> -----Original Message----- > From: Raymond Camden [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2005 11:18 AM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Making a computer less noisy > > Anyone have good pointers for making a computer less noisy? I gave an > older machine to my brother-in-law, and while he loves it, it is in > his living room and the fan is a bit noisy.
Generally making a computer quieter also makes it hotter (unless you get into liquid cooling and the like - but that would likely cost more than a new PC). So first make sure that the PC is in a cool enough environment. Then look for the low hanging fruit - open up the case and hold each fan still in turn until you discover which is the loudest one. It'll probably be the power supply fan or the CPU fan - replace that one with a quieter (lower RPM) fan or a higher quality fan (a bearing fan is general quieter than a bushing fan at the same speed). Also look to the quality of the noise. In the best case scenario you shouldn't have any mechanical noise at all: just airflow noise. If you hear any rattling, scraping, sqeaking or other mechanical noises track them down first. You can often fix them just by tightening loose screws. Noise also often comes from poor quality screwless fan cages and the like - you can often fix those by getting rid of them completely and screwing the fans up or by shimming the contact points with felt. For srewed fans that are wiggling try rubber grommets (from any hardware store) - they work wonders. In general mechanical noise is always going to be more annoying than airflow noise - so get rid of that first. But some if it (for example the noise from the hard drive or the CD ROM) you won't be able to. You could try something like DynaMat (available in auto parts stores) which is a thick dampening material used inside the speaker wells on car doors. It's easy to apply (like thick shelf paper) - just do the side panels at first and try not to cover any vents. You might also try ducts and hoses (like might be found for a dryer outlet) but in my experience they just get in the way and often amplify noise as much as they muffle. Still - the easiest and probably most dramatic improvement will probably come from replacing your case and CPU fans with quieter, higher quality models. The "Noise Dampening" sections of these stores have some good products: http://www.3dcool.com/ http://www.frozencpu.com/ http://www.plycon.com/ This site is dedicated totally to quiet gear (but a lot of it quiets at the cost of hardware stability and lifespan): http://www.quietpcusa.com/ Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=17 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:141710 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
