die next 
week through overheating.  And make sure that the cooling air has a 
clear path through the case - tuck IDE cables etc. neatly to the side 
and make sure that nothing keeps air flow from the memory, 
motherboard chips etc.

In article <dda1ha$jj5$1$8302bc10@news.demon.co.uk>, "Alex" alex@al-
net.demon.cREMo.uNOSPAMk says...

> "gem :o)"  wrote in message 
> news:Zq6cnZ2Uu4XdH2XfSa8jmw@karoo.co.uk...
> > Hi all,
> >
> > Have done a little browsing at Maplin etc for separate components for 
> > silencing my PC - but I just wondered if any of you knowledgeable lot 
> > could recommend a decently priced way to make a big dent in the noise my 
> > PC makes. From the sounds of it, I'd say it was mostly the fans, so I 
> > could replace that right off, but I'm not sure if its the CPU fan too - 
> > would that be replaceable or is that pretty much glued to the cpu - so I'd 
> > have to replace the mobo/cpu/ram - I am thinking of upgrading these 
> > eventually but again, waiting for the right price!!
> >
> > Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated :)
> >
> Big Fans (120mm, inc. PSU), Slow Speed (use slow fans, add resistors or run 
> them off 5v rather than 12v)


Resistors create more heat.  7v is safer than 5v, as some fans won't 
start reliably at 5v.

Cheapest way I have found is to turn mine off ;-)

Seriously though I have had good results with a PSU from QuietPC. Mind you 
as time has gone on the PSU has got noisier depite being cleaned regularly 
and reoiling the sleeve bearing.

A very cheap Akasa CPU cooler with an 80mm fan from OverclockersUK and the 
cheapest thing was taping layers of bubble wrap and that thin packing foam 
in layers to the case sides.

Henry

>> >
>> > Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated :)
>> >
>> Big Fans (120mm, inc. PSU), Slow Speed (use slow fans, add resistors or 
>> run
>> them off 5v rather than 12v)
>
> Resistors create more heat.  7v is safer than 5v, as some fans won't
> start reliably at 5v.


Resistors, probably in the form of a fanbus or such like are the "safest", 
especially if you have any 5v sensitive equipment, like ati's cards. For a 
beginner the fanbus is ideal as you just plug the fans in and dont have to 
worry about any wiring (and its not much heat that they'll create).

If it runs on 5v or not does depend on the fan, i've using 12cm fans in a pc 
that run fine on 5v and are really quiet and shift enough air to keep it 
cool.

Maplin to rubber fittings for fans and PSU which help if your noise is from 
vibration rather than wind noise.
-- 
Alex

"gem :o)"  wrote in message 
news:Zq6cnZ2Uu4XdH2XfSa8jmw@karoo.co.uk...

> Hi all,
>
> Have done a little browsing at Maplin etc for separate components for 
> silencing my PC - but I just wondered if any of you knowledgeable lot 
> could recommend a decently priced way to make a big dent in the noise my 
> PC makes. From the sounds of it, I'd say it was mostly the fans, so I 
> could replace that right off, but I'm not sure if its the CPU fan too - 
> would that be replaceable or is that pretty much glued to the cpu - so I'd 
> have to replace the mobo/cpu/ram - I am thinking of upgrading these 
> eventually but again, waiting for the right price!!
>
> Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated :)
>
> Thanks
> Gem
>


Go here
http://www.silentpcreview.com/
http://www.7volts.com/

My 2 home rigs include:
Seasonic Super Tornado PSUs - 120mm speed controlled fans
Zalman 7000cu CPU cooler- 92mm fan at ~ 60% with included fanmate.
ATI radeon modded with Arctic Cooler
ATI radeon modded with large fanless heatsink
120mm panaflo exhaust fans - running at 7 volts
92mm panaflo intake fans - running at 7 volts
Mobo fan replaced with fanless heatsink
5 Seagate Barracuda hard drives

Those 2 are in my living room in a cabinet, the always on network PC is 
virtually inaudible, I've had people comment that they didn't realise it was 
on.  This machine has a bit more oomph and houses most of the drives but is 
still virtually silent, just a very very slight hum can be heard if its 
quiet, that's mainly the 1 IBM drive I use for a scratch disk, the other 4 
'cudas can only be heard when they are accessing.

Its taken quite a while to get them all to this level, I did the cheap 
things first like 7 volting all my fans but it soon became clear that I 
needed panaflo fans at 7v to be truly quiet (see dorothy, she's got loads- 
good service too).  The PSUs helped tremendously as you cant get away with 
that, you need cooling there.  The arctic cooler was great too, took a bit 
of time mounting it with arctic silver (and epoxying ramsinks to its memory 
chips) but its great, can play at 1920x1200 without a hitch.  The radeon in 
the other machine I don't game on so I just epoxyd a fanless chipset cooler 
to it- works great.  Newer radeons have temp control already on them.

Seagate are known for making silent drives and even the new 7200.8s with the 
high density platters are still the same.  When I started I got all the fans 
and cards done and came up against a wall when I realised the 4 IBM's I had 
were howling and there was nothing I could do but replace them.  Plan for 
'cudas in your next upgrade, mine are mounted on neoprene gaskets I made 
from a vinyl repair kit.

I did mess about with temperature controlled fans for a while but found out 
the best way to go is maximum CFM with 120mm exhaust units.  To maximise 
airflow and cut down noise of air movement, cut off the grille behind the 
fan (dermal cutting tip in drill works well).

I'm sure there's more but it'll be in the links I've left- SPCR has a good 
forum.

Hth

Ad

"gem :o)"  wrote in message 
news:Zq6cnZ2Uu4XdH2XfSa8jmw@karoo.co.uk...

> Hi all,
>
> Have done a little browsing at Maplin etc for separate components for 
> silencing my PC - but I just wondered if any of you knowledgeable lot 
> could recommend a decently priced way to make a big dent in the noise my 
> PC makes. From the sounds of it, I'd say it was mostly the fans, so I 
> could replace that right off, but I'm not sure if its the CPU fan too - 
> would that be replaceable or is that pretty much glued to the cpu - so I'd 
> have to replace the mobo/cpu/ram - I am thinking of upgrading these 
> eventually but again, waiting for the right price!!
>
> Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated :)
>
> Thanks
> Gem


Go here
http://www.silentpcreview.com/
http://www.7volts.com/

My 2 home rigs include:
Seasonic Super Tornado PSUs - 120mm speed controlled fans
Zalman 7000cu CPU cooler- 92mm fan at ~ 60% with included fanmate.
ATI radeon modded with Arctic Cooler
ATI radeon modded with large fanless heatsink
120mm panaflo exhaust fans - running at 7 volts
92mm panaflo intake fans - running at 7 volts
Mobo fan replaced with fanless heatsink
5 Seagate Barracuda hard drives

Those 2 are in my living room in a cabinet, the always on network PC is
virtually inaudible, I've had people comment that they didn't realise it was
on.  This machine has a bit more oomph and houses most of the drives but is
still virtually silent, just a very very slight hum can be heard if its
quiet, that's mainly the 1 IBM drive I use for a scratch disk, the other 4
'cudas can only be heard when they are accessing.

Its taken quite a while to get them all to this level, I did the cheap
things first like 7 volting all my fans but it soon became clear that I
needed panaflo fans at 7v to be truly quiet (see dorothy, she's got loads-
good service too).  The PSUs helped tremendously as you cant get away with
that, you need cooling there.  The arctic cooler was great too, took a bit
of time mounting it with arctic silver (and epoxying ramsinks to its memory
chips) but its great, can play at 1920x1200 without a hitch.  The radeon in
the other machine I don't game on so I just epoxyd a fanless chipset cooler
to it- works great.  Newer radeons have temp control already on them.

Seagate are known for making silent drives and even the new 7200.8s with the
high density platters are still the same.  When I started I got all the fans
and cards done and came up against a wall when I realised the 4 IBM's I had
were howling and there was nothing I could do but replace them.  Plan for
'cudas in your next upgrade, mine are mounted on neoprene gaskets I made
from a vinyl repair kit.

I did mess about with temperature controlled fans for a while but found out
the best way to go is maximum CFM with 120mm exhaust units.  To maximise
airflow and cut down noise of air movement, cut off the grille behind the
fan (dremmel cutting tip in drill works well).

I'm sure there's more but it'll be in the links I've left- SPCR has a good
forum.

Hth

Ad

"Dr Zoidberg" <AlexNOOOOO!!!!!!@drzoidberg.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3lrgifF13uaj6U1@individual.net...

> Harry wrote:
> > On Tue, 9 Aug 2005 11:15:25 +0100, "gem :o\)" 
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> Have done a little browsing at Maplin etc for separate components for
> >> silencing my PC - but I just wondered if any of you knowledgeable
> >> lot could recommend a decently priced way to make a big dent in the
> >> noise my PC makes. From the sounds of it, I'd say it was mostly the
> >> fans, so I could replace that right off, but I'm not sure if its the
> >> CPU fan too - would that be replaceable or is that pretty much glued
> >> to the cpu - so I'd have to replace the mobo/cpu/ram - I am thinking
> >> of upgrading these eventually but again, waiting for the right
> >> price!!
> >>
> >> Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated :)
> >>
> >> Thanks
> >> Gem
> >>

Alex replied with

> > The CPU fan can be replaced. Indeed, the CPU heatsink as a whole can
> > be replaced with a silent heatsink. I use a Zalman 6000cu and it is
> > very quiet and does an admirable job. Their are other HSF around that
> > are even better, but it depends on your CPU as to what you can get.
>
> Also you pretty much have to completely disassemble the PC to do this on
> most machines.
> If you try and swap the fan with the board in place you are very likely to
> break things badly.
> >
> >

Actually replacing the fan is quite easy a matter  4 self tapping screws on
the majority of systems the heat sink is rather trickier depending on your
system it may just be two spring clips (there is a technique to springing
them ) higher spec and you have bolt on heatsinks in the unlikely event of
having one of these you will not want to remove it as it likely to be pretty
good have a look at
http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20050607/index.html
for the latest cpu cooler but like as not it will be your psu contributing
much of the noise so check also
http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20050401/index.html
Derek

Thanks all for the advice, you've given me plenty to think about :-)

Cheers
Gem :)

> > The CPU fan can be replaced. 
> 
> you pretty much have to completely disassemble the PC to 
> do this on most machines.
> If you try and swap the fan with the board in place you are 
> very likely to break things badly.


wtf ?

The fan is only held in by four plastic clips on most machines, it will 
come out easily without having to dismantle anything (apart from 
removing the cover of course) !



-- 
Lordy.UK